Sunday Snippet: Close Quarters (Scorched Galaxy book two)

February is going to be a wild month. It's already shorter than average and my project load is intense plus I have two birthdays hitting a week apart. A big one for the husband, which involves a super-secret aspect that's challenging to pull off.

Ohio is still deep into its cold spell, which I'm actually okay with. We're also still digging out of the huge snowfall we got last week. It's hilarious that I get stuck in my own driveway. But I do.

As mentioned, work projects are falling out of the sky right now and that's not a bad thing. But it is a bit of a hurdle to manage making sure they're all getting the attention they need. I'd love to have about five more hours each day.

Had a better than normal viewing week. Some of my projects involve tedious busywork, and it's nice to have something on in the background. I even got to one of my back-burner shows.

Started off with Midsommer Murders and thoroughly enjoyed the episode. It also made me want to take up lawn bowling. I remember playing something like that, along with croquet, when little.

Caught another episode of Foyle's War and it's one I remembered well from the original watch. I have one more episode in the sixth season and I'm looking forward to watching it this week.

Watched the second half of Silent Witness and whew! So many twists and turns. And, of course, the obnoxious asshat is the actual target … yet somehow manages to come through partially unscathed. Really loved the team doing what they needed to do regardless of the consequences.

Enjoyed an episode of Poirot. Loved how he got a chance to revisit a murder he wasn't allowed to solve the first time. Lots of twisty turns.

Elementary didn't disappoint with the opening of the fifth season. I love that Joan probably saved her former patient by offering a helping hand. Also love that Sherlock recognized she needed something more.

Caught another episode of Batman Beyond and kind of loved the teamwork with Gotham PD and taking down the poacher. I'd forgotten about this episode.

Watched the season two finale of Star Trek: Lower Decks and, wow, what a way to end the season. Looking forward to catching what happens next.

Also started another episode of Peak Practice. It's painful to watch Sam completely fall from grace. I might end up forwarded through some of it because it hurts to watch.

That's pretty much it for the life update. Tonight's post is from Close Quarters, the second book in a spicy space opera trilogy.

Here's the miniblurb:

After trying to outmaneuver their crew mates who bet on whether they'd ever hook up, Molly and Sloan discover an abiding love and embark on a committed relationship. Their biggest problem? Trying to figure out how to live in close quarters without making each other insane.

And a sneaky peek…

Sloan let Molly tug him into the bedroom. She hadn't given him an answer, but he wouldn't complain. If a nice, hot romp got him any closer to having a living space he could at least walk through, he'd be stupid to question it.

But … he wouldn't let incredible sex distract him from his final goal.

Something about being surrounded by reams of paper made his skin itch.

When Molly leaned back on the bed, he removed his shirt, watching as she slid down her pants. "So, what's the plan, Molls?" He shoved his trousers down and Molly sat up, removing her final bits of clothing … still not answering him. "Are you aiming to make me forget the mess in the next room?" Kicking his pants off, he arched a brow.

She shrugged one shoulder and scooted back on the bed. Using her finger, she made a twirling motion, suggesting he get his butt moving and join her on the mattress.

He crawled over top of her and gazed down at her smiling face.

She finally answered with a question. "Is it working?" She made her eyes wide and tried to look innocent.

Sloan shook his head no.

Molly blew out a resigned sigh. "Oh, well, worth a try."

Sloan grinned then leaned down and brushed his lips over hers, teasing them open with his tongue. Once he gained access, the kiss deepened and the familiar fire flared between them. As far as distractions went, she picked a good one.

And … now that Molly had what she wanted—namely a postponement to deal with the chaos—he didn't doubt they'd be working the rest of the night on getting things organized.

A small price to pay to maintain his sanity.

Even if it meant staying up until the wee hours.

I have so much love for this series and I've been working on it for, well, a really long time.

 

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

ML Skye

Sunday Snippet: Close Quarters (Scorched Galaxy)

Well, the first week of 2023 is in the books and we're off to a wild start. Here's hoping the weird and bizarre world stage eventually settles in to what's supposed to be the Age of Aquarius. I have my fingers crossed.

Had a busy work week with multiple projects being added to my schedule. I'm excited to get started on them! The weather did it's usually mild temperatures dropping down to cold ones. I'm okay with the cold … if it stays cold.

Had an okay viewing week. I'm still continuing my rewatch of Batman: The Animated Series. I think I'll have it completed before HBOMax removes it from screening. Then I'll probably start back on my usual schedule.

I finished up the second season, which had a strong finish with "The Terrible Trio," "Showdown," "Catwalk," "A Bullet for Bullock," and "The Lion and the Unicorn," which is one of my favorites because it dives into Alfred's backstory.

