Sunday Snippet: Killing Time

Happy Father's Day to the dads out there, including fur dads and mentors. We've got beautiful weather after a very soggy week.

My work projects are bringing me so much joy right now. The books are so amazing! Also heard from one of my authors on two new stories he's got percolating right now. And I got a text message from one of my current authors that completely made my weekend. So … work is awesome right now.

Had a very good viewing week. I ended up doubling up on a couple of shows because the mood struck.

Ended up catching two episodes of the Brokenwood Mysteries. Both were pretty great. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting another one of Mike's ex-wives. And my heart kind of broke for him by the end of that episode. I'll probably finish out season nine this week.

Finished the complete run of available Classic Who episodes. Have to say in retrospect, it's weird how there have been seven doctors and only one master. That said, I'm actually kind of happy with how Seven's tenure ended. Not sure if I'll watch the movie with Eight or just skip over to New Who. It might be a few weeks before I start that.

Caught the second part of Silent Witness. This two-parter ended up being very twisty and I liked it. Looking forward to starting a new one this week.

Watched two episodes of Death in Paradise. I'm enjoying watching from the beginning in chronological order. It's nice to see how the original group came together.

Enjoyed the penultimate episode of Only Murders in the Building. What a cool twist or three. Can't wait to watch the finale this week.

Caught another episode of Classic Rugrats. This is my nostalgia show. I have so many great memories of watching this when my kiddos were little.

Watched an episode of Peak Practice. Joanna breaks my heart sometimes. And we're nearing the end of season nine when things don't go so well for her.

Continued my rewatch of Battlestar Galactica with a double-header of "Home Part I and II." These are two of my favorite episodes of season two. The fleet is brought back together, and the acting is stellar.

Enjoyed another episode of Madame Blanc Mysteries. Very interesting development at the end. I have a feeling I'll either love or hate the twist.

That's pretty much it for the life update this week. Tonight's post is from Killing Time, a fun sexy short with the characters having a sexy fun time during a stakeout.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Landry comes up with a great idea to kill time while on a stakeout with her hot coworker. Her biggest challenge? Getting Thryn to participate in a lively game of truth or strip.

And a snippety peek…

"We have movement out back." Thryn adjusted the angle of the tiny camera mounted on the garage.

Landry's head bobbed while she typed out the dialog. "Sounds like they're locking up for the night." Her fingers flew over the small keyboard she'd brought.

Between seven thirty and eight fifteen their targets had significant movement. Work-mode Landry had gone all business versus the bantery personal-mode Landry. She proved to be efficient, detail-oriented with her descriptions, and fast with transcribing conversations. She also shifted smoothly between one and the other. When they had five minutes of downtime, she quizzed him on his favorite noodle entrée.

Her chin lifted. "Back gate is locked tight and T1 is checking the garage while talking to himself." Her lips quirked.

Thryn followed the movement, recording the sequence of stops made by T1, aka the man of the house. Once he returned back inside, Thryn switched over to the interior feed, which required less work on his end. The small recording devices were motion-detectors and filmed anything that moved.

He took a moment to observe Landry while she typed. She made the standard black on black look sexy. Probably not appropriate to be thinking about her that way, but I'd be dead not to notice.

She relaxed her posture. "Both T1 and T2 are in the shower, separately." A wry grin lifted her lips.

His brows arched. "As opposed to together, right?" He swiveled toward her. "Seems wasteful." Their intelligence suggested the duo were intimately involved.

Landry smirked. "Speaking from experience?" Her head angled toward him.

He laughed. "Not recently, no." Movement in the drive caught his attention. "A car is pulling up. Looks like two occupants leaving the vehicle and heading for the front door."

Landry focused on the small monitor beside her. "They're discussing whether or not our couple is home." She typed their dialog into the document on her tablet screen.

A flurry of activity drew their attention for a couple of hours with the visiting couple sitting out on the patio until after midnight. Once they left, the targets finally appeared to be settled in for the night. The lights went out and the security system kicked on.

After another ten minutes, Landry removed her headset and set it aside. Their recording unit would kick on if the duo started talking again.

Thryn quirked an eyebrow. "Wanna order something to eat?" He pulled up the number of the noodle house.

Landry gave a nod and pointed to her favorite dish. Thryn ordered and said he'd pick it up. They had a fifteen-minute wait.

Landry chuckled. "Nothing like grabbing dinner after midnight." She leaned back in her chair.

Thryn shrugged. "Stakeouts are hell on the digestive system, especially if you're not careful." He'd worked with other operatives that made terrible food choices.

While they waited, they talked about other operations they'd been involved in. Both had some close calls and neither got too probing with their questions. Sometimes the less said the better.

Thryn stepped out to pick up their order and turned his experience with her over in his mind. "She's chatty without revealing a lot. And she doesn't overshare—unlike a few others I've pulled surveillance detail with."

When he returned, they ate in companionable silence then he grabbed his book. Landry pulled out a tablet and scrolled through her emails. He'd read the same page twice and finally gave in to the urge to observe her. She kind of fascinated him. She fit most of the impressions he'd had about her before arriving for their shared detail. Being somewhat up close and personal in the confined space, he'd been able to form new thoughts. She kept her straight hair pulled back in a serviceable ponytail, which showcased her angular cheekbones. Her nose is a little crooked from taking a flying elbow during an extraction. He rather liked what she probably considered an imperfection. The jagged line added character to otherwise flawless—in his eyes—features.

She glanced up and caught him staring. He held her gaze—feeling like she'd want him to own his perusal of her. A small, wry smile twisted her lips when she looked back down to her tablet.

Somehow … he'd passed some sort of test. Not sure why, the idea pleased him.

I'm having so much fun writing this one. Landry and Thryn make it very easy.

 

That's it for this week. Happy reading!

Skylin