Things I Learned~ Holiday Weekend Edition

This past weekend Americans celebrated Independence Day in the way Americans celebrate things. A three day weekend with barbecues and fireworks.

This was actually the first 4th of July I had off in a long time, sure it was due to a broken ankle, but it was still nice to be able to enjoy the holiday.

I did learn some things this weekend. They don't have anything to do with Independence Day (or barbecues for that matter). I figured I would share what I learned.

1. No amount of liquor will make Hot Tub Time Machine 2 a good movie. 

I know this seems like a dumb statement. But I really, really liked the first one. And I don't mind sequels that are subpar—hence the booze, but it didn't even have a plot. It was awful.

2. The amount of liquor trying to make Hot Tub Time Machine 2 a good movie will give you a massive hangover.

I'm guessing not just me, it can happen to you too, be forewarned! I should have known, right? Chances are I will never learn. I turn 33 this month and pounding margaritas still seems like a good idea every so often. The hangover is never worth it, the bounce back period is getting longer. Damn you thirties, damn you!

3. Simple is better.

Our 4th of July celebration consisted of us, two friends and their son. We had hamburgers, hot dogs, and pasta salad. It was the best day I have had in a long time. We didn't even go out to see fireworks (they shoot them off all summer here, we will catch them at a later date).

4. The term 'big boned' might be a real thing.

You know when people are trying to be nice and they call someone big boned instead of fat? I'm starting to think that's a real thing. Not that some people actually have bigger bones, but I do think sometimes you just have a body type and no matter how much you exercise or diet you aren't really going to change. I've lost a ton of muscle mass in my leg after seven weeks of not using it. My right leg looks like a skinny chicken leg next to my left leg. But my knee is still the same size. Leading me to believe if I ever did go on some crazy crash diet I would look like a knobby-kneed freak. I do not have a skinny frame. I need the fat and muscle to look proportionate.

5. One of the world's most publicly out soccer team just won the World Cup?

It's a strange headline, right? I was very into the World Cup this year. And I was over the moon excited when the US team came out on top! Then this article from Outsports from May surfaced on my facebook feed. And I thought that it was pretty cool. The last time the US Women's Soccer team won the World Cup was in 1999. I was going into my senior year of high school. Nobody was out then, it wasn't widely accepted to be gay let alone broadcast it. Then I read the article and was surprised to find the US Team is considered one of the most openly gay because they have a lesbian head coach, and three lesbian players. It doesn't seem like very many, right? But I do think the fact that there is more publicity celebrating this fact than condemning it is a step in the right direction. And maybe one day when I am watching World Cup games with my kids this won't even be a headline. It will just be what it is without anyone talking about anyone's sexuality.  

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Saturday Spankings~ "Your Punishment Ends When I Decide."

Happy 4th of July everyone! Even if it isn't a holiday for you, it's still a Saturday in the summer, so have a happy one :)

If you're squeezing some reading into your weekend, why not a sci fi spanking romance with a stern alpha warrior? I am still sharing snippets from His Rebellious Queen. This part picks up right where I left off last week. Lyra started an argument with her husband, Astor, in front of his cousin and her sister. She's been pushing his buttons for days, but he's finally just reacted.

You're entering mid spanking, if you want the lead in check out last week, and the week before.

He ignored her protests and began to punish her properly, watching as her creamy skin turned pink under his hand. The sound echoed off of the walls of the empty room and he had no doubt anyone in the vicinity would know what was going on.

He continued painting her backside a deeper shade of pink with the steady slapping of his hand against her bare flesh. Her whimpers and gasps quickly turned into pleading. She apologized and gave him promises. When the dark pink started to take on a redder hue, she began fighting him in earnest, turning her hips and trying push off of his lap.

He paused and ran his hand over her heated orbs, causing her to stiffen. “Your punishment ends when I decide, and not a moment before.”

Lyra didn't expect her arranged marriage to be easy. But she also didn't think it was going to be so hard. Moving to a distant planet to become queen was one thing. Learning to take orders from her Alpha, warrior husband was quite another.

