Sunday Snippet: Quit the Music

Happy Halloween Eve! Our small town always has its annual trick or treat several days before the actual holiday. On Thursday, it was brisk and chilly, but we had a whole host of costumed kiddos strolling the streets. So much fun!

On the television front, Gotham had another great episode. I'm happy with how things are going on that show. Here's hoping the consistency holds through the end of the season.

The Flash and Agents of SHIELD pulled out some surprises. The new director guy on AoS is actually kind of fun and hopefully not evil. LOL I'm not gonna hold my breath on that score.

Arrow keeps making me happy. Diggle is out of prison, but who knows what'll happen next with him. The new team suffered some shake-ups. We'll see how that all shakes out.

Legends of Tomorrow delivered again. I like the new guy. And Mick is fast becoming another favorite. Brutal honesty goes a long way with this group and he's definitely not afraid to embrace the truth. LOL

MacGyver's episode might have been the set up for introducing Murdoc. I guess we'll see if the ghost pops back up again.

The Walking Dead… I skipped the premiere and watched The Talking Dead instead. I honestly couldn't see the point in watching when I couldn't bear watching any of my favorites die. I'll be watching tonight's episode… I think. LOL

And that's it for television this week. Tonight's post is from Quit the Music, a novella that got a start with a prompt—dancing, kitchen, belt.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Prosper Bates, bartender and music lover, hears Drew Langerford play and his songs haunt her. Drawn to the gorgeous musician, she falls hard for him, but when his mentor shows up, the new relationship may end before it even gets started.

And a snippety peek…

Prosper Bates rocked her hips and swayed to the lively song on the radio. Elbow deep in dishwater, she scrubbed the pan from dinner. Singing along with the popular tune, she rinsed the pot and set it in the drainer.

Pulling the plug, she grabbed the hose and sprayed the sink. When the last of the suds swirled down the drain, she lifted the nozzle to her mouth and belted out the chorus.

The sting of the belt when it landed across the back of her thighs caught her by surprise. The burning sensation no longer phased Prosper, but the screech coming from her mother when she raised her arm for another strike spurred Prosper into action. She squeezed the button and doused her mom with a blast of cold water, giving Prosper time to avoid the bite of the blow.

Her mom growled and followed through with a swing. "Is this what you do when I'm not home?" The tip of the leather missed Prosper by a narrow margin. "Shake your ass and spew Satan's garbage?" Rage twisted Lanie Bates's face. "I told you. No dancing. No singing. And most of all"—she dropped the belt and charged over to the counter, yanking the radio off the surface and jerking the cord from the wall—"no fucking music!" Lanie heaved the device against the wall above Prosper's head where it shattered into pieces.

The room filled with silence, except for the snarling breaths coming from her mom. Prosper didn't point out that without the radio for the weather and traffic reports in the morning, her mother would be unhappy. Clearly, she'd reached a whole new level of irritation.

Prosper didn't move. She didn't speak. Her mom never wanted or expected a response. But she did believe in obedience and Prosper waited for her punishment for breaking cardinal rules.

Lanie stomped forward, stopping inches from Prosper's face. "You are your father's daughter. And you disgust me." She flung an arm outward and pointed toward the bedrooms. "Get out of my sight. If I could kick you out, I would. But the state says one of your parents has to be responsible for you and I’m it." She sneered, her words punctuated with the unspoken truth.

Because your dad isn't around.

Prosper fought the sharp stab anger that tempted her to pop off with a sarcastic comeback. She held her mother's gaze for a long moment, then turned and headed for her room. As far as punishments went, she got off lightly.

"I want the entire kitchen scrubbed from top to bottom tomorrow. Hope you didn't have plans for the weekend."

Okay, not so lightly.

And Prosper stopped making weekend plans six years ago, at the tender age of ten.

I like to dig down and see the defining moments for a character. This one definitely helped shape Prosper.

That's it for this week. Happy reading!

Skylin 

Sunday Snippet: Quid Pro Quo

What a great week in television for writing inspiration. I love to do my weekly roundup of viewing fare because it always gets my creative juices flowing. Sundays tend to be great writing days. LOL

Gotham might be having its best season yet. Truly, I love everything about it so far. I'm hoping the momentum continues and the show doesn't crash and go off the rails.

The Flash remains excellent. Loved seeing Jessie and Wells again. Also like the slow reveal of Caitlyn's issues. I'll leave it there for folks who aren't caught up yet.

