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

by Taylor Spratt

  He rested his soft hand on my cheek, his thumb rubbing it gently.

  I froze, loving his hand there, loving the very feel of him, warming my skin.

  “So why don’t you just be open with me and finally tell me the truth, then?” I said, “Why do you want me so badly? What purpose do I have to you and the other kings?”

  “I already told you. There are forces involved bigger than the two of us. If you want to know the truth, you already know what you have to do,” he said, wiping the hair from my face. He leaned his head in closer to mine, his eyes heavy on my lips.

  “No, Luca. Please be open with me, tell me something, anything at all,” I said, wrapping my hands around his cheeks and looking him in the eye in a desperate plea.

  His fingers sunk in deep around my arms, his brows drawn in absolute frustration. “You want to know something? Anything at all? I love you Aria!” he shouted. The power of his words echoing off the trees, shaking loose hundreds of leaves to fall to the ground.

  I couldn’t breathe, his words hit me like a branch to the face.

  He… he loves me?

  I blinked like mad, trying to comprehend his words and before I could say anything, Luca grabbed me, pulling me into his arms as the wind exploded around us. The tree trunks ached and swayed from the wind’s mighty force and, with a final gust, Luca and I were thrusted off the ground, and jettisoned into the air, tearing through the treetops.

  “Oh my god!” I screamed at the top of my lungs and my nails ripped into his blazer, trying not to lose my grip on him. The starry sky surrounded us on all sides, the forest a distant memory, at least one hundred feet below.

  “What is this!?” I cried, my voice shaking.

  “My wind sorcery” Luca said with a cocky smile, as he squeezed me harder against him. “Don’t be afraid, I’ve got you.”

  His voice melded with the soft fluttering wind that enveloped us, holding us steady like an invisible hand of God.

  We slowed, hovering now, near the mist of the fluffy white clouds.

  “Look down there.” He said, pointing to the ground.

  The school grounds looked like a field of sparkling lights, illuminating the landscape. In the distance were expansive mountains, beaming with ancient power, its vastness bright under the ample moonlight.

  There were pockets of cities and towns scattered here and there, home to Magicals and humans alike, all living in harmony under the same moon.

  “Do you like it?” he asked.

  “Are you kidding?” I blurted, my smile burning into my face. “It’s incredible! I’ve never seen anything like it.”

  “It can get lonely up here sometimes,” he said, glancing over at the clouds beside us. “Still, I’ve never brought anyone up here before.”

  “Oh please, you really expect me to fall for that one? Most girls at the school would kill to be with you.” I said.

  Everything was so alive up here. The geese soared through the sky, blessing the dark with their pure white. How could he never have shared this with anyone else?

  “I’m not interested in those girls,” his eyes steadied on me. “I really meant what I said,” he whispered.

  I didn’t know the words to say in response. I felt so much for him and that terrified me. I knew what he wanted from me but all I could muster was grabbing him by the hair and pulling his lips into mine.

  We kissed passionately, tasting one another, till it turned into this desperate devouring of each other’s lips.

  The moon in all its godly glory, from its new vantage point seemed to seal the bond between us, strengthening that mysterious string that had always connected us. Never had I felt so whole, so one with myself and another, till now. Even as we were surrounded by the infinite darkness of night, I’d never felt more one with the dark, or less afraid of it.

  Our lips enveloped each other’s as we gently fell out of the sky.

  How had he known that this was exactly what I’d needed? This place. This beautiful new world filled me with so much hope, took me from the edge and gave me the breath of fresh air I so desperately need. It was Luca who did that. The only outlet for my pleasure, pain and longing, right now was his arms around me, his lips pressed so gently into mine.

  The next thing I knew, we were on the ground, beneath the tree tops once again. Our Lips finally parted and Luca picked me up, carrying me in his arms, princess style, through the firefly spangled darkness of the forest.

  Luca said, “I promise you, there will be no more hazing, no more bullying you into submission. All of this has gone way too far. All of it has to end.”

