Chased by Darkness: A Reverse Harem Academy Romance: (Four Kings Academy Book 1)

by Taylor Spratt

  He gripped my chin with one hand and pulled me into his wide chest with the other, coddling me with the sort of tenderness one would a newborn.

  What the hell was going on here? This wasn’t the man I saw in the hall. His smile was so kind, his teeth almost glowing in my direction.

  “You are so beautiful. Did you know that?” He said softly, still gripping my chin, my eyes glued to his.

  “Me?” I asked, sure I’d heard him wrong.

  He leaned in, bringing his rugged face inches from mine, and paused the instant his eyes met my forehead. The joy drained from his eyes and they darkened with rage.

  “Why were those girls chasing you?!” He questioned, scowling.

  What did it even matter to him? They weren’t the ones playing shotput with my face. It was him who broke my damn window. It was his fault I got hurt and ended up in the hospital in the first place!

  “It was Luca’s girlfriend.” I shrugged. “She attacked me, yet shockingly she managed not to leave a giant lump on my forehead. If only every bully at this school could be so kind,” I said, glaring at him.

  “'Luca? You call him 'Luca’!?” He barked, and I could feel his muscles tighten around me. The air flew from my lungs. His eyes flared open with a fiery passion. In a slow and steady voice, he interrogated, “Are you on a first-name basis with the Flamenado Kings?”

  Is he actually jealous? More importantly, who the hell is he to question me? I could practically pass for a damn troll right now thanks to him!

  “That’s none of your damn busi-” I paused, registering his face. He was shaking, with frown lines tighter than a size five shoe. He shook as if it took everything in him not to go full on feral mode. I somehow knew that even with the raised veins on his neck and the wildfire reddening his cheeks, setting his skin ablaze, I wouldn’t be harmed. But could I say the same for Luca?

  "I must know now,” he said with a calmness he sure as hell didn’t feel like he had in him.

  My lips parted and started moving, and before I could even think I blurted, “I barely know him! I met him at orientation, right before I met you!”

  Crap! Crap! Crap! I forgot about the obedience potion. Anything he commands me to do or tell him, I'll have to obey. This was bad, really bad. There’s no telling what he could make me do in this state. Okay Aria, you need to make a beeline for the door and fast.

  He gave a deep exhale, a wordless cry of victory.

  “Good,” he said, the smile returning to his cheeks as if all was right in the world again.

  He pressed his cheek against mine. It was coarse and warm against my skin, smelling of sugared spices and fresh cut wildflowers.

  Ahh my God

  All the questions running through my head melted away for a moment. This felt so right, his face cuddling mine. Like a reunion of souls.

  My hand pressed against the hair on his cheek and rubbed it slightly, my fingers melding with his thick beard. My eyes blinked slowly as if lost in a dream.

  My hand froze.

  What am I doing? Am I insane?

  I yanked it away, shocked at my actions.

  “I have waited for this for so long. So long. Every inch of you is a treasure to me,” he murmured.

  I raised a brow, fully brought back to reality. Wait, what? None of this made a lick of sense. He was supposed to hate me and now he was calling me a treasure? Was this his usual bid to get girls into bed or something? Thought he could charm my panties off, right after hitting me in the face with a freaking rock?!

  “A bit over the top, wouldn’t you say? Casanova?”

  “Over the top?” He chuckled, raising his head to give me that calm, steady gaze again. “We are on the first floor.”

  Was this guy for real? Nothing about the look on his face was real, his eyes were so glassy, like he was in a daze, more dreaming than awake.

  His hand raised to gently brush the loose strands from my face, one arm still wrapped around me.

  “I had planned to send for you today. But then you just showed up outside of my office.” He raised a questioning brow. "Now, how did you get that bump, did you fall?"

  "Why were you gonna send for me?” I said. “And ha, ha, fall? Oh please, you know very well where I got this bump from.”

  Brows raised, his head canted to the side, looking affronted by the accusation. “What?”

