Sunday Snippet: One Hot Mess

Greetings!

It's been a truly long week, but Strike Back remains a bright spot. I'm utterly fascinated by Dalton and how much she's crossing the line (if there is a line LOL)

I've also been rewatching Farscape on Pivot. I love it when newish channels air one of my favorite shows. Farscape ranks in my top five of all time winners.

Tonight's post is a speculative romance, One Hot Mess, and it's a complete joy to write. I love it when the sages have fun and they're having a wicked good time with this story.

Here's the tagline:

Eva Twine and Van Jefferson have a very friendly rivalry when their teams compete for the galaxy championship. But when Van questions what Eva will wear to the celebratory masquerade, she decides to rock his very foundation.

And a sneaky peek…

Ducking into a boutique, Eva spent all of five minutes scanning the racks before the overpowering aromatherapy scents had her dashing back out to the concourse. She walked past several shops and found another location with appropriate attire. Entering the store, Eva rolled her eyes. Filled with scanty costumes and barely there designs in filmy fabrics, she snorted with disgust. She wanted something sexy and sensual, not tarty and vixenish. The costumes were so low cut, Eva figured she'd spend more time trying to keep her boobs from falling out than enjoying herself.

Screw that.

She exited the shop and almost decided to forget the whole deal. She could always stay with the casual look and forget Van. Bah. Eva had the idea in her head now and didn't want to let go of it. She stopped in front of a bridal outlet and tilted her head sideways, taking in the rainbow of colors displayed in the window. The cut and style of the dresses drew her in and inspiration struck. Why look in the obvious places for something to wear for the masquerade when the perfect item could be found elsewhere.

Letting a grin cross her face, Eva entered the shop and waved off the gaggle of sales associates. She'd find what she wanted on her own then call someone over. Maybe.

Rifling through the vast selection, Eva found a gown made of gossamer looking fabric that seemed to shimmer with iridescence. If she wanted to dress up as a fae creature it would be the perfect thing to wear. Rejecting that idea, she moved on to the next rack and passed over the dresses that truly screamed 'bridal party' and wrinkled her nose at the pastel confections that made her teeth hurt looking at them. She almost turned away to head toward another section of the store when a flash of green caught her eye.

Buried between a hot pink strapless cocktail dress and a gold, off the shoulder gown, Eva pulled a gorgeous emerald green dress from the rack. She'd found the perfect thing to wear, with a form fitting bodice that would accent her cleavage instead of putting it on display, and a frothy skirt that fell in asymmetrical waves from the bust line. The tiny, thin straps had just a touch of shiny thread woven in to catch the light and draw attention to her face. She'd look like one of the glamorous singers from centuries ago.

Satisfied with her find, she set off in search of some heels to go with it. Meandering through the displays, Eva finally found a killer pair of shoes. Forest green with metallic accents, the open-toed pumps fit the image in her head. She tried one on and found it more comfortable than expected. Grabbing the box, she took her choices to the first sales associate she came across and made her purchase.

Exiting the shop, she made her way toward the guest quarters with a wide grin on her face. Van would swallow his tongue when he got a good look at her. She slowed her pace. Did she really want that reaction? They had a very friendly rivalry. Did they need to add a bunch of tension to mess that up?

She thought about it once she entered her room. Maybe she and Van did need to shake things up a bit. The guy was intelligent, highly skilled, and damned hot. Why not let her hair down a little and show him a different side? He'd made an assumption about her and while based on fact, he didn't have the whole picture of what made Eva Twine tick. He'd only seen glimpses of what lay underneath.

But Van definitely knew the cocky, self-assured and okay, sometimes crazy cop side of her. He'd get a good dose of the other woman at the masquerade. A little excited by the prospect, Eva sat down and started the process of getting ready to knock his world of its axis.

Her lips turned up. She'd done that once before. Their first meeting set the tone for everything that followed between them. On a dare, she'd gone screaming down a back alley behind the academy—blindfolded—on her sky hawg. To date, she still had no idea what instinct kicked in and made her veer in a quick turn, but she thanked the universe for it. Van narrowly missed a road kill death when he exited out the night watch access point. He ate some loose gravel and a shit ton of debris her thrust kicked up when she made the sharp slide.

But at least he didn't end up dead.

LOL. It's always fun when characters meet in a very unexpected way, don't you think?

That's it for this week. Catch everyone on the flip.

ML Skye