Despised: A Reverse Harem Academy Bully Romance (Dukes of Dunwich Book 1)

by Payton Reed

  With a small grunt, Lex lifted her off the floor and onto the counter. Her butt perched on the edge, and she reached behind her to hold on to the racks provided for students to clip up their photographs during development.

  He leaned over her, kissing her as though he hadn’t seen her in months. She responded with equal intensity, enjoying the feel of his mouth on her hers as his fingers tangled through her hair, dragging her head back so he could bite her throat. She yelped at a hint of pain, but it was gone before it could become much of anything.

  His lips moved over the same spot, and then he kissed her again before slipping her skirt up and over her stomach. Her knees trembled with anticipation as his mouth moved lower. When he reached her core, she held her breath as his tongue hovered above her.

  He pushed aside her panties, and his fingers were adept, since they didn’t have much time. He kissed her mound before slipping his tongue inside to caress her clit. Lex was quick and thorough, finding the spot she liked best and focusing all his attention there, alternating between gentle flicks of his tongue and sharper, almost stabbing thrusts. Then he started sucking on her clit, and she lifted her hips while burying her hands in his hair. She held him against her.

  She arched her hips and cried out his name as she came. He held onto her for another moment before lifting his head and helping her right her underwear. When she was capable of standing, he held her up for a moment to ensure she was steady before bending his head to kiss her again. She kissed him with all the passion she felt, and her hand moved to his cock to stroke lightly through the khaki pants. She wished she had time to get him off too.

  “You’re gorgeous when you’re coming.” Lex blushed slightly, as though unused to giving such compliments.

  She blushed prominently, also unused to hearing them. “Thank you.” She kissed him again, and they separated to return their classes. She took a moment to stop by the restroom and clean up, thoughts on Lex as she returned to the fourth period, wishing she could spend a lot more time with him. May couldn’t come soon enough.

  She made it through the rest of her classes for the afternoon, and then she met Dalton in the rec room on the main floor of Dorm A that evening. They didn’t stay long, since he wanted to show her where they could meet and be alone. She left with him and looked at the exit for Dorm A, but he led her toward the stairs, which they passed a moment later. Willow was surprised when he didn’t lead her out of the building.

  Instead, with a furtive look, he opened the door marked “Basement.” He slipped through and indicated she should follow. She did, temporarily overwhelmed by the lack of light. He put out his hand to keep her from moving, and a second later, his phone light came on. He must be using a flashlight app.

  There wasn’t much to see besides concrete walls painted white and cement stairs. Still holding her hand, he led her down them. He seemed to know right where he was going, and after passing the hallway, they emerged into another area that offered more hallways. Splitting off to the right, he took her down that hallway until he paused three-fourths of the way toward the end and used his phone to illuminate the way as he opened a door for her.

  With a hint of apprehension as she silently wondered if this was an elaborate hoax Dalton had schemed with Malone to humiliate or hurt her in some fashion, she took a cautious step across the threshold. She breathed a sigh of relief when he followed her in and closed the door. There was no one in the room but them, and she felt bad for questioning Dalton’s sincerity, but she couldn’t just forget what a jerk he’d been.

  Once inside, she said, “I didn’t see a name on the door, or function for this room. What is it?”

  “It used to be a basement apartment for one of the live-in maintenance people, before they did away with cleaning staff and support people living on campus. Several people have turned it into a private hangout.”

  She looked around, eyeing the utilitarian space with a cot in the corner, and a broken-down loveseat in the opposite corner. “Considering this school is full of hormonal teenagers, I’m shocked the school hasn’t bricked off this room by now,” she said with a giggle.

  “I think they’ve mostly forgotten about it. Rumor has it that some industrious student broke into the main office and changed the floor plans a few years ago so the school would forget this room exists.”

  Her eyes widened. “Was it you?”

  Dalton laughed. “No, it wasn’t me. Thanks for thinking the worst of me though.” He grinned and winked to take the sting out of his words.

  He remained unaware of how they sent a pang of guilt through her at having experienced doubts a few minutes before.

  “It’s probably just an urban legend, but for whatever reason, the school administration seems to have forgotten about this place, but several of the students haven’t. We can meet down here once or twice a week so we can talk and… whatever without an audience.”

  She nodded as she moved to the loveseat which had definitely seen better days. There were some unidentifiable stains, and she perched cautiously on the edge of a worn cushion. “This sure is a dank, cold room. You know how to show a girl a good time, Dalton.”

  He shrugged. “If we have some privacy, it’s worth it, right?”

  She nodded. Moving closer to him, after he sat beside her, she put her arms around his neck and hugged him at an awkward angle. When he eased them back so that their backs were touching the support of the furniture, she tried not to think about what other things might be staining the couch she sat on.

  Instead, she lifted her head for a deep kiss. She closed her eyes and parted her lips, waiting. When it was clear he wasn’t going to kiss her, she opened her eyes. “Is something wrong? Don’t you want to kiss me?”

  He nodded. “More than anything, but I need to talk to you first.”

  He sounded so serious that she frowned. “Of course. What is it?”