  "Don't play dumb!" I said pointing to the bump on my head. "I get it. You’re angry I didn’t wanna join your faction, but throwing a rock through my window? A bit on the nose don’t you think, King of Stone and Earth?”

  He paused, gazing at my forehead like it were some alien artefact.

  “This was not done on my order,” he insisted, his expression darkening. His hand balled into a tight fist. “If someone hurt you--”

  Interrupting, I told him, “If you didn’t throw the rock, what more do you need from me? Why send for me?”

  I knew it was stupid to trust him; he was one of the four kings for God’s sake, bringer of all the pain and carnage running rampant in this hellhole of a school. But still, there was something about the way his rigid body clung to mine. It calmed me, made me feel safe. It was like my instincts were hijacked and reprogrammed, now prompting me to trust in his words.

  “I would like to discuss something with you,” he stated.

  His arms fell, and he turned, walking over to the armchair at the other end of the room. He flung himself into the seat, his eyes hard on me. Hmmm, even man spreading, he looked good.

  Waving a hand, he gestured for me to come over to him.

  My head sunk to the side, my eyes flashing open in disbelief. No way was I walking over there. Rock hard abs or not. Rock hurdler or not. He was trouble, pure and simple. Right now, I was under an obedience spell, I needed to find the exit, pronto.

  My eyes darted in every direction till there it was. In the shadows, a long dark door. Which just happened to be an arm’s length to Alexander’s left. Damn! I swallowed, frozen in place.

  His waving hand looking weary from gesturing, he scowled with impatience.

  “Come to me, Aria!” He demanded, leaning forward, pressing his hands on the armrests, as if he was fully ready to drag me over to him. In his eyes was a deathly threat, that he wouldn’t be gentle about it either.

  Before I could even think, ‘Click’ ‘Crack’ ‘Crack’, my legs jerked towards him. Not again! For the love of god, stop legs, stop!

  It was too late; I was already standing dead center between his unending legs. Damn potion! I rubbed the back of my neck, looking nervously at him.

  Taking advantage of his new vantage point, Alexander’s eyes trailed over every inch of my body, lingering on my bare legs and skirt. My cheeks reddened, my legs trembling from the pressure of his scrutiny.

  He looked pleased. He cupped a hand around my waist and plopped me down hard onto his muscular leg without the slightest request.

  “Look, pal!” I said, my head whipping around to face him, but then just as I was about to chew his head off, the words froze in my throat.

  His gaze pierced so deep into mine, as if he were peering into my soul. His arms wrapped around me tight, decimating my every thought of resistance.

  The air was heavy with lust, melding tightly with the spicy, woodsy aroma rolling off his chest.

  Outside, the night was awash in the song of birds singing through the darkness, caressing the air with a lovely melody.

  “I’m so happy you’re here,” he whispered so low I could barely hear him as he pressed his lips into the curvature of my neck and kissed it. I trembled, stifling a moan. His grip tightened till I couldn’t move, snug in his ethereal enthrall.

  “So long, I’ve waited. So long,” he murmured, as if talking to himself. He closed his eyes, pressing his nose to the supple flesh of the top of my breasts to take a deep inhale.

  “Wait...” I moaned, dizzy from the tingle of his warm beard brushing lightly against my sensitive skin.

  “Shh, Aria,” h
e said, his breath soothing over my chest.

  His head raised, coming in close to the side of my face. His soft lips pressed gently over my ear, trailing gently down my neck in soft smooth kisses, one after the other, lighting small flames over my flesh as he went. I moaned.

  He paused, his head drifting upward to look me in the eyes. He must have seen the lust burning in them because he smiled then, as if pleased at my reaction, certain I’d enjoyed his lips on me.

  The worst part was I did enjoy it. How could it actually feel this good to be in the arms of a man like him?

  He leaned in, eyes closed. His lips inching closer and closer to mine. I could feel his heart pound against me, like a war drum. His lips parted and the warm, sexy aroma of his breath hit my nostrils in waves of delight.

  I jerked in his arms and pushed at them, desperate not to get lost in the rough seas of his possession.

