Sunday Snippet: Crash and Burn

Okay, Gotham, you have my attention. I'm now very interested in Bruce Wayne and what's going on with him. Also loved the whole Fish / Penguin interaction. Not sure how I feel about the reporter, Vanessa Vale, yet. I'm not really down with a major triangle but I might be jumping the gun. The whole Ivy thing is also in the I'm-not-sure-about-this corner. Looking forward to Monday!

Agents of SHIELD didn't have a bad premiere. I'm still a week behind. Ended up with a nasty cold / respiratory ick and missed the episode Tuesday.

Van Helsing is still kind of "meh". I'll see if the next few episodes get better and bring the various threads together.

MacGyver is still not too bad. I'll keep watching and see if ends up going too cheesy for my tastes.

Rewatch fare remained with Miss Fisher. I started a fandom bullet journal and hope to jot down my favorite moments from the series. I've been using it to help keep track of what I like and don't like about all my shows.

And that's it for television this week. Tonight's post is from Crash and Burn, a novella with a possible Star Chaser tie-in. It's one of my meet the wrong brother first kink stories.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Pepper Strand met the wrong brother first and when her personal feelings get in the way, she takes the easy way out. When it leads to the death of Bax's sibling, she drowns her guilt with alcohol and Bax decides to make her crawl out of the bottle and into his arms.

And a sneaky peek…

Pepper Strand elbowed her way into the Flaming Lips entertainment facility and fought her way to the bar. She grabbed an empty stool and waved to Preble, the super-hot bartender.

He gave her a sexy smirk, reached behind him, and snagged a bottle of lumenici, a crazy good, very potent form of liquor. In a pinch, Pepper had no doubt the alcohol could fuel the sked cycles she raced on the circuit.

Pepper waggled her eyebrows and nodded. "Hell, yeah. Gimme some of that." She flipped her hair over her shoulder and flashed a big smile.

Preble poured a healthy amount into a rocks tumbler and slid it her way. "What's up tonight, Pepper? You're not hitting on all cylinders right now." He ambled down and propped his forearms on the bar.

Pepper's shoulders slumped. Figured Preb would notice. The guy had an uncanny ability to read people.

She downed a gulp of the lumenici. "Eh, had a major spat with Brad. Stormed out and came here to clear my head." She finished off the liquor. "Or get totally drunk. Haven't decided which, yet." Setting the glass down, she tapped the rim, indicating she wanted another round.

Preble did the honors, filling the tumbler up this time. "So, what did you and boy wonderful argue about this time?" He dribbled a little liquid into a shot glass. "Or should I say what did the little prick do to piss you off?" No love lost between the bartender and Brad Loman.

Of course, if Brad would stop picking fights and trying to outdo everyone all the time, he might not get thrown out of Flaming Lips all the time.

Pepper rolled her eyes. "It's not always Brad's fault. I can be a raving bitch sometimes." But not tonight.

Preb brought the lumenici to his lips. "Right. But not without cause. When you get your bitch on, you've always got a reason." Sipping the liquid down, he waved for her to continue.

Pepper sighed. "Yeah, well, that's true. And I left before I could go into full-on mode tonight." She downed half the contents in her cup.

Preble smirked. "Probably a good thing. So… spill, Pepper. What happened?"

She drained the rest of her glass. "Brad thinks he's ready for the big time and wants to skip out on the rest of his qualifications." She risked censure if she let him slide. "And he invoked his old man's name, thinking to sway my big, fat no into a yes."

Preble sputtered. "Are you serious? He knows you could lose not only your job, but your ranking, right?" He flung a towel over his shoulder and started straightening the bar.

Yeah, Brad totally knew what she could lose. And apparently didn't care. He thought she'd cave when he mentioned his dad. Legend Loman expected his boys to carry on the family tradition and match or exceed his status on the circuit. The man had a ton of influence with the racing board and the sponsors.

Pepper shrugged. "Yeah, apparently it's not a big deal to Brad. He should be out there making a name for himself, even if it means riding on Legend's fumes instead of earning it for himself." The burning sting of anger reared up again. "Not gonna happen." She wouldn't put her job on the line, not even for the man she loved.

Preble nodded. "Damn straight, sweet thing. You gotta take care of you." His lips curved in a grin. "And, hey, if it means the little shit has to wait for his shot, so much the better."

The slap at Brad didn't faze Pepper like it normally would. Her edgy anger still simmered below the surface. Brad could be a charming guy and usually treated her well. But lately… well, he didn't have a lot of patience.

Preble propped his forearms on the bar and leaned in. "You know what you need, Pepper?" He waited a beat. "Aside from a new boyfriend, I mean…" He barked out a laugh.

Pepper quirked a brow. "I'm pretty sure you're gonna tell me, right?"

Preble slid her a sideways glance. "Hell, yeah. You need to blow off some steam. And I've got just the thing." His head jerked toward the squared-off sparring space in the center of the bar floor. "You should hit the ring, babe. Work off some of that aggression you're feeling." He leaned closer. "As an added bonus, boy wonderful's big brother, Bax, is the man to beat tonight." Grabbing the towel from his shoulder, he waggled his eyebrows.

Pepper tilted her head to one side, considering the idea. She had yet to meet Baxter, but his reputation more than preceded him. He'd been tearing up the circuit, placing in the top three spots for over a year. No doubt, doing Legend proud in the process.

Which probably explained why Brad wanted to jumpstart his career.

Sliding off the stool, she gave Preble a wide smile. "Put me on the dance card, Preb. I'm gonna go have some fun."

I'm loving the potential with this story. The sages need to get their act together and give me more fodder.

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

ML Skye