Charity Case (Kings of Knightswood Academy Book 1)

by Ivy Clyde

  “Are you hurting?” he asked, staring down at me.

  “Not really,” I said. “I feel so full though.”

  He chuckled, moving down to kiss the side of my neck. His pace picked up and soon my body was thrumming with intense sensations as his cock kept hitting me at a certain angle.

  Moans escaped me as I felt his lips around my nipple while his hand squeezed the other.

  Gabrielle’s groans of pleasure soon mingled with mine. He was thrusting harder now, driving me to greater heights of ecstasy. My hands gripped onto his shoulders as I spread my legs wider, making him sink onto me.

  I could feel his restraint on himself as he pushed inside me. His teeth grazed and pulled at the skin of my neck as he continued to move inside me. I was gasping for breath, needing more from him.

  “Harder,” I moaned.

  He complied, plunging inside me with harder thrusts. Delicious friction built up inside me and I craved it like nothing else in my life.

  My insides tightened. I could feel something about to snap within me as he slammed into me.

  “Gabrielle,” I whimpered, my fingers digging into the muscles of his broad shoulders as a sweet ache throbbed between my legs. I cried out as I suddenly came unraveled but my voice was drowned by Gabrielle’s mouth on mine.

  Waves of pleasure cascaded down my body and for a moment, I was lost to everything but the intense heat spreading through me.

  “Paris.” Gabrielle groaned my name, still thrusting into me. “It feels amazing to be inside you.”

  I could feel tension building deep inside me again. Gabrielle was close to his own pleasure as he thrust inside me hard and fast. In his frenzy, he bit me a little harder on the sensitive skin of my neck. I gasped from the sudden pain but next moment, he swiped his tongue over the sting, soothing it immediately.

  I gazed up at Gabrielle, taking in the expression on his face. He was at a breaking point, pain and pleasure crossing his beautiful features as he plunged inside me.

  Another cry escaped me as I came undone a second time. My walls clamped hard onto his shaft, making him shout out and come to a sudden halt.

  “Fuck, Paris!” he bit out, his body shuddering against mine. His thick cock throbbed hard against my pulsing core as we both gasped and groaned from the intense pleasure rippling through our bodies.

  Gabrielle was gentle when he pulled out of me and lay back on the bed beside me. As the intensity of my climax ebbed away, I felt dampness between my legs, dripping onto my thighs. I turned to the side to face Gabrielle.

  He pulled me against his chest and left soft kisses on my cheeks, forehead, and lips.

  Our legs tangled together as he brought up a sheet to cover our cooling bodies.

  “That was incredible,” I whispered, gazing into his soft sea-green eyes. “I could never imagine my first time to feel that good.”

  “Did it hurt?”

  “A little but it felt so good too.”

  His lips stretched into a broad smile as he moved to kiss my lips again.

  Serenity and calmness stole through me. My eyelids felt heavy. Soon, I’d closed my eyes and succumbed to a peaceful slumber.

  33

  Paris

  It was close to eleven in the morning when I finally got around to take a look at my phone the next morning. I’d woken up late, feeling sore all over. Gabrielle was missing from the apartment but he left a note for me on the bedside table.

  Be back soon! It said.

  While he was gone, I decided to take a shower.

  Fluffy white towels and bathrobes were stacked neatly in the master bathroom. Using his soap, I rinsed the area between my legs. While we’d used protection last night, I wondered if it was a good time to get started on contraceptives too. The more protection the better, after all, my over-cautious mind urged.

  By the end of the hot shower, I smelled of the melon-scented shampoo Gabrielle used. Warmth flooded my chest to think I would be sharing the same scent as him. Borrowing one of the bathrobes, I stepped out of the bathroom.

  The intoxicating fragrance of coffee and baked goods hit my nose immediately. Looking around, I found Gabrielle standing in the room with a tray in his hands. He looked relieved as soon as he saw me.

  “I brought breakfast,” he said, laying the tray on the unmade bed. There were almond pastries, buttered croissants, two glasses of orange juice and two cups of coffee on it.

  “This looks so good,” I crooned, feeling my stomach grumble with a sudden hunger-attack.

  Grabbing the glass of orange juice, I drained it one go. Next, I reached for a croissant and bit half of it, chewing at it savagely as I turned my gaze on Gabrielle. He was watching me with an amused grin.

