Sunday Snippet: Five Minutes

It's very sauna-like outside with muggy weather and lots of humidity. Makes me want a pool in a big way. Went down a big rabbit hole researching what's available that won't break the bank and discovered some genius ideas. It won't happen this summer, but I have a new goal for next summer!

Hit a wall on my great cleanout project. But I'm determined to get back on it this week. Even if I only get a little done each day it's something. I'm thinking I might make a chart and log increments of time spent. If I see the forward progress it helps.

Ended up having a super busy work week. Several projects came back at the same time and a new one started. It's been a plate-spinning couple of months with so many different things stacking up against each other. I love the variety and I think that helps keep me from losing my mind.

I did end up having a great viewing week. I did a full round of shows and got to include the two I tend to keep on the back burner when things are jammed.

Started with Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries. I'm almost through the first season and this is total comfort viewing.

Watched another episode of Art Detectives and I'm really enjoying this show. Shazia is a lot of fun and the mystery with Mick's dad is intriguing. Looking forward to more.

Caught an episode of Death in Paradise. Love to see Selwyn with his daughter. The mystery ended up being excellent and the resolution had a nice twist.

Enjoyed another episode of Poirot. I'm kind of fond of the episodes that don't have murders. This one was kind of madcap and that's always fun.

Watched the season four premiere of Elementary. Watson being ready to kick the shit out of the Holmes patriarch is awesome. I loved her interaction with one of the stooges. And the first glimpse of Holmes the Great? So incredible. Excellent choice of actor to play him. I can't wait to see what happens next.

Caught another episode of Batman Beyond. It's one I remembered, and I enjoyed it. Terry and Max are a great team.

Enjoyed another episode of Lower Decks and definitely plan to stick with this one. Even when I'm annoyed by some of the character bits, it's a fun watch.

Got to get the season ten finale of Peak Practice viewed. Interesting to have Kate back, especially since Will is kind of ready to move on. The vehicle accident played out with lots of tension and the two little girls with Tom ended up being better than I thought it would be.

Last but not least, I got to watch another episode of Reacher. This show, man. It's so good. And that ending. Wow. Reacher's big feet keep stepping in steaming piles. Just saying.

And that's pretty much it for the life update this week. Tonight's post is from Five Minutes, a novella where temptation might be too hard to resist.

Here's the miniblurb:

Remy Deeds never welshes on a bet, until she loses to Eli Rogers, who can't understand why she backs out. But a five-minute kiss, with tongue, isn't something she wants to risk, because giving up her last pack of coffee is so much easier than possibly losing her heart.

And a sneaky peek…

Remy shrugged. "I don't know. Intuition maybe." She put her shirt back on. "If you want total honesty? I'm already halfway gone for you, and I just had a feeling our chemistry would be fiery hot." Aw … why did she say that?

He picked up on her admission, but didn't jump on it.

Instead, he added a question. "So … what now?" His eyebrows arched.

Remy snorted. "I have no idea." How the hell should she answer?

Eli grunted. "Okay then. My truth time." He met her gaze. "I don't react the way I just did with you … ever." He ran a hand through his hair.

Remy had no idea what to say. "Um, sorry?" Lame.

Eli shook his head. "No, don't apologize. It's a great thing. The timing's just weird."

She quirked a brow. "Care to explain?"

He winced and sat down. "No, but I will." He turned toward her. "Remember how I was late for the briefing?"

She nodded.

Eli gave her a sheepish grin. "I overslept and scrambled out of bed, leaving my … well, not exactly girlfriend but a woman behind."

A sharp stab of disappointment hit her. "So, you're with someone." Her shoulders slumped. 

Eli shook his head. "No, that's the thing. She got pissed and we ended it, but I didn't feel regret or remorse. More like relief, because we didn't have—what did you call it? Chemistry?"

Remy rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I guess." Sounded lamer than she imagined.

Eli sighed. "I'm tired of going from one woman to the next and just … disconnecting. There's nothing that makes me want to stay. No … structure." He tsked. "No, that's not the word…"

Remy blurted, "No foundation."

Eli snapped his fingers. "Yeah. That's it. There's no solid ground under the sex. It's just sex." His chin bobbed up and down.

Remy tilted her head. "And you want what? More than a warm body on a cold night?" How surprising.

Eli nodded. "Yeah. But doing what we do makes it damned hard."

Her lips curved. "Too true."

Eli leaned forward. "So … how about we skip the coffee and the five minutes and try something else?"

Remy arched her brows. "Like what?" She almost feared his response.

