Sunday Snippet: Just Dessert

A random observation to start things off. A new office chair totally makes a huge difference when it comes to comfort for writing or editing. Just saying. I got a new chair on Friday and I can already feel the difference. Nice!!

Busy week on the television front. Gotham had a great episode. I hope it gets renewed because I'm interested in where the characters will end up next.

The Flash moved the story forward and I'm looking forward to seeing the finale. Arrow did a repeat, but this week should be new. Legends of Tomorrow had a great new episode. I'm liking what they're doing with the character interaction.

Agents of SHIELD took another bizarre twist and I like it. My one quibble would be the somewhat constant pulling the rug out will get old if it happens all the time. I do get a little tired of turning good guys into bad guys and that's saying something because I love all the shades of gray between black and white.

Wynonna Earp continues to make me happy. And I got partially caught up on Banshee. Gotta say the first episode kind of blew my mind in a terrific way. Not at all what I expected. I'm about halfway through season two of X Company and I’m still enjoying everything about the show.

I didn't say anything about Orphan Black last week because my brain was still processing the premiere. But, wow, what a terrific episode! And the follow up kicked butt, too. Lovely to see Paul, if only briefly. I have so much love for this show and how they raise the stakes each season.

And that's it for television.

Tonight's post is from Just Dessert, book three of the Black Unicorn Comics Adventure series. Lucy and Brian are back and celebrating their anniversary.

Here's the mini-blurb:

On Brian and Lucy's anniversary, they receive a gift from his gran that has the couple reliving their first night together.

And a snippety peek…

Brain flashed back to the night he fell under Lucy's spell. Best night of his life, even if it didn't start out that way. He'd gone to dinner with Chelle, supposedly to make up for something he'd done to irritate her—a common occurrence, which should have been his first clue they weren't meant to be.

As usual, Chelle prattled on and on about Reg and Ana and how she and Brian should do more with the couple. Brian thought their weekly brunch on Sundays a nice routine, but Chelle never thought they spent enough time together with his best friend and his wife. Ana's busy schedule didn't leave a lot of room for get-togethers. The woman ran several charities and organized gala events, which raked in lots of donations.

Chelle rolled her eyes. "I don't see why they can't pick up the tab when we meet on Sundays. Ana's got more money than she'll spend in this lifetime." She nibbled on her shrimp cocktail.

Brian frowned. "Why should she foot the bill? We're the one who invited them, at your insistence. It's fair to split the check." Not like he and Chelle didn't make enough to cover the cost of their own meals.

Chelle snorted. "I'm just saying once we made it a weekly event, she could have offered. She's always going on about how she gets in to the best places. Why not treat us to some of her legendary sway and score us comped meals?" She drained her wine glass and gave Brian a pointed look.

He sighed and refilled the goblet. "Look, Chelle, you never complain when Ana brings in all the leftover swag they have from her numerous events. And you're always the first in line to score the best stuff." Often to the detriment of the other Black Unicorn employees.

Chelle laughed. "As if anyone else at that place knows what to do with most of the freebies Chelle drops off." She twirled her fork in the air. "I mean, seriously? Lucy doesn't know the first thing about fashion, not when she constantly shows up for work in cutoffs and a tank top. Does she even know how to dress professionally?" She scooped up some of her pasta and paused halfway to her mouth. "And don't even get me started on Soch. The yummy stuff Ana brings in is lost on anyone with that many tattoos." The fork disappeared between Chelle's lips.

Brian welcomed the reprieve. He'd had about enough of Chelle's constant barrage of insults toward their coworkers. Watching her watch everyone else in the restaurant with a calculated gleam in her eye turned his stomach. He finally saw Chelle for the social climber she intended to be.

How the hell did I get tangled up with her?

How, indeed, Brian. Gotta say I love revisiting this couple and their crazy group of friends.

That's it for this week. Happy reading!

Skylin

Sunday Snippet: Imagination

Finally, a fairly lovely week. The weather took a turn for the better with mild temperatures and some sun.

Gotta say The Magicians finale shocked and surprised me. Loved it! The premiere of The Hunters has me intrigued so I'll continue watching to see how things pan out. No episode of Bitten this week, unless I missed the US viewing night. I've seen the next to last episode and some big twisty-turns I didn't expect.

Agents of SHIELD had a great episode. I have to give Brett Dalton credit for being so good at playing truly creepy. He's got the chops to pull it off.

Legends of Tomorrow also had another great episode. And finally, looks like we'll have a new / another villain. Glad to see the potential there.

