Midwinter Crises

Midwinter Crises by ML Skye a Capital City Seasons novelette

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Tagline: Mixing the holidays with a madman who wants to blow up the city is just another day on the job for Ben and Jess.

Blurb: Capital City teems with tourists, shoppers, and anyone else who can cram their way into the limits for the Midwinter celebration. The entire holiday will go to hell in a hand basket if Ben can’t negotiate a peaceful resolution with the man holding the city hostage. If he fails, sharpshooter Jess will step in and take the guy out.

Not exactly the post-breakup reunion scenario Ben has in mind for seeing Jess…but he’ll take it. He let work split them up once, now it has a chance to bring them together. Ben will take the opportunity and run with it.

 

Excerpt:

Jess.

Murph didn’t want to lose focus, and wouldn’t really, by allowing himself the momentary indulgence of thinking about her. Or, more accurately, life without her.

To use one of her favorite phrases…it sucked.

He missed her. Them.

Six months since he’d seen or talked to her. When she hadn’t answered his calls after their last night together, he chalked it up to her being stubborn. Fine. He could deal. But when his emails and text messages were ignored, it pissed him off. It wasn’t like her to be childish. And she sure as hell didn’t fall short on courage.

Patience on the other hand…Jess sorely lacked it. And most of that came back to him. His insane schedule usually meant he’d be home on weekends and a handful of weekdays during the month. The first six months of their relationship, he spent damn near every free moment he had with Jess. It got to a point where he’d joked about giving up the lease on his flat because it wasn’t worth paying for a home when he never went there. Jess told him he should…since he ended up being at her place most of the time anyway.

Sitting up in bed, he looked down at her. “Are you asking me to move in?”

“No, you idiot. I’m saying you already live here. Why not call it home?” She fisted her hand in his t-shirt and tugged him down on top of her. “It’s stupid to pay for a place that acts as a storage unit for your stuff. Oh, and somewhere to have your mail delivered.” She tilted her chip up, bringing her lips to his for a quick kiss before she pulled the shirt up and over his head.

And then her hands were on his skin, kneading his back, skimming his sides, tugging him down for mind-numbing kisses. Her lips burned a trail from his shoulder to his mouth. Her tongue slipped in, teasing his. She moved her hips up and down, writhing against him, building tension.

His cotton boxers didn’t offer much of a barrier against the heat she generated. And her mouth nipped, licked and sucked wherever it could reach.

He could do the same.

Her thin camisole couldn’t hide the pebbled tips of her nipples and Ben lowered his head to flick his tongue across one pointed peak. He started to pull the bodice down but Jess grabbed the hem and tugged it up and off. Then she put her mouth back on his skin.

He followed suit and mimicked each kiss. Each lick and drag of tongue. Each nip and scrape of teeth. During the sensual smorgasbord, he managed to remove her panties and work his boxers down and off. Coming up on his elbows, he settled between her thighs.

He pushed up, bracing his arms on either side of Jess. Poised to enter her, he teased her with the tip of his cock. “You’re sure?” Ben wanted to pursue whatever they had together, but Jess could be impulsive. Moving in was a big deal.

Jess grabbed his ass and raised her hips, dragging her clit along his erection. “If I wasn’t sure, you wouldn’t already have half my closet space.” Wrapping her leg around his waist, she nudged him again, impatiently. “Are we going to co-hab or what?”