  “Glad I got some food before you got hangry,” he said, picking up an almond pastry.

  “Good thinking,” I said, stuffing the rest of the croissant in my mouth.

  “I like how you smell,” he said in a rougher voice. “Makes me want to take you again.”

  Heat spread through my cheeks as I tried to stuff a whole croissant in my mouth and then proceeding to choke on it from nervousness and embarrassment. Gabrielle chuckled, moving forward to gently thump me on the back. “Relax, Paris,” he said. “I was teasing.”

  I swallowed hard and looked up at him. He was smiling down at me. It was so different from the way the careless grin he gave people. This gentle expression was something he showed only me.

  “I’ll go get my phone,” I said, getting to my feet. From last night’s memory, it had to be somewhere near the couch in the living room.

  The tiny light on the top of my phone was blinking hard when I got to it. Swiping the screen, I found several messages and missed calls from Nik, Liam, and Zoya. Heart beating with worry, I dialed Nik.

  He picked up my call on the first ring.

  “Where are you?” he asked at once.

  “I am with Gabrielle at his apartment,” I said, relieved that he couldn’t see the blush spreading through my cheeks.

  I heard the long exhale of his relieved breath on the other side. “You were there all night?”

  “Yeah…why? There are so many missed calls from Zoya too. Are you guys okay?”

  “We’re fine but we were worried about you. Why didn’t you pick up our calls?”

  “Errr…” An uncomfortable silence followed that question.

  “You were busy with him, huh?” Nik sounded annoyed. “So busy you couldn’t pick up our calls?”

  “Sorry,” I said in a small voice. “But why were you both calling me?”

  “You didn’t return to your cabin after school yesterday. Of course, we’d be worried. I called Liam too and he said you hadn’t gone to his house either.” That explained the missed calls from Liam.

  “I better call him and tell him I’m fine.”

  “Paris!” he bit out.

  “What?”

  “Did you…were you two fucking last night?”

  I hesitated for a moment before saying a small ‘yes’.

  “Fuck,” he breathed. “You let that bastard take you first.”

  “It just happened,” I said.

  He switched off the call, leaving me with the phone stuck to my ear.

  “Everything all right?” asked Gabrielle, coming to stand before me.

  “Yeah. It was Nik. I need to call Liam now and tell him where I was last night. My phone is full of missed calls.”

  “Don’t bother,” he said, taking my phone away. “I already told him.”

  “What?”

  “He called Lucas and Lucas said he dropped you off near my apartment.”

  “So he knows what we did last night?”

  He gave a nod.

  Moving closer, he pulled me into a gentle hug. “Don’t worry about it.”

  How could I not? It hadn’t been long since he started being nice to me. Would he start being cold towards me again? We were doing so well with our project assignments too. I worried our communication would be
ruined.

  I pushed at Gabrielle’s chest. “What if he gets mad?”

  “Have you chosen me over him yet?”

  I shook my head.

  “Then, he won’t be mad,” said Gabrielle.

  “What about you though?” I asked. “Will you be mad at me if I was intimate with him?”

  He looked grim. “I told you last night. I won’t force you to choose.” He moved a wet lock of hair away from my face. “Everything’s okay. Don’t worry so much about who to choose. Take your time to get to know us before making any decision.”

  I nodded, letting myself relax. “You seem to be feeling better today.”

  “I am.”

  “Great! I need to get back to the academy. My laptop and everything is back there. I came here with just my school bag after hearing about the accident.”

  “I’ll drop you,” he said. “That way, I can stay close to you a little bit longer.”

  All the stress left me as a smile lifted the corners of my lips. Leaning down, Gabrielle captured my lips between his.

  Over the following weeks, my fears related to Liam’s reaction disappeared. We still hung out at times during lunch in the cafeteria and he was still communicative during the times we talked or emailed about our group project. Classes and assignments kept us busy on most days and weekends but Liam didn’t go back to being cold and cruel.

  Nik, on the other hand, ignored me completely. It was harder to reach him outside of Math and English class as those were the only common subjects we took. He still sat in the row behind me but stopped tugging at my hair or biting me in the ear. While a part of me was glad he stopped the sudden poking and biting, I missed interacting with him.

