Chapter 2

Two

Evelyn

I run my fingers through my now dried brown locks, unable to look away from the mirror. After washing away the nightmare from earlier, I’m ready to face the day. Maybe. The sounds of laughter and dishes clinking together draw me out of the bathroom attached to my bedroom and out the door into the hallway.

My cheeks heat at the mere sound of their deep voices. All the blood rushes from my head straight to my pussy, slickening it with arousal. How can the sound of their voices bring me to the edge so quickly without touching me? It’s like the tone of their voices was designed to send me into a spiral.

I stop and lean against the wall outside my bedroom. I have to get myself together. Despite the fantasy running through my mind. The three of them have always affected me like this. It hasn’t lessened since the moment they walked through those doors and into my life.

Or should I say, Mom and I walked into theirs when we moved into my stepfather’s creepy house.

I just don’t get it. What the hell is wrong with me? Cause that’s exactly what this is. Wrong. On so many levels. He’s my stepbrother. An annoying brother that I never wanted in the first place. And his two best friends are in the same category. But I just can’t seem to keep myself from fantasizing about all three of them.

A boisterous laugh knocks me out of my thoughts—the laugh belonging to said stepbrother. Fuck. Shivers roll down my spine, spreading goosebumps over my flesh. A heat overtakes my cheeks at the sound of him. All throaty and raspy, doing things to my insides that should be illegal. I shouldn't be this affected by a voice. Especially his, so filled with sin and dark promises. I swear my pussy convulses at the mere thought of seeing his face.

How? Why?

No other man has ever had this effect on me. Ever. But he's like sex on a stick, walking around this house with his shirt off and that dirty smirk does bad things to me.

Stop thinking about it, Evie. You have to go into the kitchen and face everyone. Better not do it with a blush on your face. It'll only prove to them that you're thinking dirty thoughts no one should have about their stepbrother.

Shit. That alone makes me think of the first time I met Tobias and Kade and the words my mother pounded into my head from day one.

"He's off limits, Evelyn. Don't ruin this for me," my mother hisses in my ear, forcing me to stand tall in the restaurant. "Back straight. No slouching," she sniffs, fixing her dress to accentuate her curves.

"Yes, Mother," I say in a low voice, keeping my eyes on the ground.

I don't know where this man came from and how he knocked my mother off her feet so quickly. One second my dad was here. The next? He was gone. Buried. Forgotten by her. The only thing she concerned herself with was finding a man who could take care of her financially. And as it turns out, Tobias is the man for her.

He grins, coming in to hug her tightly, running his hands up and down her back. I avert my eyes, attempting to look away. But the deep stare of the guy who looks my age throws me off kilter. One look and I'm done for, panting like a dog in heat. Well, on the inside.

"Hi," I say with a smile. "I'm Evie."

"Evie," he says, tipping his head in my direction. "What a beautiful name for a beautiful woman." My skin prickles when he lifts my hand to his lips, gently laying a kiss on my flesh.

Heat soars through me. Fire envelopes my hand like a brand overtaking me. All I can see is him now. Him and his mischievous smile, filled with a promise for the future. What the promise is? I haven't a fucking clue.

The two men take their seats at the small round table, settling in. "I told you, hands off," she whispers directly in my ear, alluding to my new stepbrother. "He's your brother, after all."

My brother.

She's told me that phrase for the last three years. Even as they go off and see the world, experiencing God knows what. She never tells me. All I know is each time she returns, her radiance has slipped away. The life in her eyes is darker and more unrecognizable. Whatever. She made her bed. She can lie in it for all I care.

Fuck.

Maybe I should do something, too. Fuck her. Fuck her rules. I'm so tired of being good little Evie. The girl who grew up in the church, forced to recite her sins and thoughts as repentance.

Soon—I tell myself. Soon there will be an opportunity for me to reclaim my life as my own. Hell, maybe I'll actually lose my virginity soon and stop envisioning my stepbrother and his friends.

I shake myself out of the thoughts running rampant and force them out of my mind. I don't have time for that. I need food. I take a deep breath to compose myself and finally make my way into the dining room.

The moment I step inside, all conversation ceases, and three sets of molten eyes swing my way. Holy hell. If I thought just thinking about them was bad, being the sole focus of the three of them is even worse.

My face heats all over again, and I stare at the ground. So much for centering myself and not blushing.

“Good morning, Evie,” Kade purrs, the rumble in tone sending shivers down my spine again.

I grip the doorframe and squeeze my eyes shut, trying to block out the way his voice makes me react. It’s the same one he used in my fantasies last night, and all I can think about is the way he whispered to me to imagine it was his cock instead of my fingers.

"You good, Evie Girl?" Ryker coos, his voice sounding way too close for comfort. His breath brushes against my cheek, forcing my eyes open. I didn't think I could blush any more than I already am, but being this close to him has my heart skipping a beat. He sucks in a breath and licks his lips as a dark need flashes in his light blue eyes, darkening them as his pupils dilate.

"I'm fine," I say with false bravado, grinning in his direction.

"Liar," he whispers with a laugh, leaning in and taking another big sniff of me.

Kade stiffens across the kitchen, nearly dropping the bowl in his hands.

"Stop, Ry," I giggle—fucking giggle—and push him away.

Something is wrong with me. I never giggle at them or send them googly eyes filled with hearts. I'm always under control and looking over my shoulder so my mother doesn't see. I swallow hard, peeking again.

"They left this morning, Evie," Kade says huskily. "Something about Europe or whatever."

His other best friend Merrick rests on a stool across from Kade, eating two large pancakes slathered in syrup. He hums, running his tongue along the fork all while staring at me.

