82. Kiera
KIERA
Somehow, we survived two more weeks of waiting despite The Oracle’s silence, the boredom that permeated the house, and the raging tension lingering between Dom and I.
She’d made her apology, and now the ball was in my court. I just had to figure out what the fuck to do with it…
Truly it was a miracle that no one had lost it yet.
Well, we were all losing it…but no one had gone homicidal yet, and I was counting that small victory.
It wasn’t helping that Gabe’s army of citizen detectives were growing more rabid by the day. No where was safe, except for the shop and this fucking house.
At least the wait will be over soon.
Soon wasn’t soon enough, though. I settled back into the couch, listening to Spencer and Leo starting up another round of charades.
“Three words…Movie…Horror?” Leo narrated as Spencer began the world’s worst zombie impression in the middle of the living room. “28 Days Later? World War Z? Train to Busan?”
Spencer shook her head frustratedly, before lifting her hands to her head and then flouncing them away to show something trailing.
Leo hunched forward with a frown. “Bride of Chucky? Corpse Bride?”
Spencer’s face scrunched up as she shook her head again, trying to brainstorm another approach. But five more seconds of this, and I was going to blow my brains out from boredom.
I threw my hands up, sitting up from the couch. “It’s fucking Bride of Frankenstein.”
Spencer sucked her teeth. “You said you weren’t playing!”
“I was never going to guess that,” Leo shook her head. “That was a terrible impression.”
“Hey!” Spencer wheeled on her with a frown. “I’d like to see you do any better.”
“I’d like to play a game that wasn’t invented for bored old aristocrats,” I cut in before Leo could try.
Spencer crossed her arms over her chest. “Well, I didn’t realize we were boring you so much, your highness.”
“Yeah, I don’t see you offering any alternatives,” Leo scowled.
“If I had any, my eyes wouldn’t be at risk of glazing over permanently,” I shot back. “I don’t know what there is to do in this house.”
“For someone who stayed here for so long, you’d think you’d be able to show us some cool secret spots,” Spencer moped. “Are you sure there’s not, like, a hidden planetarium in the attic?”
“Last time I was stuck here, all we had were coloring books and hide-and-go-seek.”
“That could be something…” Spencer perked up, a mischievous grin tugging at her cheeks.
“Coloring books?” Leo raised an eyebrow.
“No, hide-and-go-seek.” Spencer wiggled brows, “Or as I like to call it, hide-and-go-fuck.”
“What is that, another one of your sorority games?” I laughed, but then the thought of Spencer running loose in a horny sorority house quickly sobered me.
“No. This is all my genius, Bunny.” She smirked, dropping to her knees as she rested her palms wide against the coffee table. “Here’s how it works: one person hides, while the other two seek. The hider?—”
“The prey,” Leo interrupted.
“ The prey ,” Spencer corrected, “gets five minutes to find a spot. If she can stay hidden for thirty minutes, she wins, and the other two owe her big. But if she’s found, she gets fucked by whoever gets to her first, however the winner likes.”
“And whoever doesn’t find her?” Leo raised a brow.
“Gets to watch while the victor enjoys her spoils,” Spencer winked.
She looked between us excitedly, but both of us had hesitations.
“Dom would hate this…” Leo grumbled.
“She’s at work right now!” Spencer reminded her.
Dom was the only one who’d been able to leave the house much since our stunt at Gabe’s place. The rest of us roving around might draw attention, but her suddenly ghosting her job would likely raise alarms at Zeus.
Still, she would be home eventually. And I had a feeling she wouldn’t be pleased if she walked in on our little game.
“Are we sure this is a good idea?” I bit my lip.
“Of course you don’t want to,” Spencer laughed. “You can hardly find a thing in this house. It’s a wonder you don’t get lost on your way back to your own bedroom.”
“Um, excuse you!” I gasped, clasping a palm to my chest. “I am able to navigate the house just fine, thank you very much.”
“Then why don’t you prove it. You can hide first.”
I stammered for a response, but her devilish grin stole the words right from my lips.
“Unless, of course, you know that I’m right.”
I furrowed my brow. Spencer knew exactly what she was doing picking that fight, and now she had me exactly where she wanted me.
