Cold and Broken (The Titans of Founder's Ridge Book 1)

by Nichole Greene

  Me: How do u know Levi was the one spilling secrets?

  Connor: Griff is a vault

  I show Levi my phone and he pales.

  “That’s enough secrets for today.” He gives me a side hug. “Wait for Mason and Tucker after class and text me or Griff if something happens.”

  “They’re bigger than you, why do I need two of them when I’m okay with only you or Griffin or Connor?”

  “First of all,” he puffs his chest out, “they aren’t that much bigger than me. Second of all, we’re Titans. You don’t need to bench 250 with that title throwing weight behind you.”

  “Riiiight.” I roll my eyes and wave goodbye.

  “Want to go for a run this afternoon?” Griff asks as he holds open the door for me after physics.

  “Sure. You want to come over to the Volkov estate? We can run their trails.” I flip my middle finger at Margaux as she yells ‘gutter whore’ at me from down the hall. “I didn’t realize you were into running.”

  “I used to do cross country but stopped when I launched my first web application. I still run everyday but I can’t devote time for a team.”

  “Wait. You are an app developer?”

  “Yes.” He side eyes me. “I developed an app for journalists to use for confidentiality. Originally it was just for Continental News Corp to use. Then I decided to launch it for the other big news groups, journalistic integrity and all that.”

  “Ugh,” I shake my head, “you guys make me feel really insignificant sometimes.”

  “Why? Because you don’t have the money to fund your dreams and goals? That is the only difference between you and us. If I wrote you a check for a million dollars right now I bet you’d spend a large portion of it helping your old neighborhood. Maybe donate it to soup kitchens, after school programs, I don’t know exactly but I’m sure you could list off five charities that would need it. Hell, maybe you’d start your own foundation. Regardless, just because you haven’t fulfilled your dreams, don’t ever compare yourself to us and feel less than.”

  “Okay.” I blink, shocked by the impassioned pep talk. That is the most I have ever heard him speak at one time.

  He chuckles. “I’ll be over in half an hour and I’ll meet you by the pool.”

  He opens the door of my dad’s truck and waits for me to climb in. “I’m supposed to tell you to go straight home from here.”

  “Really?” I’ve never rolled my eyes as much as I have in the past few days.

  “Just passing on orders.” He holds his hands up and grins. “I’ll see you in a little bit.”

  I gun the engine and tear out of the parking lot. My dad’s older Ford sticking out like a sore thumb in a lot full of luxury cars. I almost wish we were those people with nasty black exhaust shooting out the tail pipe but obviously our environmental morals a little higher than that.

  I’m halfway home when Connor’s call interrupts Tate McRae singing about how stupid she is for someone. It seems like that might be a sign for me. I press the accept button on the steering wheel.

  “Hello,” I answer.

  “I have to figure out a new name to call you.” Connor says not bothering to greet me. “Unless you think you’ll come to think of Peasant as a term of endearment.”

  “Doubtful.”

  “You don’t seem to mind hood rat.”

  “I like Levi,” I answer.

  “Oh, you like me more,” he says with a husky voice. “How was school? Was everyone behaved?”

  “Margaux only called me a gutter whore twice and no one stole any clothes.”

  “Good.” He sounds too pleased so I decide to fuck with him.

  “I mean, Mr. Jameson tore my panties off when he bent me over his desk but other than that…” I trail off innocently.

  “Not funny,” Connor growls into the phone. “I’ll punish you for putting that mental image in my head.”

  “Shaking in my boots.” I chirp. “You still working?”

  “Yeah, two more meetings before I can go up to my penthouse.”

  “I just pulled up to your house so I’m going to let you go. Griff is coming over to run with me.”

  “Okay, I’ll talk to you later. And Lilith,” he pauses, “it’s your house, too.”

  “Only three rooms of it.” I turn the car off. “Bye Connor.”

  I hand my keys off to Edward at the front door and climb the stairs up to our apartment. I change into running shorts and a tank top. As I cut through the kitchen I let Delores know about Levi, Ivy, and Griffin coming over for dinner.

