Sunday Snippet: Lucky Seven

What a week. I spent a lot of time texting family and friends in Texas to make sure they were making it through their worst deep freeze ever. Even my brother, who lived in Ohio for most of his life, had a tough time. He's in the Dallas area and, so far, has had two pipes burst. Here's hoping that's the worst of the damage.

Television ended up being pretty light this week. I caught another episode of No Offence, which I'm enjoying a lot.

Also finished up the final episode of Silent Witness for season eight. I'll be moving on to season nine this week.

I've heard some good things about Riverdale, so I should probably finish up what I have to watch and get started on the new season.

Weirdly, the sages have been feeding me a ton of new story ideas, which I love, but I also have a massive amount of WIPs that need to be finished. I need to have a sit-down chat with those pesky imps.

Tonight's post is from Lucky Seven, a novella where the characters turn a one-night stand into something more.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Daisy and Shae work for the same company and they end up overindulging at a corporate casino night, waking up next to each other the following morning. What starts as an awkward one-night stand turns into something neither expects or is really looking for.

And a snippety peek…

Shae stood outside Daisy's townhouse questioning his sanity. "What the hell am I doing here?" Aside from holding two bags of Asian cuisine.

A dim memory from their college days planted the idea to stop by his favorite shop and get a variety of dishes. Maybe that small amount of knowledge, the whole sort of knowing her prior to working with her, had him intrigued. He couldn't figure out why else he couldn't seem to stop thinking about her.

He used his elbow to push the doorbell and startled in surprise when she immediately opened the door.

She reached out dragged him inside, casting a quick glance back and forth before shutting the neighborhood out and turning to face him. "Thought you might stand out there all night." She took the bags and motioned for him to follow her.

He trailed behind her, taking in the quirky décor. A mix of modern industrial with a few rustic touches and pops of color—what his mom would dub eclectic style. Comfort came to mind when she led him into her living room and set the takeout on a low-slung table.

She settled onto a large floor pillow and swept her arm over its match, indicating he should take a seat. He did, a little off-kilter but determined to mind his manners.

Which meant keeping his hands to himself.

Once he got situated, she met his gaze. "What did you bring?"

He opened the bags. "The variety sampler from Cheng's." He started taking out the boxes and popping them open.

She sucked in a breath then tilted her head to one side. "Did you know Cheng's is my favorite?" Taking the napkins and chopsticks out, she set them in the middle of the table.

Shae shrugged. "Honestly, no. But I had a vague recollection of being in the dorm common room and you oohing and ahhing over something from that Asian fusion place on campus." His lips twitched because Daisy got super-excited about stuff back then and didn't curb her enthusiasm.

Her eyes went wide. "I can't believe you even noticed." She grinned. "But I'm glad you did." She picked up a box and divided it between two plates.

He got a kick of satisfaction for choosing wisely then wanted to kick himself. There's nothing great or amazing about having a memory. Then again, why did it matter. She asked him to bring dinner so he brought it. His reason for being there had nothing to do with food.

But, he actually enjoyed reminiscing about their alma mater and some of the things they had in common, even if they experienced them at different times. They'd had the same professors for two of their classes and both had been amazing. The one class they had together their junior year had the worst professor on campus.

And … as usual, she didn't waste time diving into the topic at hand once they had their meals more or less finished.

Twirling some lo mein onto the chopsticks, she started the ball rolling. "So … this"—she motioned between them—"whatever it is between us? I'm done fighting it." She slurped the food from the utensils.

His heartbeat kicked up a notch. "As in what? You want a relationship?" He'd considered the idea and found it didn't freak him out as much as he'd thought.

She made a garbled choking sound. "What? No. No, no, no." She shook her head. "That's a horrible idea."

Mildly insulted, he pushed for clarity. "Then what, exactly, do you see happening here?" How did they not fight the attraction without being a couple?

She set the chopsticks down and met his gaze. "Sex, hooking up, whatever you want to call it. But that's it." She ticked off a list. "No dates, no strings, no public displays, and absolutely no discussing this with others or at the office." Her gaze narrowed. "Deal?"

He blinked. "Um, I think I've got it all straight." A perverse need to push at her boundaries hit him. "Do we talk at all when we're not, you know, fucking like rabbits?" His tone sounded pissier than he meant it to, but, geez.

She grinned and gave him a nod. "Sure. Maybe even stream a movie or binge-watch some television while we're recharging so to speak."

Something bitter churned in his gut but the image of her writhing beneath him wouldn't leave his brain. His head wanted to renegotiate but his dick wanted to snap up the offer.

He thrust his palm forward. "Deal."

Looked like his dick decided to do the talking tonight.

I love Shae knowing on an instinctual level that Daisy's deal won't be as easy as she thinks. Daisy's trying hard not to get in too deep, but Shae's already there.

That's it for this week. Happy reading!

Skylin