  Looking away, he licked his lips before meeting her gaze. “I’m hoping you won’t take this the wrong way…”

  She arched her brow as the silence continued. “What? Do I need a breath mint?”

  “Can we have this place just for us? Will you promise not to bring any of your other boyfriends down here to spend time with them?”

  She could see his hesitation as he made the request, and he probably expected her to remind him he was sharing her with everyone. That was true, but she didn’t mind having her own place with each man.

  The greenhouses and the gazebo where hers and Jonas’s, and she met Lex in the darkroom. With Kip, it was his office for Friday afternoon meetings, and now this place with Dalton. It had horrible ambience, but it offered privacy, which was far more important. “I’m totally fine with that, and I promise.”

  He looked relieved, and then he pulled her into his arms for a deep kiss. What was supposed to be a few minutes together turned into almost an hour, and though there was little conversation, she felt like she knew him even better by the end of the time they spent together before they had to get back. The main lights would soon go out in the dorms, and they needed to be back before then, since that was informally bedtime and the unofficial curfew.

  Chapter Forty

  Willow

  When Willow was in French class a couple of days later, her stomach turned when Manion seemed to focus on her. It was a bit like being the center of Suzanne’s attention, though not so negative in front of the class. What was negative about it was suspecting why he was singling her out and giving her compliments on work that was no higher caliber than usual.

  Worse than the compliments were his hands, which seemed to travel everywhere. He squeezed her shoulder three or four times in the space of as many minutes as he paced back and forth near her desk. Then he put his hands on her shoulders and started massaging as he addressed a question to the class, before looking down at her and saying her name in a way that was far too intimate.

  She didn’t dare look up, afraid it would bring her face way too close to his, so she pretended to need
the assistance of her book, though she knew the answer. She blurted it out a moment later, praying he would go on.

  Eventually, he went to other girls to creep on, including Isis. Willow was feeling overheated in her sweater, with it buttoned to her neck, but she wasn’t about to take it off, especially right now with Manion seeming even more interested in her than he had been before the rumors about her and Lex circulated.

  Her stomach clenched with dread when the bell rang, and Manion said, “I’d like you to stay after for a moment, merci, Willow.”

  She traded a glance with Isis, who nodded at her. She appreciated the show of solidarity, especially when Isis parked herself at the threshold and waited silently but was clearly observing everything.

  “You can go to your next class, Isis,” said Manion with irritation.

  “I’m afraid I have to wait to get notes for a different class from Willow,” said Isis with a bright smile.

  “I need to discuss something in private with her.”

  “Oh, it’s okay, Monsieur Manion. Isis is my roommate and friend, so you can say whatever you need to in front of her. She already knows I only have a B-minus in this class.”

  He was clearly pissed off, and he also looked like he was having trouble scrambling for a reason for having kept her now. After a moment, he said, “I simply wanted to tell you that you did a good job today.”

  “Thank you, monsieur.” She nodded at him and hurried to meet Isis, who stood waiting patiently. As soon as she crossed the threshold of his classroom, she breathed a sigh of relief. Isis echoed it, and they shared a look of awareness and triumph. Perhaps their plan to make sure no girl stayed alone with Manion would be enough to stymie his efforts to creep on the students.

  “Thanks, Isis.”

  Isis nodded as she headed in the direction of her friends when they reached the dining hall. Willow looked around, spotting Lex sitting with Wills. That held no appeal, so when she caught Dalton’s eye, and he gestured for her to join him, she nodded after ensuring none of his minions or Malone and her piranhas were sitting with him. He was at a different table today, and she wondered if that was so she would sit with him.

  She worked her way through the line quickly before heading toward Dalton. Lex called her name, and she waved at him, but she gestured with her head where she was heading. He looked at Dalton, and his expression seemed pained. He nodded and turned his attention to Wills. She thought about inviting him to join her and Dalton, but she didn’t think the two men were at that point of civility.

  She sat down him, keeping a respectable distance that he soon swallowed by scooting closer. She arched her brow when his hand crept onto her thigh. “If you keep sitting so close, people will gossip. I just finally got them to stop talking about me and Lex.”

  Dalton frowned. “Are you ashamed to be seen with me?”

  Her mouth dropped open at the idea. “Of course not. I just don’t want more rumors circulating. It’s different for you guys. People love it when boys score, and they congratulate you… Though maybe not in these circumstances.”

  He paused in the middle of scooping up a spoonful of peas. “What circumstances?”

  She leaned a little closer to lower her voice. “You’re my stepbrother, and people are going to find that strange.”

  He rolled his eyes. “We’ve known each other less than a year, and we certainly weren’t raised together. Who cares?”

  She shrugged a shoulder. “I don’t, obviously, but I know how people can be. After Malone’s rumor about me and Lex in the locker room circulated—”

  He frowned suddenly, interrupting her. “I first thought that was something Malone made up, but then I found out it was true. How far did you and Lex…?”

  She rolled her eyes. “A kiss. After a breakup, we were hardly likely to reunite with more than that.”

  “And you haven’t with Jonas or…” He trailed off, leaving her to fill in the blank.