Loving Wynonna Earp. I'm all caught up and really excited about the potential for this series. Still need to watch the first three episodes of Banshee, which I'm hoping to do later tonight. Also started a new ITV drama, Marcella, and so far, really like it. One of my favorite actors is starring so I'll be glued no matter what. LOL

And finally, I'm getting back into X Company, an excellent Canadian drama about WWII. Loving the second season so far.

And that's it for television this week.

Tonight's post is from Imagination, a novella based on the prompt "using a blindfold". How can that not be fun to write?

Here's the mini-blurb:

Holland Dukes and Rand Allerdyce love to play games. When Holland decides Rand needs to stimulate his imagination, she uses a blindfold and makes him rely on his other senses. Rand gets payback, pulling the same scenario… in Holland's office.

And a snippety peek…

When the room went dark, Rand tensed, ready to fight off an attack.

He caught a whiff of gardenia and smiled. Relaxing, he waited to see what happened next.

Holland's voice purred closed to his ear. "Let the game begin…"

Rand turned toward the sound, carefully reaching out. "And what fun treat do you have planned tonight?" His fingers met silk, gliding lightly over the fabric.

Holland grasped his hand. "Imagination."

Rand's lips quirked. "I want to touch more than your hand." He twined their fingers together and tugged her forward.

Holland made a sound between a purr and a chuckle. "You will, Rand. Patience."

He could play the waiting game, especially if she rewarded him with a hot experience. "Okay, no rushing then." He loosened his grip on her fingers.

Holland leaned in close. "Exactly. Now… let's go with taste." Her mouth met his, her tongue slipping past his lips.

He smiled when she eased away. "Mmmm. Mint with a velvety undertone of chocolate." Licking his lips, he made a low groan. "Combined with the gardenia perfume, you're hitting all my favorites." A sigh escaped before he could stop it.

Holland made a tsking sound. "All right, Mr. Know-it-all. Listen…"

The scratchy sound of a zipper being lowered met his ears. "You're not planning to lead me around by my dick, are you?" He could almost picture the saucy smile on her face.

Holland laughed, a sexy rumble close to his ear. "No. Because that would involve touch and I'm still on listening and hearing." She stepped away. "Follow the sound now…" Her heels made a tick-click-clack on the parquet flooring of the foyer before becoming muted when she crossed to the slate tiles in the kitchen. "Where am I?"

Rand grinned. "You're in the kitchen, picking something up." The slide of glass on the granite counter gave her action away.

Holland made her way back into the entry. "Very good. You get a reward for your effort." Her fingers grazed his cheek. "Open wide now. We're back to taste again."

Rand complied and bit into a succulent strawberry covered in chocolate and whipped cream. Another favorite. Holland certainly pulled out all the stops tonight.

Her mouth covered his again, the taste of the ripe fruit on her lips. He let her control the embrace, groaning when she swept her tongue along his, getting a little lost in her allure. When she eased away to feed him another strawberry followed by one more, he dutifully finished off both. She could feed him all night if she wanted. The loss of sight only served to heighten everything else and he thoroughly enjoyed having her in the driver's seat.

The sound of her heels walking back into the kitchen kicked his anticipation up a notch. When she returned to his side, he reached out, craving contact with her. The gaping hole from his open zipper gave him a little breathing room, but the hard ridge of his cock wanted some attention.

When his hands found her hips, he whispered. "What's next?"

What's next, indeed? Use your imagination. LOL

That's it for this week. Happy reading!

Skylin

Sunday Snippet: The Hunt

Just in time for the weekend, snow showers in Ohio. LOL Considering I was still wearing shorts and flip-flops in October, I won't gripe anymore. J

Update on the gimpy kid… she'd made huge strides over the last week, going from her splint down to a boot and now easing into a brace. She's doing therapy and it's making a huge difference. She won't be ready to jump hurdles before the end of track season, but she's mobile and crutchless for the most part. *throws confetti*

Sad there isn't a new Walking Dead, but also a little relieved. I'll give next season a quick go then decide if I can deal with Negan or not.

The Magicians is almost to the season ender and I'm kind of excited to see what happens. Bitten is also two episodes away from its finale and I'm kind of sad there won't be any new episodes to look forward to.

No new The Flash, but Agents of SHIELD had a terrific showing. I rather like how the deep division seems to be setting up Captain America: Civil War.

