Charity: Black Mountain Academy/Fortuity

by Rochelle Paige

  Corby considered my question for a moment before nodding. “I never thought of it that way, but now that you mention it, that could be it.”

  “Have you at least been able to visit him?” I couldn’t imagine how difficult the ordeal must have been for them. Dealing with the grief while being apart from each other had to have made a bad situation even worse.

  My heart broke more when Corby shook his head. “The prison they sent him to is a five-hour drive, and I never had a way to get up there before.”

  “Maybe we should go after the hockey season is over?” I thought the suggestion would help, but it seemed to make him sadder.

  “I don’t know. I just”—he scrubbed his hands over his face—“I’ve been so fucking pissed at him for the past four years because he left when I needed him most. But for the first time ever, I finally get where his mind was at back then. If anything happened to you, I don’t know what I’d do.”

  I was so angry over what had been taken from him, but I couldn’t do anything to fix the situation. His concern about my safety was different, though. I could help him feel better about all the rumors flying around because of the body they’d found at the bluff. It would take a huge leap of faith and defying my mother, though. But now that I understood the root of his fear, I knew what I had to do. “If it’s okay with the Whitneys, I’ll move in with you.”

  16

  Corby

  If someone had tried to tell me a year ago that I’d be living with my girlfriend before I graduated from high school, I would’ve thought they’d lost their mind. Before I transferred to Black Mountain Academy, the last time I’d had a girlfriend was in middle school. Back when I’d had some control over my life, and before my mom died and my dad went to jail. Once I’d entered the foster system, getting into a relationship seemed like the wrong way to go. I never knew how long I’d stay in one place or if I’d be stuck going to a different school. I hadn’t met anyone worth taking the risk of getting my heart involved until Emme. When it came to her, there hadn’t been much of a choice. Her pull was too strong to resist, and I was so fucking glad I hadn’t really tried.

  William had been surprised when I’d asked if Emme could move into my room, but he’d been willing to go along with the plan without asking too many questions. His only real concern had been how I would play in the upcoming playoffs. When I’d explained that my concentration would be shit while I was worried about Emme’s safety, he’d offered to move us both into the pool house so we’d have privacy.

  Only three days later, Emme and I were loading a bunch of her stuff into our vehicles to drive it down the street. Grunting with exertion, I placed a heavy box in the back of my Jeep. “What’s in here? Dead bodies?”

  “No, silly. They’re books,” Emme giggled as she hung a garment bag in the back of her car. “I didn’t bring them all, just some of my favorites.”

  “I guess I could’ve held on to your gift a little longer so we didn’t need to haul them back,” I teased with a grin.

  She leaned past me and patted the box. “Yup, the pretties you gave me were the first books I packed.”

  Knowing my present was that special to her made me feel so damn proud, but the smile I flashed her was wiped clean from my face when a man with the same color hair and eyes as Emme marched out of the house and headed straight for us. I would have preferred to meet him before I was moving his eighteen-year-old daughter in with me while we were still in high school. Unfortunately, he’d only spent about half an hour at Emme’s birthday party, and I’d missed out on being introduced to him then.

  “Emmeline, please tell me that what your mother said isn’t true.” He flicked an angry glare in my direction before pleading with his daughter. “You can’t really be planning to move in with some boy we’ve never even met. You’re still in high school, for goodness’ sakes.”

  Emme settled her hands on her hips and jutted out her chin. “Mother has met Corby. She just likes to pretend she hasn’t because she’d prefer me to pick out my boyfriend purely based on the size of his trust fund. And if you’d stuck around my party for more than a brief appearance, then you would have met him, too.”

  “I’m sorry, Emmeline.” He ran his hand through his hair and sighed. “I should have stayed longer, but you know how much I dislike the get-togethers your mother hosts.”

  I clenched my fists in frustration, pissed as fuck that he’d ducked out of his own daughter’s party instead of manning up and getting his wife in line so Emme could’ve celebrated her birthday the way she wanted. I was doubly glad I’d talked Emme into moving in with me. He clearly couldn’t be trusted with her safety.

