Sunday Snippet: Stripped to the Skin

I'm still working on getting my side project ready to go. At this point, I have no idea how long it will last but I'm going to go like gangbusters until I can't anymore.

Had a solid week of work. Finished up a copy edit and started a new one. Also worked on a developmental edit that's been simmering on the back burner. I have three projects lined up and I'm waiting on deposits to get rolling on those. Hopefully, December is going to be a steady month of work.

Had a very good week of viewing. I made it through my usual round of shows and started looking for a former fave to rewatch but it's not readily available. Might have to dig out my ripped DVDs and hunt around for one of my old players.

I caught two episodes of The Batman this week. No Justice League cameos in these two. Strictly Robin and Batgirl, which I enjoyed.

Also watched two episodes of Classic Rugrats. Both were single episodes instead of the standard two or three vignettes. Preschool and Halloween featured and were a lot of fun to watch.

Enjoyed another episode of Mr. and Mrs. Murder. I'd seen most of this one and liked it the first time around. Very fun to get some background on the detective.

Finished out the first season of London Kills with an episode-length behind the scenes look at the series. Lots of fun to see the actors talk about their characters and see how the showrunners also make the city of London a character.

Caught another episode of Death in Paradise. I liked the mystery in this one and enjoyed the crab cooking contest. Not completely sold on Marlon as the new police officer but I'll probably end up enjoying him.

Finished up the second half of Silent Witness and, boy, there were a lot of twists in this one. Really loved Jack declaring his love for Nikki at the end. So nice to see them have a happy moment.

Watched an episode of Elementary and rather enjoyed it. Of course, it ended on a cliffhanger, and I have no doubt Mycroft is involved in something nefarious. I truly hope involving Joan blows up in his face.

That's it for the life update this week. Tonight's post is from Stripped to the Skin, a novella that brings a couple together during a tense moment in isolation.

Here's the miniblurb:

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…

Lose the pants. Right. How many times had he wanted to hear something similar coming from Kaley's mouth?

More than he'd admit. And holy shit, she looked incredible standing her bra and hipster briefs. Glistening like she'd just had sex … her hair mussed up. How many times had he imagined what she'd look like after a romp in bed. Again … more than he'd ever admit.

Gah!

He shoved his pants off and kicked them across the floor. Kaley started to say something then stopped, her mouth hanging open. Her gaze zeroed in on his crotch. His dick fought the confines of his knit boxers, making a large and noticeable bulge.

Kaley's eyes widened a little. "Oh, my." She fanned the front of her face.

Dax huffed out a breath. "Exactly. This is why I didn't want to strip down. Anyone with eyes will see the same thing you do." A massive hard-on.

Kaley didn't take her gaze from his groin when she slowly made her way toward him. She stopped inches away and tentatively traced her finger over the ridge of his cock. She didn't remain unfazed. Her nipples puckered under the fabric of her bra.

Her tongue shot out to moisten her lower lip. "Damn, that's going to be a—pardon the pun—big problem." Her palm cupped his erection.

Dax grunted. "If you keep handling it, it's only gonna get bigger." He waited a beat. "The problem, I mean." He kind of enjoyed the play on words.

Kaley glanced up through her lashes. "Maybe we should find a resolution to this situation." Her gaze darted around the space. "Over here. Come on." She led him to the small alcove used for vaccinations and pushed the fabric-covered partition around to block them from view.

Dax cocked his head to one side. "How do you see this working when it's like a hundred and ten degrees in here?" Perspiration dripped off him.

Kaley's lips curved. "Trust me when I say neither of us will last long. I'm not just hot from the temperature." She turned and grasped the edge of the sink with one hand then pushed her hipster panties down with the other revealing a perfectly shaped ass.

This didn't match any of the fantasies he'd had about her, but he didn't care at the moment.

He swallowed hard. "Shit. Apologies in advance for how quick this will be." He freed his dick and nudged the head between her legs.

Kaley shot a quick look over her shoulder. "Not gonna hear me complain … unless you keep me waiting." She pushed her butt back, so the tip of his shaft slid along her folds.

Dax thrust forward, sliding in so deep he had to bite back a moan.

Perfection … regardless of the crazy circumstances. One time wouldn't be enough. He would definitely want more…

So much fun writing this one. Dax and Kaley didn't really pick this moment to test the waters for a relationship. The moment pretty much picked them.