Astor knew from the moment he was appointed king there would be no other woman for him. Fulfilling a promise from his past to protect and keep her safe, he claims Lyra as his wife and queen. When she routinely skirts the rules and defies his orders, he realizes he will need to take his feisty wife in hand in the way the Cassians have done for centuries.

But when a plot for revolution follows the new queen and the secrets they're both keeping become exposed, will Astor be able to convince his rebellious queen that they are on the same side or will Lyra's trust come too little too late?

His Rebellious Queen is a sci fi romance about love, trust, and starting over.

Buy Links:

Amazon

Amazon UK

Nook

Smashwords

iBooks
All Romance

Make sure you check out all the other Saturday Spankers!

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Taken and Tamed by Kallista Dane

I have Kallista Dane over today sharing a snippet of her new release Taken and Tamed! In this piece Cass is used to interviewing the baddest of the bad, but Zander still tries his best to get under her skin.

Classic moves straight from the good cop-bad cop book, but with a little twist.   That seemingly offhand remark laden with sexual innuendo, delivered with a very feminine smile.  Designed to create a personal connection - with his cock.  The fuck-me shoes.  The no nonsense blazer pretending to hide a set of boobs that would have done a Hooters waitress proud.  After being locked up for a long time, the average sex-starved psycho would buy into the whole package, letting his imagination run free.
His smile deepened.  He could play too.
“Why would you need a chaperone?”  His voice dropped, took on a rough note.  “Does your Daddy think you’re a naughty girl who puts out on the first date?”
She laughed.  “Daddy has no idea how naughty I am.”
This one didn’t rattle easily.  His opinion of her went up a notch.  When the subject first came up a few weeks ago, he thought the whole idea of sitting through an interview was stupid.  But what the hell.  He had nothing better to do right now.  If the lady wanted to indulge in her version of oral sex, he’d oblige.
“Naughty girls get punished.”  He saw her eyes widen a little at that and knew he’d hit a hot button.  She glanced at the Marshal sitting off to the side before replying.
“You like to punish?  Is that how you got into your…line of work?”  Her tone may have been playful, but Zander recognized she was all business underneath.  Already trying to peel away the edges of the mask of sanity worn by every psychopath.

“What I do isn’t always work, Ms. Newcombe.  In fact, sometimes it can be fun.  Really naughty girls like it when I punish them.”  

As an author of true-crime novels, Cass Newcombe has visited supermax prisons, interviewed hit men, and explored the minds of serial killers. But none of that could have prepared her for Zander Coleman. Within moments of meeting Cass, the devastatingly handsome former mob enforcer has broken through her professional persona in a way few men ever have before, leaving her heart racing and her mind filled with images of her naked, bound, and at his mercy.

To her shock, Cass’s interview with Zander has barely ended when she suddenly becomes an unwilling participant in a prison break. After using her as a hostage to make his getaway, Zander heads for a secluded cabin deep in the Blue Ridge Mountains with Cass along for the ride. Despite his promise to release her once the search for him has died down, Cass is determined to make a run for it sooner rather than later.

But Zander is not a man to be outwitted easily, and after a failed attempt at escape she ends up thrown over his shoulder and dragged unceremoniously back to the cabin. Stripped bare and held over his lap for a long, hard spanking which leaves her sobbing and promising obedience, Cass has never felt so humiliated in her life. Yet when the punishment ends at last and Zander tosses her on a bed and takes her long and hard, Cass finds herself not only submitting willingly but actually yearning for more.

Though Zander knows it’s only a matter of time before they’re tracked down, he cannot deny that he is beginning to feel more than just a powerful lust for his sexy captive. But he has a secret he doesn’t dare share with Cass… one that could easily cost them both their lives.


Publisher’s Note: Taken and Tamed is an erotic romance novel that includes spankings, sexual scenes, anal play, elements of BDSM, and more. If such material offends you, please don’t buy this book.

