Jokers Wild: Stripped Bare

by Lena Matthews

  “No,” she moaned, tightening her nails in his chest. Brody could tell that he could make her give in, but he didn’t want her to do anything that she wasn’t comfortable with.

  “I want to see you tonight,” he said, licking the inside of her ear. Brody felt her body shudder against his and had to bite back the urge to shove her against the wall and fuck her hard and fast.

  “I have to work tonight,” she said, caressing him with her hands. “But I get off at eleven.”

  “I’ll stop by after my last class,” Brody replied, kissing up her jaw. “What time do you go in?”

  “Three,” Missy whispered against his lips, softly kissing him.

  “Are you going home now?” he asked pulling back.

  “No I don’t get out of class until two-thirty.”

  “Did you bring a change of clothes?”

  “No,” she laughed. “I’m wearing this.”

  “The hell you are.” he fumed.

  “What’s wrong with it?” she asked, looking down at her outfit. “You liked it just fine a few minutes ago.”

  “I still like it, but I don’t want you wearing that to work.”

  “Why?’

  “Because it’s too…” he paused, looking for the right word.

  “Too what?” Missy frowned.

  “Too revealing.”

  “Don’t start, Brody.”

  “I’m not trying to start, but come on Missy, you’re breasts are practically popping out of that blouse.”

  “They are not,” she said, covering them with her hand.

  “Yes, they are.”

  “Why are you okay with me wearing it to school and not to work?”

  “Because at work you’re surrounded by a bunch of horny perverts and at school…”

  “I’m not?” she asked smiling. Dropping her hands off her chest, she laughed as she shook her head in amusement. “You’ve been in the trenches too long, soldier boy. High school boys and college boys are the definition of horny perverts.”

  “I’m not kidding.”

  Sighing, Missy rolled her eyes, and cupped his face with her hands. “I’m not kidding either, Brody. I’m going to work and I’m wearing this. So deal.”

  Jerking his head back, Brody had to fight back the controlling demon inside of him. “I don’t like it.”

  “You don’t have to,” she said, dropping a kiss on his lips.

  Taken aback, Brody realized that she was right. Missy was going to do exactly what she wanted and there wasn’t shit he could do about it. Or was there?

  “I’ll see you tonight,” Missy said, as she picked up her discarded backpack from in front of his desk.

  “Yeah,” he shuffled around, thinking. If Missy thought she was going to have the last word, she was sadly mistaken. “I’ll see you tonight.”

  With her hand on the doorknob, Missy turned back to him and said. “Shall I send in the next victim?”

  “Funny,” he grumbled, walking behind his desk. Sitting down, he tried to hide his still-erect cock underneath his desk and watched Missy swish out of his office. The old saying “what a difference a day makes” was no joke. His shy little Princess was blooming right before eyes, and he wasn’t sure how he felt about it.

  Chapter 13

  Looking cute didn’t come easy. The lace of her bra was scratching her sensitive breasts, and her thong had all but disappeared into her abundant rear. It was going to take a crowbar to pry that sucker out of her butt, Missy thought as she tried to discreetly shift so that the thin string would slide out of its hiding place. She now knew for a fact that despite all the malarkey that Eliza had slung, not every butt could survive in this deadly floss.

  Other than the chafing she was sure she was experiencing; the purchase of her new clothes had been a good idea. Even Brody seemed to like them, after his initial shock had worn off. The look on his face was worth the itchy boobs, the lost floss and all the lewd glances she had gotten tonight. Although Missy would never admit it to him, he had been right about wearing this outfit to work.

  Not that anyone had been rude or discourteous to her, but she had gotten a few too many glances at her breasts instead of her face tonight. Even Nick, her co-worker, had given her a double glance when she walked in tonight. Missy no longer doubted how good she looked; it was just probably for the best that she didn’t look this good at work again.