  * * *

  Griff is stretching his quads by the pool when I get outside. He’s shirtless and I’m shocked by the massive tattoo covering his back. There are five constellations spread from the base of his neck to his waist. I’m also surprised by the amount of muscle I see in front of me. He’s not bulky like Levi or Connor but lean and lithe. He turns around when he hears me walking down the patio and the front of him is just as surprising as the back, an eight pack plainly visible.

  “I don’t whether to be flattered by you checking me out or insulted by the shock on your face,” he says straight faced.

  “I just wasn’t expecting all of this,” I wave my hand in front of him. “Especially the tattoo. It’s beautiful.”

  “My sisters and I all have the same thing. Theirs are smaller though. It’s all our zodiac constellations.”

  “You’re into astrology?” I cannot picture him reading his horoscope over coffee every morning.

  “No. My sisters are.” He shrugs a shoulder. “As usual I was out voted. Life as the only brother.”

  I chuckle. “Well, it looks badass if that helps?”

  “It does.” He gestures toward the woods with his head. “Are you ready?”

  “Yep.” I take off at an easy pace.

  Griff is better at running than I am. Where I do it out of the need to stay fit he turns into a different person, loving the exertion. I let him take the lead, our feet pounding the dirt trail and our breath puffing out into the cooling air. Every so often he looks back to make sure I’m still keeping up.

  Almost an hour later I flop down into the grass, breathless and aching. Griff sits down beside me, taking deep pulls of water and handing me a bottle of my own.

  “You’re carrying me in, right?” I huff and puff. “I can’t walk.”

  “If feels good, right?” His hazel eyes lit from within with contentment.

  “No.” I shake my head vehemently. “It’s feels awful. I think I’m dying. You must be a masochist to enjoy doing this to yourself.”

  “Why do you do it then?” Curiosity soaking his voice.

  “To stay in shape. Working out is how I grew up bonding with my dad. We rarely did what most people would think of as normal father daughter bonding stuff. He taught me Krav Maga, we go to the shooting range, and we work out. Oh, and sports. We don’t play anything together but we watch together.”

  “Krav Maga.” He nods his head absently and runs a hand through the grass under us. “That’s how you were able to take Lev down the other day.”

  “Yep. That was fun.” I laugh.

  Griff hauls himself to his feet reaches out a hand for me. I groan as he pulls me up. I’m going to be sore tomorrow, he had me running a faster pace than I’m used to.

  “I’m going to shower and change. Meet me back in the kitchen after you’re done,” he orders and for a second I see a flash of the future CEO he’ll become.

  All three of the guys exude a certain level of dominance. The way they each hold themselves has a level of well earned confidence but just bordering on arrogance. I’m fairly certain the three of them came from the womb with that self assurance.

  My mind wanders to Connor as I get ready to shower. I wonder what he’s doing, which meeting he’s in right now. I let myself relive last night, the touch of his hands, the brush of his lips, the strokes of his tongue. I wonder if he’s thought about it at all today. If he’s thought of more random questions t
o ask me.

  I need to stop thinking about him.

  I have to be smart and focus on why I’m here. I’m going to graduate from this ridiculous prep school so I can join Z at whatever college he gets a scholarship to. He and I will spend four years living our best lives. I’ll be far away from Founders Ridge and the rich boys who live and play here. I’ll be the charity case they barely remember from their senior year and our lives will never intersect again.

  When I lather my hair with my rose hip shampoo I think back to how Connor said he was going to buy a bottle of each to jerk off with. Part of me is tempted to put a few bottles in his bathroom. Double down on his claim and see if he was serious. It actually turned me on when he said it. I secretly love his filthy mouth.

  STOP.

  When I’m finished getting cleaned up I walk down to the kitchen. Griff is sitting at the island scrolling through Twitter and chatting with Delores.

  “Hey Delores. Do you need any help with anything?” I ask as I walk into the kitchen.