Agents of SHIELD had a great episode. Everyone is finally back in the fold and it's time to move the story along.

Once again, Arrow proved to be awesome. Overall, it's still my favorite show. I love how they worked Quentin into the storyline and the way it went down. He makes so much sense for the new role he's taking on. Looking forward to the next episode to see how things go with Diggle.

Legends of Tomorrow also brought a great episode to my screen. I'm enjoying how hard the team is finding being an actual team. Very interested in seeing what happens with the new guy. Between Gideon and the two resident geniuses, I think he'll be alright.

MacGyver stayed fun. I have a fondness for train hijinks and the show delivered a terrific episode with a last minute save. Can't ask for more.

As usual, Van Helsing left me a little "meh". It's probably time to drop the updates since I'm not completely into the show. Sadly.

And that's it for television this week. I'll have some feelings about Murdoch Mysteries in the next post. YAY!

Tonight's post is from Quid Pro Quo, a sexy short where coworkers decide whether to act on their mutual attraction.

Here's the mini-blurb:

When Abel Reynolds gets injured and laid up for a couple of days, Lark Munroe decides to provide a little quid pro quo check in on him, except she's got way better ideas to pass the time than Abel ever did.

And a snippety peek…

Abel blinked and shook his head. Lark tended to breeze in, work up to a gale force whirlwind then exit on a hearty gust that sucked the energy from the room. And none of it in a bad way. He didn't know he needed or wanted human companionship until she walked through his front door.

Why did she really stop by? Her visit surprised him, mainly because he had no clue what her angle might be. Repaying a kindness would be something she'd do, but he'd dropped in on her because—as second in charge—he had a responsibility to make sure his people got what they needed.

Lark didn't owe him anything. Which she totally understands, you moron. Right, but she has no reason to stop by.

Unless… No, he shouldn't read anything into her visit. "Because then I'd have to decide what to do, if anything." Acting on a mutual attraction—if one existed—could be sticky.

He couldn't indulge the fantasy of being with his perfect woman. But, damn… he'd love to explore each and every possibility. Lark had the total package. Great looks. Super smarts. Terrific personality.

Visualizing how hot and steamy they could make a room never proved to be a problem. The raging hard-on it gave him did. Kind of like now, when she'd be returning in the near future. Adjusting the rigid length of his dick under his pants didn't help. And no way could he grab a pillow to cover the evidence. She'd know in a heartbeat.

Growling, he brought his good leg up and propped his foot on the couch cushion. "Could I be any more screwed?" A sexy image of Lark with her head thrown back while she rode him hard and fast flashed in his mind.

He grabbed the glass of cold tea and settled the glass over his cock. Probably wouldn't help much, but a cold shower couldn't happen until much later tonight.

Something tells me that cold shower might happen before Abel thinks it will.

That's it for this week. Happy reading!

Skylin

Sunday Snippet: Quick on the Draw

Whew. Crazy busy weekend with my daughter's first high school homecoming. Very glad to have a day to recover. LOL

In television this week, Gotham keeps pulling out the stops and taking twists I'm not expecting. I like that. Keep bringing the crazy, please.

Caught up on Agents of SHIELD. The season feels a little choppy so far, but I'll keep watching to see if the flow smooths out a little. I'll honestly say I'm slightly tired of the whole constantly being betrayed by someone on the inside scenarios. Here's hoping that isn't what's going on.

The Flash is doing a pretty decent job of explaining the reset of the timeline and how it's bled over into the other verses. A little tripped up over the gender swap on Arrow. I'll say nothing else in case folks are behind.

I kind of like Oliver having to train a new team on Arrow. Really not sure about the whole Felicity thing. Reserving judgment until more of the season plays out. Diggle's in dire straits again, which, eh, could get old fast.

Legends of Tomorrow rocked!! I rather miss Snart not being with the team and Rip is hopefully not completely lost. Mick is a total riot and I'm kind of liking how he's meshing with the team.

MacGyver had another good episode. It's a fun Friday night show and the cast works well together. A little disappointed with the Penny character, but it's her introduction so we'll see how things play out there.

Van Helsing still isn't quite doing anything for me. Maybe this is a show I need to binge watch to really sink into the storyline. We'll see what happens.

