“What the hell are you doing?” I hissed, as he poked his head into the ladies’ bathroom and then pushed inside. The room was eerily silent. Not many women came to All Eyes Gentlemen’s Club on a Tuesday night, unless they worked here, and employees had a bathroom they could use in the locker room.
Bret didn’t answer until he’d backed me into the handicap stall and locked the door behind us. “How do you feel right now?”
“Like we’re going to get arrested.” My voice echoed above the stall. “When we’re on the news, they’re going to use our real names. That’s going to be awesome.”
“Would you calm down? We’re not going to get fucking arrested. Steve won’t let that happen.” Bret chuckled. “Do you think you’re the first stripper I’ve fucked in this bathroom, Katelyn?”
“You really know how to charm a girl.” I resisted slapping him; he’d like it too much. “Who said I was going to fuck you?”
“It was a high to be on stage, wasn’t it? All those people wanting you? Wanting to be with you? Every single one of those guys will beat off later to the memory of your naked ass rubbing against that pole. If you don’t get release, you’re going to go insane.” That last word came out as a purr against my ear. “You’re going to be begging me for my cock later if I don’t give it to you right now.”
I shivered but refused to give in to him. “Why would I do a thing like that, when you just pointed out I have so many options?” I battled my fake eyelashes at him behind my glasses, smiling as sweetly as I could manage. My pussy screamed at me to give in, my little thong was soaked. My arousal was going to be running down the inside of my thighs any minute. Way to help me lose an argument, body.
“Right. And they’ll pay you for it.”
That lopsided smirk saved his life. I went up on my tiptoes and whispered in his ear, “So will you.”
“Shut your mouth and take off your panties.” That low tone got me every time.
“I thought you liked my mouth.” Back to the staring contest, but I reached under my skirt to pull down my underwear. “All the amazing things it does to your body.”
“I like it better when you aren’t talking.” He held out his hand. “Give me those.”
“Like hell I will.” I balled my wet thong in my hand. I didn’t have anywhere to put it.
“Give them to me, or I’ll go find one of your competitors.” His mouth set in hard line. “It’s about time I make a new video, anyway.”
“Go for it.”
He didn’t move. “Give me the panties, Gemma.”
“Fine.” I sighed, making a big show of handing them over. All this arguing made me so frigging horny. “Get this over with. I don’t want to miss my prize.”
Bret dangled the thong from his finger. “Here’s my prize. Now I have a souvenir from our family vacation.” He pushed it into his pocket, fishing a condom packet out. He opened it and rolled the latex down his shaft.
“It’s a good thing you know what to do with that cock.” I spoke directly into his ear. “Or else I’d break it off and keep it as my souvenir.”
He pushed my shoulders back against the stall. “I said stop talking.” He rested his forehead against mine as he slammed into me. I hadn’t been ready, but fuck, it was perfect. I wrapped my leg around his ass, as he kept thrusting into me. His eyes glowed with determination, anger, and lust, an inch away from mine. I could’ve gone blind in the glow.
“You can’t tell me what to do.” Which was total bullshit, but a girl could dream. “I will keep doing anything that annoys the shit out of you as long as I possibly can. You’ll hear my voice in your head when you’re with the next girl you screw. You’ll fuck her so hard, trying to shut that little voice up, but you won’t be able to do it. Ever. And she’ll send me a thank-you card, because I will have gotten her the best sex of her life.”
“I’m going to make you scream when you come”—Bret’s words were strained—“and then I’m going to shove your thong in your mouth to shut you up.”
I laughed. “That’s nasty.” I tried to hold in the snickers that wouldn’t stop. I pictured him trying it. “If you do that, you’ll be picking up your teeth off this filthy floor with broken fingers. For real.”
Bret didn’t reply. Ha. I won the battle, I saw stars, and I was going to win the war too. This is what it felt like to best my stepbrother. Fucking amazing. Almost as good as this orgasm.
“Katelyn?” One of the girls called out as I moaned. Shit. “Is that you?”