  Putting down her magazine, Missy picked up the phone and went to dial Brody’s number when the doorbell dinged, signaling that someone had come in. Putting the phone back in the receiver, she turned to the doorway, and smiled when she saw Bryce strolling into the store.

  In grease-stained jeans and faded blue T-shirt, Bryce looked handsome but dirty. He had a grease smear above his right brow, and his hands, although clean, seemed to be permanently stained brown.

  Smiling, she walked around the counter and said, “Hey Bryce, what are you doing here?”

  “What, I can’t pop into an adult bookstore on my way home from work for the sheer pleasure of it?”

  “I have a hard time believing you need to come to a place like this for pleasure.”

  “I’m a lonely, lonely man,” he teased, winking at her. “Besides, I have a secret crush on a hot babe that works here. What do you think my chances are?”

  “If you’re talking about Patty, you’re out of luck, she only dates women.”

  “Damn it, just my luck,” Bryce said snapping his fingers, pretending to be disappointed “And wouldn’t you know it, I happen to like that in a woman. Oh well then, I guess it’s for the best that I had my eye on someone else. I was talking about this hot little brunette with legs that won’t stop.”

  “You flirt.”

  “Is it working?”

  “I think one Kincaid in a lifetime is enough, don’t you?”

  “It’s the wrong one, baby.”

  “That’s what all the Kincaids say.”

  Laughing, he leaned against the counter and looked around the store. It was only six, so the crowd was still kind of light. Tuesdays were good movie rental nights so Missy was expecting to get busy later near the end of the night.

  “So, did you come to take advantage of our rent one, get the second one free offer?” she teased.

  Bryce’s eyes, so similar in shape and color to Brody’s gray ones, twinkled and crinkled in the corner. “No, I just came to check out the scenery.”

  Something about that just didn’t seem right, Missy thought as she narrowed her eyes asking, “What are you doing here, really Bryce?”

  Saluting her, he replied, “Just following orders, ma’am.”

  “Whose orders?”

  “Sergeant Brody Kincaid’s, ma’am.”

  “Brody told you to come keep an eye on me?” Missy demanded shocked.

  A lazy grin spread across Bryce’s face. Missy could tell that he found the whole thing to be amusing; unfortunately, it was at her expense.

  “Not an eye on you per se,” he said amusedly. “More like an eye on that outfit, and, may I add, damn you look good.”

  “No, you may not,” she fumed. “I’m going to kill him.”

  “Well you’ll have to wait until eight, because that’s when he’s coming to relieve me.”

  “But his class isn’t over until nine.”

  “I think he’s closing up early.”

  “Arrg,” Missy said shaking her head. “Your brother…”

  Nodding his head in commiseration, Bryce agreed. “I know. Mom has the same reaction.”

  “I’m going to kill him.”

  “You would be surprised how often I hear that phrase when it comes to him.”

  “And you think this is just funny?”

  “As hell.”

  “You both are twisted.”

  “Once again, you’re not saying anything that I didn’t already know.”

  Stomping around the counter, Missy snatched up the phone and punched in Brody’s cell number.

  “He’s in class now,
” Bryce reminded her, grinning like a fool.

  “That’s just fine,” she muttered, waiting for his voicemail to kick on. His smooth voice came over the line, only enraging her further. He was so freaking controlling. Missy just wanted to beat him in the head with a cast iron skillet until the white meat showed. That stupid, egotistical, con…

  “Brody,” she yelled into the phone after his voice message clicked off. “You better be lucky that this is a recording and not you because I’m so mad right now I could spit nails. You stupid, jerk, who in the hell do…”

  The phone clicked, ending her message, and that only pissed her off more. Slamming the phone down again, she turned and looked at Bryce, who was holding his sides, laughing.

  “Shut up!” Missy demanded.

  Bryce only laughed louder and harder. Missy picked up the Swiffer and hit him on the arm. He howled and jerked out of the way, still laughing, and Missy herself had to see the amusement of the situation. She was still pissed off at Brody, but it wasn’t Bryce’s fault, the damn fool. He was laughing like she was doing stand up at the Apollo.