  “No, sweetie. Just have a seat and enjoy your company.”

  “Lev and Ivy will be here in a few,” Griff says with his eyes still locked on his phone.

  They walk in together a few minutes later. We sit down to eat and end up talking about football and classes. Z calls partway through dinner and I excuse myself for a few minutes to chat with him before he has to catch the L and go to work. I can’t believe we haven’t seen each other in almost a month. It’s the longest we’ve ever been apart and it sucks. Only two weeks until we’re reunited for my birthday though. That thought keeps me going.

  17

  Connor

  My knee bounces impatiently in the back of the town car Victor insisted I begin using to get to and from the Founders Ridge private airport. Two days of signing page after page after page of paperwork. Signing away my future freedom to my inheritance. I don’t have any idea what my passion is, where I might have ended up because my future was always going to be in the boardroom at VI.

  At least I was able to negotiate terms putting myself in the drivers seat for all our research and development. The energy industry in the states needs a big fucking push away from traditional energy sources and into the realm of renewables. Victor and I disagree on so much but at least he has the foresight to see the direction we need to go into. Hell, I might even get him to agree to let me go to MIT instead of Harvard. My ruthless business acumen was bred into me, my ability to understand science could only be a benefit to the business.

  Fuck, does this guy know how to drive?

  I have never been this anxious to get home in my life. I hope Lilith is still awake. I texted her when I left the city and told her I wanted to see her tonight. She’s disagreeable enough to fall asleep early on purpose, just to spite me.

  I catch myself with a gentle smile in the reflection of the window. I have to get a grip on this attraction to her. This magnetic pull I feel to her is dulling my edge and neither of us can afford for me to lose that power. Now, more than ever, I need to be cold, calculating, and focused.

  I haven’t been as focused as I needed to be the past few days. Instead I’ve spent way too much time thinking about Lilith’s sweet pussy fluttering around my fingers and tongue in ecstasy. The moans and pants and slick sound of her flooding desire echoing in my mind. I wonder what she would do if I barged into her room and dropped to my knees for another taste as soon as I get home. So many guys my age aren’t into eating pussy but damn, I could fucking feast on Lilith for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

  Fucking finally!

  I barely restrain myself from flying out of the town car as soon as it stops in front of the house. I toss a hundred dollar bill at the driver as a tip and grab my bag. Edward meets me by the door.

  “Mr. Volkov, how was your trip?” He holds out his hand for my bag.

  “Boring,” I hand my bag over. “Do you know where Lilith is?”

  “The last time I saw her she was in the gym.”

  “Thank you, Edward. Have a good night.” I manage to keep a casual pace. When I’m five feet from the door I hear the beating of punching bags under K. Flay’s Blood in the Cut blasting through the bluetooth speaker. It’s loud enough to cover my entrance into the gym. She’s got several dummies set up in the boxing ring. She flies around throwing jabs, hooks, kicks, and elbows at her would be assailants. Her blonde ponytail swinging around her face. Some people exude grace through dance, Lilith exudes it through her strength and fighting ability.

  “Remind me never to sneak up on you in a dark alley,” I say when the song ends.

  She turns around, startled. “Hi,” a slow smile forms for me. “Just get home?”

  “Yes,” I stalk toward her.

  “What are you doing?” She stutters as I step between the ropes of the ring.

  “Coming to say hello properly.” I cross the final few feet between us and grab her waist. She’s just wearing a sports bra and shorts, sweat running down her face and chest.

  “I’m all sweaty and gro-” she says right before I slam my lips down on hers. Her skin is hot but her mouth is cool from the water she just drank. She hesitantly opens her lips for me when I bit her plump lower lip.

  As soon as I deepen the kiss and back her up into the ropes she groans against my mouth and drags her nails across my scalp. “I don’t care how sweaty you are.” I smile against her lips. “Watching you beat the shit out those dummies is hot as fuck.”

  “Yeah, but you’re still in your fancy suit and I’m getting sweat on it.” She runs her hand down my tie.