Arrow… wow. I'm actually kind of shocked at who we lost. That said, never say die in a show based on a comic series. There's a solid chance we'll see the one we lost again.

Legends of Tomorrow put a good episode together. I really love the complicated mix and relationships portrayed. I will admit, I'm actually kind of tired of Savage constantly having the upper hand. I'd like to see a serious blow dealt to him and maybe an introduction of some other villains.

Still need to watch Banshee, but I have the eps ready to go. And the first episode of Wynonna Earp proved awesome! If the second ep is as good, I'm all-in. Kind of looking forward to The Hunters and hoping it holds my interest.

That's it for TV this week.

Tonight's post is from The Hunt, a sexy short based on the prompt "personal space violation." How could this one not be fun?

Here's the mini-blurb:

Megan and Guy, corporate retreat directors, stage a scavenger hunt for their client's team building exercise. After a major disagreement, the couple spends most of their time making up—and trying not to get caught in compromising positions.

And a snippety peek…

"If I have to do one more team-building exercise by creating a fort out of office furniture that culminated in a group sing-along of "Kumbaya", I'm going to kill someone. I think it's time we pulled our contract and went looking for a different place to hold our corporate retreats." Joe Homage folded his arms over his chest and heaved a frustrated breath.

Megan Dewes pursed her lips and pondered how to respond to the outburst. Mid-level groups like Aztec Holdings had a ton of turnover in their ranks and always looked for ways to help their employees work together toward the common goal of selling more equipment. Joe Homage, the VP of sales, attended every session—usually two per year—and this would make his tenth outing. No wonder he'd boarded the crazytown express.

Megan rose and made her way around the desk, propping a hip on the edge. "What can I do to liven things up for you, Joe?" She didn't want to lose Aztec's business, not when she and her partner were finally going to have time off.

Which they wouldn't get if Joe pulled the plug.

He shot her a look. "Really? You're going to use sales tactics on me?" He dropped his arms and turned away. "Because I can sell swampland in Florida."

Megan quirked a smile. "Okay, then. Why don't you tell me what you want and I'll see if we can make it happen. You've always had the option to change your package, Joe." Of course, he didn't do the booking, his exec assistant did.

Which meant he probably didn't have clue he could request something different.

Joe cocked his head to one side. "Well, uh, I don't know. But there's gotta be something besides the same old stuff all the time." He gave her a hopeful look.

Megan started to reply, but the door opened and her partner entered, carrying two cups of coffee from the kitchen carafe.

Guy Rillion never failed to take her breath away… or to not distract her when he walked into a room. But she had an account to save, so she only nodded and scrambled to come up with a new idea for Joe's group.

Reaching across the desk, she pulled the Aztec file toward her and flipped it open. "Let's just check and see what we can shuffle around here." Joe leaned in, his shoulder brushing hers.

Guy moved through the office, placing the coffee on the desk and settling into the chair. "Morning, Joe. What's up?" He met Megan's gaze for a brief second before turning his attention to their client.

Joe straightened. "Er, well, I was thinking about pulling the contract, but Megan asked for some ideas to change up the program a little. You know, shake things up so they're not so boring." He finished on a mumble.

Megan stuck her tongue in her cheek to keep from snorting with laughter. She didn't know whether to whip out a ruler or walk away.

Guy looked ready to do battle and Joe like he wanted to crawl away as quickly as possible. Nothing like a bona fide measuring contest to get the day started.

Having a great time with this one…

That's it for this week. Happy reading!

Skylin

Sunday Snippet: How to Tell Off the Boss

So, first week of April in Ohio and we had a wintry mix of sleet and snow yesterday. *shakes head* Come on, Mother Nature, cut us a break. LOL

On the television front… The Walking Dead set everything up for the finale tonight. I'm actually thinking I won't watch it live. It's been a rough week and my brain might just break if one of my faves doesn't make it out alive.

Missed Gotham on Monday and haven't caught up yet. This plays into the rough week angle. My teenage daughter had her first track meet Monday night and badly sprained her ankle during the warm-ups. The poor kid didn't even get to compete. The good news is she cleared all the hurdles. The bad news? She needs to work on the landings. LOL Needless to say, she's on crutches and miserable but gets to see the orthopedic guy tomorrow. Whew.

The Flash and Agents of SHIELD had great episodes. I liked seeing the fallout from previous episodes on both shows. Time travel always kicks my interest up a notch and The Flash usually pulls off nice twists when it happens. Henry Simmons is terrific at playing Mack and I'm glad he's on Agents of SHIELD.