 

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

ML Skye

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

Sunday Snippet: Stripped to the Skin

Wow, September flew by. Now that we're into fall the days always seem to go faster, probably because they're shorter and the activities tend to be jam-packed. I love the fall season so I hope I remember to take time to enjoy it.

As usual, the week got stuffed full of last-minute projects, but I did get some good viewing in. I caught The Last Ship on Monday because my brain needed time to recover from homecoming. LOL An excellent episode by the way.

I binge-watched classic Hawaii Five-0 most of the day on Sunday and it helped soothe my garbled mind. Caught another episode of Midsomer Murders and I'm almost through the season. I think I still have about seven more to watch.

Got in another episode of Babylon 5 along with The Sarah Conner Chronicles. To keep with the sci-fi theme, I also watched episodes of Birds of Prey and Lexx. Rounded the week out with Pensacola Wings of Gold and The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency.

Caught an all-day marathon of The Garage Sale Mysteries, too.

That's it for television this week. Tonight's post is from Stripped to the Skin, a novella that started with a writing community prompt of rewriting a scene from your favorite show but give it a twist. I chose to write one from Battlestar Galactica and instead of oxygen deprivation I went with a malfunction that made the temperature rise.

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…

Kaley Pick paced the small confines of the isolation area. "Figures one of you asshats brought some kind of contaminant back with you." She didn't like downtime with nothing to do.

Dax Christopher quirked a brow. "So you're sure it wasn't you that stepped in something nasty then?" He propped a shoulder against the wall and let his gaze track her progress.

Stupid man.

The third member of their team, Brad Robinette, added his two cents. "Yeah, Lieutenant, what makes you so sure?" He didn't move from his spot on the tiny sleeping berth against the wall.

"Shut up, Bird Dog." Kaley spoke in unison with Dax.

Robinette rolled his eyes. "Sucks being an ensign to two lieutenants." He swiped a hand over his forehead and pulled his t-shirt away from his body, fanning himself.

Dax moved to sit on the small bench beside the table where they ate their meals. "What's got you all hyped up? We've only got three more hours left in iso." He leaned forward, placing his forearms on the metal top.

Kaley stopped pacing. "You know I hate being confined with nothing to do." She started walking again. "Gives me too much time to think." Which never worked out well for her.

Dax couldn't disagree. "Yeah, okay. But you don't have to get twitchy. It's almost over."

Kaley loved the fact he'd totally call her on being jumpy but understand why.

She snorted. "That's exactly why I'm twitchy." And feeling flushed.

Robinette cut in. "Is it me or is it really hot in here?" He got up and went to the door. "Seriously, I'm sweating buckets." His face pressed against the small glass window, but it didn't seem to help.

Kaley didn't like the way Bird Dog looked. His hair stuck to his skin, his soaked shirt clung to his body, and his breathing had gone shallow. Dammit!

 Dax got up and met Kaley at Robinette's side.

He nodded toward the comm unit. "Try to get in touch with someone." He led Brad to the berth and got him settled. "It is hotter than a sauna in here." He snagged a bottle of water, one of their last ones, and gave it to Robinette.

Kaley picked up the handset. "It's dead. No tone." She hung up and looked out the window.

The observation area appeared to be deserted. Shit. Of course everyone would be scarce when they actually needed someone.

Dax came over to her side and looked out the window. "Looks like the outer door is closed." Meaning no risk of contaminating anyone by leaving before the allotted time. "Let's go out and try the comms." He tried the hatch and it wouldn't budge. "Dammit, it's jammed." He had sweat dripping from his face.

So did Kaley. Sweat on her face, dripping down her back, and between her breasts. Ugh. How did she miss the rise in temperature?

Because she thought her anxiety caused the perspiration. And it skyrocketed with the current hatch situation.

She pushed Dax aside. "Let me take a look." She pulled the panel to the inner mechanisms. "Dax, it's not jammed. It's autolocked." Well, crap.

Dax peered over her shoulder. "Which means malfunction. Perfect."

Kaley sighed and put her head against the hatch. "What a time for the ship's systems to go haywire." A thud hitting the floor drew her attention.

Robinette lay sprawled on the floor beside the berth.

Perfect.

I love to take a scene and turn it on its side or spin it around. Dax and Kaley are fun to write and I love adding little beats between them on the page.

