Emme shrugged before walking over to grab the handle of her bag and roll it into one of the bedrooms. When she came back out, she said, “It’s one of the perks of owning hotels. All his secretary had to do was pick up the phone and make one call, and we got the biggest suite they had at no charge.”
“Damn.” I whistled, shaking my head as I dropped my duffel on the couch. What they said about having to spend money to make it apparently didn’t apply when you were already wealthy or famous. People gave you shit for free even though you could easily afford to pay for it.
Emme’s gaze slid over to where I’d put my bag. “Did you want to, um, maybe-possibly stay in my room?”
I walked over to stand in front of her, grinning over how adorable she was when her cheeks turned pink because she was embarrassed. There was no reason for her to be self-conscious with me, and especially not when she was handing me something I desperately wanted. “I’d love to sleep with you tonight.”
“I’m not sure—”
Her cheeks turned bright red, and her words trailed off as she ducked her head against my chest. I wrapped my arms around her and kissed the top of her head. “Nothing is going to happen between us tonight unless you’re ready for it, Emme. I will never pressure you for more than you want to give.”
“I know,” she mumbled against my shirt.
I gave her another squeeze before stepping away to grab my duffel. “It’ll feel damn good to sleep with you in my arms. I vote that we come straight back here and eat dinner in bed after our meetings at the university.”
“That sounds perfect to me,” she agreed as she followed me into the bedroom.
When I glanced at the king-sized bed, my dick pressed against the zipper of my pants. My need for her was so fucking strong, we needed to get out of this suite before I started something that would make me forget why we were here in the first place. “Do you need to do anything before we head over to the campus?”
“Yup, give me like five minutes and I’ll be ready to go.” She grabbed a couple of things from her suitcase and closed herself off in the connected bathroom.
I headed into the living room area to give her extra privacy and used the bathroom I’d spotted earlier. I figured Emme would take longer than she’d said since all the girls who’d been in the foster homes I’d lived in had taken forever to get ready, but she surprised me when she reappeared in five minutes. She’d accomplished a lot in that short time, swapping outfits and pulling her long hair up. The jeans she’d changed into were tight as fuck, and her ass looked fantastic in them. “I’m going to have to keep you close so no college douche tries to steal you away from me.”
“Like that’s really going to happen.” She rolled her eyes and laughed. It always blew my mind that she had no clue how gorgeous she was. I was determined to repair the damage her mom had done over the years, no matter how long it took me.
Crossing the room, I pulled her against my chest before cupping her face with my palms. Staring into her pretty brown eyes, I murmured, “I’m totally cool with you not recognizing how many guys see you and wish they were in my place. It feels fucking fantastic to know you only have eyes for me.” I brushed my lips against hers. “But you need to know it happens.” She looked as though she was about to disagree, so I gave her a hard kiss before I added, “Often.”
“Not any more than other girls try throwing themselves at you,” she muttered, looking as irritated by the thought as I was over guys being interested in her.
“Then I guess we both have a reason to stick close to each other.” And that’s exactly what we did when we arrived on campus about half an hour before my first appointment. The hockey coach wasn’t available until later in the afternoon, so I was meeting with a grad student who coordinated services for students who had come out of the foster system since a high number of them were on campus. It was one of the things—beyond the fact that they had a great hockey team—that pushed the school toward the top of my list.
We did our own mini tour before heading over to the steps of the library, where I was supposed to meet Faith. At first, I thought we’d gotten there before her because the only people I saw were a brunette couple who were totally wrapped up in each other while they kissed. Tugging Emme with me, I sat on the other side of the steps from them with her between my knees and leaning back against me. “What do you want to do while I’m meeting with the coach?”
“We can show her around,” the brunette woman from the other side of the steps offered as the couple walked toward us.
The guy chuckled and shook his head. “Assuming they’re the kids you’re supposed to meet, and you’re not accosting random high schoolers visiting campus.”
“Oh, right.” She slapped her forehead and grinned. “Hopefully, you’re Corby King, or else I’m going to look like more of a weirdo than usual.”
“Yup, that’s him,” Emme confirmed as she stood.
I got up and nodded. “And this is my girlfriend, Emme.”
Fuck, it felt good to claim her out loud.
The guy at Faith’s side stepped forward, holding out his hand. We shook as he said, “I’m Dillon. I hope you don’t mind me crashing your meeting. I graduated last year and don’t get nearly enough time with my fiancée now that she’s started graduate school.”
“Oh, stop. You see me every day since we live together.” Faith playfully slapped him on the arm, the huge rock on her finger twinkling in the sunlight.
I liked this guy’s style—doing what it took to get more time with his woman and making sure her engagement ring was big enough not to be missed. I flung my arm over Emme’s shoulder and pulled her close. “I’m not in a position to judge. I didn’t even think to mention that Emme would be with me.”
“You aren’t going to get any complaints from me about that,” Faith assured with a smile. “It’s important to have a support system when you get to college. If Emme flew all the way out here with you just for a campus visit, then I’m going to guess she’s prepared to offer lots of encouragement once school starts up in the fall.”
“I’m one-hundred-percent team Corby, no matter where he ends up going or what he’s doing,” Emme confirmed, giving me a little squeeze.
I was so fucking proud to have her at my side. My mind was blown that she’d chosen me when she could’ve done a hell of a lot better.
“That’s what I love to hear.” Faith’s smile grew, and it was easy to see how much she and Dillon loved each other when their gazes met. “I don’t know what I’d do without this guy.”
Dillon laced their fingers together. “You’ll never have to find out.”
“Alright, enough of this mushy stuff,” Faith joked. “That’s not what you came all this way to talk to me about today.”
She launched into a spiel about how the incoming freshman class had a hundred and twenty kids who’d been in foster care. My situation wasn’t quite the same since I was from out of state and would attend on an athletic scholarship, but I felt a sense of comfort in knowing there would be students on campus who understood where I came from—especially after being with a bunch of rich kids at Black Mountain Academy.