Wicked Titan: A Dark High School Bully Romance (Golden Olympus Academy Book 1)

by A. J. Logan

  Silence envelops me as I stare at the door long after he slams it shut. There’s no understanding Asher or figuring out what motivates any of his actions. But I still long to understand him. Why has he inserted himself into my life at every turn? He claims to hate liars, but withholds answers from me. And from his frenzied reaction, I’m guessing it’s something important that he’s concealing for reasons other than some stupid game.

  35

  Shielding my eyes from the sun, I look over to Victoria as she stretches out on the lounge chair next to me.

  Relaxing at the welcome company, my head falls back against the chair cushion as I close my eyes. “How’d you get in?”

  “Gate code.”

  “That explains a lot.”

  “We’ve had the codes since we were kids.” She lets out a breath. “We’d hide out over here when our dad was having a bad day. I knew the code by heart before I’d memorized my own birthday.”

  Sounds like Nathan gave them a safe place to retreat, which seems like the opposite of the glimpse I’m getting from time to time. “You’ve known Nathan your entire life?”

  “Yep,” she pops the P. “He’s always been around, even during the years where my dad refused to speak his name.”

  “Why?” I look to her as she studies the swimming pool.

  “It all happened a long time ago when they separated the companies, so I don’t know much. Thankfully, my dad got over it though.” She tucks her hair behind her ear, turning to face me. “Thank you for not telling him what Allison said, or about Elliot.”

  I give her a slight smile, knowing that the Elliot part seems to be more than meets the eye. “It’s not my place.”

  “But you still could have.”

  “Do you want to talk about it?” She shakes her head in small, rapid movements. “Want to float on a ridiculously large flamingo with me?”

  “Yep. I’m gonna run home and change. Be right back.”

  “’Kay.” I drape my arm over my face, enjoying the thought of a relaxing afternoon.

  36

  The day had been perfect. Victoria and I floated on the oversize pink bird until evening. Now, I’m sitting on the balcony off my bedroom that overlooks the backyard pool. After my restless night last night and being out in the sun all day, I’m exhausted. The night sky is covered with clouds, rain begins to sprinkle as thunder sounds in the distance. I should go inside but I’m enjoying the cool night breeze. So I rest my head back on the chair, rain drops falling against my skin.

  “You know it’s raining, right?” Asher’s voice sounds as he sits in the chair next to me.

  The intrusion should startle me. Or, at the very least, piss me off, but it doesn’t do either, which is annoying. I’m questioning whether I’d hoped he would appear, and that really infuriates me. “Let me guess, not only do you have the gate code, but you also have a house key.” I know I locked the front door, which makes me question why he didn’t just let himself in last night. Knowing his devious way of thinking, he just wanted to prove that I would allow him in. Again.

  “Most people go inside when it rains.”

  I lift my head, looking at him as the rain grows heavier. “Then go inside.”

  He watches me, not moving as I grow frustrated even at the sight of him. There go the good vibes from my relaxing day. He can’t even let me get struck by lightning in peace.

  “I’m not in the mood for your games, Asher.” I walk in, grabbing the towel draped over the back of my chair that I’d used to dry off from the shower. I wipe the water off my face and begin drying my hair as he walks through the door, dripping wet.

  “Just one game,” he rubs his thumb across my collarbone, trailing it up my neck as his fingers intertwine in my hair. “No, or beg?”

  He picks this moment to offer up the only game I want to play. It wouldn’t matter when he decided, I know the decision is out of my hands. I want to feel him again, but not just his mouth. I want to feel him inside me. But I want to make him suffer, twisting his emotions, sending them as hot and cold as he makes me feel.

  The wet fabric of his T-shirt feels warm beneath my palms as I move my fingers to the hem of his shirt, lifting it up and over his head, discarding it on the floor.