  “If that was the only time you were missing around here, then I wouldn’t mind so much. But you’ve barely been home the past few days, which is why you didn’t know about me moving out. Instead, I was stuck talking to Mom about what was going on, and she never listens to anything she doesn’t want to hear.”

  “I’m here now, Emmeline. Please, talk to me,” her dad begged.

  Emme gave him a quick rundown of the crap her mom had pulled and why I was so freaked out about the rumors going around school about the dead body found on the bluff. By the time she finished, he seemed resigned to his daughter living with me. “I’m not happy about your decision, but I suppose there isn’t much I can do to change your mind at this point.”

  “It won’t be too bad. I’ll just be down the street. Maybe with me out of the house, we’ll actually see more of each other because we’ll need to find time to spend together,” she suggested with a hopeful gleam in her pretty brown eyes.

  I didn’t like how her dad’s inattention had hurt Emme, but I was willing to give the guy a chance if rebuilding their relationship was what she really wanted. Stepping forward, I held out my hand. “Mr. Cushing, I’m sorry we’re meeting like this, but I promise to take good care of Emme.”

  “You’d better,” he growled, a muscle jumping in his jaw as he gripped my hand and gave it a brief shake. Then he turned to Emme and pulled her close for a hug. “You can come home tomorrow if you don’t like it at the Whitney’s. Tonight, even.”

  “I know, Dad.” She gave him a squeeze before stepping away. “If Mom was even a smidge understanding of my relationship with Corby, then maybe this would’ve turned out differently. But probably not since she’s the reason all my college applications went out to schools that aren’t anywhere near Black Mountain.”

  “Dammit.” Mr. Cushing’s chin went to his chest, and his shoulders slumped. He seemed devastated by Emme’s admission.

  Emme gave him another hug and whispered, “I’m sorry, Daddy.”

  “You’re not the one who needs to apologize here, sweetheart. I am.” He brushed a kiss against the top of her head and met my gaze. “Please take better care of her than I did.”

  I didn’t want to kick him while he was down, so I was careful with my response. “She’ll always be safe with me.”

  He gave me a curt nod and helped us bring the rest of Emme’s stuff out to the vehicles. Once we had everything loaded, they had a tearful goodbye. With her dad looking on from the doorway to his house, I leaned into Emme’s car to say, “Drive carefully.”

  “We’re only going a mile down the street,” she reminded me.

  “One mile or one hundred, it doesn’t matter. When you’re in the car, there’s precious cargo.” She sniffled and nodded, giving me a wobbly smile as I shut the door. I hopped into the Jeep to follow her down the street and hauled ass to get her shit in the pool house. I’d moved my stuff over earlier this morning, and I wanted to get her settled in quickly so we could enjoy a few hours of downtime before I had to be at the rink for practice. Our timing had been great because the team didn’t have any games this weekend.

  “Start unpacking while I get the rest,” I suggested when Emme went to follow me out.

  “Why am I not surprised?” Emme mumbled with a roll of her eyes.

  I dropped a quick kiss on her mouth. “Because
you know there’s no reason for you to carry heavy shit when I’m around to do it.”

  It didn’t take me long to carry her stuff inside. I found Emme unpacking her clothes in the closet. Her tight ass was in the air while she grabbed some shirts from the bottom of her bag. After giving one of her cheeks a light slap, I picked her up and headed for the bed. “Hey, I’m not done yet.”

  “We celebrate everything now, remember?” I asked as I dropped her on the mattress and started pulling her pants off her legs. “You can finish after.”

  “When you put it like that, I guess I can’t resist.” She tugged my shirt over my head before removing her own.

  In no time at all, we were both naked, and I was pressing her curvy body into the mattress while devouring her mouth with mine. I went from a half chub to fully hard when her legs wrapped around my hips. “Fuck, baby. You’re already wet for me.”