  Was he asking about previous boyfriends, or did he know about Kip? “I haven’t ever,” she said. She wanted to tell him everything, but she needed a little more time to be sure he was invested in the relationship before she risked Kip’s position by telling Dalton, who might use it against her if they fell apart, and he was angry. She wanted to think he wouldn’t, but she didn’t know him well enough yet to be certain.

  He grinned. “I figured that, but I’m glad to know you haven’t.”

  She narrowed her eyes, unable to let that slide. “So, I guess you haven’t either, since you’re clearly so happy about my virginity? You must value it for yourself too, right?”

  He lost the smile, looking hunted. “Um… no.”

  “Is that no, you haven’t, or no, you have?”

  “I have.” His neck turned red.

  She wanted to ask with whom, but she didn’t. It made her uncomfortable to discuss how far she’d gone with each of her boyfriends, because it was such an intimate experience with each one.

  On the other hand, she could understand his curiosity, and Dalton was probably quietly driving himself crazy wanting to know just how far she’d gone with Jonas and Lex, because that was his personality. Asking opened the chance of questions she didn’t want to answer.

  He didn’t press for more information, to her relief, though he didn’t offer any details about his experience either. Maybe he didn’t want to talk about that either, and he definitely didn’t like thinking about her with Jonas or Lex. She was still amazed he had decided he could share her affection.

  She was still holding back with him, the fear that he wouldn’t be able to share, or that he wouldn’t be able to change from the bullying Dalton, making her cautious.

  “I like your earrings,” said Dalton unexpectedly.

  She touched her ear reflexively, rubbing her thumb over the shining ruby. “Thanks. They were a gift for my birthday.”

  His eyes widened. “When is your birthday?”

  “A few days from now. I’ll be eighteen.” She mentioned that part almost casually, because she doubted Dalton cared if she was eighteen before they had sex. He was only a few months older than her and wouldn’t have the same fear as Jonas.

  “Interesting. Who gave you the earrings?” There was definitely a note of suspicion in his tone, though he seemed unaware of it.

  “Jonas,” she said in a calm voice, bracing herself for a jealous outburst.

  His jaw clenched for a moment, but then he breathed deeply. “Very nice. They’re not too gaudy or anything. I guess he has good taste.”

  She giggled. “I’d like to think so, since he likes me.”

  Dalton bent his head so he could whisper, “He has a very good taste then. I know what your skin tastes like.”

  She blushed, but she was saved from having to come up with a witty reply that danced the line between flirty and appropriate by the arrival of Malone and the piranhas. They surrounded the table like they had scented blood in the water, and she was their prey.

  Malone looked at her brother, scowling. “What are you doing sitting with her?”

  “I’m trying to maintain the peace, sis.” Dalton gave that little fib without even a blink or any indication it wasn’t the full truth.

  “Why bother? Dad will tire of her mother spending all our money, or her mother will leave him for a younger guy soon enough. She’s never going to really be part of our family.” Malone sneered in her direction, but she didn’t quite meet Willow’s gaze.

  Dalton glared at his sister. “Didn’t you lose your allowance for next term?”

  Malone flushed, glaring at Willow. “It was worth it to speak my mind.”

  He snorted. “Yeah, okay. Why don’t you make things easier on yourself and accept the new reality, Malone? I’m not saying he’d do it but imagine if Dad decided not to pay your tuition for Dunwich. I’d hate for him to cut you off.”

  Malone sniffed in his direction. “I can do just fine on my own. I don’t need his help or him. I’ll say what I want when I want.” With another gl
ower for Willow, she and the piranhas turned and walked away in unison.

  “Sorry,” said Dalton, sounding mortified.

  Willow shrugged. “It’s not like I expected her feelings to change overnight, if at all. She’s really angry right now, especially with our parents having a baby. That’s so weird, isn’t it?”

  Dalton shrugged. “I don’t think we’ll notice too much. We won’t be home a lot, you know?”

  Willow nodded, feeling a niggle of regret. When she was younger, she’d wanted a sibling more than anything, but her mother had been far too careful about that after an accidental teenage pregnancy. She’d been disappointed throughout the years not to have a sibling, but now that she was going to get one, it seemed less exciting. It sounded like more work than anything, but Dalton was right. It wouldn’t really impact them either way.

  “Do I get you tonight for a while?” asked Dalton as the time ticked away toward the end of the lunch hour.

  She shook her head. “I’m studying with Lex tonight. I’ll see you tomorrow though.”

  “The basement?” he asked hopefully.

  “Rec room,” she said sternly, but laughed a little. “I’ll see you later.”

  “Bye, Willow.” He squeezed her hand discreetly under the table before they stood up to bus their trays. After that, it was time for Professor Barnes’s class, so Dalton followed behind her as she prepared herself for another torture session with Suzanne.

  To her relief, there was a substitute again. She didn’t care why Suzanne was out for the day, and she didn’t care that the substitute was a grumpy old man. He was nothing compared to Suzanne, and at least he was cracking down on everybody equally.

  Friday afternoon, she met with Kip as usual, going to his office. She resented the door having to remain open, but it wasn’t worth the risk of closing it.