  Clinging to his taut shoulders, I decide to call his bluff. He can be as much of an ass as he wants, but I know I have as much control over him as he holds over me, and he’s about to realize it. Skimming my lower back, his thumbs slip under my shirt as his fingers rub along the hem, warming my damp skin as they explore.

  “Say it. No, or beg?” He teases my neck with his tongue as his hand slides up my back, pulling me to him, his hard cock pressing against me.

  Breathlessly, I grind against him, wanting to drive him as crazy as he’s driving me. There’s no part of me that believes I’ll be able to hold out, but he doesn’t have to know that.

  Stepping back, I grip the hem of my tank, pulling it above my head, tossing it to the side, exposing my bare breasts. “I won’t beg this time. So, it’s your move, have a taste or get the fuck out.”

  Briefly, his shock is evident before it’s cloaked by a craving that I knew he wanted to fulfill just as much as I do.

  “I want more than a taste tonight.” He dips down, sucking my nipple into his mouth as his hands slide into my shorts and under my panties, pushing them down in one movement, his mouth never leaving my skin.

  He walks me backward, his touch flits over every part of my body, but I still want more, need more. I fumble with the button of his jeans, unfastening them to allow room for my hands to slip in. Pushing my palms down, I smooth over the firm muscles of his ass as he kicks off his jeans.

  The back of my legs bump against the mattress, and I fall back on the bed. He wastes no time, his fingers sliding between my folds, his tongue trailing down my stomach, licking and teasing as he moves his head between my thighs.

  My body arches off the bed, rocking against his mouth as his fingers glide inside me. Gripping his hair, I rock against his mouth as a wave of pleasure courses through my body, his name leaving my lips in a moan.

  Asher trails his mouth up my body, pulling me to sit up on the edge of the bed. His mouth captures mine, his hand cupping the back of my head, keeping me right where he wants me. I can’t get enough of him. I slide my hand between us, stroking him.

  He tenses, his hand clasping my hair as he speaks against my lips. “You’ve been mine since the moment I laid eyes on you.”

  His strained words stir emotions I’m not ready to feel, not ready to admit because they make me envision something beyond the physical pleasure I’m craving.

  I lie back on the bed, shifting back as he follows, towering over me. His tongue teases my neck as his hand grips my thigh, but he doesn’t move as I anticipate him, needing him inside me.

  Asher shifts, looking to me with hesitation as he speaks with such longing that it catches me off guard. “Tell me, Quinn. Tell me that you are mine. Let me claim every piece of you.”

  “You already have.” The words breathlessly escape my lips before I can stop them because it’s the truth. No matter how hard I try to fight it, I know Asher has the power to be my undoing because he holds every piece of me in his grasp. I inexplicably bend to his will. I can only hope that he won’t rip out what remains of my heart.

  Reaching between us, I position him at my entrance, rubbing the tip of his cock against me. “I’m yours.”

  Grasping my thigh, he thrusts inside me, filling me as I cling to his shoulders. He stills while I hold on, his teeth nip at my jaw before his mouth crashes to mine.

  “Fuck, you feel so good,” he whispers as he pulls almost all the way out before driving hard into me again as a moan escapes my lips.

  I hang on to him, lifting my hips to meet his thrusts as we move in rhythm. His thumb rubs my clit as he moves inside me, sending a wave of pleasure over me as he pumps into me with a hard thrust. A groan escapes his lips as he reaches his climax, bringing me with him.
>
  He stays inside of me a few minutes, propped on his elbow as his head dips into my neck, feathering tender kisses along my skin. Sucking in a deep breath, he pulls out of me, rolling onto his back.

  A few moments later, I’m still floating on a cloud of bliss as he slides off the bed. He grips my ankles, pulling me to the edge of the mattress as I sit up.

  “Take a shower with me.” His voice is demanding though his rough thumb gently rubs along my jawline.

  As we step into the shower, steam rises around us. He moves behind me, bending down so his tongue can tease my neck and his hands can glide over my body before he slips a finger inside me, and I whimper in pleasure.