  “Do not fight me, Aria. In this you cannot win,” he whispered, breathlessly, as if instead of arguing with me, he was really locked in a battle against some unseen enemy, threatening to steal his control.

  Our eyes met, uncertainty rife in my eyes and he paused. His eyes softened and his grip slightly loosened as if the rational part of him momentarily took the wheel.

  “May I kiss your sweet lips, Aria?” He asked with all the hopes and dreams of the magical world in his eyes.

  The word ‘No’ hung from my lips like a desperate plea not to give myself to him but my eyes shone yes. As if they were sure, sure as the sun, surer than my trembling lips.

  His lips crushed over my smaller ones, devouring them, possessing them. Tenderly, slowly, each kiss softer than the last.

  My heart pounded in my chest and the room filled with a symphony of fast-paced music, an irresistible melody, with an inescapable rhythm.

  His lips locked in and onto mine as we both sucked and nipped at each other’s lips, the speed intensifying.

  Right now the whole school could be on fire and I wouldn’t care. All I could feel was his dark possession, slowly robbing me of my lips, my body, my everything. He gently sucked at my tongue and nibbled at my lips as if they were a toy. And then his thick, hot tongue plunged deep into my mouth, hitting the back of my throat.

  He probed every inch of my sensitive cavern then his tongue rose and clashed with mine in a hot and slippery dance. His eyes hard on me, as if with every flick of our tongues, he was studying my reaction, gauging my pleasure.

  I moaned and his eyes lit up with joy.

  No, Aria. You have to stop him; you have to. My brain gave a desperate cry, but it was easier said than done. The gods themselves couldn’t rip me from his lips right now.

  He broke the kiss and swung me to his other knee, with ferocious speed, thrusting my back to rest on the arm of the chair as he held me in place.

  He came back in to ravage my lips with his tongue like a man who hadn’t eaten in days. His tongue emerged from my mouth and he hungrily plucked and sucked his way over my lower lip, as I savored his sweet flavor in my mouth.

  My eyes slid shut, lost in our passionate embrace, and for one fleeting moment I lost track of where he ended and where I began.

  My lips trembled, now raw from his attentions. He slowly traced his warm wet tongue over the sensitive surface, wetting it, soothing it.

  A thin string of saliva stretched between our reddened lips and without breaking my gaze, he leaned in and licked off the excess from my lips.

  Feral. Possessive. Savage. Oh, man….

  He leaned in to murmur something in my ear and my heart stopped, my eyes flying open.

  “What did you just say?” I gasped.

  “I want you to be my Queen,” he stated, in a matter-of-fact tone.

  Queen! Queen! Queen? The word echoed in my mind and all the ache and lust zoomed from my body like a speeding jet.

  What!?

  “Me?” I gasped. “You want me to be with you!?”

  “Yes,” he said, his expression firm and sure. “You will be mine and my brother Raiden’s.”

  “As in marriage?” I asked, and he nodded.

  My jaw dropped to the floor. He didn't just say what I think I just heard, did he? If this was another one of his pickup lines, he was way slicker than I gave him credit for.

  "Um… um… ah… um…" I babbled like an idiot. This was a joke, this had to be a joke. So why was my heart going a mile a minute? And why did I feel inches from a total black out? He wanted me to marry him and his brother? He was no playboy, he was just crazy. Maybe some nutcase fetishist.

  “Okay, now I really gotta go!" I said, pulling his arms off me, but before I could get up Alexander grabbed me by the hips and slammed me back down on his knee, his arms like a vice around me, yet again.

  Ahhhhhhh!

  “There is nothing for you to fear, Aria,” he said in a deep, sensual voice, his fingers combing through my hair as he eyed each and every strand that slipped through his fingers as if each dull strand were somehow fascinating.

  “As our queen, we are duty bound to be gentle with you.”

  I shook as the thought of twin sex rampaged my brain and panic over took me. By the feel of the mega hard ‘object’ currently boring its way through my back I’d have to disagree that any part of him was capable of being gentle!

  My mouth gaped open in protest but before I could say a single word, the desperate scream of someone outside filled the office, breaking the silence, the pound of dozens of feet stomping away after him.

