"Okay." Hans said with a broad smile. "Now here's how we're going to play the game."
I pushed the duvet off my legs and stood. My blouse clung to my body, and with the cold creeping in from outside, a shiver ran down my spine. I wasn't wearing a bra, and the chill had made that painfully obvious.
The moment I got to my feet, I caught the way their eyes flickered downward.
My frown deepened.
"Hans," I called, folding my arms across my chest. "What are the rules of the game?"
"Oh." He blinked, like he'd just snapped out of a trance. "We'll count to twenty, and you'll find somewhere to hide."
"What?" I arched an eyebrow. "That's not how you play it. Everyone is supposed to hide while you count."
"We choose to play differently today." Mitch chimed in. "It's three against one."
I thought about it for a moment and decided it wasn't a bad idea to change the rules of the game.
"Okay, fine." I replied, raising a hand in mock surrender. "Who's counting?" I asked, looking between them.
"Me." Devon raised his hand slightly.
"Okay. All settled then." Hans exhaled. "Shall we begin?" he asked, a strange smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
I hesitated.
Something about the way they looked at each other made a knot tighten in my stomach. Their smiles seemed a little too eager, their expressions a little too knowing. It felt like there was an unspoken joke hanging in the air that I wasn't part of.
They were up to something.
I could see it written all over their faces.
But I pushed the thought aside. It was just a game. There was no point getting paranoid over a game of hide-and-seek.
"Yes." I replied after clearing my throat.
Without another word, they turned toward the wall. The room fell strangely quiet except for the rustle of clothes and the faint whistle of wind against the windows.
Devon pressed a hand against the wall and began to count.
I slowly tiptoed out of the room as the numbers rose behind me.
"Three... four... five..."
The moment I was out the door, I hurried toward the staircase. By the time I reached it, they were already at ten.
I had less than ten counts before they'd start looking for me.
My feet carried me to the first place that came to mind.
The basement.
The wooden steps groaned softly beneath my weight as I crept down. A chill wrapped around me, raising goosebumps along my bare arms. The air smelled faintly of dust and old wood.
This is stupid, I thought.
But my pulse was already racing.
The single bulb hanging from the ceiling flickered weakly, casting long shadows across the basement floor. Boxes and forgotten furniture sat in the corners like silent figures watching me.
"Eighteen... nineteen..."
Panic nudged at me.
With no better option, I slipped inside an old wardrobe and pulled the door nearly shut behind me. The space was cramped and smelled of mildew. Rough wood pressed against my back.
There wasn't actually a good hiding spot down here.
Then the counting stopped.
My breath caught.
A few seconds later, I heard footsteps moving somewhere above me. I pressed my lips together and forced myself to breathe as quietly as possible.
Muffled laughter drifted through the floorboards.
Then silence.
I waited, my heart hammering so hard it felt loud enough to give me away.
One minute passed.
Then another.
I started to wonder if they had given up looking for me.
Still, I didn't dare step out of the wardrobe.
Then, I heard the basement door click open, spilling a sliver of light down the stairs.
I squeezed my eyes shut and covered my mouth, as though that could somehow quiet my breathing. Why had I even come down here in the first place? I knew this would be their first place to look.
"Come out, come out, wherever you are..." Hans's voice, low and teasing, drifted down like molasses.
I didn't move. The wardrobe was deep in shadow, but the basement was small. They'd find me eventually.
Three sets of footsteps descended the stairs. The light from above stretched their shadows across the floor, huge and menacing, and I swallowed hard.
"Basement's not a great hiding spot, sweetheart," Mitch said this time.
I bit my lower lip, watching them through a narrow gap in the wardrobe door. Hans's shirt hung loosely over one shoulder. Honestly, I didn't know why he had taken it off, but I couldn't help admiring his body. I was already imagining what it would feel like to run my hands over it.
I shook my head slowly, trying to snap out of it.
What the hell? They're your stepbrothers, a tiny voice in my head screamed.
I forced my attention back to the basement and watched as they spread out, fanning across the room.
My stomach tightened.
I took a careful step backward, trying to steady myself inside the cramped wardrobe. The space was suffocating, the stale smell of dust filling my nose. My shoulder brushed against the clothing rail.
The metal groaned.
My eyes widened.
Before I could grab it, the rail came loose and crashed against the wardrobe door with a loud creak that echoed through the basement.
"Shit," I muttered.
Silence.
For one terrible second, nobody moved.
Then footsteps headed straight toward me.
Before I could even pretend I hadn't just given myself away, the wardrobe doors were yanked open.
Devon's face appeared in front of me, hovering in the narrow gap. A grin spread across his face, wide enough to show teeth.
"Found you."
I let out a nervous laugh and flashed him an awkward smile before stepping out of the wardrobe, raising my hands in surrender.
"Okay, fine," I said. "You got me."
"What were you thinking when you came here?" Hans asked in a low voice as he stepped closer to me.
"Nothing," I replied, giving a small shrug and trying as hard as I could not to look at his irritatingly attractive body.
"So I played your game. Can I go back to what I was doing now?" I cleared my throat and tried to walk past him, but he caught me just in time.
"Not so fast, sister," Hans said in a deep voice.
I stopped, and my eyes finally fell to his chest. My heart fluttered. My hands ached to touch him, but I stopped myself.
I looked away instantly.
"You all need to learn how to dress properly, especially since I'm here on holiday." I tried to sound as firm as I could, but my voice was already weak.
"Why?" Mitch asked, folding his arms across his chest. "Because you can't resist having three sexy brothers around?"