  “I’ll never get enough of you.”

  “You sure about that? Never is a strong word.” Breathlessly, I throw his words back at him. Even though I don’t want to entertain the idea that this could be more than a quick screw for him, I know I’m already in deeper than I should be. Especially when I feel hopeful as the word never leaves his lips.

  37

  It’s morning but a gloomy one as clouds smother the sunlight out. Rain beats against the glass of the patio door, waking me. I sit up in the bed, clutching the sheets against my nude body as I look around.

  Asher is nowhere to be found. I’d swear it was a dream except the soreness between my thighs reminds me that it was real. He was here next to me as I dozed off to sleep draped across his strong chest, and I’d felt stupidly safe.

  Sliding off the bed, I pull on a T-shirt to cover my exposed body as I step to the balcony door, looking out at the rain pounding against the patio.

  I hadn’t expected him to be the romantic, cuddling type, but I didn’t think he’d just disappear in middle of the night. I should’ve guessed. He is still playing the game.

  I head back into the bathroom to take another shower, feeling the need to scrub his lingering touch off my skin since his scent surrounds me.

  Stepping out of the shower, I dry off and notice a message on my phone.

  Victoria: Is Asher there?

  Me: No.

  Victoria: Our dad is looking for him and I haven’t seen him since last night.

  Me: He was but not sure where he is now.

  Victoria: K. Thanks.

  He’d left but hadn’t gone home? I shoot him a message that his sister is looking for him, knowing she’s already texted anyways. If he hadn’t gone home, where had he gone?

  38

  It’s still raining Monday morning when I arrive at school, so I hurry in, not wanting to fumble with a stupid umbrella. I don’t feel like messing with anything since I’ve been in a bad mood. I guess that’s what happens when you have mind-blowing sex with an asshole who sneaks out in the night for parts unknown. He was supposed to be mindless fun. Not a complication.

  I’m walking down the hall when I spot Elliott, a moment of relief fills me when I see Asher standing beside him. Then anger takes over. He never had answered my text. I’d wondered if he’d fallen into a black hole on the way home.

  I walk up to them as Elliott greets me with my usual nickname. Standing behind Asher, I wait impatiently for him to turn.

  “What happened?” My breath hitches as I see the gash on the corner of his eye surrounded by bruises. Instinctively, I reach up to touch his face, but he jerks away from me, snapping me out of my pitying moment. “Where were you?”

  He doesn’t respond. I stand, waiting for some clue as to what’s going through his thick skull, but I’m only met with silence.

  “Asher?” I whisper, as I ridiculously attempt to keep my voice steady. And it shouldn’t be this much of a struggle. It’s not like I have some stupid meaningful feelings for him—the person who continuously goes out of his way to torment me.

  “Nowhere important.”

  But important enough to leave in the middle of the night and avoid his family. I won’t be this girl. The pitiful girl begging for him to give a shit about me. I knew he was a jerk before I slept with him … before I handed myself over to him on a platter for him to toss aside.

  “’Kay,” I say nonchalantly, shrugging my shoulders. But my insides are crumbling.

  Elliot is oblivious to the silent war raging between me and Asher as he drapes his arm across my shoulder. “You missed one hell of a party, Quinnster.”

  “Maybe next time. Anything would be better than what I was doing,” I say, my voice flat as Asher remains emotionless. “Just let me know.” I give Elliott my best smile as I walk away, refusing to look back. Making my way to class, I think about what a stupid word never is.

  39

  Walking into the kitchen, I find Francis prepping for dinner. I grab a bottle of water as she asks me about my day at school. That’s the last thing I want to talk about as I sit on the barstool at the edge of the enormous kitchen island.

  Asher is a lost cause, but there are still some things I need answers to. Francis could be the key to finding answers or at least point me in the right direction.

  “Thanks again for the meals, even though you didn’t have to make them for me.”

