Ascend - A Reverse Harem Romance (Celestial Academy Book 1)

by Maya Nicole

  We somehow all ended up in Levi's room, which looked exactly like mine. So much for telling myself living in the staff building was a good thing. The only good thing about it was Tobias was right down the hall.

  We sat in a circle on Levi's bed with a bottle of vodka. How Levi had gotten a bottle of vodka was something I would file away to explore later.

  "Let's play Never Have I Ever," I said after Levi had suggested playing Try Not to Laugh.

  I'd have a hard time with that one and end up drunk before I even knew what happened.

  "How do you play that?" Oliver was examining the text on the label of the vodka before he handed it back to Levi.

  "You say something you've never done that you think the other players have done. If they've done it, they take a drink."

  "Is it safe to drink a lot of that?" Oliver had a crease between his eyebrows and was frowning at the blue bottle.

  I shrugged and looked to Levi who was regarding Oliver with a smile and a twinkle in his eye.

  "Olly here has never drank before. We always try to get him to but he won't." He handed the bottle back to Oliver. "You start."

  "Okay, let's see. Never have I ever had alcohol?" He looked back and forth between us, seeking confirmation he was playing right.

  "Good job angel. You catch on quick." I snatched the bottle out of his hands and twisted the top. After taking a quick swig, I passed it to Levi, who I was certain had alcohol before. Why else would he have three different bottles hidden under his bed.

  "I'll go next," he said, wincing after taking a drink, "Never have I ever smoked weed."

  I snorted and reached for the bottle but he tipped it back and took a drink before handing it to me. I narrowed my eyes slightly at him before grabbing the bottle and doing the same, my eyes staying locked on his hazel green ones.

  "Never have I ever... been to heaven." Levi snatched the bottle back from me and drank before handing it to Oliver.

  Oliver looked down the opening of the bottle and then took the smallest sip I had ever seen. I laughed at his puckered expression before he coughed and then took another small sip.

  "God, it burns! How can you stand it?"

  "You'll see once you get enough of it in you." Levi wiggled his eyebrows and touched my knee. "Right Dee?"

  "Right." I wasn't sure I liked him calling me Dee, it felt wrong. I tilted my head slightly to the side and looked at Levi. Really looked at him. He was kind of cute with his messy curly hair on top of his head and high cheekbones, but maybe the alcohol was already speaking to me.

  "Never have I ever..." Oliver bit his lip and looked between us, seeming unsure of himself. "Had sex."

  I threw my head back and laughed, not at him, but at myself, because boy had I had sex. Would have probably done it with Asher had they not ruined our evening. I snatched the bottle and took a mouthful and looked at Levi. He took the bottle and drank.

  "Really?" Oliver looked equally surprised as I was.

  "I was 16 when I died. I had a girlfriend. Plus Delilah and I hooked up once. Never have I ever lusted after more than one person at time." He took another drink and then preemptively handed the bottle to me.

  "You're playing wrong Levi, you are supposed to say something you haven't done or felt." I took a drink and then Oliver reached over and grabbed it.

  As he took a surprisingly long drink, his eyes danced between me and Levi. Oh fuck. When I had taken a drink I had thought of him, Asher, and Tobias. He was thinking of me and Levi.

  He cleared his throat. "Never have I ever wanted to kiss someone in this room." He took another long drink and held it out to Levi with a shaking hand.

  I would have never expected this game to take this turn with the angels who had been assholes to me, but here we were, already onto sex. Levi drank.

  "Never-" he started but I grabbed the bottle and took one shot while I looked at Oliver.

  Yeah, I did want to kiss Oliver again, but I also wanted to smack him. He was a Grade A asshole, but damn if I didn't want him. What the hell was wrong with me?

  "Never have I ever regretted being such an asshole more than right now." I smirked and handed the bottle to Oliver.

  They both drank and Levi leaned over and put the bottle on his nightstand. "I think if we play anymore right now, Olly might puke."

  I looked at Oliver with his glossy eyes and smiled. He was literally beaming. His faint glow was brighter than usual. He looked at my lips and I ran my tongue along them, causing him to suck in a breath of air.

  I leaned forward and our lips connected, both of us letting out moans as the connection we had felt in the library took over our bodies. Maybe it was because he was an angel, but if all angels got this response from my body, I was in big trouble.

  My hands moved to his shoulders and I pushed him back, laying on top of the hard contours of his body. His arms went to my hips, gripping lightly at first before the deepening of our kiss moved them to my ass.

  He rolled us so he was on top and moved his lips to my neck where he delivered kisses so light across my throat that it felt like he was running feathers across my skin. I moaned and opened my eyes to see what had happened to Levi. He had laid next to us, his head propped up on his hand. His eyes locked on Oliver. My attention went back to Oliver as he recaptured my lips and parted them with his tongue. His tongue collided with mine and I moved my hips up connecting with his erection. He moaned against my lips.

