Chapter 3: Bradley

I revved the engine of my R1M, heading west down Ashland Route towards the house. It was nearly six in the evening and the sun hung low in the sky, blinding me through my helmet's visor. I was late and Aaren would scold me no doubt.

The guys wanted to blow off some steam tonight. I was itching to set something the f*ck on fire.

Our last shipment of cocaine and heroin had gotten seized before it even touched land. That was the second time this year and it was only March. Aaren was furious; we couldn't figure out how the authorities were catching wind of our shipments so quickly, but Hell save the person that snitched when I find them.

As I pulled into the driveway, I saw the guys had already gotten the party started. Men in sharp suits and some in more casual attire filtered in through the front door with scantily clad women on their arms. One female in particular looked absolutely delicious as she strutted by me, solo, and I cut the engine of my bike. I was tempted to follow after her but I had to find Aaren and Morgan.

The house was lit up as I made my way up the driveway and through the double doors. A few couples stood in the entryway, chatting together and enjoying cocktails that the waitstaff handed out diligently. The sounds of laughter and small-talk echoed off the lofty walls of the entryway.

I fished my lighter out of my jacket pocket along with a joint and lit it up, taking a massive inhale and holding it before blowing the smoke in the face of some mousey little thing in a white coat. She coughed and nearly dropped the tray of drinks she held.

"Don't you dare f*cking drop that," I growled at her. "Or I'll take it out of your ass." She yipped, startled, and quickly found the shortest path away from me and into the main room to the right. I laughed and took another drag off of the joint as I headed towards the stairs.

I checked the upstairs rooms one by one, searching for the two tight-asses I called my brothers. We weren't actually related, didn't even look close to it. Aaren was tall as sh*t with dark, well-kempt hair and even darker eyes. Morgan was just an inch or so taller than my six foot, long blond hair that made my hair look brown by comparison.

I was muscular; most of my free time was spent lifting weights. Anything to channel the f*cking raging torrent in my skull. I had my mom's green eyes and deep-set dimples; they made me fairly lucky with the ladies. Unfortunately I also got my dad's temperament, so the ladies weren't always so lucky with me. God f*cking forbid they thought they could fix me.

I strode to the game room upstairs, steadily puffing on the joint hanging from my lips. I could hear laughter filtering out through the cracked door and kicked it open the rest of the way. "Hey, f*ckers," I said to my brothers.

Aaren had a woman on his lap, a busty thing with long, unnaturally red hair. She looked like Jessica f*cking Rabbit and I couldn't help the cartoon wolf eyes that bugged out of my head. Aaren went from smiling and whispering something in the woman's ear to glaring at me over her shoulder.

Morgan was on the adjacent sofa, a gorgeous man rubbing his thigh as they sat too closely together, nearly entangled. Morgan didn't bother even looking at me as he flipped me off and leaned into the bearded man's lips for a heated kiss.

Aaren tapped the woman's bare thigh and scooted her onto an empty cushion next to him so that he could stand and right his suit jacket. Always the impeccable little imp. I winked at Jessica Rabbit as Aaren approached me, a threat no doubt on his tongue for being so late. The woman smiled knowingly and waggled her fingers in our direction.

"You're gonna share, yeah?" I stumped out my joint in an ashtray and made my way to the alcohol cabinet near the pool table. I poured myself a drink of whatever Aaren kept in those fancy bottles, the ones made of crystal. I shot back the drink and made a face as it burned it's way down my throat.

I heard Aaren go red in the face before I saw it. "Did you just shoot a 57 year old scotch, you f*cking heathen." He approached me and took the stopper for the bottle out of my hand, putting it back. "If you want to do shots, there's a bottle of Captain Morgan in the damn freezer downstairs. If it's in the crystal, it's not for you."

I smiled–winding him up was one of my favorite pastimes. Truth be told, I didn't even like his fancy-man drink, but I did love seeing that vein bulge out of his neck.

"And I might have shared," he pulled the stopper from a different decanter and refilled his glass with some foul concoction. "Had you been here on time. But, I already did all the heavy lifting, got her all warmed up for me. I'm not going to let you just swoop in and put your dick near my dinner without putting in any work."

I was hardly even listening as I watched Jessica Rabbit eye-f*ck the both of us from across the room, a smile on her face like she knew we were discussing who'd get which hole first. "Maybe I'll just steal her from you?"

He laughed at that, a real knee-slapping laugh. He almost spilled his drink. "Fat chance, brother. Maybe after we have our talk, you can try your luck with one of the women downstairs."

