Sunday Snippet: Stripped to the Skin

Welcome 2022! Honestly, I'm hoping for great things in the next twelve months. After two years of questionable circumstances with family health issues and weird things happening, I'm kind of ready for some smoother sailing. Here's to making that happen.

Had a weirdly busy week with finalizing some work projects and clearing my desk and inbox for year-end stuff. Also had some running around that needed to get done.

Sort of a so-so week for television. I caught two episodes of Chicago Med and liked both. Sad to see Conor's life implode again and since I know what's coming for him, I'm hovering in the background wondering how bad things will get.

For a fun pick-me-up, I watched the Snoopy Presents: For Auld Lang Syne special and thoroughly enjoyed it. I might have to revisit all the Peanuts specials to keep the mood up.

Caught an episode of The Brokenwood Mysteries and, as usual, loved it. This show makes me happy. I'm always excited to see returning characters.

Enjoyed the holiday episode of Death in Paradise. Gotta say I really enjoyed it. I need to start from the very beginning and watch the whole series run to date.

Watched the first part of Silent Witness and I have a feeling it might be the last of Harry's episodes, which makes me sad but I'm also getting closer to episodes I haven't seen yet.

Caught the first episode of a Classic Who two-parter. I think this season has a couple of those.

Started a new series with The Alaska Triangle. Loved the first episode, mainly because it's like brand new information to me. There's so much stuff about the Bermuda Triangle but I haven't read or watched anything about the Alaska one.

Enjoyed two episodes of The Muppet Show. Mac Davis and Carol Burnett were the guest stars. Still hoping to get the movies watched in the near future.

Watched the first part of Fantasy Island's holiday episode and should finish up the second part this week. Really enjoyed it and I hope it goes in the direction I'm wishing for.

Caught another episode of Peak Practice. The new guy is really annoying me to no end. I'm not sure if they'll end up making him a decent guy or not, but at this point I don't actually care.

Viewed another MasterClass lesson with Bill Nye. Critical thinking and critical filtering was the topic and I loved it. Bill explains things so well.

Enjoyed the second episode of The Witcher. This season has been a bit of a roller coaster already. I feel awful for Yennifer and can't wait until she hooks up with Geralt and Ciri.

Caught an episode of Star Trek: Discovery and thoroughly enjoyed it. So far, the second season is excellent. Love Pike and Michael's interactions and I'm totally down with Tillie and Stamets having their weird issues from interactions with foreign entities.

Wow, I watched more than I thought I did. That's pretty much it for the update this week.

Tonight's post is from Stripped to the Skin, a novella that got a start with a writing community prompt.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Kaley Pick and Dax Christopher are trapped in an isolation chamber when a ship wide power outage occurs. The temperature rises and they have to strip to the skin—a perfect time to consummate their growing attraction—except they're not alone. A junior officer is stuck with them and he's not dealing well with the heat.

And a sneaky peek…

Dax turned the young ensign to face him. "Bird Dog, you're not looking so good." He grabbed hold and led Robinette to the berth.

Brad nodded, swiping his hands over his face. "Yeah, I've always had issues with heat." His head dropped. "I didn't hydrate like I should have."

Kaley rolled her eyes and handed over her water bottle. Bird Dog drained the contents but still struggled. Not enough. The ensign looked terrible. And they didn't have much water left.

Brad slumped down. "I just need to sleep for a bit." His eyes drifted shut.

Kaley sighed. "Maybe it won't take long to fix the malfunction." She paced over to the hatch again.

Her shirt clung to her with perspiration gathering at her lower back. The ends of her hair showed moisture gathering. And her arms glistened with sweat.

He didn't fare much better. Liquid oozed from his pores and trickled along his skin. The confined space took on a steamy quality. Lack of air movement offered little relief. They'd be burning up as much as Bird Dog soon.

Dax put a hand on Robinette's shoulder. The skin burned under his fingertips.

Dax growled. "Dammit, we need to try and cool him down." He poured a little water on Brad's shirt.

Kaley came back. "Getting hotter. We're gonna lose a few pounds if they don't hurry up."

Dax gave a nod toward Brad. "We'll lose more than weight if his temperature keeps rising." Dax felt Robinette's skin again. "Shit. The water didn't help." He huffed out a breath, trying to cool the sweat dripping on his face.

Kaley stooped down. "We need to get his clothes off." She lifted the fabric of the shirt and fanned it a little.

Dax gave her a level stare. "Say again." She did not just suggest stripping the ensign, did she?

Dax and Kaley are so much fun to write. They're stuck in a bizarre situation on top of having all the feels for each other and trying to navigate both is so much joy.

 

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

ML Skye