Sunday Snippet: Organic Chemistry - Civil Revolution Book Two

Wow, some gorgeous weather today. I love having a true spring with mild temperatures and lovely breezes, instead of a chilly thirty degrees one day and eighty-five with loads of humidity the next. LOL

Today's post is from the second book in the Civil Revolution saga. Organic Chemistry features the same folks from Bad Chemistry but the focus is on Dom and Etta's relationship. Etta is a fascinating character to write and she speaks very loud and clear when I try to go in a direction she doesn't like. LOL I wish all my characters had such strong opinions. :D

Here's the tagline:

Dominic Marinelli and Etta Morgan meet under very difficult circumstances, but form a relationship built on one basic need: sex. When Etta decides to strike out on her own, Dom has to figure out why it bothers him so much.

And here's the sneaky peek…

The walls of the former spa turned way station for refugees closed in on him. He snagged his jacket, turned and bumped into Etta Morgan.

Literally, almost knocking her on her ass.

"Damn. Sorry." His free hand reached out to steady her. "You okay?"

Etta laughed lightly. "I'm fine. Fine." Her fingers were warm when they closed over his bicep.

Kind of like her eyes when she looked at him.

"I wasn't paying attention." Her hand slid down to his forearm and rested there.

Dom stepped back a little, needing some space, but didn't try to shake her hand free. Etta looked over his shoulder, her gaze landing on Lex and Char then dropping down to the jacket in his other hand.

A brief shadow of something entered the depths of her eyes and her mouth flattened to a thin line. But only for a moment. She let go of his arm and smiled brightly in his direction.

"I'm glad I found you…" She angled her head in the direction she'd come from. "Do you have a minute? Or are you heading out?"

Damn. He really wanted to escape into the shadowy dusk. He felt honor bound to assist her though.

His mouth turned up in a brief smile. "I've got more than one if you need it." He flung his jacket over the back of a chair.

Etta's eyes crinkled with a genuine smile. "I promise I won't keep you long." Spinning around she led him to her room and pushed open the door. It hung slightly lopsided and Dom figured out what she needed him for.

Resetting the hinge.

Etta dug into her back pocket and produced the missing pin.

Ding. Ding. Ding. He'd totally called that one.

"This spa is a great place to crash for a few days, but the eight foot doors are just a tad above my reach." She lifted her gaze and jerked her head upward. "Would you mind?"

Dom took the pin from her outstretched hand. "Not at all." She lifted up on the door and lined up the slots of the oversized hinge.

He slid the rod home and swung the door back and forth a few times to make sure it would hold. "Thanks." The assistance hadn't been necessary, but he appreciated it.

Etta grasped the handle and pushed the door shut. Then she turned and pressed her back against it.

"They're perfect together."

He didn't have to ask who she meant, but he so did not want to talk about it.

He frowned. "Yeah, I know." His voiced sounded harsh, even to his own ears. He should probably work on that.

"Why not let it go? Hook-up with someone else?"

Dom shot her a sideways look. "You volunteering?"

Etta shrugged. "I might be." She eyed him up and down. "You interested?"

He swept appraising eyes over her from head to toe. She had a certain rough beauty. Sorta raw and sensual, enough to make his dick twitch under his jeans.

Right. He wouldn't be going down that road again.

He sighed. "Even if I were, I wouldn't be." A hard on didn't make him stupid. She looked the type to tease, tempt and walk away.

Actually she looked offended before her eyes dropped to the bulge in his pants.

"Why not?" An arched brow worked for her. The slightly triumphant gleam in her eyes didn't.

Dom cut to the chase. "You don’t wanna be a substitute. Don't you deserve better?"

She rolled her eyes. "It's not about what I deserve. I'm WAY past that."

Baffled, Dom queried. "Then why make an offer that'll open you up to abuse? Because right now—with me—that's what it would be."

Her laughter caught him by surprise.

"Abuse? Really?" She walked around him, putting her hands on his arms, grasping at the muscles of his biceps. "Because you don't feel all tender and gooey toward me?" She snorted. "Not exactly what I'm looking for."