The Walking Dead returns next week. I'm still "meh" about the premiere. That could change in a week. LOL

And that's it for TV this week. Tonight's post is from Quick on the Draw, a sexy short that started with a scene prompt from one of my writing communities—hanging upside down, playground, water pistol.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Willa Hown opens her property to paintball enthusiasts on the weekends and enjoys the antics of grown adults finding their inner child. Kip Jarvison rarely takes time off but his brothers drag him to Willa's place for a weekend of fun and messy sport. Kip's not thrilled—until he meets Willa and she shows him how much fun paintball can really be.

And snippety peek…

Willa groaned and dug around for her phone. "Ugh, what?" The ringtone indicated her brother would be on the other end.

Nash made a tsking sound. "Are you still in bed? What's up with that, Wills?"

She glanced at the clock. "It's not even eight yet, you moron. Yes, I'm still in bed." And she planned to stay there until well after ten. "Wait, why are you calling, Nash? Tell me you're not in jail somewhere." Wouldn't be the first time she'd had to bail her brother out.

He laughed. "Of course I'm not in jail. Swore I wouldn't call you if I ever got arrested again, didn't I?"

Well, yes, he had. Not that she'd ever hold her breath waiting for him to remember things like promises and responsibility.

She flopped back down on her pillow. "Then why are you calling?" On a weekend, in the morning, when she wanted to sleep?

Nash let out a sheepish chuckle. "Well… I kind of booked a three-day package for my roommate and his brothers for this weekend. They should be arriving around ten."

Willa bolted upright. "Goddammit, Nash, you did what?" Willa wished she could reach through the phone and strangle her brother.

He got defensive. "Whoa, Wills. Calm down." He covered the phone and spoke to someone then came back on. "Yeah, I told Kell he should stop by our place and have some fun." He waited a beat. "Really didn't think you'd mind, sis. I mean, you like Kell and all. And his brothers are really cool." He kept rambling. "At least Kyle is. Only met the other one, Kip, once. But he seemed okay and—"

Willa cut her brother off. "Stop. What aren't you telling me?" Nash never blathered on unless he had a guilty conscience.

Nash took a moment to reply. "I told them they could stay gratis." He continued in a rush. "They'll bring their own food and gear and they can stay in one of the trailers. All you'll have to do is get them fitted out for their daily battles." Another muffled conversation took place in the background.

Willa didn't need a jolt of caffeine to add two plus two. "Nash, you have three seconds to tell me why you did that." Dammit, she had a lovely solo weekend planned.

Just her time. Movies, ice cream, mani / pedi. Pigging out on junk food. And her stupid brother ruined the whole solitary girl power fun.

Nash heaved a sigh. "Well, I sort of horned in on a sweet thing Kyle had his eye on. Least I can do is let him have a kick ass weekend while I spend some time with Luna." The sound of lips smacking together and giggle from his side of the line.

Willa flopped back down again. "Geez, Nash. Does the guy code mean nothing to you? If you'd pulled that shit with anyone else, you'd be toast right now." Actually, he had moved in on someone before.

Their cousin Artie still threatened to kick Nash's ass on a regular basis over the underhanded tactic.

Nash's voice went low and quiet. "Willa, you haven't seen Luna. She's totally worth bending the rules for."

Willa rolled her eyes. "Whatever, Nash. You can call Kell and tell him to come a different weekend. I have plans."

Her brother sputtered. "What? No, no way. I told you they're already on their way. What do you mean you have plans? You never go out, Wills."

His assured tone irritated her to no end. "Didn't say I was going out. I said I have plans." She sat up again and untangled her legs from the sheets.

Nash peppered her with questions. "Did you meet someone? Are they spending the weekend with you? When did this happen?"

Standing up, Willa stretched out the kinks from sleeping. "No. No. And it didn't. I don't have some hot guy waiting in the wings." She paused a moment. "And I wouldn't tell you if I did."

Nash made a disgusted sound. "Then, dammit, Willa, there shouldn't be a problem with Kell and his brothers coming to stay. They don't get to see each other often and this weekend means a lot to them."

Willa scoffed. "You said Kell and Kyle have dinner at least once a week. They see each other more than you and I do." She entered her bathroom and started the water to brush her teeth, putting the phone on speaker.

Nash explained. "Yeah, but the oldest brother, Kip, travels all the time. They talked him into taking a few days off to have a sibling bonding weekend." He whined. "You've gotta let them stay, Wills. Who knows when Kip will be around long enough to have a paintball massacre with his bros again?"

Willa frowned. "What does Kip do?" Nash drove her batshit on a good day, but they had each other's backs, spent holidays together, and ran the business in the summers.

