Chapter 1

One

Evelyn

Sweat drenches my body as I jolt awake from yet another nightmare. My heart beats erratically in my chest as I try to recall the details, but they disappear before I can even analyze them, slipping out of sight before I can latch on. Ever since my mother and I moved in with Tobias and his son Kade, I’ve woken up every night the same way—sweaty and in much need of a shower.

Stretching across my queen sized bed, I turn on the lamp that’s perched on my nightstand. The light chases away the shadows in almost every corner of my space. A few deep breaths in and out, and finally, my heart starts to calm.

The same three people star in my dreams. Every night. All night. My stepbrother Kade and his two best friends, Ryker and Merrick. Although, I never remember the details. It’s always their faces flashing in my mind.

A cool breeze floats over my skin. Goosebumps spread over my heated flesh, chilling me to the bone. Eyes sear through my flesh, watching my every move. My heart skips a beat. Sweat forms over every inch of me despite the chill.

Frantically, my eyes bounce around the light-filled room trying to find the source of the breeze, but come up empty. Every window in the room is locked tight. Despite the breeze hitting me in spurts. My head snaps up toward the light whirring sound of my ceiling fan blasting at full speed.

It's just my fan. Nothing spooky or weird. I'm okay. Just my dang fan causing it all.

Internally, I groan at my stupidity. But it’s not really that stupid, is it? Everything about this house literally sets my teeth on edge. The hairs on the back of my neck stand on end like there's a monster in every corner, ready to drag me away and devour me. I’ll devour you, Evie Girl. His deep voice practically floats on the breeze, bringing me back to my dream. Hands seem to brush against my thighs and shoulders. His words haunt me going over and over in my mind.

Fudge.

I shake my head, willing the weirded out feelings to disappear. They never do, though. Always hanging in the background, constantly following my every move. I push a breath between my lips and look toward the plain white ceiling. My father used to say to pray my fears and sins away, so I close my eyes and breathe.

But the feeling doesn't subside. It intensifies. Even as the light of my lamp flickers.

Images of my stepfather and brother flash through my mind. Maybe it’s not even the house at all; maybe it’s just the four of them.

Tobias Montgomery married my mother three years ago, after only knowing each other for one month. Yeah, a month. She called it a whirlwind romance. I called it bullshit. Too bad my opinion didn't matter. Never has. Never will.

They barely knew what each other liked for breakfast. And all of a sudden, there's a ring on her finger and a certificate in a frame. I know I’ve been hoping for my mom to meet someone that makes her happy, but I think she should’ve taken a bit more time to get to know him. He’s not a bad guy. There’s just something about him that screams sinister. The same vibes waft from his son and his best friends—the trio.

Truth-be-told, my thoughts on the trio are a complete one-eighty more than I have ever thought in my life. They are the sexiest men I have ever seen, and besides starring in my dreams, they have the leading roles in my fantasies too. When I touch myself, it's them I beg to take me.

I swallow hard, looking around the room one last time, searching the shadows for any indication of the eyes I feel watching me. Despite the sweat clinging to my skin, a different type of need presses down on me. Hard and fast. Seeming to come out of nowhere.

I bite into my lower lip, laying back, and cover myself up. Leaning over, I turn off my lamp and let the eerie darkness settle over me again. Almost instantly, I feel something slithering through the shadows and eyeing me when my hand descends into the depths of my panties.

Closing my eyes, I try to stop my father's words from ringing through my mind.

Respectable women do not touch themselves under the sheets. It is a sin, Evelyn. One you must not commit. God sees everything you do.

It’s one of the many mantras he’s told to me ever since I had hit puberty. At thirteen, I had no clue what he was talking about. By fifteen, when he passed away, I had it all figured out.

My fingers brush my little bundle of nerves, sending a jolt through my body like electricity. The moan that slips through my lips drowns out my father’s relentless voice pressuring me to take my hand away, replacing it with dirty whispers that set my entire being on fire.

“That's it, Cherry, touch that sweet pussy.”

“Slip a finger inside that tight little cunt, Little Sinner.”

My body shudders when the words ring through my mind clear as day, burrowing deeper in my mind like they're right there whispering beside my bed. Feather-like touches brush against my skin almost as if the shadows are reaching out and begging me to let them take me. I don’t know when my mind became so dirty, but I can’t deny that it gets me off every time.

Spreading my legs further, the comforter creating a tent between my knees, I follow the path from my clit to my slit, swirling my finger in my wetness. My pussy is absolutely flooded with need, making it easy to glide two of my fingers inside. Pumping them in and out, I nearly scream as the orgasm rushing forward tries to tip me over the edge.

My breaths come short and quick as I thrust in and out. The whispers in my head get dirtier the closer I get to that blissful peak, but I hold off. Listening to their thick voices practically chanting in my mind.

“Fuck yourself, Pura Anima. Imagine it’s my cock pounding you into the mattress.”

The image of my Merrick flashes behind my eyes. Him looking down at me, hips snapping against mine, and fucking with abandon. His grunts. His ecstasy. His entire being surrounds my body, and I feel him all around me.

The walls of my pussy flutter, tightening around my fingers like a clamp. I cry out when his image disappears only to be replaced by Ryker. Oh, God. My body shudders when a mischievous smirk crosses his face. Mixed with lust and a small amount of possessiveness. He aggressively plows into me even harder and harder until I physically feel him pounding into me and moving the bed.

I rub furiously at my clit. Drifting closer and closer toward the edge, needing that extra little push to make me finally come undone. Ryker fades before eyes like a shadow drifting back into the darkness. Only to bring forth my stepbrother, Kade, wearing a look of pure need, possession, and want. Whatever is in the whispers falling from his rapidly moving lips makes me tumble over the edge into the abyss of my orgasm.

I come on a silent scream, my frame locking up tight as I pulse over and over again, soaking myself even more.

That’s our good girl is the last whisper cooed in my ear, causing my toes to curl. My body is even more drenched in sweat than when I had woken up, and the breeze from the fan cools me down as it dries on my skin.

My breaths heave in my chest as I come down from my blissful high. With reluctance, I peel my eyes open, watching as the shadows around my room dissipate into the corners of the room. The heat on my flesh fades as if the eyes watching my every move finally move on. A sense of abandonment hits me square in the chest. As much as this house puts my nerves on edge, I almost miss the feeling of being watched.

Almost.

With a sigh, I roll on my side, sinking further into the cool sheets as they cocoon me and fall back into a peaceful sleep.