Buy Links:

Amazon
Barnes & Noble

Kallista’s Bio
        Like Scheherezade of the ancient fable, I cannot sing or dance or paint.  I have but one talent.  I am a weaver of words.  I love to tell stories of strong women and the even stronger men who suddenly show up in their lives when they expect it least and need it most. 
        As a little girl I was afraid to take risks.  But when I grew up, I vowed never to let the thrills in life pass me by because of fear.  Since then, I’ve walked on the Great Wall of China, scuba dived in underwater caves, and skied a black diamond run in Vail. But the greatest risk I’ve taken is sharing my naughtiest secret fantasies in the books I write.
I’m happily married to my very own erotic Knight, the man who makes all my fantasies come true - and some I never even dreamed of.

Blog

Facebook

Amazon Author Page

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"Did That Sting Your Pretty Little Ass?"~ Extended Preview

I'm easing off the marathon of posting every single day and gave myself a day off yesterday. But today I am back and very excited to share an excerpt from a brand new author with a brand new book! Alexis Alvarez is here sharing an extended excerpt from her new book Return. I thought about cutting it down, but the whole thing is yum-worthy, so here you go!


Finally the door opened and there he was, standing in front of her, as gorgeous as ever. When he saw her, he smiled.
“I like you here in my bedroom,” Damián told her in a low voice, his eyes glittering in the lamp light. “Even though, once again, you didn’t follow directions.” He wrinkled his brow. “You showered?” He glanced toward the bathroom door. A moist humidity wafted out, carrying the smell of masculine shower gel and shampoo. 
“You might not have enjoyed the ten pounds of dirty sweat I had on, Sherlock,” said Ava, standing up and stretching her arms high, allowing the robe to skim the top of her thighs. She let the backs of her wrists touch and posed her fingers before drifting her arms downward.
Damián sucked in his breath, smiled and shook his head. “Dirty is fine, Ava—I just want you here, ready to fuck. But since you showered, I’ll match. Give me five minutes.” He strode past her, taking off his shirt. Ava peeked up through her lashes and sucked in her breath at his muscled chest. He looked back at her. “Ava?”
“Yes?”
“I distinctly told you to be kneeling. It’s almost like you’re asking for punishment.” His voice rolled over her like a caress, and he gestured to his belt. “I’m more than happy to oblige.”
Ava flushed, didn’t answer. 
“When I finish my shower? The first thing I want to see is you, on your knees. Or I’ll double what I had planned.”
He winked, disappeared, and the sound of rushing rain roared from the showerhead. Ava ditched the robe and picked up a random book from his nightstand.
The shower seemed to go on for hours and then he came out on a drift of citrus sandalwood steam, unzipped jeans showing his abs and chest, rubbing his hair with a towel. 
Ava was ready to play.
He tossed the towel to the bed and stopped short when he saw her in the chair. Ava sat with her legs crossed, lips red and pouting, finger tracing a line down the page of her book. 
A muscle in his jaw clenched and he crossed his arms, and a dangerous smile played on his lips. “I see that you are completely unable to obey my instructions, querida,” he told her. 
Ava slid one leg down inch by inch, until both thighs were together, her toes pointed, touching the floor. She set aside her book, arched her back, and put her hands into her hair to shake out her curls. While she re-crossed her legs, she ran her hands down the sides of her chest, fingers lingering on her breasts, and shot him a smile. She licked her top lip, making the wet crimson lipstick gleam in the low light. 
“Your instructions…” she paused, rubbing circles over her nipples, skimming them with her fingertips, “were so dirty. You’ll have to work harder to convince me to wait in such a naughty pose.” She glanced at him, giving a slight moan as she ran her hands up and down her chest, then lowered them, teasing, toward the V of her thighs. She let her fingers dip between her legs.
Damián’s entire body was taut, his eyes locked onto her. Ava saw that he was hard through his jeans. She was on stage, performing for a private audience of one, and she loved the thrill of power.
She made a breathy sound and worked her fingers over her slick skin. “You took so long in the shower, Damián, that I had to amuse myself. And I’m very good at… amusing.” She wiggled to allow her hands better access, and pushed one finger inside her body. “I had to get myself wet. Now that makes me very disappointed.” She rubbed herself with growing enthusiasm. “Mmm… so nice and tight. Soaked, really. Sorry you had to miss it.”
Damián sucked in a breath, took a step forward, and arrested himself.
Ava continued in a haughty voice, “Since I was alone for so long, I had to move on to other activities. I’m very involved in this book. So perhaps you’ll just have to go amuse yourself.” She lifted one hand from her lap to her lips. While his dark eyes burned at her, she slowly opened her mouth, inserted her index finger, and sucked it. “And I taste divine,” she told him. “Why don’t you think about that while I reread my favorite chapter from,” she took a quick look at the book on the nightstand, “101 Strategies for Sole-Proprietorship Start-Ups.”