Bret pulled out, frantically trying to finish himself off, and I rolled my eyes. “I’m busy.”
“We’ve been looking all over for you. They need you on stage so they can announce the winner.”
“I’ll be right out,” I called to whichever one it was. “Give me my panties,” I whispered to Bret.
He looked at me like I had a better chance of seeing Santa Claus in that stall.
“Is someone in there with you?” The girl giggled.
It wasn’t all that scandalous, was it? Unless she had some idea who I was in here with.
“Give them to me,” I whispered again.
Bret zipped his cock back in his shorts, and then patted his pocket. “Mine,” he mouthed.
Whatever. It wasn’t like the whole room hadn’t seen my goodies. I opened the stall door, surprised to see Kendall still standing there.
Her mouth fell into an O when she saw Bret behind me. “I knew it.” The smirk that spread across her face said nothing nice. “If you win, this is totally fucking fixed.”
“I’m not a judge,” Bret said. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You won’t get away with this.” She crossed her arms in front of her. “This is our club. We have an arrangement here. You can’t just walk in here and take our money.”
Um, what? I got in Kendall’s face. “Yes I can, because it’s amateur night. And I thought you said it wasn’t fixed. If you’re so good, stop acting like an amateur and go on stage to collect your money.”
“Damn straight, I will.” She didn’t back away. “Or I’ll ruin both of you.”
Chapter Nineteen
“What are you going to do with the money?” Bret asked, as we drove through Newport.
We’d left Jersey amidst a scandal. The blonde bombers were determined to ruin me, whatever that meant, although they had way too much material to work with. Bret called Steve this morning, confirmed those bitches were crazy and had a history of intimidating new contestants. Steve assured Bret he kept my paperwork in a place they couldn’t find it. If they did, it wouldn’t take them long to cook up some controversy, once they saw I shared Bret’s last name.
“My five million?” I stretched in the seat and yawned. I’d never been so glad to see my mother’s house come into view in my life. Just like Bret promised, I was absolutely exhausted after crashing from the adrenaline rush of performing. I’d also never had as much sex in a two-day span in my entire life. Every muscle in my body screamed when I moved.
Bret scoffed. “I’m not done with you yet, Gem. Don’t get cocky.” He put the SUV into park in the driveway. “I mean your winnings from last night.”
I’d taken the five hundred dollar prize. I wanted to shout it from the rooftops—the chunky chick with the real tits and the glasses took down the Barbie triplets in a stripping competition. Yes. I also scooped up a hundred and fifty bucks off the stage from my dance. Not bad for five minutes’ worth of work, if you asked me. “Oh. Pay a couple bills. And I’m not done with you yet, either.”
“That’s it?” Bret frowned, as he pulled both of our bags from the trunk. He threw his over his shoulder and rolled mine behind him. “You should have some fun with it.”
“You’re my fun this summer.” I walked beside him up the walkway. The lights blazed from every downstairs window. It was too late for Mom to still be up, and she’d never leave every light in the house on when she went to bed. Weird. “This money goes to getting the bill collectors off m
y back. Believe me, that sounds like a good time at this point.”
An empty wine bottle sat on the island in the kitchen. Even weirder. Mom drank now more than I ever remembered before, but I wasn’t saying anything about it because Dad just died—and, well, we all sought comfort in places we didn’t expect. People in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones, but people living in their mom’s houses for free kept their mouths shut, unless something was really wrong.
“Good, you’re home.” Mom’s tone said nothing good, when she came into the kitchen with an empty glass. She looked dead behind the eyes. “I want to talk to both of you. In the family room. Now.” What the hell was going on? We were all in one piece, and there couldn’t be anything worse than losing Dad.
My heart sunk into my stomach, as I glanced over at Bret. He chewed his bottom lip and followed Mom out of the kitchen.
She picked up her tablet and handed it to me. “Explain this.”
