Sunday Snippet: Toying with Desire

I'm welcoming September with open arms. August ended up being a truly weird month. We'll see if September flows any smoother.

Decent week of television. I stuck with classic and mysteries. I finished up a 77 Sunset Strip binge watch last week and launched into Peter Gunn, logging about seven more episodes via Prime and now a marathon on regular cable.

I caught the Classic Who episodes of The Enemy of the World. Interesting segue… an episode of The Saint featured the actor who plays Two. It's just a weird little connection that made me smile.

I also watched another Midsomer Murders episode. Oddly, they're back to Causton CID again instead of Midsomer Constabulary. Obviously, it's not a huge deal, just one of those random things that popped out at me.

Yes, I'm strange.

Tonight's post is from Toying with Desire, a novella that got a start with a random comment about a sex toy party.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Carly Johnson, a savvy business owner who sells sex toys, isn't looking for love… her track record is terrible. But when she meets Zeke Moran, under less than stellar circumstances, sparks fly and Carly wants to take a chance… but first he has to get over his preconceived ideas about her career.

And a snippety peek…

Carly lifted a brow and held back a bark of laughter. He thought she'd talked Lola into cheating on Rich? How could he be so stupid? For someone who looked intelligent, he'd fast proved to be a huge disappointment.

Shaking her head a little, her eyes met his. "Excuse me. You think I did what?" If anything she'd kept Lola from seeking solace from another man.  

Zeke edged closer to her and lowered his voice. "You've got Lola throwing parties for…" He searched for words. "Mechanical devices, while Rich is in a desert hotbed and can't do anything about it. What gives you the right to interfere in their marriage?"

Did he honestly consider the purchase of sex toys as interference? What decade did he live in? And why did she have to be wickedly attracted to him? She didn't like "those" people. The type who passed judgment on others. Gads… she couldn't tolerate that kind of blindness.

"Don't forget the performance stimulants and dress-up outfits. If you're going to use euphemisms, you might as well include all the categories." Pushing against his chest, Carly darted around Zeke, giving herself some breathing room. "Oh… and let's not forget written and pictorial enhancements." She spun around to face him again. "What exactly is your problem? Aside from not being able to call a dildo a dildo?"

In full anger mode, Carly laid it out for Zeke. "Lola is a good friend of mine. She's missing Rich something fierce. His last two leaves have been canceled and a year is a damn long time to someone as young as they are. Do you realize Lola was this close"—Carly mashed her thumb and index finger together to emphasize the words—"to sleeping with some hot barista at Ground Central?"

Yeah, think about that, you fucking moron.

"And you accuse me of helping her cheat on Rich." Pissed off, Carly looked him right in the eye. "You're an ass."  

Finished with her tirade, Carly pivoted and started toward her car.

I had a lot of fun writing Carly's response to Zeke's asshattery. This story is coming along nicely and I hope to have it finished up soon.

That's it for this week. Happy reading!

Skylin