Eli grasped her hand. "You and me. Someplace private like the caves to explore this chemistry thing." He squeezed her fingers. "Can you get Sheila to cover for you? Say from after lunch tomorrow through breakfast the next day?"

Remy tugged her hand away. "Look, Eli, I don't want to let my team down by setting a crappy example." And ruin her future opportunities.

Eli nodded. "I get that. And I respect it, but if we get the nasty weather we're supposed to, you won't have any projects to direct anyway."

He had a point. When poor conditions made being outside miserable or dangerous, they would usually do equipment repairs and inventory supplies. Not exactly anything the team members couldn't handle on their own.

Remy did a gut check. She wanted to see where things might go. And after talking to Eli about his change in perspective … taking a chance didn't seem as risky as it normally would. She would regret not taking a shot if she refused.

Decision made, she gave a slow nod. "Okay. If we get the rain, I'll ask Sheila to cover." Harry would no doubt take Eli's place.

Eli leaned in again. "Great." He caught her lips with his.

She responded, meeting his tongue. His fingers threaded through her hair, drawing her closer. Remy melted into the kiss, losing all thought except for the way his body fit against hers.

Eli broke the embrace on a groan. "Damn, I gotta get out of here or all bets are off." He pressed his forehead against hers. "I want you, Remy. So much." One more quick, hard kiss and he quickly left the room.

Remy sank down on the couch, her body on fire for Eli. Only one thing for her to do.

Pray for rain.

This scene ended up being fun to write. I love a little bit of tension and yearning.

 

That's it for this week. Happy reading!

Skylin

Sunday Snippet: Five Minutes

Final Sunday of August. I'm kind of looking forward to the fall season even if it's going to very different. With a global pandemic and an election coming up, I don't think it'll be the lovely season I always look forward to. That said, cooler temperatures will be welcome. Even though it hasn't been overly hot this summer, I really love the crisp air of fall.

Had a decent week of office reorganization and not a bad one for television viewing, considering I had no power for twenty-one hours thanks to a thunderstorm with wicked nasty lightning. A tree not far from our house got struck and it took out a couple of pole transformers. We were really lucky that we caught a break from the heat of the day before.

Not a bad week for television viewing but not great either. I caught an episode of Peak Practice and enjoyed it. I'm halfway through the second season.

Watched the third episode of Ms. Fisher's Modern Murder Mysteries and it's definitely my favorite of the four episodes. I love the sci-fi feel and the background with Bertie.

Caught the Classic Who run of Genesis of the Daleks arc. I've seen this group of episodes before and enjoyed them. It's especially fun because New Who brought in big tie-in to these episodes.

Also watched another episode of Danger Man. I'm on the last two available on Amazon, which makes me sad.

That's it for television this week. Tonight's post is from Five Minutes, a novella that works a teenage game into a point of conflict between the main characters.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Remy Deeds never welshes on a bet, until she loses to Eli Rogers, who can't understand why she backs out. But a five minute kiss, with tongue, isn't something she wants to risk, because giving up her last pack of coffee is so much easier than possibly losing her heart.

And a snippety peek…

"Remy, hold up!"

Remy paused outside the main cabin to wait on a friend.

Harry Whitmore jogged outside to catch up. "I didn't get a chance to congratulate you on the move up to team leader." His shoulder nudged hers. "Congrats, my friend."

Remy's lips curved. "Thanks. I'm excited." And nervous as hell.

Harry fell into step beside her. "You're gonna do fine. Everyone on your team knows you and they also know you're a first-time leader. They'll test your mettle but they'll also have your back." He stopped with her outside her designated team meeting place.

Remy ducked her head. "Yeah, I got a good group." She tilted her chin up. "You're playing referee. Any tips? I figure I've got the first responder stuff nailed. Not so sure about rappelling." She had at least one member with a fear of heights.

Harry rolled a shoulder. "Look, as long as you keep the mood light, your group will focus. They'll pull their weight when they need to." He stepped back when two members arrived. "See you up there." With a brief lift of his hand, he waved and walked away.

Remy appreciated the fact Harry didn't bring up Eli. Harry's inside knowledge of her past experience with Keith and her confession over beers one night about her piqued interest in Eli probably had Harry dying of curiosity. Thankfully, he'd at least wait until they were at the remote location before peppering her with questions.

Remy greeted her two teammates. "You two set?" They had the standard clothing of sturdy boots, lightweight layers, and rugged head-coverings on.

John Parsons nodded. "Yep. I'm good." He gave her a lopsided grin. "Looking forward to having you lead the team. We'll try not to let you down."