He made a growling noise in his throat and his whole body seemed to vibrate with pent-up energy. His eyes burned with an intensity that was almost feral, and she couldn’t stop a small, satisfied smile from stealing over her lips.
Ava picked up the book and opened to a random page, pretending to read. Her heart was beating so ferociously that she could hear her pulse in her ears. The words were tiny hieroglyphs dancing around, drunken ants swirling on the white page. 
Her whole body wanted to lean toward him; she felt a craving in her core, a crazed fascination that was increasing moment by moment as he stood there, tall, muscular, all dark planes and eyes, so very sexy. His dark gaze sent her stomach fluttering like papers in the wind. She kept her eyes on the illegible symbols, and in a flash, success. He was at her side with a few strong strides. Ava could smell his masculine heat as he stood, legs wide, arms again crossed, beside her.
His voice was low and stern. “Tell me, Ava, what exactly does it mean to you to be submissive?” 
Ava just shook her head and nodded at her book, keeping her eyes trained on the page. “Busy, Damián,” she said in a distracted voice, giving him a little dismissive wave with the fingers of her right hand.
Damián trailed one index finger up her shoulder and neck, the lightest touch, and Ava shuddered with desire as he removed the book from her hands and tossed it to the corner, where it landed with an unceremonious thunk.
“Not a reader, then?” she teased him, glancing up. “Any good librarian would be very mad at you for such blatant literary disrespect.”
“Look at me, Ava,” he said, brushing his index finger under her chin, the barest graze. His eyes were liquid heat.
Ava looked up at him, standing strong over her, and it occurred to her that she should possibly be frightened—after all, she was here, alone, in the bedroom of a man who wanted her at his mercy. But all she could feel was a burning passion to be skin-to-skin with him, body against body; any fears fled when he smiled.
“You seem to have such trouble obeying, my little naughty librarian,” Damián said conversationally, running his finger over her lower lip. He leaned in, lips so close she could feel his breath. “And I think I already made it clear that disobedience will require correction. Hmm?” His low voice was harsh and sexy. “I’m going to punish you extra now. Te voy a castigar.” Ava sucked in her breath hard, and Damián chuckled. “Te acuerdas? You remember?”
His confident voice in Spanish made her swoon, and she was ready to do whatever he asked, no matter what it was. Her lips parted and her eyes widened as she breathed in, watching him, waiting for his command. 
Ava made a small moaning noise, and Damián ran both hands lightly down her shoulders, rubbing. 
“But on the other hand, such a sexy surprise, finding you sitting here like this—maybe that should be rewarded.”
Ava nodded. “Now that idea I like, Damián.” Her voice came out low and hoarse. Every fiber of her body was thrumming with desire for his lips, his arms, his burning gaze. She could feel her breath coming faster, the excitement building. 
“Both, then,” he said decisively. “Punishment, then pleasure.”
Damián ran his fingers over her lips, and Ava’s eyes widened at his touch and at the dual promise; the suggestion alone was enough to make her wet.
She sucked his finger, making eye contact, running her tongue up and down his thumb. “Do you like that?” she asked him with a wide-eyed, faux-innocent gaze. “Does it feel… good?” She wanted to get him to her level of heat. 
“Ava, fuck.”
“Oh, I see. You do want to fuck? So the shower was your idea of foreplay? Poor baby. I think you need lessons. You seem to have lost your touch. Usually? When you engage in foreplay? You have to actually be in the room with the person you plan to fuck. Just for future reference. And you can look that up in the card catalogue if you forget.”
Damián moved fast, and Ava found herself pulled to her feet, up against his hard, lean body. “Oh, you’re giving lessons, now?” he whispered into her ear, biting at the lobe.
“Eep! Yes, since you need pointers, I’m going to have to—Ow!” Ava stiffened as Damián slapped her once on the ass. “That hurt.”
“Oh, did it?” Damián murmured in an interested voice against her neck. “Did that sting your pretty little ass?”
“You know it did,” Ava said in a mock-accusing voice, rubbing. 
Damián grabbed her hand. “Did I tell you to reach back?”
“Are you really going to give me double the spanking?” Ava asked, suddenly nervous. 
“Of course I am.” Damián rubbed her ass cheek where he’d slapped it. “In a little bit.” Now he leaned in and kissed her neck, bit it, and trailed his fingers over her breast. “It’s going to be hard and you’re going to take it all, unless I hear the word Red, yes?”
“Red again?” Ava queried. “What if I prefer another word?”
“Do you want a different word? Library, maybe? Bookmark? Ava’s going to get whipped with a nice riding crop?” He nipped some light kisses down the side of her neck, stopping at her shoulder and looking at her, dark eyes burning. 
Ava smiled. “Not right now. Red is fine. But if I want a new one, I’ll choose.”
“You can pick any word you want, Ava.” His voice was low. “Is there anything else here you want to pick tonight? Green. Remember green? It means you like what we’re doing and you want more.”
Ava put her hands against his bare chest. His heart was pounding. She leaned in and kissed the side of his neck, then his ear. “Green,” she whispered. 