“Fine,” I huffed. “Start my timer then.”
“Not so fast, Bunny. First, you’ve gotta strip.”
“That wasn’t part of the rules.”
“Of course it is.” Spencer smirked. “I want easy access to my prize. Plus, it makes the whole thing more fun.”
“We’ll strip too,” Leo offered. “Only seems fair to start on a level playing field… level enough, anyway.”
I bristled at the repeated implication that I couldn’t find my way around the house. But before I could say anything, Leo started to pull off her shirt, the tattoos that spanned her body only broken up by her chest tape.
As she eased the gray sweats off her squared hips, Spencer tossed her own tank top aside, revealing that she was completely braless beneath the heavy cotton.
Spencer smirked, flexing for me. “Whaddaya think, Bunny? Who’re you hoping catches you first?”
Dropping my pajama shorts, I huffed. “I don’t know why you’re acting so smug about this. Last time I hid, it didn’t end so well for either of you.”
It hadn’t ended well for me either — when Dom found me in the South Wing, I was certain she’d kill me right then and there. Still, I rolled my shoulders back, turning to face them as I peeled off my lacy tank. “You really sure you want a repeat?”
“Absolutely,” Spencer purred as Leo nodded ravenously beside her.
Both of them were barely able to contain their excitement as their eyes trailed my body covered only by the black cotton thong at my hips.
As they looked at me, I realized that perhaps stripping had been a bad idea after all. While the sight of them in their tight black briefs scrambled my brain, it seemed that glimpsing the prize on offer had only renewed their resolve to win.
I took a deep breath, my nipples already hardening as their gaze raised goosebumps on my skin.
Leo licked her lips as Spencer pulled out her phone. “Ready, Princess?”
I nodded, suddenly aware of just how cold the air around me was.
“Run,” Spencer growled, starting the timer.
I sprinted from the room as quickly as I could, trying to shake the image of her twisted smirk from my mind. My bare feet slapping against the hardwood would be a dead giveaway of where I was heading, but right now, I didn’t care.
The adrenaline and the shock wrestled for control of my brain, making every thought blurry as I imagined what my hunters might do once they caught me. The hallways were dark, and I could hardly see where I was running.
Maybe I don’t have as good a grip on this house as I thought I did…
I careened up the main staircase. Certainly, there would be somewhere good to hide up here. But instead of running, I idled at the top of the stairs, trying to imagine a single place in this house — in this world — that my lovers wouldn’t find me.
Being stripped didn’t make it any easier to think. Every little draft in the house felt like a gust against my bare skin, and I couldn’t shake the fear that some monster was going to jump out from the shadows to grab me.
Every second I stand here, that fate becomes more and more likely.
Feeling my time running out, I let my feet lead me down a familiar route. As I sprinted into my bedroom, closing the door carefully behind me, I knew it was far too obvious a choice. But it was too late to turn back now.
Maybe they’ll know that it’s too obvious and forget to check here.
I tried to convince myself as I slipped beneath my bed, pulling the duvet slightly to obscure my hiding spot.
For a moment, all I could hear was my own ragged breathing and the pounding of my heartbeat in my ears. But as soon as their footsteps rattled the first floor landing, I regretted every choice I’d made.
Seriously? Hiding under the bed? How old am I?
I was stuck with the choice now, though. I cupped a hand to my mouth, trying to steady my breathing. All I could do was try to be as quiet as possible.
And though I was braced for immediate impact, it seemed like my lovers were taking their sweet time sweeping the floor, starting in their own rooms.
Five minutes must have passed, maybe ten, and miraculously, my door hadn’t budged.
Is this… actually working?
Hope flickered weakly in my chest as their footsteps became harder and harder to hear. Maybe they’d moved on. Maybe they were checking another floor.
But before I could prepare my smug victory speech, my bedroom door creaked open, a soft set of footsteps echoing from the doorway. The stupid blanket I’d pulled in front of my spot blocked my view, leaving me completely blind to who my visitor might be — or if they had even really found me.
I tried listening to the steps, which still sounded like they could be by the doorway. Were they going to leave?
But the next thing I knew, a firm hand clasped around my calf, yanking me out from under the bed with a wicked laugh. “Gotcha.”