  "Take her shirt off." Levi's voice broke our kiss and we both looked at him.

  I had just enough alcohol in me to throw caution to the wind. I was game if they were. Oliver was still staring at Levi as I reached down and tugged my shirt up as far as I could before he moved so I could remove it. Oliver looked down at my laced covered breasts and let out a breath of air.

  "Kiss them." Levi ran his free hand through his hair before lowering it to his pants and rubbing his evident erection through the fabric of his jeans. "Don't just stare at them."

  Oliver took his finger and traced it over the top of my breasts before lowering his lips to kiss where he had just touched. I tilted my head back and then turned my head towards Levi and bit my lip. I wasn't attracted to Levi in the same way I was to Oliver, but part of me was curious what would happen.

  He scooted forward and ran a finger along my bottom lip and then kissed me with such heat that I clenched my legs together trying to lessen the overwhelming need that consumed me.

  How would I even handle two guys at a time? One was hard enough as it was.

  Levi moved his hands behind me, Oliver preoccupied with the swell of my breasts over the fabric of my bra. The restrictiveness of the bra went away as Olly kissed down my arm as he moved the strap down. I threw the bra to the side and watched as both guys looked at me with hunger in their eyes.

  Oliver moved first, taking my left nipple in his mouth and sucking lightly. I arched my back and tangled one of my hands in his hair. Levi kissed my neck and trailed his tongue down to the same breast. He hesitated for a brief moment before he moved his lips near Oliver's.

  Their lips met on my nipple and they both sighed against my skin. My hands threaded in Levi's soft curls as his lips and Oliver's began kissing around my nipple. It was hard not to watch and even harder to ignore how turned on I was by it. One of Levi's hands snaked around Oliver's neck and pulled him up towards him, their lips colliding in a needy kiss above me that had me feeling a little jealous.

  Oliver broke the kiss and stared panting at Levi before his eyes cut to mine.

  "It's okay." I looked between the boys and saw the lust in Levi's eyes, but not for me, for Oliver.

  "I should go." Oliver slid off the bed and had his feet shoved in his shoes before we could react. "I'll see you guys in class tomorrow."

  The door shut with a click and Levi rolled over and threw his hands over his face. Now that Oliver had left the room, my need to be touched evaporated.

  Chapter Ten

  I put my pillow over my face and pressed it
against my ears. After Oliver's exodus the night before, Levi and I drank until we were sloppy drunk. Not my finest moment. The realization that Levi didn't turn me on was like a slap to the face. It was like all desire had evaporated once Oliver left. For a moment I had though all angels that had dicks were going to turn me on.

  I somehow managed to make it back to my room, but now someone was knocking on my door. I threw my pillow and pushed myself up. I was never going to drink again. How many times had I said that before?

  My feet dragged across the floor, my eyes not quite all the way open, and I peeked out the peephole. I let out a groan because I really didn't want to see him right now. I turned the lock anyway and shuffled back to my bed, lying face down to block out the light that was making my eyeballs throb like someone was pumping them full of air.

  The door opened with a small creak and clicked shut. The bed dipped as Tobias laid down next to me and pulled me towards him, the faint scent of mint hitting my nose.

  "Time to wake up," he said kissing my hair. I grumbled into his chest and shook my head. "Where were you last night? I called, texted, knocked. Asher called and told me what happened."

  His hand went to my lower back and ran back and forth across it sending tingles up my spine. Where the heck was my shirt? I didn't even remember taking it off. Besides making out and the hot kiss between Levi and Oliver, I didn't remember much else.

  "I think I'm still drunk." I hiccupped and let out another groan as the jolt of the hiccup sent a pain through my skull. "Didn't mean to worry you."

  "You got drunk with Oliver and Levi?" I nodded my response into his button up shirt and ran my hands over the smooth material on his back.

  He pulled back so he could see my face. I bit my lip and saw the question in his eyes.

  "We kissed. A lot." I flinched with my words. It was one thing to hold hands with Asher and flirt all night, but to make out with not one, but two different guys? Guilt was a fickle beast and it had currently set up shop in my chest. What Tobias and I had was so new, yet I felt as if I had just cheated on a long-term love.

  His hand moved a stray piece of hair out of my eyes and then rested on my cheek. "They've bullied you."

  "I know." I looked at the top buttons on his shirt. "But I feel something for Oliver. I don't know what it is. Safety? I feel the same thing with you. With Asher. I know it sounds crazy."

  He put his finger under my chin and tilted it up to meet my eyes. "It doesn't sound crazy. I feel the same way and I bet if you asked them they'd say the same. What about Levi?"