Arrow added some new layers to relationships and it was cool to see a Flash villain show up in Star City. I kind of liked having Felicity save the day and Curtis was a total riot in the Arrow cave / bunker. I love his character so much.

Legends of Tomorrow surprised me with revealing how Mick survived his encounter with Snart. Very cool to see Sara back in Nanda Parbot and being introduced to Talia. I loved the little seeds / references to Nyssa, too.

I checked into The Magicians and love the kind of twisty things they're doing with the relationships there. Bitten also had a great episode, but I'm truly sad another pack member met his end. I'm very ready for Elena and company to kick ass and end the menacing presence in their lives.

I'll be catching up with Wynonna Earp and Banshee sometime today. Will probably be adding little bits to next week's post on both.

And that's it for television this week.

Tonight's post is from How to Tell Off the Boss, a novella built on the two word prompt "Bug off". I love a challenge and this one ended up not being as hard as I thought it would.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Orin Murdoch's boss, the newly installed VP of Sales, is driving him insane with new promotions that just don't work. Edda Case, an upstart marketing whiz, takes Orin in hand and teaches him how to tell off the boss with style.

And a snippety peek…

"Yes, Linna, I'll cross-check the dates of the campaign. No. No, I don't know what could have happened to result in a loss that big." Orin Murdoch heaved a sigh. "Yes. I'll have something put together for a meeting tomorrow." He hung up and shook his head. "Please, whatever rules the universe, let that woman get hit by a bus in the very near future."

A garbled snort drew his attention and he glanced up to find Edda Case, their marketing genius standing in his doorway. She had her messenger style bag hoisted over her shoulder and her polka-dot trench coat draped over her arm. At least someone got to leave work at a decent hour.

Edda smirked. "If you're talking about Linna, a bus would be too quick." She stepped into the office and made her way to stand in front of his desk. "Now, something along the lines of falling from the top of a skyscraper might be a good way for her to go." She dropped her bag on the floor and grinned.

Orin rolled his eyes. "Seriously, I don't understand what happened to the last campaign. And she's demanding answers." Meaning he'd be here most of the night.

Edda shrugged. "Look, I'm getting ready to meet some friends for either Korean or Thai food, not sure which yet." She grabbed her bag again. "Either way, it's comfort food for me. You should join us." She widened her eyes and nodded.

Orin sighed. "Yeah, sorry, can't." He pointed to the open files on his desk. "I've got the next launch to get in order and, of course, the research for why the last campaign didn't meet expectations." His stomach growled, but he ignored the pangs.

Edda shook her head then leaned forward a little. "If you ask me, we put forward a no-fail plan. There's something not quite right about the low sales." She straightened and met his gaze. "Think about it." Without waiting for a response, she turned and sailed out of his office.

Orin grabbed his pen and tapped it on the edge of the desk. Edda couldn't be thinking someone deliberately tanked the project, could she? Nah. Who in their right mind would pull a stunt like that?

If using possible sabotage as an excuse wouldn't make him look like an inept ass, he'd absolutely use the idea. Instead, he'd run the numbers forwards and backwards and figure out where the breakdown occurred. The grumble from his midsection sounded again and he got up, crossing over to the break room to grab some yoghurt and granola. A terrible dinner, but something to tide him over for an hour or two. He could always order something for delivery later.

Sitting back down, he pondered Edda's invitation. They worked well together but didn't associate outside of the office. Polar opposites would describe their personality types. Edda's brash, bold, and colorful style translated into her work. She dreamed up marketing and advertising that put products front and center and dared people not to see them. Orin didn't have a creative bone in his body, but he thought and worked with the big picture in mind. And numbers were his refuge. Forecasting, projecting, finalizing. He rarely missed the mark.

So what the hell happened to the jump bag project?

Something along the lines of falling from the top of a skyscraper might be a good way for her to go.

Edda's words played over in Orin's brain. He chuckled. Then laughed. He gave Edda props for creativity. And he regretted not taking her up on the offer to have dinner. Even with a group of her friends, he doubted the evening would be anything but fun and enjoyable. Edda might not be his usual type—not that he had a type anymore, considering he couldn't remember his last date—but she drew people to her with vivacious wit and keen intelligence.

Finishing off the yoghurt and granola, he tossed the items in the trash can and settled in to crunch some numbers.

Gotta say this one is very fun to dive into. Hoping to have a finished draft sometime this summer.

That's it for this week. Happy reading!

Skylin