Remy smiled. "I know you guys won't. I've been blessed with the best mix of skillsets for a first-timer. We're going to have a great time." Well, she would have fun once the roller coaster settled down in her stomach.

Makenna Wilson laughed. "I'm already having fun. That briefing was crazypants. I mean Eli slid in two minutes late and his team will get docked for that." She wiggled her hips back and forth. "We're already at least two points ahead."

Remy shook her head. "Don't get cocky. Eli's a seasoned vet. He knows all the tricks and shortcuts." Her other two team members appeared, looking slightly disheveled.

Remy gave Sheila and Cody Sula a speculative once-over.

Sheila staked her claim. Good for her.

Cody tried to play things cool. "Sorry, we're late. We, uh …" His voice trailed off.

Sheila came to the rescue. "Took the scenic route. But we're good to go." She hastily tucked her shirt in and smoothed down her cargo pants.

Remy bit back a laugh. "All right, then. Let's decide which route we want to take up to the site." She laid the trail chart out and everyone bent over to get a good look.

A swell of excitement filled her. She couldn't wait to get started.

I'm enjoying this one. Remy is a quirky character that got burned and doesn't want a repeat experience, but she also has the biggest attraction for Eli and she doesn't want to blow her opportunity with the camp. She's definitely a ball of stress right now, even if she doesn't show it.

That's it for this week. Happy reading!

Skylin

Sunday Snippet: Five Minutes

Ugh, what a week. The crazy weather has me completely out of sync and my sleep patterns are trashed. Here's hoping spring gets here and I find my footing again.

I missed Legends this week and need to catch up. Same goes for The Flash, Black Lightning, and Riverdale. Seriously, my head wasn't into it at all. Gotham is also still on my catch up list.

I did watch two more DVDs of Chicago Fire. I'm really loving season five, through every heartbreaking moment even. And, man, there's been a lot this season. LOL

Also up to episode six of Jessica Jones. Gotta say I'm pretty happy with how the season is progressing. It's good to get the backstory of Jessica became "super". I will say I'm not quite sure about Griffin, friend or foe? The whole engagement think might be a red herring, yeah?

Got to catch the latest Passionflix movie The Matchmaker's Playbook. Loved it! I'm excited for the next installment, especially with W. Tyler Johnson. While I enjoyed him in Afterburn / Aftershock, he truly rocked in Matchmaker. Now if they'd only cast a few of my other fave actors, I'll be thrilled to death.

That's it for television this week. Tonight's post is from Five Minutes, a novella built on the idea that one of the main characters has to give up something important to them because they lost a bet.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Remy Deeds never welshes on a bet, until she loses to Eli Rogers, who can't understand why she backs out. But a five-minute kiss, with tongue, isn't something she wants to risk because giving up her last pack of coffee is so much easier than possibly losing her heart.

And a snippety peek…

Eli Rogers accelerated around a slow driver. "Damn. Hate it when I oversleep." Not like he wanted to linger where he'd been.

On cue, his phone rang. Felicity. It figured. He might as well get placate her while he could.

"Hello." The Bluetooth picked up the call.

"Eli? Where are you?" Her sleepy voice purred over the line.

"Driving down the interstate, babe. Headed home."

She made a tsking sound. "You crawled out of bed and left… without even saying goodbye?"

Eli rolled his eyes. He actually did say goodbye. Not his fault Felicity slept like the dead.

He tried for a quick, strategic explanation. "Yeah, sorry. I had to go. I'm already running late and I still need to pack."

She pounced. "Pack? For what?"

Shit. He should've kept the last part to himself. Too late now.

He sighed. "For the training exercise. You know, thirty days out in the wilderness with my team." He braced for impact.

"Thirty days! I thought the training was only a weekend thing." Her voice screeched over his speakers. "What am I supposed to do for a whole month?"

Frustrated, Eli said the first thing that came to mind. "Look, Felicity, you're welcome to find someone else to fill in. I don't expect you to sit around and wait."

She snarled. "Don't think I will, Eli." The abrupt cutting of the call made static burst through his vehicle.

Eli shrugged and passed another slow-moving car. The breakup didn't bother him. He and Felicity had been winding down anyway. His gut-check didn't even register the loss. What did bother Eli? The lack of connection. Felicity became one of a long line of exes that didn't affect him on a deeper level.

What did that say about him?

Did it matter right now? He'd be expected to set the tone for the training excursion. Which meant looking the other way and participating in the standard round of convenience flings during the month.

He sighed. "Not sure I want to do the whole hookup bingo this time around." At twenty-eight, he'd grown a little tired of the whole deal.