Ava Grimaldi models the hero of her kinky erotic novel on her crush, sexy gym owner and artist Damián Perez, without asking his permission. When Damián finds out, he’s furious, and Ava is worried he will sue her. Damián demands a different payment entirely, though, and soon the two are involved in an intense BDSM relationship of their own. 


With each sexual encounter growing more passionate and personal, Ava falls hard for Damián, but is hurt when he continually insists they their relationship is only physical and temporary. He refuses to acknowledge their relationship in public, even though he spends time with his bitchy ex. Eventually Ava has enough of being second best and won’t settle for less than she deserves. Can they work through their misunderstandings and hurt to start again, this time with a basis of trust and love?

Buy Now on Amazon!

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A to Z Challenge~ Zombies and Figging

I made it to the end of the Spanking from A-Z blog challenge, hosted by Celeste Jones and Spanking Romance Reviews!

I feel like I need trumpets or something, some kind of fanfare. I survived and there were only a few tears!

Today Z is for Zombies, because how can I get a Z post to pass without talking about my zombie book??

Here is one of my favorite scenes from Cursed Waters that has a little figging in it too. It was the first figging scene I ever wrote and probably my favorite.

http://mo-ninja.deviantart.com/art/Zombie-Pin-Up-Girl-283688628

She watched Trevor go over to the bowl he had placed on the dresser. He lifted out a peeled piece of ginger. Roxy stopped what she was doing and rose from her position, turning to look at Trevor in shock.

“Bend back over,” he told her.
“Wait, what are you doing?” She already knew what he was doing, she had begged him to try figging with her the last time they were together, but it had never come about. She almost forgot about the ginger in the kitchen, she had bought it for a new recipe she was going to try, and never got around to making.

“Trust me,” he told her and brought his head down to kiss her hard on the mouth. “Now bend over, don't make me tell you again.”

She gave one last look to the carved piece of ginger root and folded herself back over the end of the bed with a renewed anticipation. He instructed her to put her hand back between her legs and to continue pleasuring herself. Roxy would have been embarrassed but she was still too stunned at the turn of events.

As she worked her fingers along her folds, building her need into a frenzy, Trevor parted her cheeks again. The ginger was cold and hard, nudging to gain entry. He cooed soothing words at her, telling her to relax. He finally pushed it in, pushing past the tightness and she shifted her hips back into him as her orgasm rocked her. She cried out in ecstasy, riding the waves as Trevor manipulated the ginger in her ass.

As she came down from her high Roxy panted into the bed.