The picture on the screen was actually gorgeous. A silhouette of a couple locked in an embrace on a sailboat, with fireworks going off in the distance. The only problem was the picture was of me and Bret. I stared at it open-mouthed, as Mom swiped the screen, revealing the next one that looked like a Hallmark card. We’d pulled away from each other, but our expressions belonged to lovers, not brother and sister.
If Mom hadn’t taken the tablet away from me and handed to Bret, it would have been smashed on the floor. I was almost sorry I didn’t drop it, because then maybe this wouldn’t be happening. It could live in my fantasy and not be something anyone else ever knew about. Especially my mother. But the hard glare she shifted from me to my stepbrother made me realize everything we’d had, the delicate balance of our secret world, had been broken.
“Gemma. Bret. I’m waiting.” She didn’t even sound like herself.
“I can explain,” Bret said. Good, because I certainly couldn’t. “On the Fourth, I invited Matt to come out on the boat. He and Gem’s friend, Nikki, hit it off at the party, as you probably noticed. I knew he wasn’t going anywhere if she didn’t go that night, and it would be rude not to invite Gem. Once we got out on the boat, it was heavy being out there, since that was Dad’s thing. Gemma got upset watching the fireworks, and I wanted her to stop crying. That’s all.”
It was a pretty solid explanation, if you asked me. Even a loose interpretation of the truth.
“That’s a lovely story, sweetie, but I don’t believe a word of it.” Oh, fuck. “There’s only so long I can field phone calls from your relatives about your behavior at the party. And now this? What the hell is wrong with the two of you?” She held her head in her hands. “Don’t answer that. I don’t want to know.”
“What behavior at the party?” I asked. We didn’t do anything scandalous. Out in the open, anyway. But Nikki wouldn’t stop hounding me about my relationship with Bret afterward. What if they saw us in Bret’s bedroom? No. Mom would’ve never let that go this long. “And who gave you these pictures?”
If it was Nikki, I’d fucking ruin her. But why the hell would she do such a thing?
“That’s not important.” Mom snapped. “Bret, you’re no longer welcome here. You can stay tonight, but I expect you to be gone when I come home from work tomorrow. Thank you for all your help this summer. It’s meant more to me than I can tell you.” She choked back a sob. “Gemma, the only reason I’m not asking you to leave is because I know you don’t have anywhere else to go.”
“I’m sorry I disappointed you, Ellen.” Bret hung his head low as he walked up the stairs. “I’ll be gone in the morning.”
I stood frozen in front of the firing squad.
“Nothing happened on that boat,” I whispered.
“I wanted the two of you to get along, because I thought you could act like civilized adults, not animals.” Mom’s words pelted me like bullets from a semi-automatic weapon. She knew a lot more than she let on. “A thousand little things didn’t seem right this summer. I ignored every gnawing feeling in the pit of my stomach, because I wanted to keep my family together, no matter what. Gemma, you’re smarter than this.” She walked out of the room, leaving me alone with the photo of me and Bret still glowing on the tablet.
**
I wasn’t going to apologize. I was absolutely fucking mortified I got caught but not sorry I did it. So many words ran though my brain, phrases zipped by like they were on a radio in the background, but if I tried to process any of them, they turned to static.
My suitcase waited for me in the kitchen, where Bret had forgotten about it. Now it seemed like a time capsule. If I could crawl inside and transport myself back to New Jersey, I would. Any place that I could be free from all the shit I hated about my life. I dragged it upstairs carefully and was greeted by the dark. Loud, angry music spilled out from Bret’s room. As a teenager, it had been his signal that he didn’t want to be fucked with, and I didn’t think things had changed much. We needed to talk, but really, what was there to talk about?
We did it.
We got caught.
Now what?
Neither of us could answer that question honestly tonight.
I slipped into my pajamas, my skin numb, and lay in bed even though I knew sleep wasn’t coming. After about an hour, I got up and grabbed my phone. I texted Bret one word.
Leonardo.
Chapter Twenty
“Did you tell my mother about me and Bret?” I stormed into the elephant area the next morning, pumped up on rage and accusations. I probably looked like I belonged in a cage myself, claws out, fangs at the ready.