  “That’s what happens when you kiss me like you never want to stop.” She dragged her nails up my back. “And it drives me wild to feel how hard you get for me.”

  Hearing her admit how much she wanted me snapped what little control I had. Moving to my knees, I settled between her thighs and lowered my head to swipe my tongue through her wetness. Her hips jerked off the mattress, and I gripped her waist to hold her in place while I feasted on her. I licked and sucked until she was writhing in need beneath me, and only then did I pinch her clit between my finger and thumb to send her soaring over the edge. I hummed in appreciation and held her legs wide while I licked her through the orgasm, waiting until the pleasure ebbed before I stretched my arm out to grab a condom from the box I’d tossed into the bedside table drawer this morning.

  Emme wrapped her hand around my bicep. “You don’t need one anymore. I got on the pill, and it’s been long enough that we’re safe now.”

  My head whipped around, and I stared at her while what she was offering me registered in my thick skull. “Are you saying I can take you bare?”

  “Only if you want,” she whispered.

  “Of course, I fucking want it,” I rasped, coming down on top of her and claiming her lips for a deep kiss. While my tongue tangled with hers, I stroked a hand down the length of her body to anchor it beneath her knee and lift her leg. Notching the tip of my dick in her entrance, I punched my hips forward to go balls deep with one powerful thrust. The pleasure was nearly overwhelming. I’d never felt anything like her wet heat wrapped tight around my dick without anything between us. “Holy fucking hell, you feel amazing.”

  “Oh, wow,” she breathed, her hands clutching at my shoulders. “How can it feel so much better like this?”

  “No fucking clue, baby,” I grunted as I slowly dragged my dick out of her tight clench, only to push right back in again. “But thank fuck you went on the pill because taking you bare is the best thing I’ve ever felt.”

  “Best idea ever,” she panted, meeting me thrust for thrust.

  I wasn’t sure how we’d ever make it to school anymore now that she was living with me and we’d discovered how fan-fucking-tastic sex without condoms was, but that was a worry for another day. All I could focus on at the moment was holding out long enough for her to come again. I tangled her hair in my fist and pulled her head back. “You’re mine, Emme. Only ever mine.”

  “Yours.”

  I started hammering into her with hard, driving strokes. My balls slapped against her ass, and I felt as though I’d never get deep enough. Over and over again until her pussy finally clamped around me as she screamed my name. I felt a tingle at the base of my spine a second before the sensation surged up my back and made me stiffen. My head arched back as my come felt as though it was boiling in my balls before it spurted into her tight heat. My orgasm felt as though it lasted forever as I filled her pussy up with my release.

  “So good.” Emme’s eyes drifted shut as I collapsed on the mattress next to her. Pulling her limp form against my chest, I felt the odd combination of being drowsy while also energized. With Emme under the same roof and in my bed, I was more than ready for whatever came next.

  17

  Emmeline

  “I think you’ll like the seats I obtained for you girls.” William handed me three tickets with a smile. I hadn’t seen him much while I’d been living in his pool house with Corby, which had made the three-hour ride to the rink where the state championship was being played today a little awkward. Luckily, Emily and Sarah had come with me, so it hadn’t just been the two of us in the back of the limousine.

  We would’ve been fine on our own, but Corby liked the idea of us hitching a ride with William since it was a longer drive. Keeping his focus on the game ahead was more important than how I got there, so it had been easy to accept William’s offer to travel with him—especially once my best friends found out he’d hired a limo for the trip. “Thanks for getting these. I’m used to just showing up at the rink and sitting wherever I want. I didn’t think to ask Corby if we needed tickets for this game since it’s special.”

  “You’re quite welcome.” William pointed toward the area high in the stands behind one of the nets. “I’ll be in the private box with a few recruiters who came in large part to get a last look at Corby before the draft. If you need anything, send me a text or come find me.”

