Page 3

Chapter

Three

ADON

Thunder rattles my skull, along with the windows, when I wake. I should have stuck with one whiskey, but that rosy-haired minx left me high and dry. Had to get something other than my fingers wet.

Pink pussy stained my palms so much, I used it to jerk myself off at home. Sad and alone.

May as well do it again. With my hand covering my nose, I huff some leftover scent from her. I can’t tell if it’s imagined patchouli and vanilla, or if the smell is really there. Whatever it is makes my morning wood swell until it seeps a bead of pre-cum from the top.

Soft pillows greet my neck as I crane it back and grip my dick with the hand that was inside the brat’s cunt. My fingers strangle it as I beat myself off, anger rising that she ran away like she was scared . She thought she was giving off big girl energy, but I see now that a daddy is exactly what she needs.

The thought of taking her over my knee and spanking her ass until the color matches her short strands makes my balls thud with impending release. If I find her again, I’m filling every hole she has while she screams and bucks and fights me off. I’ll savor it when she learns to obey. On her knees, waiting for my cum in her little mouth…

Begging for the release of her daddy’s seed close to her womb.

“Fuck!” Reams of jizz splash over my hand and up my chest, some landing on my neck. Damn . Haven’t come that hard in a while.

As I scrub my skin in the shower, I shake my head with disappointment. That girl reeked of deep-seated issues and looked way too young for me. Definitely acted like it.

I can’t stand brats. They’re not my thing. It annoys me when subs want to play games that only shorten the good time we could have together.

Rosy didn’t look like a regular at the club, and I shirk the thought of seeing her again for good. One and done. Glad that’s over.

Although…

A tickle in my brain reminds me that I didn’t really have her. We didn’t copulate. So if I come across her again, I could tie her to a bed and take her. Maybe I’d put a leash on her for the night and make her crawl around as my personal pet.

“Damn it!” Hard again.

After another masturbation session, I dress for the city gym. When I get to my kitchen, I freeze as my heart stops for a moment. “Christ! You scared the shit out of me.”

My brother, Rhodes, turns around from the fridge with a wry smile. “Sorry. I ran out of beer and just got done with my shift at the hospital. Stores are closed this early.” Heavy blue bags line his worn-out eyes, which check the clock on the oven as I take a deep breath to calm my nerves. “You slept in. It’s almost nine. Late night?”

With a wag of my finger at the hissing can of the ale he opens, I shake my head and warn him. “Don’t drink those around Eli. I don’t want them at your house.”

He chuckles around the rim and squints. “Okay, Adon. We’re both in our thirties. I don’t think you get to tell me what to do in my own home anymore.”

My teeth grit as I grab my keys. “Do you want our brother to fail?”

His throat constricts as he swallows, his grin vanishing. “You know I don’t. But I think he needs to learn to be around normal life. Learn what it’s like to be free again.”

Sometimes my middle brother is right. This may be one of those times, but we can’t give Eli too much room to make a mistake. I need to keep a close eye on him before he fucks up again.

Rhodes sets the can on the counter, a sheepish look overtaking his serious expression. “He’s got a girlfriend now. Seems pretty serious.”

My chest feels like it’s going to cave in. Has he already gone to the strip club? Where would he get a girlfriend? “That could be a problem. She been coming over to your place?”

“No, but he’s been staying with her most nights.” His olive cheeks turn red as he shrugs, like his next words aren’t that big of a deal. “And, uh…I think she’s quite a bit younger.”

Snapping my face to his, his chocolate brown eyes widen. Part of me feels like I have no business judging my youngest brother after what I did last night at the club. But he can’t get into trouble with the law. If he gets himself entangled in something illegal, he’ll get sent to prison for life. And he just spent seven years there.

I almost choke on the reflux rising in my esophagus. Should have stuck with one whiskey. “How young?” I squeak out the question, my body frozen.

“I-I’m not sure. Eli wouldn’t do something that dumb. Let him have fun. Come on, Adon.”

Flashes of our youth pour through my brain. Late nights I spent awake, waiting for Eli to come through the door. When he did, stumbling, high and gaunt, I’d try everything I could think of to scare him sober. Rhodes would come behind me with the soft approach, placing him in the shower and making him something he would eat.

Maybe if I’d been stricter, he’d have stayed out of prison. I don’t think I’m good for anybody. My brother thinks he’s the screwup, but his mistakes are my fault. I should have been there for him. Mom and Dad would have wanted that.