  “It’s not funny Bryce,” Missy walked back around the counter.

  “It is a little,” he said, holding his fingers marginally apart.

  Sighing, she plopped down on her stool and shook her head in disgust.

  “Cheer up, baby girl, it could be worse.”

  “How?”

  “He could have asked some of his commando buddies to come over here in fatigues and case the joint.”

  Missy paled at the image. “He wouldn’t?”

  “He did that to my mother’s last boyfriend,” Bryce laughed.

  “He’s certifiable.”

  “That he is, but he’s also crazy about you.” Looking at her seriously, Bryce added. “So before you brand him with cooking ware, keep in mind his heart is in the right place even if his head isn’t.”

  “I know,” Missy said frustratedly. “But it doesn’t mean that it’s not annoying.”

  “So make him pay tenfold tonight.”

  “Don’t you worry, I plan to.”

  “Thatta girl,” he grinned.

  “You know you really don’t have to stay.”

  “Sure I do. Brody asked me to do him a favor and I’m here. If the situation were reversed, he would do the same for me. It’s a brother thing; you wouldn’t understand.”

  Missy didn’t get these two. They were almost complete opposites but closer than any two men she had ever met. Growing up an only child, she didn’t understand the bond that came with having a sibling, and not for the first time, she regretted being alone.

  Her mother and she had been close as only a single mother and an only child could have been, and when her mother died, she had felt like her entire world had died along with her. Missy had always wondered that if she’d had a brother or a sister to share the burden with, if she might have turned out differently. Missy couldn’t imagine Brody without Bryce or vice versa. They were lucky, and they probably didn’t even know it.

  The two hours passed quickly, especially since Bryce was such a joker. He teased and kidded her about everything. From customers to products, nothing was safe from his bawdy humor. He had even shared stories of his and Brody’s childhood with her. Missy had laughed more tonight than she had in awhile, and she had to admit he made the hours go by quicker.

  Twenty minutes after eight, Brody strolled in the door with his hand held behind his back. Missy was in the middle of laughing at one of Bryce’s terrible jokes when she caught sight of Brody. She stopped laughing abruptly and frowned at him. Brody had the good sense to look sheepishly at her, because if he had come in all macho and commanding, Missy didn’t know what she would have done to him.

  Bryce turned and looked over his shoulder and smiled when he saw his brother. “Kept her warm for you,” he teased, walking over to Brody.

  Brody smiled slightly and slapped him on the shoulder. “Did you get much grief?”

  “Not as much as you will.”

  “I was afraid of that,” Brody said, looking over at Missy. Taking his hand from behind his back, he presented her with a dozen pink roses, her favorite. Missy’s heart lifted a little because he had remembered what her favorite flowers were, but she wasn’t going to let him get off that easily.

  “Thank you,” she gruffly took the bouquet into her hands. Lifting it, she inhaled the floral aroma and smiled into the flowers, careful to keep her face adverted so he wouldn’t see.

  “Well, I know when my job is done,” Bryce said looking between the two.

  “You don’t have to go,” Missy urged.

  “No, I do have a life you know. A boring one, but a life nevertheless. And six o’clock comes earlier and earlier everyday. I’ll talk to you later, sweetie.” Winking at her, he slugged Brody and said. “Call me tomorrow, bro.”

  “Will do, man. Thanks for coming down.”

  “No prob.”

  They both watched him walk out of the door. Brody turned to her when the door closed behind Bryce and asked. “So how much trouble am I in?”

  “Tons.”

  “Got any weapons back there that I should know about?”

  “You’re not funny.”

  “A little.”

  “No. Not at all.” Missy laid the flowers on the counter behind her and turned back to him, frowning. “I can’t believe you did that.”

  “I thought it was a fair compromise.”

  “A compromise!” she practically shouted. “Do you even know what that word means?”