  And suddenly, the violent scene in the gardens flooded my mind. My jaw clenched. What in the hundred hells was I doing? This school was overflowing with pain and misery like a damn cesspool of evil and where was I right now? Cozy in the lap of the devil who helped make it all happen.

  And what about my dream of going home and living a peaceful life? If I got mixed up with the kings, I’d be lucky to survive till graduation, let alone get home.

  Why would a guy like him even want me, anyway? Was it because I was a Void User? Was I just another part of his fetish game? Twin threesome with a Void User, sounds like a bad porno. None of this was real, it felt so good but this was all wrong. Very wrong.

  I shook my head, shaking the lusty thoughts away.

  The desire drained from Alexander's eyes and his shoulders fell. Could he read my mind? You'd think so with the silent judging, disappointed look he was giving me.

  “What is the matter?” He said in a stern tone.

  “I’m flattered by your offer. Really, I am,” I said as his expression steadily grew darker. “I came to this school to better control my Void, that’s all.”

  “I am well aware,” he said. “Do not concern yourself with such things. Being my Queen is much more important than that.”

  'Much more important?' How arrogant could this guy possibly be?

  “Look pal, I don’t know you from Jack,” I said digging a finger in his chest in protest. “You can’t just come in here and decide my life for me. I've got my shit planned out from A to Z and guess what? You’re not in it.”

  His brows knitted, his eyes piercing me like a red-hot poker. The thick, bitter scent of magma surged through the air, forming an almost choking miasma.

  I pushed off from his knee, flinging his leg back as I stood and turned, marching toward the door.

  Creak. Alexander sprang to his feet, shaking with fury.

  “If you leave me now, I cannot protect you from what is to come!” he boomed. “Even with your Void, you are in no position to refuse me!”

  Was he seriously threatening me right now? After his tongue was just probing my mouth? Finally, he showed his true colors. He didn’t give a crap about me. He just wanted some Void user tail and I’m the easiest way to get it.

  I turned to face the door.

  “Don’t you walk away from me. I’m not in the habit of throwing rocks, but when I go to war, I’m anything but nice. Don’t test me, Aria," he warned, and I turned to face him. He was now trembling with rage.

/>   “Yeah? Well, bring it on. I've never needed anyone else to take care of me. Think you can just control me and my life like you do everyone else in this school? Well, I’m my own woman. Nobody commands me!”

  His chin raised, his nostrils flaring and, was that sweat?

  I turned and made for the door. Ignoring his gaze tearing a hole in the back of my head, I spun the knob, pulling the door open and marched through it, slamming it behind me.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Alexander

  From the day my crawling turned to walking, I’ve hated this place, hated this stupid house. Because that is where they were. Haunting my every nightmare and lurking in the shadows of day, were the creatures I called Mother and Father.

  The slate roofing was cold and grey, dusty red brick walls littered the walls with one hundred windows, one for each miserable little maid and bitter old butler that haunted the fifty-acre grounds. Some might call this mansion paradise, but for Raiden and I, this was our own personal hell. A rotting carcass of all that’s wrong with the world, privileged pride with no heart.

  I was only eight years old, but on the inside, I felt so much older, forced to be strong just to survive.

  Antique furniture of red and velvety green swept across the living room floors. I wonder why they even call it a living room? It’s so boring in here, they might as well call it a dead room. I stood in the corner, Raiden at my side.

  He swung from one sore heel to the next, his mouth twisting in pain. He clenched his fists, showing the paper cuts on his hands that seemed to bulged open a bit.

  My cheeks flushed. I hate them both! Did they have to rip Raiden’s book away so savagely this time?

  Day after day we stand like this, glued to the dang tiles like statues. I’m sick of this already. I’m sick of this! Can’t we sit already? My back stiffened, and I twisted it from side to side for the hundredth time.

  Big creature and little creature sat lounging on the davenport, reading boring old parchments and scrolls, little creature turning her head to leer at us every few minutes. Her cold silver eyes stung deep. I frowned, not saying a word.