REBORN: MEET MY BROTHERS-Chapter 19: PEEK-A-BOO

Ava writhed and turned endlessly on the surprisingly soft thing she laid on. Feeling no restrictions whatsoever, she nuzzled her pillow. She was half awake, but was too lazy to open her eyes. She didn’t want to.

She couldn’t remember the last time she had this much sleep and she wasn’t ready to give up this feeling, but the unfamiliar scent from the pillow brought a certain uneasy feeling to her guts.

With the side of her face pressed to the pillow, she opened one of her eyes, then another, hating that the beautiful feeling began to fade, but when her mind registered the unfamiliar dark painting on the wall, she scrambled off the bed.

"Easy, Miss," a girl’s voice rang from behind her.

Ava whirled around with her heart pounding as if she had just been doused with a bucket of ice water. Standing at the far side of the room was a petite young woman dressed in a crisp maid uniform. Her warm brown eyes and calm demeanor were at complete odds with the unease coursing through Ava’s veins.

"Who -- who are you? Where am I?" Ava demanded as she backed away from the bed.

The maid clasped her hands neatly in front of her. "My name is Lily, Miss. You’re at Mr. Quinn’s estate. He asked me to check on you and ensure you’re comfortable."

"Mr. Quinn? Who is that?" Ava thought out loud.

Lily’s brow furrowed as she tried to understand what was going on. Did the miss suddenly have an amnesia? "Mr. Maximus Quinn," she felt the need to spell out his full name.

At the mention of Maximus, Ava fumed as memories of her kidnap, and the infuriating smirk on her fiance’s face came to her mind. Once, she didn’t know his name, but when his other accomplice had mentioned it, she kept memorizing it before she fell asleep. She had a bad habit of forgetting names, hence the reason for her action.

Ava groaned, running her hands through her hair. "This man has lost his mind! Where is he?"

Admist the apprehension on her face, Lily managed a soft smile. "Mr. Quinn is in the kitchen, Miss. He instructed me to bring you downstairs for breakfast when you wake up."

"Breakfast?" Ava’s brows furrowed in disbelief. "I don’t need breakfast; I need to get out of here!" Ava looked down at herself. She wasn’t wearing the same clothes she was abducted in, but an entirely different one.

A new rage boiled within her as she thought of Maximus’s hands on her, but she calmed herself when she looked at the girl in front of her. "Did you...?"

Already understanding the young miss, Lily nodded sharply. "Yes, Miss. I changed you myself."

"At least he wasn’t a perverted psycho," Ava muttered to herself before glaring at the maid. "Where’s the kitchen?" She started walking to the door before the question was completely out of her mouth. Lily hurriedly followed her out of the room.

Ava glared at everything -- the beautiful interior of the mansion which she’d have found appealing when she wasn’t mad, the paintings that hung on the wall. Maximus had finally snapped her thin thread of self control by taking this too far.

She couldn’t process how dragging her to his place to talk had escalated to spending the night here. How was she supposed to explain this to her family?

They were on the ground floor, and Lily led the way, but they suddenly stopped when a familiar man stood in front of him. Bowing, "Good morning, Sir," Lily greeted respectfully, earning a curt nod.

Ava tilted her head to get a better view of the man in front of them. "Good morning, Miss Whitlock," Ethan greeted, "I trust your night was good."

Ava still frowned. Ethan was the least person she expected to see. She didn’t have anything against the man. He worked for Maximus, so she expected he necessarily obeyed him, but he was still an accomplice in her abduction and that didn’t sit right with her. "What do you think?" She asked coldly.

Turning to the maid, "You may leave us," he instructed. Lily obediently walked away.

"Allow me apologize for Maximus’s behavior," Ethan started. "No woman would be happy when she’s forced to do something against her will, but he meant no Ill intention."

Ave let out a bitter laugh. "No ill intention? Really? What intention do you name abducting a person?"

"Believe me, Miss Ava, you’re not abducted," Ethan started calmly, "In fact, you’re free to leave whenever you want. But Mr. Quinn only ask that you speak to him first."

Ava was a reasonable person. She couldn’t explain why Ethan’s words magically calmed her. Maybe it was his trusting face, but she couldn’t just act as if she wasn’t dragged here against her will. "Where is he?"

Ethan cleared his throat, trying to stifle his amusement as he gestured forward. In truth, he didn’t expect the young lady to listen to him. "This way, Miss Ava," he said, leading her past the elegant dining into the kitchen.

The moment Ava stepped inside, she froze mid-step, her breath catching in her throat. The scene before her was something out of a steamy daydream, or perhaps a wicked joke. Standing at the sink, with his back to them, was Maximus. Half-naked.

Her gaze betrayed her, and her eyes trailed over his broad shoulders, down the chiseled lines of his muscular back that was exposed, except for the thin black apron tied loosely around his waist. His gray joggers clung to his hips in a way that seemed both casual and criminal at once.

The sound of running water stopped, and Maximus turned toward them with a dish towel in one hand. Ava’s eyes widened. Her mind went blank. The apron barely covered his chest, revealing hard pecs and just a hint of his toned abs. Even his nipples played peek-a-boo, unapologetically exposed at the sides.

Ava’s face burned as her jaw tightened. What in the world was he thinking?