“Well, I’m heading to the gym. I guess he’ll be there. I’ll try to ask him about her.”

Rhodes’s shoulders relax, and he smiles while chugging the rest of the beer. “Keep me updated. I’m heading home to get some sleep.”

He follows me out the door, and as I lock up, I nod at him. “Hey! Watch him. Make sure he doesn’t do something stupid. He needs us both.”

As he slides into his car, he calls out, “I will. I am.” He gives me a mock two-finger salute, and I watch him drive off before getting into my driver’s seat.

This urge and longing to correct my failures makes me think of my kids. I hit the button to call Avery’s phone on my navigation system, but she doesn’t answer. Visions of her sneaking out to be with Liam make me grip the steering wheel tighter. Teenage pregnancy, alcohol, drugs… I can see the path now. She’ll tell her future parole officer that her dad’s the one to blame. That I didn’t love her enough or because her mom left. Because I couldn’t fucking open up to anyone.

Frustrated, I dial Emily, who picks up on the second ring. “Hey! Need something?”

As I pull into the gym parking lot, my breaths grow shallow. I can’t relax until I hear their voices. “Just missed the kids. Where’s Avery?”

Some irritation rings in her voice as she answers, “She’s sleeping in, Adon. Teenage girls do that on the weekends.”

Growling through the phone, I slam the truck into park. “She’s not a fucking teenager yet, Em. Will you just go to her room and make sure she’s there?” Before my question is finished, her breathing picks up like she’s making her way upstairs.

The sound of a door creaking sounds through the speakers, and she sighs. “Yep. Asleep.” More panting and then a pause. “And your son is up playing his game. Want to talk to him?”

“Will you tell him I love him? Sorry to bother you.”

“You’re not?—”

I press the button to end the call before she’s done telling me what I’m not. When I hop down from the cab, I grab my bag from the back and head inside. Eli’s hogging the squat rack in the corner and gives me a slight nod in the mirror.

One earbud in, I turn up some jazz, then make my way over to him. I drop my bag next to his at the station, and he pauses his rep to wipe some sweat from his forehead with a nearby towel.

“Hey. Where were you last night?” I try not to sound like I did when I was eighteen and had to become his guardian fast. But I can’t help my worried tone.

Defensiveness creeps across his tense trap muscles as he scoffs and shrugs. “I was out. Why?”

I know my brother. He’s not going to tell me something directly. Especially not about pussy he’s fucking. Pretending to busy myself by grabbing my weightlifting gloves out of the bag, I Velcro them to my hands and stand.

Casually, I toss out, “Ah, just curious. Rhodes says you haven’t been staying at your place. Is it not comfortable?”

Like a kid, but now larger than even me, he kicks out his foot and shakes his head. His mannerisms are in such contrast to how big of a man he’s become. “I’m seeing someone, okay? I have a girlfriend.”

His eyes are steady, not bloodshot and…if I think about it, he looks happy . All I can do is grunt a reply. I pick up my bag to turn around, thinking he won’t answer more, but I pause, deciding to give it another go. “Where’d you meet her?”

Through some tight lips, he gives me, “Bookstore.”

Well now, that’s a fucking lie. “Okay. How old is she?”

If I’d punched him, he would look less pissed. A deep furrow forms between his eyebrows as he snaps back at me, “Why? What the fuck does it matter?”

I take two steps closer and lower my voice. “Eli, is she at least eighteen?”

A beefy shoulder hits my sternum as he shoves me away from him. “Fuck you. Yes. God , do you think so little of me?”

Ignoring the last question, I clarify. “So she’s eighteen.”

His chest expands with his deep breath, and he puts his headphones back on. I could really lose him here. If this girl means something to him, and it seems she does, I should probably get to know her. Make sure she’s not going to sway him into doing stupid high school shit. “Why don’t you bring her to the shop?”

Slipping his fingers from the squat bar, he blinks at me several times. “You serious?”

My hand grips his shoulder. “Yeah. I’d like to meet her. Bring her by sometime.”

He nods slightly, but seems quite uncomfortable with the direction of the conversation. “O-okay. I’ll ask her when the time’s right.” As he returns to his weights, he tilts his head toward me. “Thanks, Adon.”

The heavy dumbbell weighs as much as the guilt settling on my back. It’s my fault. I should have done things differently. If I could have gone to prison for him, I would have. But it’s time to do things right. For everyone.

I need to set a good example and be the big brother they expect of me.

And that involves not showing up to fuck young women at the club on Friday nights.