Season three begins with "Holiday Knights," which is a favorite holiday-themed episode. I do wonder and can't remember if it ended up being shown out of order in the original run. I'm too lazy to check Imdb to find out.

I have some feelings about the drastic change in animation style for season three. There are a few things I really enjoy, but I'm not a fan of the reimagined villains or the complete total makeover they gave Bruce. I am fond of the updated storylines, moving Dick Grayson to Nightwing and adding Tim Drake. I left off on "Joker's Millions" and should finish that episode this week.

That's pretty much it for the life update this week. Tonight's post is from Close Quarters, the second book to the Scorched Galaxy series, an epic space saga and so much fun to write.

Here's the mini-blurb:

After trying to outmaneuver their crew mates who bet on whether they'd ever hook up, Molly and Sloan discover an abiding love and embark on a committed relationship. Their biggest problem? Trying to figure out how to live in close quarters without making each other insane.

And a sneaky peek…

Three days later, Sloan grabbed the last two boxes from their quarters and started for Molly's newly assigned office space. The deck crew had converted one of the empty cargo holds on C-Deck into two new offices. Only Molly had been allotted to use one for the moment, the other was being held in reserve until necessary to use.

Sloan huffed out a breath. "I wonder how many more alterations we'll see on the MacGregor?" He had a feeling there'd be a bunch.

As for Molly's space, her area had room for a desk, three chairs, and filing cabinets—not very big. Right now, she worked out of boxes and the fact didn't please her. She wanted to spread out and get back into the thick of things with weeding out the new recruits.

He shifted his grip on the boxes. "A massive undertaking and a new class has to be set by the end of the week."

As it looked right now, they had enough interested candidates for two full classes and that included the applicants already disqualified. Considering only 100,000 or so people remained of their former life, kind of amazing there were so many willing prospects. But how many could make the transition? Hopefully enough or they'd have big problems.

He shook his head as he rounded the corner of the entry. "Hey, what are you doing?" He found Molly standing on a ladder trying to reach the light fixture on the ceiling in her office.

She had a light bulb between her lips and both hands occupied with the fixture.

He set the boxes down and quickly strode over to steady the swaying ladder. "Molls, we have technicians specifically trained in the most effective method of changing light bulbs." A lame observation, but he grinned up at her.

I love these characters so much. Molly and Sloan go through a lot with their fellow characters and they have a lot to figure out.

 

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

ML Skye

Sunday Snippet: Close Quarters

So, I'm pretty much caught up on the holiday shopping and just in time. We adopted another doggo this week and I ended up with a mild case of the flu. So far, a multi-symptom medication is taking care of the flu and the puppy is chewing her way through anything she can sink her teeth into. We're working on the little shredder to help break her of tearing into everything.

Slow week for television, but I did watch a Classic Who arc. I think I have one left of season nine.

Caught two more episodes of Gargoyles. I had a great conversation with my oldest about the shows we watched together when he was little. Some great memories shared of how much fun we had.

Started Mr. 365, a Passionflix original, but stopped it about halfway through because I'm behind on everything and I wanted to catch Dirty Sexy Saint, the holiday movie for this year. I'll finish up Mr. 365 soon.

I'm in the middle of Dirty Sexy Saint and, so far, love it. I'm so glad I got a founding member's subscription to Passionflix.

That's pretty much it for television this week. Tonight's post is from Close Quarters, the second novel in the Scorched Homeworld series.

Here's the mini-blurb:

After trying to out maneuver their crew mates who bet on whether they'd ever hook up, Molly and Sloan discover an abiding love and embark on a committed relationship. Their biggest problem? Trying to figure out how to live in close quarters without making each other insane.

And a sneaky peek…

The brush of Sloan's chest across hers and the sting of his teeth on her skin sent shock waves straight to Molly's toes. She welcomed it. The pressure continued to build and Molly waited for the swirl of pleasure to hit.

Sloan's hot breath in her ear sent a delicious shiver down her spine and she edged closer to the precipice. He changed up the pace, thrusting faster, harder. Molly toppled over the edge, pleasure exploding like a starburst and she shattered, moaning Sloan's name.

Her release pulled him into the vortex after two more surges and he came hard, breathing raggedly as he gasped against her throat.

Spent, Sloan collapsed and rolled to his side, hauling Molly against his chest, her face lying over his pounding heart. He caressed her arm as their breathing returned to normal.

When coherent thought was an option, he lifted her chin so he could see her. "We're pulling an all-nighter, aren't we?" He groaned when she chuckled and nodded affirmative.