“Now that we got that in, it's time to address your disrespect,” Trevor said as he pulled her to stand up.

Roxy glanced around him at the clock. “We should start getting ready, we don't have a lot of time,” she replied, she couldn't be late in saving the world from zombies after all.

Trevor gave her a hard look, “We have plenty of time, and we aren't finished,” he answered, a hint of annoyance in his voice. He gestured towards the floor where his jeans were crumpled up. “Get my belt and bring it here.”

Roxy could only look back at him, she was paralyzed to the spot. Trevor gave her a nudge, “Now, Roxy.”

You can find Cursed Waters on Amazon, it's free to read on KU!

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A to Z Challenge~ "You Will Live Alone No Longer."

We've made it all the way to Y in the Spanking from A-Z blog challenge, hosted by Celeste Jones and Spanking Romance Reviews.

I have Sue Lyndon over today. I have never read anything by Sue that I have not loved, she has a way with writing stories that makes you feel like you are right there. Even when they are about Yummy Aliens!

She has a new series out right now and has just released a box set, so you can scoop then all up at once!

Thanks for having me today, Casey! It’s always a pleasure to visit you!

Y is for Yummy Aliens

I’ve been writing “vanilla” sci-fi alien romance under the name Sue Mercury during the last few months, and I recently released a box set with all the stories in my Reestrian Mates series. My favorite part about writing hunky alien heroes is the clash of cultures that inevitably occurs as they try to win a human female’s affection. Here’s an excerpt from book 5 in the series, Savage Alien:

“I see the passion in your eyes, little Mia.”
“Little Mia? I’m five foot six, for your information. That’s average height for a woman where I come from. Not that you’d know that. I doubt you know much about humans, and you certainly know nothing about me.”
“You are angry.” Confusion swept through him. Females captured as mating gifts were usually highly sought after beauties from powerful clan families on Reestria. She should be honored to have been taken by Heega. “You are not supposed to be angry, little Mia. You are supposed to be overjoyed to have been chosen for the honor of mating with a Warrior Reestrian.”
She laughed, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes. She was right, he didn’t know much about humans. He stepped closer to her, only for her to back away. Her behavior confounded him.
“Overjoyed? Are you for real? I was kidnapped and told I’m to become some strange alien’s mate. What part of that scenario is supposed to leave me overjoyed?” Her hands curled into fists and she peered around him, her face lighting up as she stared out the small window, a perfect view of Rahatha’s streets below the landing site. “Let me walk off this ship right now. Please.”
“I can’t allow that. You belong to me now, Mia. If your family didn’t wish for you to be taken as a mate, they should have protected you.” He suspected her family didn’t care for her wellbeing, otherwise the males, her father and her brothers, would have kept her hidden. This thought saddened him.
“My family?” She made an exacerbated noise. “I live by myself. I’m a grown woman. I’m thirty years old and I’ve been living on my own for the last twelve years, thank you very much.”
“You will live alone no longer.” He closed the space between them and cupped her face. She flinched but didn’t pull away, and he stroked her cheeks with his thumbs, drawing circles on her soft, warm flesh.
“Please, Sekor. I am afraid of you.”
He dropped his hands to his sides and took three large steps back. The look of relief on her face to have him so far away perplexed him. Why did she fear him? He planned to protect her and love her.
“Does your heart belong to another, Mia?”
“N-no.”
“Then why haven’t you taken your robe off and offered yourself to me?”
She tied the robe tighter and crossed her arms, preventing him from staring at the mounds of her breasts. “Unbelievable,” she muttered. “Do you really expect me to strip naked and fall at your feet? Keep dreamin’, asshole, because that will never happen. I want to leave this ship. Now.”
Nothing fazed Sekor, ever. Not until Mia. He was normally confident, so confident he felt no fear in battle, and so confident he had never considered a female might reject him. When he imagined experiencing his mating urge, he had always assumed the female he selected would try her best to please him. The female standing before him wouldn’t even take her clothes off. This human girl affected him, her rejection wounding him and her bravery garnering his deep respect.
He decided to continue on. He needed to mate her soon, needed his fever to cool and to feel the spiritual ecstasy of the mating bond. Clearing his throat, he reached for his towel.
“Would you feel more comfortable if I stripped first?”