  Francis gives me a heartwarming smile. “You’re very welcome, sweetie.”

  “Nathan said you can’t help but take care of everyone around you.”

  The smile stays on her face. “Well, he should know by now that I make sure everyone is well-fed.”

  “He mentioned that you were employed by his dad too.” I watch as she grabs a sack of potatoes, setting them on the counter as she begins cleaning them.

  “Yes, I worked for Barker many years.”

  “So, you’ve known Nathan for a long time then.”

  “Since he was a baby.” Her expression is sincere, motherly even. “And now he’s grown into a great man with babies of his own.”

  “Did you know Candace when she was younger too?”

  “Yes. All the kids tended to gather at the Bennett house, and your mom was around a great deal.”

  Candace graduated from Edgewood, alongside my dad. They were high school sweethearts. At least, that’s what I was told.

  Attempting to joke so I don’t raise questions of prying—again—I ask, “I bet you got tired tending to all of them.”

  “Oh, no. I enjoyed them being around. And as long as they were there, I knew they were safe and not out causing trouble,” she laughs.

  From what I know of Nathan, he seems like he would have been a handful growing up, to say the least. The complete opposite is true of my dad who seemed to be a rule follower, but maybe there was another side of him I didn’t know.

  “What about my dad? Did he hang out there?”

  She hesitates for a moment before responding, “Yes. Stanley would join them often too.”

  “I didn’t know that.” I blurt out the words before thinking. Nathan and my dad knew each other, but I can’t wrap my head around all of them hanging out together as teenagers.

  “They were all remarkably close until graduation. Then they all just went their separate ways.”

  Went separate ways after graduation? They lived three hours apart and attended different schools. “How did they all meet each other?”

  She gives me a curious look before continuing her task of potato peeling. “They all knew each other from school.”

  “How? Sports or something? I didn’t think Olympus and Edgewood ever competed in anything.”

  Francis sets down the utensil as she looks over at me. “They attended the same school.”

  “What?”

  “Quinn, they all graduated from Golden Olympus Academy together.” She pauses, noticing what I’m sure is an astonished look on my face. She probably realizes this is all news to me. “Your parents didn’t tell you?”

  I shake my head.

  No. They’d never told me, and I can’t help but be irritated and almost embarrassed by the fact that I know less about my parents than Francis does. I’ll just add it to the list of things I’ve never been informed of.

  “I’m sorry, sweetie. I thought yo
u knew already.”

  Nope. That’s a major news flash to me. My mom hadn’t been around to tell me about anything, and my dad never talked much about his high school years, but I’m almost certain he’d said he graduated from Edgewood High. Or maybe he’d just let me think that.

  I’d figured it was too painful for him to talk about those years because of Candace, the person who’d (supposedly—because what the hell did I know about anything) been his high school sweetheart, so I’d never asked questions. Apparently, she’d been his girlfriend but just at a different high school. Stupid me for not asking questions to spare his feelings as his lies are tap dancing on mine now.

  This just reinforces that there is a lot more surrounding my dad’s accident than I’m being told. Not that I was told much about anything my entire life. Candace, I understand her lies, almost welcome them because I don’t expect anything more from her. But Dad, I want him to be the person I thought I knew better than anyone. I don’t want to think bad of him, but how the fuck can I not? The more I learn, the more I find out he was lying, so I guess it’s time to start really snooping again. And it’s best if no one is aware of it this go-round.

  “It’s all right. Did you need some help?”

  She’s already lectured me about not having to help her cook, but every so often, she gives in and lets me help. Thankfully, this is one of those times.

  40

  I wanted to believe Victoria was exaggerating about the librarian feeding crickets to her pet snake at lunchtime every day, but she wasn’t. This is the second time I’ve witnessed it firsthand. And not only does the librarian feed the snake crickets, she baby talks to it the entire time she’s dropping crickets into the aquarium one by one, taking one for herself in between.