Okay. She had him intrigued.

"What, exactly, are you looking for?"

"Something hot, hard, dirty, and fast." Her gaze flicked up and down, lingering just a moment too long on his crotch. "Three outta four isn't bad. I'd take it."

Dom gave her a tight smile. "And which one do I fall short on?"

She smirked. "For all your big, bad talk of abuse, I seriously doubt you have it in you to be as dirty as I want." Shrugging she turned away. "But I can live with—"

Yeah, sorry, gonna leave it right there. LOL Needless to say, Etta pushes just the right button to get a reaction from Dom. Seriously, delicious fun to write her. :D

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

ML Skye

Sunday Snippet: Bad Chemistry (Civil Revolution - Book One)

Hello!

Very crazy week with weather all over the place. LOL I'm kind of happy when it's rainy because I get to catch up on lots of television. Nothing like folding clothes with Stonebridge and Scott from Strike Back.

On a similar note, only three more episodes of Arrow this season. I'm truly excited to see where things end up and where they go after the hiatus. My brain hurts with all the possibilities.

And that leads me to tonight's post from Bad Chemistry, the first book in the Civil Revolution saga. I'm currently writing it under the ML Skye name, but it may very well end up switching over to Skye Ritchey. The sages aren't playing nice and keep giving me mixed signals. They can't decide if they want it set in the future on another planet, or more urban fantasy current time. *sigh* This will be one of those manuscripts that goes through a zillion revisions. LOL

But…I do have a tagline:

Lex Durban and Charlotte Martin do their best to survive in new world hierarchy, each with a different kind of target on their back. But when they have to undertake the dangerous task of moving refugees to a new location, Lex wants Char to stay behind so only one is in danger, but Char has other ideas.

And a sneaky peek…

Lex Durban surveyed his men's work, impressed with the ramshackle appearance of their new base of operations. An outside observer wouldn't think much of the structure of lean-tos constructed with galvanized steel and surrounded by several different types of fencing. He particularly loved the standard issue plank style interwoven with the chain link mesh and patched over with more of the girded metal. The place looked thrown together and had a commune type of vibe.

He grinned. Exactly what he'd been going for when they found the location. The whole thing hid the true beauty—an exterior entrance to an underground bunker facility. A mid-sized concrete building, twenty by twenty-four feet, led to the reinforced true base of operations. A former government safe location, the space transferred into military hands sometime near the end of the cold war. The huge area hadn't seen an update since the late eighties, which suited Lex just fine. The less traceable tech the better.

His fifteen man team kicked major ass. They'd pulled the exterior together in under a week. He'd head out at first light to meet with his commanding officer and give him the bullet on the readiness of their location.

Okay, General Edward R. Mulroney didn't exactly hold an official rank. His former position in the military no longer existed. But he did establish a covert, underground version of the armed forces, one that continued to protect the citizens of a country in turmoil.

The chain of command stopped at the retired general, his attachment of former officers—admirals, colonels, commanders, and captains—and an odd group of no longer elected senators, representative, and two governors. Good people who got into politics to actually make a difference. Until they realized the impossibility of the effort.

Now they put their time into finding shelter for the displaced citizens who got caught out of the boundaries of the new districts or chose to leave the oppressive environments. Lex had been ordered to scout and find a place in New to set up a permanent center. The first part of his mission completed, he had to figure out how to supply the location. If tradition held, he'd be doing a lot of compromising with the Sector Police. Not his idea of fun, but it usually proved necessary.

Letting himself into the main base, Lex scanned a critical eye around the area. He made his way to the living quarters and claimed a space to call home. He tossed his rucksack on the floor beside the bed and fell into it. Sheer exhaustion would guarantee a good night sleep and his internal alarm clock would wake him before the sun came up.

The opening of the book lays some groundwork, which may or may not work well since there isn't a lot of dialog. When I read, I often like being dropped right in the character POV and getting to crawl around in their head before jumping into lots of talking. Gives me a chance to get to know them intimately before they interact with anyone else. J

That's it for tonight's post. Catch everyone on the flip.

ML Skye