  “That’s what dry cleaners are for. You almost done here?”

  “Yeah, just need to clean up and put the dummies away.” She raises an eyebrow. “Someone once made a point to tell me I have disinfect everything I touch in here.”

  I’m such a dick.

  “Must have been a real asshole,” I grin.

  “The fucking worst.” Her eyes sparkle.

  “How about this, I’ll clean up in here and you can go shower. Then I’ll meet you in your room and we can watch TV or a movie or something.”

  “Junior’s going to lower himself to clean up after his peasant?” She mock gasps and my dick jumps at the thought of her calling herself my anything.

  “Hit the showers, stinky.” I smack her ass and smile at the squeal that she makes.

  I watch her leave and then start putting everything away. I grab some paper towels and the disinfectant spray to spot clean the few drops of sweat I notice. It only takes a few minutes so I figure I have time to run and grab a quick shower before I meet her.

  I get to my room and pull my tie and watch off, putting them both away in my closet. Strip down and toss my suit in the dry cleaning basket. I turn on the rain shower head and the side heads as well. I’m so glad Claire helped me talk mom and dad into renovating our rooms before the shit hit the fan. Claire picked everything out for our rooms and did so much better than I ever could.

  Not that she’s here to enjoy it.

  I shake thoughts of my dysfunctional family out of my head. I don’t need to show up to Lilith’s room with a chip on my shoulder. If I dwell on things that’s exactly what will happen. I pull on a pair of sweat pants and an undershirt. I don’t want Delores seeing me walk into Lilith’s room half naked and reporting back to one of our dads. Actually, just reporting it back to Michael. I don’t give a fuck if Victor finds out.

  I walk down the darkened hall, all the servants have retired for the night so the lights are off. I stop on the landing in front of the foyer and look down. Sometimes I forget how big our house really is, going into the city and being in my penthouse at VI always brings things somewhat in perspective. Obviously being 18 and having my own penthouse apartment in New York City means my perspective is skewed but still, I don’t know how many rooms this mansion has. My place at VI is much smaller.

  I hesitate for a second trying to decide which door to knock on for Lilith. I pick her bedroom door, hoping that w
e’ll be able to watch a movie in her bed. Or do other things in her bed. I’m sticking to my guns about sex though. She is still a virgin and I’m not taking that from her unless I know she is in this with me. I refuse to be a regret.

  I give a warning knock before trying the door and letting myself in when I find it unlocked. I poke my head in and say her name. The bathroom door is still closed so I close the door behind me and sit down on her bed. I look through the books on her bookshelf pulling out a few to read the blurbs on the backs. She seems to have a penchant for romances with alpha male type heroes. I smirk thinking about myself. I’m pretty fucking alpha.

  “What are you doing?” Lilith steps out of the bathroom. “And please, make yourself comfortable.” She rolls her eyes.

  “Thanks, I have no problem doing so.” I hold a book up against my chest. It’s a male/female/male menage novel. “Who would you want a threesome with me and Lev or Griff?”

  “Maybe I’d want one with Lev and Griff. Pretty presumptuous to think I’d want you involved,” she taunts.

  “True. I don’t need any help to satisfy my woman in bed.” Although I am kind of curious who she would choose. She and Lev get along so well but she and Griff have a lot in common. On paper either of them would probably be better boyfriends for her.

  Good thing this is real life then.

  “So humble.” She walks over and puts the book down. “That book was actually full of feels, the heroine’s engagement broke up when her fiancé fell in love with their third, his best friend from college.” Her eyes rake up and down my body. “Who’d be the top? You, Lev, Griff?”

  “Me, without a doubt.” I smile down at her. She came out the bathroom in sleep shorts and a skimpy tank top that her nipples are currently visible through. “Are you cold or turned on thinking about me topping Lev or Griff?”

  “I’m not cold.” Her eyes sparkle with mischief. “I can’t believe how easy you are talking about having sex with your best friends though.”

  “Just talking.” I shrug. “It’s just sex, as long as everyone consents I don’t judge.”