Amused by his reaction, Molly playfully walked her fingers up his chest. "We could always stay in bed, if you'd prefer." She knew that as much as he'd want to, the neat freak inside him wouldn't allow it.

His grimace confirmed her knowledge. "I didn't think so." She sat up and pulled him along with her. "Let's go, Captain. We've got a lot of work to do." She grabbed a robe from the back of the door and slid it over her shoulders.

Sloan wished she hadn't decided on the robe. It was his favorite—short and silky—and he'd be distracted with her wearing it.

He pulled on some sweats and followed her out into the living area where she was making what passed for coffee. As she reached up to the top shelf to get two mugs he caught a glimpse of the rounded flesh of her behind and decided they would have to take a break every couple of hours or he'd go insane. When he looked back up, Molly was grinning at him… that had been her plan all along.

He gave her his best CAG glare, which only made her laugh.

Keeping his face stern, he gestured to the profusion of paper. "Okay. Where do we start?"

Molly wasn't fooled at all. She spun and danced around the stacks of papers somehow managing to not move a single sheet. The loosely knotted robe slipped open, exposing a line of flesh down her middle.

She didn't fix it, just plopped down on the hastily cleared cushion and grabbed the stack closest to her. "Why don't you go through these and weed out the non-qualified applicants."

She waved the pages at him when he didn't respond and caught him gazing at her barely covered breasts. "Sloan… hello? You do want this mess cleared, right?"

Sloan's eyes snapped back to her face, the evil grin on it told him she knew exactly what that robe did to him.

He shook his head. "You are so bad, Molls." He grabbed the papers with a determined look in his eyes. "We will have at least a third of this room cleared within two hours." He sat down beside her and started to review the first application.

Molly smirked and stood up. "Two hours?" She grabbed another bunch of pages that were already disqualified and looked around for a file to stick them in. "Why two hours?" She found a file on the floor and bent over to pick it up, exposing herself to his perusal.

Sloan didn't say they couldn't have a little fun while they cleaned up her mess. His strangled oath didn't mean he hated the view.

Sloan willed his body not to respond to Molly's blatant teasing. "Because in exactly two hours I'm carrying you back to our bed so I can screw you senseless for torturing me."

He gave her a look, daring her to contradict his statement.

Molly gave him a wide grin. "Is that a promise?" She scribbled 'qualified apps' on the side of a box and shoved it his way. She'd go through those later.

Sloan raised an eyebrow. "Do you doubt me?" He picked the box up and set it beside him, then nodded at the floor. "Get busy… time's a wasting."

He went back to reviewing the next application to the sound of her laughter.

I love writing Molly and Sloan and it's fun to dive into how sharing space changes the dynamic of a relationship.

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

ML Skye

Sunday Snippet: Breaking Point (Scorched Homeworld 3)

I have a new furnace! It's shiny and pretty and takes up a lot less space than our old one did. And it's amazing how nice and toasty the house is again. Here's hoping the much-improved energy efficiency pays off too.

My workload is still crazypants. Trying to get prepped for having the equipment going in and out of our house didn't leave me a lot of time the past week. I also have a goal of seriously getting rid of a bunch of stuff that's been collecting in odd, random places for the past two decades.

I did get some television watched, starting with another episode of Midsomer Murders. I think I might have found the show I'll be replacing Midsomer with, but I have made a final decision yet.

Caught a few more episodes of Sapphire and Steel and watched a full arc of Classic Who. Sapphire and Steel is actually pretty interesting with a different style.

Watched a Halloween episode of Murdoch Mysteries, which ended up being pretty fun. I love it when William has to deal with people and things he doesn't feel comfortable with. Pretty cool variation on the theme song also.

Also caught another episode of Frankie Drake Mysteries. I really do like this show and the friendship between Frankie, Trudy, Flo, and Mary. My favorite season is still the first one, but if this is going to be a long-haul show, I'm down with the changes to the style.

That's pretty much it for television this week. Tonight's post is from Breaking Point, a follow up novel in what I'm referring to as the Scorched Homeworld series. Definitely a working title there.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Molly and Sloan are rock solid until the fleet reaches its breaking point and their relationship is one of the casualties… or so they want everyone to think.

And a sneaky peek… (a little on the sexy side)

Molly stood under the hot spray, waiting for Sloan to arrive. Her first mission objective accomplished, she let her mind dwell on the lack of progress. Something had to give soon or Sloan wouldn't be the only one feeling the crunch. And if any more civilians died, she hated to think how it would play out in the press. She might not credit the reporters with knowing their asses from an airlock, but they could cause all kinds of trouble the fleet didn't need right now.