  I shrugged. "I probably wouldn't make out with him sober." I played with a loose thread on one of his buttons, tempted to yank on it, but not wanting to pop the button off. "I can't be with all three of you, that's..." He put his finger over my lips stopping my words.

  His eyes closed and he spoke softly. "I've been around a long time, both as a human and angel, and I have never felt like this. I'm not willing to let you go because you feel the same thing with them."

  I kissed his finger and turned my head so it was on my cheek. "What about divinity points?"

  He chuckled and opened his eyes, amusement written on their glistening surface. "Your dad really didn't explain anything to you did he? You being with us hurts no one. The only person you'd be hurting is yourself. Besides, divinity points really just help you get better guardian gigs." He kissed my cheek and then sat up. "Now, let's get you showered and to class because you will be going to class today even if I have to drag you there myself or throw you over my shoulder."

  "Is that an offer to help me shower?" I rolled onto my back and looked up at him standing over me. His eyes moved down to my chest and narrowed slightly. My eyes fell to my left breast and I let out a groan. "Yeah, about this." I ran my finger over the hickey. I wasn't even sure who had left it.

  He cleared his throat and put his hand out to help me off the bed. "You don't need to explain." He pulled me up and led me into the bathroom.

  He turned on the water and then started unbuttoning his shirt. I hadn't seen him without his shirt on yet, and watched in anticipation. As the sleeves slid down his arms, I watched as his right arm came into view. Stunning portraits wrapped around his muscles, four smiling faces looked back at me. A woman. Two twin boys about five. A baby girl.

  I stepped forward as he started unbuttoning his pants and slid a finger down his arm feeling a lump form in my throat. His hands stilled on his belt buckle and he looked at his arm and then at me.

  "My past life. I didn't want to forget what they looked like." He wiped a stray tear that had worked its way down my cheek before continuing to undress.

  I had no words. His life was stolen from him and now all he had were the memories of what could have been. It had to be hard knowing they were probably still out there somewhere, at least his children, and he couldn't see them.

  "Don't look so sad about it. Until Asher fell, he checked in on them from time to time. They grieved, moved on, lived their lives. That's all I wanted for them. To be happy." His eyes brightened and he slid my panties down my legs. "You know they say the best cure for a hangover is an orgasm."

  I smiled back at him and climbed in the shower after him, the warm water falling over us and instantly making my tense muscles relax. "Who says that?"

  "Me." He pulled me against him and kissed me, making my knees go weak.

  The shower might have been small but my orgasm was not. Tobias was right, orgasms really did help with hangovers.

  Oliver Morgan. The celestial I still knew so little about. The boy who had fled after he and his friend had kissed. The boy that had decided that today he was sitting next to me in Demonology. You know, because I wasn't already confused enough as it was.

  When he slid into the seat next to me, he said nothing. He still said nothing when the whispers started. The whispers about why he was sitting next to me. The only angels that ever dared sit next to me were Brooklyn, Cora, and Ethan. I was beginning to think they were a special breed of angel.

  Tobias cleared his throat at the front of the room and the class went silent. Despite his quiet nature, Tobias's presence commanded attention.

  "Dean Whittaker has asked me to speak to you about recent attempted abductions of angels in Pasadena." The room erupted in chatter and he held up his hands to quiet the class back down. "As far as we know there have been three attempted abductions. No angels have been reported missing yet, but as you know, some have assignments that require them to go off the radar. Dean Whittaker is asking you to stay on campus and if you must go into the city to go in a large group. The Fallen seem to be attacking in groups of three."

  "The Fallen aren't strong enough to abduct an angel," a girl in the back of the room commented. "Plus we can just fly away."

  Tobias's eyes briefly looked in my direction before he paced once in front of the room with his hand rubbing his bearded chin. "They are using demon blood, which weakens our defenses. Your wings won't work, you'll be too weak to fly or fight back."

  "Then we attack the Fallen first," another boy said and the class bubbled up with noises of affirmation and agreement.

  I don't know why but I clutched Oliver's leg under the table and he put his hand on mine. My mind had gone to Asher. Not all Fallen were abducting angels and if angels went on a manhunt, innocent Fallen would be hurt in the process.

  "I bet Danica is in on it." I flinched as the words hit my ears and Oliver's hand tightened on top of mine. "She gets here and now we have Fallen trying to kidnap angels using demon blood? The Princess of Hell is probably their ring leader."

  "That's enough!" Tobias voice was sharp and angry. The room fell silent once more. "Danica is not behind this. They attacked her."

  "She rescued me and Levi last night." Oliver didn't turn, but spoke loud enough for everyone to hear. The room was silent. I didn't turn to gauge their reactions.

  "If you have any other questions or concerns you can speak to me after class." Tobias spoke with finality and then sta
rted his lesson.