Then again, if he missed the briefing, it wouldn't matter. Because he wouldn't have a job.

Jamming his foot on the accelerator, he shaved several more minutes off his commute.

I hope this ends up being as funny and heartfelt as I'm going for. I love Remy and Eli.

That's it for this week. Happy reading!

Skylin

Sunday Snippet: Five Minutes

December 6, 2015

It's the most wonderful time of the year! Even if you don't celebrate anything holiday related, I hope the festive nature rubs off and make December terrific.

So… Gotham. Interesting stuff building in this season. I'm truly loving all the potential and the twists and turns. I'm very curious about how they'll deal with Gordon's actions. I love how he's not afraid to get messy, but there has to be some kind of line he won't cross.

The Flash and Arrow crossover event ended up being pretty decent, especially since it bridges the setup of a new show. Could it have been better? Absolutely. But I think it accomplished a ton of stuff and stayed true to the characters.

The Walking Dead finale seemed a little flat, but I'll give the showrunners this one. The rest of the season has been so top notch; I'm willing to wait for a bigger payoff. In all honesty, I'm not super excited about adding the uber-villain into the mix just yet, even if the actor they cast is incredible. I'll reserve judgment until I see the new episodes.

Haven inches ever closer to the end and I'm on the fence about the stunt casting of Shatner. I love the man as an actor, but I hope the payoff is worth using him. I do have a ton of joy over the fact they're addressing Duke and Audrey's somewhat tumultuous relationship. It's my fondest hope the combined effort of Duke, Audrey, and Nathan will be what it takes to rid Haven of Croatoan and keep the town safe. We'll see if I'm on track very soon.

The Librarians and Agent X are still enjoyable. I like the slow reveal of John's background in Agent X and love the dropped hint in the most recent episode. Won't say more to keep the post spoiler free for now.

Last but not least, Agents of SHIELD and Doctor Who. I'm kind of excited to see where AoS ends up. I like seeing a darker Coulson, but I'm not sure I buy him getting all bent over the death of a woman he pretty much just met. Eh… we'll see what happens. And Doctor Who… well, I honestly don't have a lot to say. Or maybe I've got so much to say I can't possibly put it all in one post. Still hugely disappointed and, quite frankly, too stupid to really understand what the big freaking deal is with the hybrid crap. At least the Xmas episode looks pretty fun.

And that's it for television this week. I hope to start Daredevil and Jessica Jones over the holiday hiatus. YAY!

Tonight's post is from Five Minutes, a sexy short where my heroine struggles with her feelings for the hero.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Remy Deeds never welshes on a bet, until she loses to Eli Rogers, who can't understand why she backs out. But a five minute kiss, with tongue, isn't something she wants to risk, because giving up her last pack of coffee is so much easier than possibly losing her heart.

And snippety peek…

Remy Deeds finished packing her foot locker for a thirty day training session in the mountains. She loved the site of the remote camp, but an attack of nerves fluttered in her belly. She considered her first time out as a trainer instead of only a participant a big step up, but she had firsthand knowledge of how wild things could get between the male and female groups in the wilderness. Alone for the entire month, cut off from tech—except a satellite phone for dire emergencies—most of the two teams would be paired off and hooking up by day ten. She understood the desire for fun and relaxation and with everyone being single, nature inevitably would run its course. With four cabins, two for men and two for women, at least half became mixed couple before the end of the session.

She'd been there, done that, and had no regrets. Okay… not many anyway. She'd learned a valuable lesson—her heart always got involved.

But… she wouldn't change her first experience as a trainee. She'd gone for a physically built, down to earth guy and spent twenty-one glorious nights exploring her sexual side. Her days were filled with learning everything she could about leading campers on nature hikes, first response for emergency situations, and more essential skills. But her real education came after the evening meal when she holed up with Keith in his room and discovered everything two bodies could do together.

Then, of course, true wisdom arrived when she struggled to leave the relationship behind once they returned to the main camping facility. Keith had zero interest in pursuing anything else. He enjoyed the nature fling, but didn't plan to be shackled to anyone for at least five years. Remy understood—she didn't want to marry the guy. Yet… at the time, being lonely sucked.

Her co-trainer, Sheila, entered the room. "Wheels out in fifteen minutes." She closed the door and fanned herself. "Holy hot bods galore. Have you seen the gorgeous group of men we'll be spending the next thirty days with?" Flopping down on the bed, Sheila flung an arm over her eyes. "I've already got mine all picked out." She propped her elbows behind her, sitting up. "How about you, Remy?"