Reestrian Mates: The Complete Series blurb:

Not long after their final growth cycle completes, Reestrian males experience a powerful urge to mate. This collection features 5 steamy, romantic stories of human women being courted (as best an alien can!) and claimed by the hunky Reestrian males who find them irresistible. 

Featuring: 

Step Alien 

Sweet Alien 

Double Alien 

Boss Alien 

Savage Alien 


Note: The individual stories in this collection are available FREE for Kindle Unlimited subscribers.

Amazon US

Amazon UK

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A to Z Challenge~ X-Rays and Being seXy

Welcome back to the Spanking from A-Z blog challenge, hosted by Celeste Jones and Spanking Romance Reviews.

I made it all the way to X! I feel like celebrating every post that I get posted toward the end here. Here is my 28th and third to last post!

I tried to think of something that starts with X and an obvious choice would be X-rays. About six weeks ago I had some X-rays and confirmed that I had fractured two bones in my ankle (because go big or go home).

I am healing up nicely and am thankful it wasn't worse. And I have friends that keep joking that I bought myself a summer vacation. Which I guess would be true if I hadn't spent almost every single day of these last six weeks filling out forms, following up on forms, calling doctors, calling my human resources department, calling the disability company, and navigating through automated answering services (I do want to stab automated recordings repeatedly).

Most days I am so fed up and frustrated by lunchtime that I don't even want to talk to another soul—which makes life really interesting for Mr. McKay who works from home and is stuck waiting on me all day.

Then there is having sex, or even trying to be sexy. You know when you are jumping around on one foot and balancing on crutches in the summer, you get extra sweaty. You dress for comfort and that's it and wearing a bra is optional. As a result I feel very un-sexy.

I am a lingerie girl. I realized very quickly that while my husband does enjoy it, I mostly wear it for me. It makes me feel sexy. Do you know what wouldn't be sexy? Wearing lingerie with a cast, I'm guessing it would just look sad. I am not completely sure because I haven't tried it, but it would probably make me feel silly and not sexy.

Needless to say, my sex drive has taken a nose dive. I mean, things still happen—I'm not dead, but I've just been feeling a lot less desirable and a lot less in the mood. 

The other day Mr. McKay took me out with him when he had to run some errands. I sat in the car with the window cracked, getting some sun and fresh air. Then he drove us to sit by the water. I hopped out of the car and hobbled over to a bench where we sat and watched some boats go by. It's one of our favorite places.

I had on a t-shirt and some yoga pants. My hair was in a frizzy messy, makeshift bun. I hadn't even put contacts in, my glasses were smudged and I couldn't even remember if I had applied deodorant. I had spent most of my morning navigating through an automated answering system that kept telling me "I'm sorry, I do not understand your answer" even when I was shouting "REPRESENTATIVE" into the phone. I felt disheveled and emotionally frazzled.

Mr. McKay slung his arm around my shoulders and leaned in to kiss me. "Your boobs look massive today."

I glance down, yeah they did for some reason. My t-shirt was stretched across the chest and I idly wondered if perhaps I had packed on a few pounds since I had been laid up. This could have been a depressing thread of thought, but then he followed it up with, "You're so hot."

The romance writer in me wants to change his wording and say he called me beautiful. But he didn't. It actually made me want to laugh because it sounded really juvenile and caught me off guard. My husband thinks I'm hot, even when I'm feeling unattractive. He commented on he ride home that he was 'having the best day'. Which also made me smile because the day had consisted of stopping at three stores and taking his broken wife to sit on a bench. He just liked having me with him.

So I didn't feel sexy. But I did feel appreciated and loved. And we did have some sex. With an X and no Y. And that's okay.

I also wrote a short story this month for our newsletter, it's called A Naughty Patient and it may or may not be based on true events. It's about a girl who breaks her ankle and is having a hard time letting her man take care of her. I'll let you wonder which parts are real...

It's going out in the next day or so—sign up here if you haven't already!!