Even anticipating Sloan's arrival, she'd been lost in thought and jumped a bit when his hands cupped her breasts and his mouth nuzzled her throat. Turning, she traded places with him and shoved everything else from her mind.

"Water's hot." She gave him a nudge and let him duck under the stream.

Sloan's head tilted back and water sluiced over his face. Molly's eyes tracked the rivulets as they slithered down his chest and torso before branching off to roll along his hips and legs. She moved in close, picked a droplet and chased after it with her finger. Sloan's stomach muscles rippled under her touch and his head dropped forward. He grabbed the soap and poured a small amount on his chest before adding some to the palm of his hand.

Molly took the hint and smoothed her hands over his skin working up a good lather. Sloan returned the favor and the heat of the shower notched up another degree. The way his fingertips ghosted over her skin made her shiver under the hot spray of the water. Her tongue darted out, the urge to follow the trail of suds sliding in tempting pathways over his torso too strong to resist. She licked a trail from his shoulder to his groin, dropping to her knees, her mouth wrapping around Sloan's rock hard erection.

His hips thrust forward and he groaned. "Feels good, Molly." His fingers smoothed over her scalp.

Molly swirled her tongue around the tip of Sloan's cock then sucked the length to the back of her throat. Sloan moaned and the ball of tingling awareness in Molly's stomach spread outward along all of her nerve endings. She bobbed her head back and forth, listening to Sloan's breath rasp out, letting the exquisite feeling of anticipation build until she couldn't stand it anymore.

Rising, her lips met Sloan's and he lifted her, entering with a smooth thrust. Molly tore her mouth from his with a groan. Her head dropped to his shoulder and she reached out, shutting the water off. Wrapping her legs around his waist, she rocked her hips, meeting Sloan's rapid staccato pace.

The knowledge she made him forget the problems plaguing the fleet—at least for a while—gave her a heady sense of power. The feel of him going deep, the sound of his harsh breathing, the look of ecstasy on his face… everything combined to overwhelm her senses. Would they ever lose the skill to affect each other on such a primal level?

I honestly doubt Molly and Sloan will ever lose that particular skill, but they might have to pretend to for a while.

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

ML Skye

Sunday Snippet: Close Quarters

August 14, 2016

Wish I had commentary about The Last Ship. Looking forward to the new episode tonight. Where's Rachel when we need her to figure out the science? I'm actually wondering if her former flame has something to do with the green mist stuff. Can't wait to find out who's behind that.

Killjoys continues to intrigue me. I'm so excited to see where this season ends up. I love how the various factions all seem to have pieces to a puzzle but no one knows what the puzzle looks like yet.

Dark Matter had a terrific episode. Great to see Five get some screen time to remind us of her mad skills. Three and Four make a fun team. I'm interested in finding out what else is going on behind the scenes.

Babylon 5 has two episodes left in season two… I think. Can't remember if they did a standard twenty-two episode season or not. I'd forgotten how much of an impact Talia's betrayal had, even if she had no idea what happened.

No Strike Back this week. Had way too much other drama going on to be able to watch. *sigh* Maybe I'll get to it this week.

That's the TV update for this week. Tonight's post is from Close Quarters, part two of the Molly / Sloan saga. I really need to come up with a name for this series.

Here's the mini-blurb:

After trying to out maneuver their crew mates who bet on whether they'd ever hook up, Molly and Sloan discover an abiding love and embark on a committed relationship. Their biggest problem? Trying to figure out how to live in close quarters without making each other insane.

And a sneaky peek…

Battlecruiser MacGregor—Command Quarters—Last Dog Watch

Liam MacNeill sat behind his massive desk, thoughtfully sipping an aged scotch. He marveled over how much things had changed, yet somehow still stayed the same. Life, laughter, love—even under trying circumstances—all were possible.

Bullet points. Sloan and Molly were a bona fide couple… and hadn't killed each other yet. Early stages of the relationship, but Liam hoped they'd stick together. Couples who spent time in the brig usually found creative solutions to anything dramatic going on.

Relaxed regs. He honestly didn't know how it would turn out. He didn't disagree with the need for the new protocol, but change didn't always settle well with folks used to certain structure. For every pro Lena Cunningham listed, his XO, Fergus Quinn, had a con. Liam thought it might be interesting to put the two of them in a room and let them duke it out. Liam would probably put money on the feisty president to come out on top. The woman got things done when she set her mind to it.

Her focus split in so many directions, but she maintained a very delicate balance between seeing to the needs of civilians, working with the military to protect their last assets, and digging deeper into the reasons the Aschen continued to give chase. Liam would give his commander pips to know the answer to that burning question. He had no doubt Cunningham would start pushing Dr. Barton for concrete data instead of pithy, vague conjecture. Now that the fleet had settled into something of a routine and had a general direction to travel, she'd start a plan to keep several steps ahead of their enemy. Or try to. MacNeill's respect for her grew with each passing day. She kept a lot of irons in the fire and maintained a quiet dignity while doing it.