I grumbled under my breath, upset now that I wouldn't get a taste of Jessica– I really should ask her her name. Maybe he'd let me play with her when he was done with her. "That talk is gonna have to wait. I need to f*ck someone or set something on fire."

Today had been a real sh*t show. First; the guy I got my bike parts from called to tell me it would be two weeks before he got the new part for my Ducati V4 in, then we lost the drug shipment, and now I wasn't going to get to play with Jessica.

Aaren started to lecture me and then I remembered the hot piece of ass that I had spotted when I arrived. "Hold that thought." I turned and walked out of the room before he could stop me. He wouldn't follow, he knew he couldn't stop me. Plus, he had his own hot little piece to keep warm.

"If I were a little mouse, where would I be..." I mused to myself. I walked back downstairs and into the formal dining room, searching for the gorgeous head of blond hair from before but came up with nothing. I walked through the informal kitchen where a few people mingled and made my way onto the back patio area. When I didn't spot her there, I went out onto the lawn and swiveled my head around, searching.

The sun was a little lower in the sky and the waters of Lake Aster shimmered with an orange and yellow light. Down by the water there was a little sitting area, more for decoration than anything. Stone benches sat in a neat little circle around one of those heavy stone tables. On the table, she sat on a blanket and looked out over the water. I saw a little puff of smoke dissipate above her head and grinned. "Naughty mouse."

I took off my shoes, the thick grass muffling my steps, and crept up behind her. When I was about two yards away, I smelled the familiar smoke of weed coming from the joint between her dainty fingers. "What are you doing out here," I asked when I stood right behind her.

She jumped and let out a cute little scream. F*ck, I loved it when they screamed. She went to hide the joint behind her back and waved at the smoke enveloping her face like she was fifteen and her dad had just busted her. I fought the smile stinging my cheeks, keeping my mask firmly in place. "I'm– I'm sorry," she stammered out. "I thought it was okay to come out here, the back doors were open."

"Do you see anyone else out here?" My tone was low and menacing.

"Well no, so I figured it was okay if–" I cut her off.

"If what? If you take one of my blankets," I motion to the familiar folded fabric under her ass. "And smoke weed in my backyard? What if the neighbors saw you and called the cops?" She was wide-eyed and visibly shaking and I could feel my pants tightening.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I wasn't thinking." She broke eye contact and looked down at the blanket. She started to stand and dust it off when I snapped again at her.

"Sit down." She yelped softly and planted her ass back on the blanket. "Where did you get the joint?"

She looked up at me for just a second and then backed down. "I brought it, it's mine."

I forced a judgmental sounding breath out of my nose. "So you also brought drugs into my house?"

Her eyes shot back up and met mine then, shock and embarrassment flaring her nostrils. The sight sent a shiver down my spine straight to my balls. I stuck my hand out and motioned towards her shaking fingers that still held the joint. Her eyes rounded out even more as she watched my face and placed the joint in my fingers. She was about to apologize again when I narrowed my eyes at her and took a long inhale from her joint.

"And it's not even good sh*t." Her brows pulled together in a tight knot, confusion flashing in her eyes. "Here." I stubbed out her sh*tty joint in the grass and pulled a much fatter one from a case I kept healthily stocked. After I lit it, I handed it to her and she took a cautious puff. When she exhaled, she looked at me and smiled from ear to ear. "Much better, huh?"

She nodded and then tapped me playfully on the arm. I think it was supposed to be a slap of some sort. "You scared the sh*t out of me!" Oh, she'd seen nothing yet. The night was still young.

"What's your name, sweetheart?"

"Leah," she stuck out her hand for me to take but I just stared at her. "Yours?"

"Bradley. Want to play a game, Leah?" I took another drag from the joint and then grabbed her chin and forced her jaw to relax, blowing the smoke from my lungs into hers. She held the smoke in her lungs and nodded.

I grinned against her lips. Of course she wanted to play, they always thought they wanted to play. "It's a game of hide and seek. You hide, I seek."

She giggled and exhaled the hit I'd given her. "That sounds fun! What are the rules?"

"One rule; if I catch you, I f*ck you where I find you. Doesn't matter where you are, I take you right there." I cocked my one brow in a challenge.

She giggled then and shot up off the table. "How long do I have to hide, and what if you can't find me? What do I get?"

"One minute starting now, and if I can't find you... You get to leave tonight without being ruined." I grabbed a strand of her hair and rubbed it between my fingers, smiling at the mischief in her eyes. Maybe she would be some fun after all. "Run little mouse, run."