Nash answered. "He's some global accounts manager for a coffee company. Hits Canada and Mexico regularly and apparently travels to Europe at least once a year." He covered the phone again and spoke briefly to the mysterious Luna. "Anyway, Kell managed to rope Kip into this weekend getaway and I don't want to let him down."

Right. "Because you're hooking up with the woman of his dreams." She shook her head and left the bathroom, heading for the kitchen. "And nowhere near here to play host. Thanks for that, Nash." She pushed the on button and started the coffee.

Nash grumbled. "Yeah, sorry about that, Willa. But I'll make it up to you this summer. You can take a whole week and hole up in some unnamed place for a mega movie marathon and junk food pig-out."

Willa's lips curved. "You can bet your ass I'll be holding you to that promise."

Willa may have to change her tune when she meets Kip. Why have a week of watching movies and chowing on junk food when a sandy beach with a hot guy might be on the table?

That's it for this week. Happy reading!

Skylin

Sunday Snippet: Quick Draw

October 9, 2016

Gotham continues to intrigue me. I'm a little lost when it comes to Leigh and what's going on with her, but I'm in for the ride. The double Bruce's are definitely interesting so here's hoping that story pays off in a good way.

Still behind on Agents of SHIELD. Gotta try and catch up before the new episode.

The Flash kicked butt. I'll be disappointed if the whole resetting of the timeline keeps happening though. That said, it seems like there are some solid repercussions, which I'm totally down with.

Arrow also rocked. I'm thrilled to have the Russian storyline for the flashbacks. According to the scuttlebutt, this is the last year for flashbacks so I plan to enjoy. Moving forward, I'll be interested to see how things play out. Maybe they'll do futurescapes or something.

In all honesty, Van Helsing isn't quite doing it for me. I'll give it the rest of the season to see if the storyline improves. I'd really like to fall for this show.

MacGyver is seriously not bad. I do love the callbacks to the original but also the updated vibe of the new. I'm interested in the whole father thing, because the impression is Mac's is still living. That should be a fun twist.

Not sure I'm looking forward to The Walking Dead's premiere. I may skip the opener and watch The Talking Dead instead. I've got the same feeling I had during season two, which I ended up skipping.

Supergirl and Legends of Tomorrow are up next. We've had football airing on our local CW channel so I might be playing catch up again.

And that's it for television this week. Tonight's post is from Quick Draw, a sexy short that started with a kernel of an idea about jumping to the wrong conclusions.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Utah Slace has a constant stream of male visitors coming and going from her apartment and Hoyt Lancelot, her neighbor, draws the quick conclusion he's moved in next to a prostitute. Utah decides he needs a lesson in why making snap judgments is not a good idea.

And a snippety peek…

Utah studied the canvas in front of her. The color saturation spoke of dark secrets waiting to be revealed. She hoped to help bring them to light.

Turning, she smiled. "Morse, this is amazing. What do you think? One more session on this then start on a new one?" She pulled the cord and slid the curtain across the wall, covering his work.

Morse rubbed at his shoulder. "I don't know, Utah. I still have some ideas. Could we work two more sessions?" He stretched his arm above his head.

Utah frowned. "Are you stiffening up?" She grasped his bicep and led him to the massage table in her corner nook.

He shrugged. "I am a little. But I don't want to paint on the easel. I really like working on the hanging tarp."

Utah nodded toward the array of hospital gowns she kept stocked in her hutch. "Do you want one?"

Morse shook his head and stripped off his paint-spattered t-shirt. He got up on the table and lay flat on his back. Utah lowered the lights and turned on some island-inspired music. Adding some oil to her palms, she began at his nape and worked her way to his shoulders, massaging deeply and kneading the knots from his muscles.

Morse eased over onto his stomach and Utah continued the deep tissue therapy, her fingers gliding over the scars dotting his upper torso.

She added a little more oil to her hands. "We'll want to work on your posture when you're painting. I have some exercises you can do before we start a long session. They'll keep you loose and flexible while you create your art." And the meditative quality might help him work through some of his trauma.

Morse chuckled. "You're going to turn me into some new age guru dude, aren't you?"

Her lips curved. "Yeah, I can see it now. You'll be wearing crystals and chanting in no time." She hit a tender spot and he flinched. "Sorry, Morse. Make sure you use some ice when you get home." Stepping away from the table, she turned the lighting up a little more, giving him time to put his shirt back on.

He slid down and moved his shoulders back and forth. "Actually feels better. That one area on my lower back still gives me twinges though."