  I paused; a bit surprised. Didn’t he still plan to make me his and his brother’s Queen?

  “What’ll you do, to stop the hazing? Maybe you can convince Bane to stop, but what about Alexander?” I asked.

  Luca walked over to a particularly soft looking patch of grass under a large old oak tree and sat us down under it, with me nestled comfortably in his lap. Gripping my chin, the lust flaring in his eyes like glinting glass in the dark, he said, “I’ll call a meeting with the kings tomorrow and put an end to this.”

  I couldn’t find the words. He really meant it. He was going to let me just live my life, free of the bullying, free of all this forcing me to be Queen.

  “You’d really do that for me?” I said now trembling in his arms, blinking to hold back the tears.

  “I’d do anything for you,” he breathed, his eyes trailing my body from head to toe like a hungry beast about to pounce.

  He wrapped his arms around my waist, securing me to him. Then he leaned down, tickling his nose over the smoothness of my neck and he took in a deep breath.

  “You smell delicious, beautiful. Good enough to eat,” he flirted, and I flinched, blushing, my toes curling at his words.

  There was a glimmer of something fierce in his eyes, something starving and I could hear his heart beating. It was like the pounding of heavy footsteps. His gaze clung to my chest, as if not seeing the blouse or even the bra but only the promise of the milky soft mountains that laid within.

  “You know,” he said with a swallow, “I don’t think we’ll be interrupted this time.”

  He smiled and flickered two eager fingers teasingly over the first button of my blouse, gauging my reaction.

  My pussy clenched, thrilled by the act, but I’d never tell him that. The scent of wet hot desire wafted on the breeze, filling me, filling us both with uncaged need.

  His hand plucked each button of my blouse open, his eye drifting to my face.

  I panted, hot puffs of air fleeing my lungs at his touch. He smiled, his dimples puckering sweetly, as if that were the exact response he’d been praying for.

  “Beautiful,” he whispered in my ear, “Will you let me see you? Let me taste your strawberry nipples?”

  This time, he wouldn’t demand I ask for it. He was the one begging now. On his knees, a slave to his nature’s call.

  “I-I um” I muttered; the words locked behind my lips. He plucked the last button and my blouse fell open, my scarlet bra sneaking out from behind the covers.

  His lips and eyes shot opened, his vision going red. His hands tightened around me now, till it hurt. His lips so close to my chest, my pussy clenching rapidly in anticipation of his tongue over my hardening peaks.

  He froze, glancing back to me for my answer. And with a single nod, he ripped the bra clean off my chest and tossed it, hurdling it through the dark.

  “Christ!” he said, taking in the curves of my bare breast and their puckering nipples. I looked away, embarrassment threatening to eat me whole.

  And then without a single word of warning, his lips came crushing down over one hard nipple, taking it into his mouth, sucking, licking with a savage adoration.

  “Oh my God!” I moaned, trembling in his arms as fever ravaged my body. Spasms of pure pleasure radiated from the swollen nipple shooting right down to my pussy that now throbbed terribly, almost burning as it flooded like a river ove
rflowing its banks.

  He pinched roughly at the other peak and I cried, the double sensations driving me mad. It was like one hundred little electric shocks, bursting within my chest all at once, shooting through my lungs, robbing me of air.

  The surrounding cold night air was instantly warmed by the heat of our melded bodies. The more he licked my peaks, gliding his warm tongue in wickedly slow rotations, the more the forest floor beneath us seemed to burn, scorched black, a victim of our pleasures.

  Soft cries escaped my lips, one after the other and his eyes shot up to mine, his tongue never stopping, refusing to retreat.

  And then without warning, he bit down hard on the nipple in his mouth while pinching the other with the same force.

  “Luca!” I cried, my moans echoing off the hard surfaces of every tree around us. My heart exploded in my chest as waves of pleasure laced pain washed through me. I clenched my jaw, thrashing beneath him violently. But he wouldn’t let go of them, he only bit harder, he only pinched harder.