Nikki dropped the bag of feed she was holding, and kibble pooled around her ankles. “No. What the hell happened?”
“She has pictures of us on the boat. They were taken after the fireworks.” I paced, still not feeling human. Nikki’s wide-eyed gaze followed me, as I rambled on. “And she was spoken to about our behavior at the party.” I didn’t clarify by who. If Nikki was the one who started this, I wasn’t giving her an out. Although I had little right to be mad at her. She wasn’t the one fucking her stepbrother all summer.
“Gemma, I barely know you guys. It’s not my place to interfere with what you do. And your choices are on you. You know I had my suspicions, but I’d never do that to anyone. I don’t want to be judged for my choices, either.”
I leaned against the wall, resting my aching head against the cool stone. “Yeah. You were right.” I looked over at her. The shock had subsided. Not like I was telling her anything she didn’t already know. “It started off as a crazy bet of sorts, and it got out of control fast.”
“Don’t apologize. To me of all people.” Nikki came over and gave me a stiff hug. “The heart wants what the heart wants. And you guys aren’t blood-related. Yeah, things are weird right now, but you and Bret are good together. You have great energy. I had so much fun the couple times we hung out.”
My body was totally numb. “What we did wasn’t okay.” I would not cry at work. My mother was on the premises, and I shouldn’t even be talking about this here.
Nikki tried to get some of my hair back in my ponytail, tucking it behind my ears before giving up. “Your parents fell in love, right? So why is it such a stretch that their kids would too?”
I wasn’t exactly sure I’d call it love, but it was the strongest emotion I’d ever felt for another person.
**
Time moved excruciatingly slowly when you were all alone. I’d gone through the motions of my life like a ghost. My mother wouldn’t look at me during our drive to and from work—an hour and a half of sheer torture every day. In the stone stillness, I could hear her thoughts, and they made me sick. Probably not as sick as they made her, but they left an aftertaste not even acid could wash away.
“You should call Bret.” Nikki treated me like a rescued puppy since I came back from New Jersey.
I believed that she didn’t rat me out, which left someone else who was at the marina. So many eyes were watching that night, and we’d basically given t
hem all the middle finger. I might as well have stripped there, too.
“What am I going to say?” I hadn’t told her about the money. The appointment with the lawyer was in a couple days, and it felt more like an appointment with the executioner. “It’s not like we broke up. We can’t get back together. I’m not sure if he can be my stepbrother anymore. My mom won’t talk to either of us.” Our dad had to be rolling in his grave.
“It might make you feel better.” We put everything away for the day and filled out our paperwork. “Even if you can’t fix anything, I think it would be good to see him. Maybe you’ll realize it was all worth it, or that you’d gone batshit crazy, and you’ll be happy to walk away. It will give you closure.”
I’d wanted Bret so many times in the last few days. Not just physically. I had questions about taking care of the flowers and using the grill, or I’d see something that reminded me of his dumb ass. At first I’d smile, until the incredible emptiness crept in. “Maybe you’re right.” At least I’d be able to say goodbye.
But I was too scared to actually do it.
My phone rang. I usually ignored it. No one called but bill collectors, and I didn’t need to waste my minutes on those assholes. Now I made a game of it, trying to figure out if I could tell which one it was by the phone number. If I didn’t laugh, I’d cry. They all left messages, like they thought I was unaware I couldn’t pay my bills. Or that I actually wanted to hear what they had to say.
This one wasn’t a bill collector. It was Bret.
“Hey,” I said, wondering if I was dreaming, and still half expecting a bill collector. They’d talk to me like they were going to get in my pants too. Anything for the money. That part of their job I could sympathize with.
“Hey.”
My heart stopped at the sound of his voice. All the things I’d wanted to say to him evaporated from my brain.
Dirty Little Secret: New Adult Rock Star Romance (Not Exactly A Stepbrother Romance Book 1) Page 15