Remy shook her head. "Not this time. Too much to do and a lot of responsibilities." Zipping up her bag, she placed it beside the locker.

Sheila snorted. "What a crock of bull."

Remy dropped down beside her friend. "Yeah, okay. But I worked hard to move up to training. I don't want to screw it up my first time out." Not exactly a lie.

But a small fabrication. Remy had a serious thing Eli Rogers. But… one, he would lead the black team, her white team counterpart; two, he had a reputation for getting hot and heavy with someone—occasionally multiple someones—each training session, and he'd been leading teams for three years now; three, mixing a romp with the opposing team leader combined with her already huge fixation on him would lead to one thing.

A bruised heart.

Have to admit this one is more fun than even I thought it would be.

That's it for this week. Happy reading!

Skylin

Sunday Snippet: Five Minutes

May 5, 2013

Hello!

I spent the entire day out in the gorgeous weather! Seriously, it's so great to have an actual spring season. Usually it seems like we go from really crisp and cold to horribly hot and humid within a twenty-four hour period. Mild temps and lovely breezes are made of awesome. :D

I'm spending my night with Stonebridge and Scott from Strike Back. Two more episodes of the third season and I get to play the waiting game for the fourth. Maybe I'll have to rewatch the episodes a couple of times to make the wait more bearable. :D And hey, there're two more eps of Arrow, so there's that. J

Tonight's post is from Five Minutes, a short story centered around how much can be gained or lost in a very brief span of time. Is it worth the risk? Remy and Eli will find out. J

Here's the tagline:

Remy Deeds never welches on a bet, until she lost to Eli Rogers, who can't understand why she backs out. But a five minute kiss, with tongue, isn't something she wants to risk, because giving up her last pack of coffee is so much easier than possibly losing her heart.

Here's a snippety peek…

"I already told you, I'm not going to do it." Remy flopped down on the cot and did her best to ignore Eli.

Eli stalked over to her locker and yanked it open. "I want the coffee then." He stood back and swept his arm toward the messy confines. "Now."

Remy sat up, swinging her feet over the edge of the thin mattress. "Seriously. You're going to make me give up the coffee?" The damned man knew she'd go off the deep end if she didn't have her daily fix of caffeine.

Eli shrugged. "You could always do what Harry suggested the first time. It is what you agreed to." He crossed his arms in front of him and lifted a brow.

Damn, damn, damn. How could she explain why kissing the team leader, with tongue, for five minutes…in front of everyone, would prove to be the worst of the worst ideas? Straight up fact? She couldn't. Not if she didn't want the entire group to know how much she had the hots for him.

She jerked her head back and forth. "Um no. That's not gonna happen." She refused to say more.

Eli didn't push to find out why. "Then hand it over. You reneged, you forfeit what I want." His head angled toward the open locker.

"Fine." Remy got up and rifled through the contents, slapping the bag of coffee into his palm when she found it. "Take it."

Eli turned and started out, but stopped before he reached the door. "No, I want a reason. Would kissing me really bug you that much?"

Remy frowned. "Didn't say that, did I?" She busied her hands, pulling items out of the messy locker and putting them back in.

Eli pushed. "Then what the hell is it, Remy? You obviously don't want to give this up." He waved the bag back and forth.

She shrugged. "Whatever, it's no big deal. Just take it." She turned around and grimaced.

What an idiot. Her utter need for caffeine made it a big deal. And Eli would absolutely clue in on her verbal misstep.

Eli scoffed. "It's not a big deal? I'm not stupid, Rem. You're giving up your morning fix for what? A kiss, Remy. A kiss." He emphasized the last word.

She felt small and petty. He would consider her behavior juvenile.

Time to come clean.

Remy spoke quietly. "No, Eli. It's not. It's five minutes, with tongue. That's not just a kiss."

The light went on. "Ah." He inclined his head, getting it.

She snorted. "Yeah, ah. You get it now." She hated making the admission.

He cocked his head. "You're worried it'll get too heated, yeah?" He set the bag of coffee on the nightstand.

She gave a jerky nod. "Among other things." Shit. She needed to shut up. Now.

Remy sank down onto the cot and zipped her lips.

Eli dropped down next to her. "Now I'm curious. What other things, Remy." His voice rasped and he cleared his throat.

Remy pulled her legs up and swiveled around, leaning back. "Shut up, Eli. And take your coffee with you."

His lips quirked. "I don't think so. You have to do better than that, Remy."

If all goes well, the entire short story will take place in the one area and be tightly focused on the emotional back and forth between the characters. J

That's it for this week. Happy reading!

Skylin