  “Sure I do. It means a settlement of a dispute in which two or more sides agree to accept less than they originally wanted. I’m an English Professor, remember?”

  “Way to go, Webster, but I don’t recall you and I agreeing that your brother was going to come baby-sit me.”

  “You need to be free to make your own decisions and I need to know you’re safe. I think Bryce was a reasonable compromise.”

  “I didn’t agree to it, Brody.”

  “And if I would have asked you, you would have said no.”

  “So you did it without asking me?”

  “I’m trying, Princess, I really am.” Brody took her hand in his. “But you really have to meet me halfway. I know that I’m a tad bit possessive.”

  “A tad?”

  “Okay, maybe more than a tad, but I worry about you. This isn’t the safest place in the world to work.”

  “The majority of the people who come here are just lonely, Brody.”

  “Lonely, horny people do crazy things all the time.”

  “This place is as safe as any other retail store.”

  “Maybe you shouldn’t work retail.”

  “I like my job, and I’m not going to quit.”

  “I’m not asking you to. I’m just worried about you.” Concern filled his eyes and his hands tightened around hers. “Just let me take care of you.”

  Sighing, Missy said softly, “There’s a difference between taking care of me and smothering me.”

  “I’ll move the pillow from above your face, if you cut me some leeway.”

  Laughing, she smiled. “You’re a pain in my ass.”

  “Not yet, but the night’s still young.”

  “Not for you buddy, you’re on punishment.”

  Leaning over the counter, he dropped a quick kiss on her lips and said, “I like the sound of that.”

  “I don’t want Bryce coming here to keep an eye on me anymore.”

  “But what if he stops by to do some shopping?” Brody asked deviously

  Rolling her eyes, she looked at him amused. “This isn’t a grocery store, Brody. I might buy that once or twice, but if he’s here every other day, I’m going to think your brother’s got some strange habits.”

  “He does, trust me. I shared a room with him for fifteen years,” Brody assured her.

  “That’s the same thing he said about you.”

  “Yeah, but he lies.”

  “And you don�
�t?”

  “Don’t you trust me?” he asked coyly.

  “With everything but the truth,” Missy replied laughing.

  “Ouch.”

  “So what,” she said coming from around the counter. “Do you plan to just hang out here until I get off?”

  “Yep.”

  “And how long do you plan to do this?”

  “Until you find another job, or I get arrested for stalking, whichever come first,” he said grinning.

  “You’re twisted you know.”

  “It’s been rumored, but is that how you talk to all of your customers?”

  “You’d have to buy something in order to be considered a customer.”

  “I’m planning to.”

  Raising a brow, she asked, “What are you looking for?”

  “I’m in the market for the perfect vibrator.”

  Missy stared at him, completely in shock. “What for?”

  “Do you ask all your customers that?” Brody inquired, crossing his arms across his chest.

  “Only the ones I’m sleeping with.”

  “Since it’s for you, I guess I’ll let you pick it out.”

  “I’ve worked here for three years and I’ve never bought one. What makes you think I’m going to buy one with you now?”

  “Because I’m going to fulfill all your fantasies, remember?”

  “And one of them was to get a vibrator?” Missy asked, confused.

  “No, but I have plans for it,” Brody said, wiggling his brows up and down. “Do you want to pick it out or shall I?”

  “I think I should, just to be on the safe side,” Missy replied apprehensively.

  Walking with him down the aisle, Missy wondered what Brody had planned for her. None of her fantasies had included a vibrator and they had already masturbated in front of each other without the aid of any battery-operated devices, so she was at a loss as to why he wanted to get one.

  Stopping in front of the hundreds of vibrators they had displayed on tables and racks, Missy looked at the pleasure sticks in a new light. She had stocked, ordered and even suggested a few for customers, but she had never looked at them with herself in mind. It all seemed strange now to her that they came in all shapes and colors. Sizes she could understand, but colors and shapes seemed a bit odd.