"Oh. They left?" I ask Kade, furrowing my brows. "I thought...." They were supposed to stay around. Halloween seems to be Tobias' favorite holiday. He's always throwing parties in the backyard with games galore. People always come with masks on and lavish costumes. Of course, my mother has never allowed me to step foot near them. This year, though? I was contemplating making an appearance.

"Don't worry, Little Sinner. We'll keep you company," Ry says, thrusting his arm over my shoulders. He winks down at me, pulling me into his bare side. The heat of his flesh makes my stomach bunch into knots and butterflies erupt. Little Sinner. The word plays on a loop in my mind. That's what he said in my dreams last night. Or every night in my fantasies.

I stiffen, turning beet red again. Ryker doesn't seem to notice as he drags me further into the kitchen until we're right beside Kade and Merrick at the large island.

"Aw, look. She's blushing," Merrick teases in his deep voice, shoving more food into his mouth. "Such a cute Cherry," he practically purrs, clicking his tongue a few times. I'm stunned watching it bounce off the roof of his mouth, seeming to split in two like a forked tongue.

"Shut up," Kade grits out. "Let her go." He gives Ry a pointed look, full of authority.

Ryker sighs, squeezing one last time before dropping his arm. "You're a party pooper, Boss," he hisses, moving away from me and plopping down onto a stool at the island, leaving the middle two stools open.

Kade rolls his eyes. "Any breakfast, Evie?" he asks again in that sultry voice, begging me to jump on the island, take my pants off, and open my damn legs so they can eat me for breakfast.

Instead, I shift in my seat and nod, attempting to hide my blush again. It's like I'm still so turned on from my dream last night, even after getting off this morning, that I can't control myself around them.

Fuck. Maybe I don't want to anymore. Maybe I should just get naked and let them have their dirty way with me. My mom's not here to stop me right now. In fact, she hasn't been herself lately.

"That smells delicious, Cherry," Merrick rasps, leaning toward me with hooded eyes.

"Mer." A deep growl reverberates through Kade's chest in warning, forcing Merrick to back off and roll his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Merrick growls, shoving more food into his mouth.

"Eat up," Kade says, gesturing to the hot pancakes in front of me, slathered in the perfect amount of syrup that I love.

"How do you always remember?" I ask in awe, picking up my plate and sitting at the island between Merrick and Ryker.

Kade smirks, making his own plate, and shuts all the burners off on the stove.

"You'll come to find out that I never forget anything about you, Pura Amina," he murmurs the nickname lowly, sucking in a breath when he looks away from me.

I swallow hard at his words. "Nothing, huh?" I tease back, forcing myself to eat. I swear being around all three of them has my nerves on edge and my pussy dripping with need. But I ignore it for now. They probably don't want me anyway. I'm just the good little girl that happened to move in here three years ago. The same girl they've always teased and poked fun at.

Kade grins at me, standing at the island beside us. "You're a good girl, Evie. You never go against the grain. Or sin." He licks his lips at the word sin, practically groaning. "You love pancakes slathered in syrup and butter. But it always gets in your hair."

"You really remember that?" I breathe.

My hunger disappears. Well, for food anyway. I'm so overstimulated by his speech that I'm practically grinding into the chair.

"Make her stop," Ryker chokes out. "Or shut up," he hisses at Kade, covering his nose and looking away.

"Stop humping the chair, Cherry," Merrick groans, covering his nose, too.

I stop, stilling immediately, and take stock of what I'm doing. I'm here in the kitchen, rubbing myself along the chair. Heat spreads up my neck and onto my face.

"I...I...." I stammer, pushing the plate of food away and getting to my wobbly feet.

"Don't worry about it, Pura Anima," Kade purrs, staring directly into my eyes.

I'm hypnotized by him, wanting to step forward and be at his mercy. No. Wait. What the hell? I shake my head, taking a step toward the door, putting distance between the three of them and me. It's like the more I'm away from them. The better I can breathe and think. It's like they have a scent about them that pulls me in. Only, I can't smell them. At all. It's like they're covering something up and I'm not privy to it.

"I need to take a shower," I hiss, retreating out of the room and saying the first thing that came to mind. My heavy breaths steal the air from my lungs when I lean just outside the kitchen door with a reddened face.

"I thought you already took one!" Ryker shouts with a laugh, chuckling so low, I practically feel the vibrations from here.

I put my hand over my heart, gathering myself before I spin around and slide down the wall, my legs never standing a chance to hold me up after that.

"So tonight..." Merrick starts off.

"Yeah, tonight.." Ry says, and I can practically hear the grin in his voice without looking.

No one says anything for a long while.

"Mischief Night," Kade says in a low voice.

"No masks. No glamors. Just us," Ryker finishes the sentence with enthusiasm.

My brows furrow as I lean my head against the wall. What the hell is Mischief Night? Is that where they go every year when Tobias throws his parties? They're never around, and I'm basically locked in my bedroom until the sun comes up.

"It's our one night of freedom," Kade's deep voice says.

"Our night," Merrick agrees, chuckling lowly.

"And our fated?" Ryker asks. The humor is long gone from his voice.

"Our fated has a decision to make. Be good or bad." He throws it out casually as plates clink together and the water turns on.

"Please be bad," Ryker teases. "Really, really bad. I have a collar and everything."

My brows furrow more, and my heart rate spikes. What the hell are they even talking about? Mischief Night? Their fated? What does that even mean?

"Tonight. Midnight. Just as the day starts and the moon is high. We drop everything and go enjoy our night of mischief."

The other two boys whoop with excitement, seeming to get closer and closer to where I'm standing. There's no way I can let them catch me here. They'll know that I know they're up to something bad. I don't want them to see me.

I swallow hard, jump up, and slowly move away, softly making my way up the stairs toward my room. I have no idea what they said or what it means, but I'm sure Google has some answers for me.

And then, at midnight, I'm joining them on their adventure. Whether they like it or not.