Sunday Snippet: Surf's Up

Welcome June and another month where time will probably fly by too quickly. Doesn't help that I'm under the weather right now and feeling yucky. Hopefully whatever this is will pass quickly and I can get back to normal.

Had a solid work week. Finished up a cozy mystery proofread and made progress on a developmental edit. Also got a lot of writing done, which makes me happy because I've been hitting walls lately.

Fairly good viewing this week. Managed to go through my show list twice. I might start adding in a few more shows but I like this current group.

Finished up the fourth season of Suspects. I'll be starting the fifth and final season this week. Looks like a banger ending for this series.

Caught two episodes of Brokenwood Mysteries. Both were excellent. Very fun to see how Halloween is celebrated in New Zealand, especially since it's spring there instead of fall. Very cool.

Watched two episodes of Best in Paradise. I'm enjoying the intros by the actors and I'm enjoying their picks for favorite episodes.

Also enjoyed two episodes of Death in Paradise. I'd seen bits of both episodes but not the whole thing. Loved the one with the zoo. Also like how much Jack is becoming a part of the community.

Caught two episodes of Elementary. Interesting to see Gregson's personal life on a bit of a display. Also thoroughly enjoying Sherlock's interactions with Joan as he fully sinks into the partnership.

Watched two episodes of The Batman. Fun to have Harley Quinn introduced. And I very much enjoyed the New Year's Eve episode.

Also enjoyed two episodes of Classic Rugrats. I'd forgotten they started to work three vignettes in after the movie. Not sure if I really like that in hindsight.

That's pretty much it for the life update this week. Tonight's post is from Surf's Up, a novella that shows a couple finally crossing the line between coworkers to lovers.

Here's the miniblurb:

Marla Siff and Farley Osbourne protect a wealthy businessman as part of his entourage. People assume tech geek Farley is the muscle, but Marla is the combat trained protective detail. When a threat looms, they retreat to the private shores of their client's own island and Marla and Farley fight their attraction to keep their boss safe.

And a snippety peek…

Marla woke with one prevailing thought.

So, sex with Farley happened. Really, really good sex.

She rolled over to find Farley scrolling through security cam footage. "Anything interesting?" Aside from the change in their status.

Farley's lips turned down. "Like what?" His fingers scrinched the screen then swiped to the next frame of footage.

Marla huffed out a breath. "I don't know. An invasion of sea creatures? Or something similarly amazing." Kind of like the romp they had last night.

Farley side-eyed her. "Sea creature invasion?" He snorted. "Lane would try to lock them into a contract." He swiped to the next section of security screenings.

Farley wouldn't be far off base. Lane tried to get anyone—or anything—unusual he could use to further Pennylane's reach. His midas touch did a lot of convincing.

She propped her chin on her hand. "So … what's next?" She might as well poke the elephant in the room.

Farley didn't look up from the tablet. "Depends on Lane's schedule." He switched from exterior footage to interior.

Marla ignored the stab of disappointment. "I mean with us, you moron. How do we navigate this—working and sleeping together?" She'd never had the experience of sleeping with someone she worked so closely with.

Farley frowned. "Sex is sex. Work is work. It's not that hard." He opened a new window and typed something onto the screen.

Marla blinked. "Ouch. Okay. Put like that, I feel stupid." She sat up, ready to make a quick exit.

Farley's gaze shot to hers. "What? Why?" His eyes closed, and he shook his head. "Never mind. I realize how that sounded now." He set the tablet aside and faced her. "Let me try this again." He grabbed her free hand. "We work great together. That shouldn't change just because we're great in bed, too. And we'll always put Lane's safety first."

Marla chewed his words over. "And you don't see our feelings getting in the way of that?" She paused. "What if one of us is compromised?" They couldn't assume it would never happen.

Farley held her gaze. "You have to mean what if I'm compromised, because you're more than capable of getting out of a jam." He let go of her hand. "But you obviously don't think I am." A hard note entered his voice.

Now she got to rewind and realize how that question sounded. Not at all what she meant.

Marla reached out for him. "No, you're wrong. I thought maybe the different dynamic would be a problem. But it looks like it won't be." She eased back down and curled up close to him. "We are gonna need to communicate though. Misunderstandings are easy to create." But at least they made it through their first one.

Farley wrapped an arm around her. "Yeah, I see that now. Lots of stuff can get lost in the translation from work to sex." His lips brushed over her temple. "We should go for a beach walk and lay out some contingency plans."

Marla smiled. "We're definitely on the same page now."

This story is a lot of fun. Marla and Farley aren't a typical couple and I love writing the vibe between them.

 

That's it for this week. Happy reading!

Skylin