Hello, my lovely!
This is my end-of-January check-in to see how you’re doing. Winters are the hardest for most. Between the lull after all the holiday bustle and the harsh winter months, we can fall into a self-imposed isolation.
Know that I’m with you in spirit, urging you to do all the things that brighten your mood: reading, singing, dancing, painting, crafting, binging TV... I’m currently on season 3 of THE TRAITORS UK. I’ll admit, I’m addicted to this particular show.
I’ve also purchased a bundle of vampire stories and can’t wait to dive in. Sometimes I feel the MEH too, and reading something new can help. I haven’t had time to read as much as I hoped to in recent years, but I’m building in more time for myself moving forward. Fingers crossed these books are as good as I hope. I’ll be sure to let you know as soon as a few are under my belt.
Also, if it helps you escape, I’ve got a few deals running right now. If you’re interested, keep reading.
There’s also a sneak peek at my upcoming story, LUCIFER, currently available for preorder through my online shop.
Peace & Peppermint Hugs,
T.M.
All customers
For Online Store
20% off 71 products
Minimum purchase of 2 items
One use per customer
Can’t combine with other discounts
Doesn’t apply to preorders
Active from today until Feb 1
Click: https://tmcromer.shop/discount/JAN20OFF
Or use code JAN20OFF at checkout:
LUCIFER SNEAK PEEK
Heavy fog rolled in, making the abandoned street eerier than it already was. The weather change had happened right around the time Nadia began searching for the address she hastily typed into her phone’s notes. Silence in this particular area seemed wrong somehow.
Why the hell was an ordinarily bustling city dead before eight p.m.?
It didn’t make sense.
A cool wind kicked up, rattling trash cans clustered on the sidewalk’s edge. The rancid odor hit her nose and had the audacity to linger.
From behind, a soft swish of rubber soles hitting pavement drifted to her, and Nadia shuddered. The chill in her bones had nothing to do with the weather and everything to do with the echoing footfalls behind her. Her instincts were screaming at her to do something. Anything.
“This is every horror film come to life,” she mumbled.
She slipped a hand inside her bag and fumbled for one of three dumbass deterrents. Her shaking fingers closed around the can of pepper spray. Not the taser—where the hell was the taser?—but it would have to be good enough.
A dull gray mist deepened the shadows along the sidewalk, forcing her to squint at building numbers as she hurried past. Whoever had trailed her for the last three blocks had her nerves frayed. She considered ducking into an alley, but unfamiliar territory and blind trust in a map app didn’t exactly scream survival savvy.
Nadia picked up the pace.
And with a sickening dread, she registered that the footsteps had sped up, matching hers.
If she didn’t find this damn coffee shop soon, she was going to faint from her building anxiety. At this point, any lit storefront would do. Preferably one packed with witnesses.
Should she turn and confront whoever was behind her?
Christ, no!
She wasn’t that brave. Her framed portrait hung in a position of honor in the Chicken Shit Hall of Fame.
With an exhaled shaky breath, she made her decision.
Screw it.
It was time to run or risk becoming a cautionary tale in a Dateline episode. If she didn’t trip over air—her standard party trick—she probably stood a 1:100 chance of getting away.
The boarded-up, puke-green exterior of the next building sent her heart plummeting straight to her big toe. Not a single pane of intact glass. Nothing reflective to sneak a peek and check her stalker’s distance.
There was no doubt about it. She was hopelessly lost.
With no options left, she bolted. Arms and legs pumped in time to her hammer heart. Her pulse thundered in her ears and made her deaf to all else around her, so she risked a quick glance over her shoulder.
Empty sidewalk.
Had they turned back, or circled around to intercept her?
Though she hated to, she ran faster.
A massive figure appeared out of the shadows.
One second, her sensible shoes were pounding the pavement, and the next, she’d plowed into a towering brick wall, promptly landing on her back.
The wind rushed out of her lungs in a squeaky, undignified oof. Her arms flailed outward, and her little metal canister clanked as it rolled away with her last hope of defending herself.
Right along with whatever dignity she possessed.
She was going to die. Right here on the disgusting sidewalk, hair coated with who-knew-what and her life’s potential unfulfilled.
Fucking fabulous.
A feline yowled, followed by the crash of a trash can off to her right.
Seconds ticked by with no fangs, stabbing, or ungodly screams, namely her own. And when her attack no longer seemed imminent, she risked a peek. First one eye, then the other.
The man looming above her had his brows raised in mild amusement.
What the hell? How was he still standing? At five-foot-nine, she wasn’t exactly delicate. Didn’t some law of physics state that an object in motion stayed in motion unless interrupted by an immovable object? Apparently, this guy was Newton’s nightmare.
“Are you all right?” he asked in a deep, raspy, sex-on-black-satin-sheets voice.
A sudden tingling started in her toes and spread upward in a wave of glorious betrayal. It felt a lot like the beginning of an orgasm, and Nadia waited a few heartbeats to see how it ended.
The stranger cleared his throat and compressed his lips.
“Miss?”
She scrambled upright, dusting off her slacks and trying not to think about what might be sticking to her hair.
God, don’t let it be gum!
Suppressing a shudder, she sighed.
“Yeah, I’m good.” She shot a glance behind her. “Or I would be, if I wasn’t lost.”
“Lost?”
She gasped at her stupidity, barely stopping a face palm. Idiot! Why not wear a neon sign that said, “Take advantage of me, I’m new here?”
“Perhaps I may assist you,” he offered.
His voice sent another shiver through her that had nothing to do with fear. Jesus, her hormones were drunk.
“Assistance would’ve been great twenty seconds ago,” she muttered.
He hadn’t even offered a hand to help her up. However, given that she’d run into him, she’d let bygones be bygones if he could provide her with directions to the damned coffee shop.
Headlights from a passing car swept over him.
She sucked in a breath. Sweet mother of abs. He was stunning!
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