Sunday, June 25, 2023

Sunday Snippet: Follow Me (Scorched Galaxy)

Can't believe June is almost over. This year is flying by so quickly. Or maybe it's just so much is out of control it seems that way.

Great week of work. I'm finishing up two big projects and hopefully setting up the groundwork for more. I'd love to find some balance between big jobs and smaller ones.

Had a decent week for viewing. We had some weather roll through, and I took the precaution of not starting anything when we might lose power.

I started a new two-parter of Silent Witness. Kind of an interesting premise and I'm not completely sure where this one is going. I like that.

Caught another episode of Death in Paradise, and it's one I hadn't seen yet. I do love watching the series in chronological order.

Continued my rewatch of Battlestar Galactica with "Final Cut," which is one of my very favorite episodes. There's a lot going on in this one and it's all amazing.

Finished the second season of Only Murders in the Building and, holy hell, I loved how it ended! Can't wait for season three!

Also managed to catch another episode of Classic Rugrats. It brought back some memories because my kiddos wanted to try flan because of this one.

And that's pretty much it for the life update this week. Tonight's post is from Follow Me, the opening book of an epic space saga trilogy. I hope.

Here's the mini-blurb:

A will they or won't they wager spurs Molly and Sloan to see how long they can without getting caught.

And a sneaky peek…

Molly pondered Sloan's prediction. With their history with MacNeill, he might begin with the should've known betters, but he wouldn't end there. Her mind ticked off several follow-up scenarios, each one worse than the last.

She'd caught a glimpse of the disappointment on the commander's face just before he'd slammed the hatch shut. Damn. She hated letting him down.

Her head snapped up. "You don't think we'll end up in hack, do you?" Wouldn't be anything new for her—between her temper and her mouth, a first-name basis had been established with the marine guard.

Sloan on the other hand? Usually so squeaky clean he farts bubbles.

He shrugged again. "Who knows?"

The night's events were catching up with him. He looked so weary.

She put her feet up on an adjacent chair. "Yeah. Let's just deal with whatever happens, when it happens." She could almost feel the dull throb he must've had behind his eyes … the one where the buzz wore off and the hangover kicked in.

He closed his eyes a moment. "My head hurts too much to think about it right now." He leaned forward, elbows on the table and steepled his fingers to put pressure against his forehead, gently rubbing in a circular motion.

He continued to massage his head and she let the comparative silence draw out. Watching his fingers work, she flashed to having them on her … and in her … in the commander's quarters. Who knew it would be like that with us? They'd been friends for a long time … hell, she'd been engaged to his best friend before he'd been lost on the recon mission.

As different as night and day, Sloan and Lachlan were opposite sides of the same coin. She couldn't really make a comparison between them, and, in her mind, that probably counted as a good thing. Things are weird enough without adding my former fiancé to the mix.

Gods, how long had it been since she'd thought of Lachlan? Such a big part of her life. The first man she remotely considered as more than a great lay. The first to break through and reach her on a personal level. Then meeting Sloan and finding another friend for life? Molly counted herself lucky to be the recipient of such blessings.

She shook herself out of that train of thought. She couldn't think about Lachlan right now. Picking back up on Sloan's fingers, she got warm pondering all the things she'd love him to use them for. Long and lean, they shouldn't fit with the rest of his body. But they did. Compact, solid, and certainly built, Sloan stayed in shape. Always. Much to the hatred of the other pilots.

Molly grinned. One of the first directives Sloan sent through as CAG, a new fitness program, still made them grumble. Sloan turned a deaf ear to the complaints. In his mind, as long as they were on the run from an enemy that outpaced them in every way except the physical, his men would be as fit as possible.

That directive counted as the only thing he continued to have significant trouble with since assuming the position of lead pilot. The former CAG, well-seasoned major that he'd been, let the pilots skate on the physical side as long as they could fly planes. Molly supported Sloan's efforts wholeheartedly and agreed with his reasoning completely.

It slayed her that the one thing that set off Sloan's usually calm demeanor was a group of pilots bitching about keeping fit for duty.

Talk about a match to powder.

A riled-up Sloan? Whew. Something to behold. The man elevated a scathing set down to an art form. Using a few well-chosen words to get his point across, he left no doubt how unpleasant the repercussions would be for anyone not on board with the regimen. The pilots might not like it, but he'd earned their grudging respect for not folding under the initial barrage of very vocal feedback.

Molly had the advantage of knowing Sloan prior to the attacks. She knew what lay beneath the surface. How difficult being thrust into a position he wasn't ready for made things. She'd had firsthand experience with the slow burn of Sloan's temper. He rarely reached a hard boil but watch out if he did. And once he reached meltdown, his anger ebbed as slowly as it built. Giving him some distance for a few days tended to be a good idea.

In contrast, push her buttons and she lashed out fast and her temper faded quickly. Opposite of Sloan. They were on opposite ends of the spectrum. Which turned out to be a good thing. If she'd known how explosive they'd be together, she would have plotted a way to set up a good hard screw a hell of a lot sooner.

Even wigged out, she couldn't deny the sex had been damn good.

Speaking of … Sloan mentioned about that, didn't he? And, well, they had some time to kill.

She snapped her fingers in front of his far-away gaze. "Sloan?" Waited until he focused blue eyes on her. "Didn't you say something about mind-blowing sex?" Kind of weird to talk about it but reliving it in her head had her blood heating again, which made her uncomfortable.

Sloan glanced away, coloring slightly. "Fuck, Molly. I should have known you wouldn't let that one slide." His voice went a little sheepish like he hadn't meant to say it out loud.

But he had and they might as well talk about it.

Molly picked up on the humor, used it as the ice breaker. "Let it slide?" She shook her head back and forth. "No way. Sloan MacNeill mentions mind-blowing sex and I'm going to let it slide. I don't think so." They usually teased each other mercilessly when one of them got laid.

Except … it'd never been quite like this.

"The fact you were referencing me is the kicker. Never would have thought that possible." Molly chuckled awkwardly, desperately trying to keep things light.

Then she braced herself.

Whatever Sloan said next would set the tone between them from this point forward. She honestly didn't know what she hoped for.

This story is so close to my heart, and I've been working on the three books to iron out all the intricacies. Here's hoping I get it all right.


 

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

ML Skye

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