  “Will do,” I confirmed before he walked away. My stomach was in knots at the reminder that more than a high school championship was at stake for Corby tonight. If he played as well as he had all season, he could secure a spot on a professional team.

  “C’mon, I want to find our seats so we have plenty of time to get snacks before they come out on the ice to warm up,” Emily urged, poking me in the side to get me moving.

  We made our way to the section printed on the tickets. When I realized where the seats were located, I let out a little squeal as some of my nerves eased.

  “You’re as superstitious as the guys now,” Emily teased.

  “Yup,” I confirmed, making a popping sound on the last letter. “That’s how full-fledged hockey girlfriends roll.”

  Sarah laughed and rolled her eyes. “You’re such a dork.”

  “At least I’m a dork with a super-hot boyfriend who’s about to win a state championship.” I grinned as I dropped onto the seat directly behind the penalty box. “And he’s going to do it with me cheering him on in the most perfect seat in the entire rink.”

  “Hmm, you make a good point.” Sarah edged past me before sitting down. “Maybe I need to embrace my quirkiness more so I can snag a super-hot boyfriend too.”

  “I’d be happy to snag a container of nachos and a drink.” Emily patted her stomach with a grin. “And if a hot guy just so happened to bring it to me, I wouldn’t complain.”

  Sarah looked over her shoulder, scanning the fans seated around us. “No can do on the hot guy delivery service, but I’ll go to the concession stand with you to get some snacks.”

  “Deal.” Emily jumped up, then asked, “Do you want to come with us?”

  I didn’t want to risk missing Corby coming out of the locker room, so I shook my head. “Nope. I think I’ll stay here, thanks.”

  “We’ll bring some stuff back for you,” Sarah offered, patting my shoulder as she moved past me to get to the stairs.

  When they were gone, I pulled my cell phone out. I highly doubted that Corby had his phone out since they’d be leaving the locker room any minute now, but I pulled up our text thread and sent him a message.

  Me: Win or lose, I’m so freaking proud to be your girlfriend.

  Clenching my phone in my hand, I stared at the open door where the players would enter the ice while Emily and Sarah were gone. The other team skated onto the ice first, and I was perched on the edge of my seat waiting for the Cougars to come out when Sarah set a tray of snacks on my lap. “Thank goodness we’re back in time. The line at the concession stand was bonkers.”

  “It also didn’t help that it took you forever to decide what to order,” Emily complained as she sat down next to me.r />
  Sarah tossed a piece of popcorn in her direction. “Some of us like a little variety and don’t get the same thing at every game.”

  “Hey, I’m just doing my part to help the Cougars win.” Emily pointed at me with a big smile. “She sits in the same seat as the first game we went to, and I eat the same snacks. We’ve all got to do our part.”

  “Well played,” Sarah conceded before ripping open a box of candy and popping a piece in her mouth just as our goalie stepped onto the ice. He was followed by the rest of the team, with Corby coming out last. The guys lined up and bumped his fist as he skated past.

  I jumped up and clapped, screaming, “Woohoo! You’ve got this, Corby!”

  His head jerked up, and our gazes met. His smile was so big, I could see it through his face shield from across the rink. He pointed his stick in my direction before skating over to a pile of pucks and poking one off the top. He started his warmups, taking shot after shot on the net to help get the goalie ready for the game. When the clock was down to only a couple of minutes, he skated a few quick laps around our side of the ice before sending a bunch of pucks to in front of the bench. Right before the buzzer sounded, he skated over and took a knee to listen to his coach before it was time to line up for the puck drop.

  When the ref blew his whistle, Corby skated to the middle of the red line to face off against the other team’s center. I perched on the edge of my seat, my legs bouncing with nervous energy while I nibbled on the snacks Emily and Sarah had bought for me. About halfway through the game, neither team had scored, and I muttered, “This team is a lot better than anyone else they’ve gone up against this season.”

  “Yeah, they’re definitely going to make the Cougars fight hard for the championship,” Sarah agreed.