  I clenched my hands around his neck, my nails pressing slightly into the softness of his flesh. A silent plea for mercy before I broke.

  His teeth and finger snapped free, leaving behind nipples that were so red and bruised from his erotic attack, his eyes caressed them remorsefully. He then soothed the bruised peaks with his tongue, glistening them wet, and instantly the pain eased.

  My hips started gyrating from side to side, of their own accord. My pussy’s cry for attention could no longer go ignored. She was in control now.

  I was so wet down there, my clit pulsating, almost throwing a fit to feel him. Feel his fingers glide along her sleek surface, play with her like he’d done my nipples. She was a jealous girl and now she demanded he make it right.

  His eyes fell to my rapid hip movement and he raised a curious brow, shooting me a master chastising glare.

  “You’re a bad girl now, are you?” he laughed.

  I couldn’t wait anymore. Didn’t care anymore. “Luca, touch me. Please.” The words glided off my tongue like sweet nectar. His head jerked back in surprise, but the smile quickly returned to his face in all its dimpled glory.

  Slowly he sang, “Anything for my beauty.” He pulled my skirt to my waist, exposing my matching red panties. His hand caressed my thighs, his flesh smoothing over mine making me quiver.

  Then he dipped one hand into my panties from the top. With two long fingers, he parted my dewy folds, and I gasped, my back arching in anticipation. Then, the pad of his index finger slid over my clit and the world stopped. The wind halted its drift moving through the trees, the sounds of the forest went silent and for one fleeting moment, the only thing that existed was he and I.

  His fingers circled in teasingly slow movements around my swollen clit, pleasingly, painfully, sensually.

  I gasped, the tears spilling down my cheeks like the stream of water that slowly soaked the seat of my panties. With every rotation around my clit, the pressure between my legs built more and more, till I felt the rumbles of an impending explosion.

  What was this feeling? My hips just kept gyrating, and undulating under the heat of his finger, desperate for more, slave to his touch.

  “Faster,” I cried, and without a word he obliged, his finger now pressing harder over me, his circles now relentless as if he were in a battle, his finger a deadly weapon.

  Pleasure surged, and I panted, moaning his name over and over, louder and louder as I neared the edge.

  I knew the end was near when he leaned inward once more to spread his tongue over my still puckered nipples. I should have flinched when he started sucking them again, worried he’d bite down again. But I wasn’t, my body told me to give into him, to let him please me.

  I moaned louder. The double sensations of his finger rubbing vigorously around my throbbing clit and his tongue flickering and skating from one peak to the next, awakened a pleasure so deep and so intense, I thought I’d go mad.

  “Oh my god. Luca don’t stop!” I cried, my hips rocking faster and faster to the beat of his finger’s cruel rhythm. Then, it was like a well broke between my legs, lighting my pelvic floor on fire, as if someone had doused me in gasoline and struck a match.

  Except instead of destruction, this burn was the single most breathtaking experience I’d ever felt. I clung to the sweet sensation desperately, praying it would never leave me. It came in ripples, washing through my body first as a wave then as a tsunami.

  My every muscle tensed up as the wave of white-hot ecstasy began its descent, spitting me back out onto the soft sands of oblivion. The sands were so gentle against my skin, I couldn’t fight the weakness that clung to me now. My lids felt heavy as led, too heavy for me to resist any longer. And so, still riding the aftershocks of pleasure, I drifted into the darkness.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  Aria

  I woke, from a deep sleep, nestled snuggly under my bedsheets, a note resting over my belly. I cupped my face, wondering if it had all been a dream.

  How did I even end up back here? Was I really flying last night? With Luca? And did he really… A quick glance at the letter confirmed it. ‘From Luca’. Yup, I was with him last light and he did… touch me.

  My breath quickened at the thought, as If I were reliving every moment of last night. Every touch, every moan, and cry were all zooming back, like a hurricane. It was like a dream but much better and was that feeling what they call an orgasm?