And probably would for a good long while. Two bullets tearing through flesh and muscle created a lot of damage.

She nodded. "Let me show you those stretches I was talking about and see if that helps a little."

Morse watched then tried the maneuvers and agreed he'd work them into his regular workout each day. Utah hoped he'd remember. Sometimes his brain got things muddled up, part of the reason he came twice a week. If he forgot, she'd add a little extra time to his sessions and go over the stretching exercises with him before he started painting.

Being flexible and letting her clients work at their own pace and at times they were comfortable made her schedule insane, but she wouldn't have it any other way.

This one may end up becoming a longer work, but I'd really like to focus on the foot-in-mouth angle of a hot hookup that shows promise for more.

That's it for this week. Happy reading!

Skylin

Sunday Snippet: Pregnant Pause

Okay, Gotham, you have my attention. I'm now very interested in Bruce Wayne and what's going on with him. Also loved the whole Fish / Penguin interaction. Not sure how I feel about the reporter, Vanessa Vale, yet. I'm not really down with a major triangle but I might be jumping the gun. The whole Ivy thing is also in the I'm-not-sure-about-this corner. Looking forward to Monday!

Agents of SHIELD didn't have a bad premiere. I'm still a week behind. Ended up with a nasty cold / respiratory ick and missed the episode Tuesday.

Van Helsing is still kind of "meh". I'll see if the next few episodes get better and bring the various threads together.

MacGyver is still not too bad. I'll keep watching and see if ends up going too cheesy for my tastes.

Rewatch fare remained with Miss Fisher. I started a fandom bullet journal and hope to jot down my favorite moments from the series. I've been using it to help keep track of what I like and don't like about all my shows.

And that's it for television this week. Tonight's post is from Pregnant Pause, a novella that started with the prompt, "I'm pregnant" and took off from there. One of the primary themes is doing everything backwards. Fun!

Here's the mini-blurb:

Nora Dunne and Logan Rider are wildly attracted to each other and doing a stint in a remote location for a research project. When sexual tension gets in the way of the work, their decision to act on the magnetic pull leads to unexpected consequences.

And a snippety peek…

Logan popped his head into the lab. "Stir fry or breakfast for dinner?" His fingers drummed a rapid staccato beat on the jamb.

Nora closed her eyes. She couldn't take much more. Three days into their program and the guy would not get out of her head. Now he invaded her workspace. Gah!

She whirled around. "Would you stop with the constant questions?" Gathering her notes, she stomped across the room and flopped down on the couch.

Logan's eyes went wide. "Whoa." He entered the lab and braced his hands on his hips. "This is the first time I've said jack to you all day." His eyes darkened with anger. "You asked for space and I gave you plenty of room. Excuse the fuck out of me if I thought you'd like some input on dinner." He made a disgusted sound, turned, and started for the door.

Nora sighed. Crap. She could be a raving bitch sometimes. But Logan had stayed out of her way today. Not his fault her thoughts kept landing on him all the time.

Rising, she followed him out of the lab. "Logan. Hold up." She fell into step beside him. "Look, I'm sorry. Still trying get my feet under me and snapping at you isn't going to help." They entered the kitchen. "I'm down with doing breakfast for dinner. I've been told I make kick ass pancakes—"

Logan cupped her face in his hands and slanted his mouth over hers. Nora swallowed her startled gasp and responded to the kiss. His lips left a heated trail along her jawline and his thumbs tilted her chin, giving him access to her throat. Nora moaned, a shiver of desire sliding down her spine. God, so much better than she imagined.

Logan's heated embrace moved back up and she met him, her tongue flicking against his.

He groaned and finally released her. "Sorry. I'm sorry." He moved away, putting a healthy amount of space between them.

Nora dragged air into her lungs. "Sorry you kissed me or sorry you stopped?" She scrambled to figure out how to deal with the simmering want and need he'd unleashed.

Logan shot her a glance. "Right now? Both." He shoved his hands into his pockets. "You've been snarking and snapping since we got here. I've been thinking about nothing but you." He stopped speaking, staring at the floor.

Well… how interesting.

Nora crossed the space between them, waiting until he met her gaze. "The whole reason I've been off balance is because I can't get you out of my head." Her lips curved. "Which means we've got a bit of a problem here, Logan." Reaching out, she grabbed his hips. "And the big question is… what are we going to do about it?"

I'll give you one guess as to what they're going to do about their mutual attraction. LOL

That's it for this week. Happy reading!

Skylin