He asked a lot of his crew and hoped they'd continue to rise to the challenges of protecting the fleet. He'd have to keep a close eye on everyone, make sure no one hit the breaking point. They still had a very long journey ahead.

This is the prologue for the second book. I'm hoping to maybe work in some dialog, maybe with Cunningham and MacNeill discussing the recent changes. The sages are pondering how they want to handle this idea. LOL

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

ML Skye

Sunday Snippet: Close Quarters

April 13, 2014

Whew. It's been a long week filled with a few bumps and bruises. First up, one of my published titles, Boyfriend's Brother, is temporarily off the shelf. I'm hoping I found a new home for it, but I'm waiting for confirmation. I'll keep everyone posted when I know anything for certain.

TV fare ended up being light this week, but S.H.I.E.L.D. totally delivered an awesome episode. I won't discuss because seeing Captain America: Winter Soldier is a true bonus before getting into any details. J

Tonight's post is from Close Quarters, a sequel to Follow Me, which is going through another draft. Hopefully none of the plot threads will need major readjustments after I'm done.

Here's the tagline:

After trying to out maneuver their crew mates who bet on whether they'd ever hook up, Molly and Sloan discover an abiding love and embark on a committed relationship. Their biggest problem? Trying to figure out how to live in close quarters without making each other insane.

And a sneaky peek…

Molly grabbed up the latest forms that had been turned in by potential trainees. She had over one hundred to review, at last count, and she needed to weed through them within a week's time.

She could really use an office.

Currently, her quarters served that function and talk about not being ideal. She liked to spread the applications out and make separate piles for those who had potential and those who didn't. Then she broke down the possible recruits into different levels and from there she would build her newest class and any future classes.

A damned huge undertaking. One she didn't know if sure she was up for.

Sloan had been a huge help with separating the good from the bad, part of the reason she had everything in their quarters for now. It probably drove him nuts because Sloan was nothing if not neat.

For herself, she functioned better in chaos, relying on her instincts to do the job. She opened the door to her quarters and saw Sloan standing in the middle of the living area, a bewildered look on his face. Uh oh. Not good.

She breezed through the door after deciding to take a humorous approach. "You lost?" She sat the latest stack of applications on the table and then cleared a space on the seating area. "Have a seat, Sloan." She stepped back and waited.

Sloan crossed over to the seating area and sat down.

He heaved a big sigh before speaking. "Molls. I know this is the biggest attempt to recruit that we've done since the world ended, but please… our quarters look like a paper bomb went off." He scrubbed his hands over his face. "I hate being an ass about this, but gods, Molly, I'm afraid to walk through here for fear I'll move something important."

He stood up and sat right back down. He couldn't even pace around to work off his frustration.

He looked back at Molly, who hadn't responded verbally. She just raised her eyebrows at him, waiting for him to continue.

So he did. "The bed? I can't even see the bed for all the paper on top of it." He closed his eyes before continuing. "Would it be possible to contain this stuff to a single room?" He opened his eyes again and waited for a comeback.

Sloan's bitching irritated her, but unfortunately, she could see his point. Didn't mean she had to like it, though. She had one week to get through a mountain of paperwork.

What was one more week? Really?

Apparently, too much.

Molly pasted a smile on her face. "Right. Single room coming up" She walked into the bedroom and gathered all the forms from the bed in a haphazard pile and then stalked back into the living space. "Happy?"

She tossed the papers by the pile she just came home with. Dammit. She didn't want to argue with him, but she really felt the pressure to get this finished.

Sloan shook his head. "You didn't have to do that." He got up and carefully stepped around the papers still on the floor. "Look, I know you have a system that works for you and spreading out helps the process."

He stopped in front of her and pulled her to him. "I've worked on this with you enough to get that." He stroked his hand over her hair. "Let me help you. There has to be a way we can keep the process going without wrecking our own space… at least until they assign an office to you." He leaned back to see how she was taking his suggestion.

Molly's face remained impassive while she mulled over Sloan's offer.

She hated giving up any kind of control but even she couldn't stand the mess they were living with right now.

What the hell?

He could help her go through everything and organize it a little better. Which meant they'd be putting in a long night. Molly grinned and looked up at Sloan.

Instead of answering, she stepped back and pulled him toward the newly cleaned off bed. If they were going to be up all night, at least they could start things off with some fun.

I actually had the best time writing that scene. J

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

ML Skye