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

ML Skye

Sunday Snippet: Stripped to the Skin

So… Mad Max: Fury Road? Kick ass movie. Seriously, an excellent two hours of viewing pleasure. And I'm from the generation that started the whole Mad Max franchise and this movie blows the original ones out of the water. Enough said.

Let's see… Teen Wolf. Can't really say much. I'm sort of waiting to see what happens. This season isn't holding my interest as much as I'd hoped, but I'll reserve judgment until I've seen more.

But my Friday night lineup is kicking everything into high gear. Defiance rocks. I'm always kind of stunned by how quickly the dynamic changes. Same goes with Killjoys. Only two episodes left before a break and I want more. I have a feeling this show will eat my brain in the off season. Not a bad thing. Dark Matter turned in a pretty decent episode, but I can honestly say I'd like tighter writing. First season world building aside, it would be nice to get a little more information on Two, since we've seen a fair amount on the others.

The Last Ship is a little over halfway through its second season and I can't wait to see how things start getting resolved. This is one of those shows I'm stuck between wanting more and being happy a season is short and sweet, leaving me time to savor the goodness before a new one starts. LOL

Tonight's post is from Stripped to the Skin, a sexy short where my characters get hot under the collar.

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 shook his head. "I'm not undressing him. You do it." He stepped back, bumping up against the wall.

Kaley put her hands up. "Oh, no. No way. Bird Dog would read way too much into it if I'm the one who gets his clothes off." And she'd never live the disrobing down.

Dax cocked his head to one side. "And how, exactly, would he know?" His t-shirt already had perspiration soaking through.

Kaley narrowed her eyes. "Good point. Which I'm gonna have to throw back at you." She crossed her arms over her chest. "How would he know if you're the one to do it?" Sweat dripped between her breasts and she lowered her arms, trying to cool down.

Dax snorted. "Because you have a big mouth and I don't." He gave up and removed his shirt, daring her with his gaze to claim otherwise.

She couldn't argue. Dammit. She would have a helluva time keeping it to herself.

Kaley growled and knelt down. "Fine." She loosens Bird Dog's fatigues and dragged the pants down his hips to reveal boxers with big lips all over them.

Dax let out a low whistle. "Well, those aren't standard military issue."

She couldn't help it and burst out laughing. "Oh, my holy hell. Those are seriously the only lips that'll ever get close to him." The temperature must be getting to her, tears sprang to her eyes.

Dax lowered down, helping remove Brad's boots. "Hey now, the poor kid just hasn't figured out how to be subtle yet." He tossed the footwear up against the wall.

Kaley yanked the pants off all the way and shoved them aside. "Yeah, well, making a move on me wasn't his best play." She glanced up. "And if he says one word about me being the one to remove his clothes, I'm going to find a way to make you pay for a long, long time." Unable to stand the heat, she grabbed her shirt and yanked it over her head.

Dax lifted a brow.

Kaley shrugged. "Not like you haven't seen me in sports bra before." She fanned her face. "And the pants are next, so be prepared." Rising she popped the button of her fatigues after kicking her boots off.

Dax reached out and grabbed her wrist. "Hold up, Kales. It might not be the best idea to strip down." His fingers trailed along her forearm. "Robinette obviously needs to be cooled down, but you and I aren't suffering like he is."

Kaley huffed out a breath. "Speak for yourself, Dax. I'm dying here." She met his gaze again. "Aren't you?"

Dax stepped back. "Yeah, I am. But…" He glanced away. "We'd be tempting fate. Hot or not, the less you have on, the harder it'll be to resist what I want to do." His voice dropped to sexy growl. "What we both want to do."

Kaley's eyes widened. "Really? You pick now to poke a stick at the big, bad attraction we have?" She undid the rest of the buttons on her fly. "Get over it, Dax." Pushing the damp fabric past her hips, she used her feet to anchor the legs and remove the garment. "Why not, for pity's sake?"

He grabbed her biceps and turned her to face him. "Because it's only going to get hotter in here and that means keeping our heads on straight will get harder, if not impossible."

Kaley huffed out a breath. "Which also means whatever happens can't be held against us. Did you think of that?" She quirked an eyebrow.

Dax opened his mouth then snapped it shut.

Victorious, Kaley nodded. "Exactly. Now lose the pants."

This sexy little short is so much fun to write!

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

ML Skye