  I slapped a hand over my smile. I’d only ever read about them in books. What the hell had I been missing all my life?! I crushed the pillow over my head and screamed in delight, kicking my feet, ruffling the sheets like a madwoman.

  It was freaking amazing!

  The letter slipped from the bed and I snatched it up before it fell to the floor. I then ripped it open and read it.

  “Dear Aria,

  Last night was incredible! I hope you don’t mind I carried you back to your room. I loved the sight of your sleeping face and couldn’t bear to wake you. As promised, I’ve called a meeting with all four kings today to tell them the fighting is off, that you and I are in love and so they all need to leave us be.

  After the meeting I’ll come to you and we’ll make the arrangements for our wedding.

  See you soon,

  Love Luca.”

  The letter fell from my hand and slid under my dresser. I paused for a moment, stunned by what I’d just read.

  Wait. Did that just say wedding? As in become his Queen?! A sharp ache exploded in my chest at the thought. Sure, I had strong feelings for Luca, there was no denying that anymore. But what about my home? What about my friends in the forest?

  And even if I decided to give that all up and stay, then what about Alexander and Raiden? I should hate the hell out of Alexander right now for the pain he’s put me through. So why does the thought of saying goodbye to him hurt so badly?

  And Raiden, I couldn’t deny I felt that same strange connection with him. Could I really say goodbye to him too? Without even finding out why I feel the way I do for him?

  And Bane, King of Assholes. Wonder what he’ll think when he finds out Luca’s plan to doublecross him and take me for himself. Whatever Bane’s been planning to use me for will go up in smoke, then mad as hell, he’d come after us for sure.

  “Gaaaah this is so confusing!” I screamed at the top of my lungs, the thin walls barely containing the noise.

  I fell back into the warmth of my bed, my shoulders sinking. It felt like my entire body was falling deeper and deeper into the murky dark of my bedsheets, slowly being devoured by a soft cushy monster.

  The thought of hurting Luca killed me, but I wasn’t ready for this. I had to stop the meeting, and I had to do it fast.

  ***

  It took way longer than I thought, try two freaking hours longer. I had to shake down two third-year nerds and a second-year cheerleader, but I’d finally gotten it. The info I needed. Apparently the four kings meeting would be at Vinlandia hall. It was th
e building with the school’s nicest conference rooms.

  That was where the kings always met. Though they only used it when their faction fighting got so out of hand, the cries of the students forced them to meet.

  The grass was wet from early morning rains, shrouding most of the south garden lawns in a dewy mist. In the distance was a vintage looking building, with cut stone walls, about four floors high with thick green vines crawling along the outside. On a dark sign of polished mahogany were the words that read, ‘Vilandia Hall’.

  I neared the entrance, ignoring all the ‘no students allowed’ signs that littered the lawn near the entrance and I walked right through the front door.

  The instant I stepped inside I was hit by the scent of savory dishes and sweet desserts wafting through the air. Waitstaff dressed in black with white aprons flooded the ground floor, rushing in and out of revolving doors, like busy ants, scurrying treys of food, clean linen, fine glasses and plates along. Not a single one of them even looked up at me, too busy with their jobs.

  Okay, this was gonna be easier than I thought.

  I climbed three flights of stairs, certain I’d hear people, the closer I got to the meeting area. According to my intel, the king’s meetings always started around this time. So where in the hundred hells were they?

  The stairs ended on the fourth floor and I started walking around. I had no idea where I was or what could be lurking in these dreary halls.

  The walls were littered with disturbing paintings of bloody death on icy battlefields. Perched on the walls were plaques with the heads of dead furry faced Yetis, looming overhead with metal spiked running through their skulls like toothpicks through a sandwich. The weapons that killed them were forever bonded to them; fear forever frozen in their dull lifeless eyes.

  A cold shimmer ran down my spine and my lip curled. This place gave me the creeps.

  “Hi Love!” a high-pitched voice sprang up from behind me, breaking the silence and my heart skipped a beat.