  Nik was different from both Liam and Gabrielle. Even when things were good between us, he would keep his distance. Zoya kept asking me to be the first to approach her stepbrother and talk about the discomfort between us. I knew she wanted me to choose Nik. If it had been any other guy other than Gabrielle, she would have already started hating him. But Gabrielle with his charms kept making her smile with his jokes each time he met her.

  School kept me busy most of the time but my mind kept wandering during those quiet moments before going to sleep. I missed Nik but part of me was scared to confront him. I did sleep with Gabrielle. There was absolutely no regret on that front but I wish he wouldn’t take it as a rejection. My heart still beat for him.

  Needless to say, my feelings were a mess and my emotions confused the heck out of me.

  But as always, I drowned myself in schoolwork to escape it all.

  Brianna and her team of shrews kept away from me after their last attempt to sabotage me. The peace and quiet made me relax but I should have known better. They would never give up their vendetta against the charity case.

  The whole student body at Knightswood was waiting for Easter weekend to arrive. Even though it was April, spring refused to come. Snow fell on most evenings, making it feel like winter would last forever.

  Clara insisted I visit during Easter.

  “It’s been far too long since you’ve visited home,” she complained over the phone on Wednesday night. “I miss seeing you so much. Knightswood Academy won’t go missing if you come home for a weekend. You can study here too and Ruben will make you snacks.”

  I chuckled. “He does send me snacks.”

  “So, I’ll see you tomorrow? Charles and I want to have dinner with both you and Liam.”

  “All right, then,” I agreed, feeling my lips curving into a smile. “I will come.”

  Fortunately, there were no assignments to be handed in immediately after the weekend. I would really be able to take a break after months of slogging.

  A high wind tore through the campus on Thursday morning as I stomped through the snowy grounds to reach the cafeteria. Zoya was waiting for me near the entrance, her cheeks red from the cold.

  “Hurry up!” she called, beckoning me with gloved hands.

  “Hey!” I said through my panting. Reaching her, I grabbed her and pulled her inside the cafeteria with me. The scent of coffee hit me immediately. I took a deep breath, soaking up the delicious caffeine vapors.

  “I hope they have pancakes today,” said Zoya, sitting down at our table.

  “Mmm! I’d like pancakes too.”

  “By the way, Mom wants you to visit her over the weekend. I could pick you up from school.”

  I shook my head. “I’ll be at Liam’s.”

  “You’re going away for the weekend?” she asked. When I nodded, she whispered, “Wow! Never thought you would want to leave this place.”

  “Hey!”

  We picked up the menus and perused through it. They did have pancakes that day along with English breakfast and French toasts.

  “I am having French toasts,” announced Zoya at once.

  Sniggering, I ordered pancakes for myself.

  When the waiter left with our orders, Zoya fixed her brown eyes on me. “Can I pick you up on Sunday?”

  “Are you sure Nik wouldn’t mind?” I asked worriedly.

  “Why would he mind? Even if he does, he can stay away from Mom’s room. It’s a big house, you know?”

  Anxiety swirled inside my stomach. This would be my second trip to Zoya’s heavily fortified home. The first time had been at her mother’s wedding with Nik’s father. Mom had been with me back then. Now, I would have to make the trip alone. Add in the uncomfortable situation with Nik, I didn’t feel like going there at all.

  However, it had been months since I last saw Aunty Cathy. It had been on the day of Mom’s funeral and I hadn’t even made the effort to speak to her. She’d lost her best friend too. I needed to get out of my own grief and reach out to her.

  “I’ll text you and we’ll fix a time,” I said.

  Breakfast tasted extra delicious that day. I was excited to spend the weekend away from my cabin and see Ruben and Clara once more. I’d already decided not to carry my books for the trip. The laptop would come along but mostly to watch movies and binge-watch the latest episodes of Supernatural.

  “What time do your classes get over today?” asked Zoya. “We can hang out and call Jonathan over.”

  “Let’s see. Biology ends at four and then I’m all yours!”

  “Perfect! I’ll meet you near the field outside the science wing.”

  After breakfast, Zoya and I separated.

  The rest of the day breezed by. Even the teachers seemed easygoing that day. Our English teacher even let us out early that afternoon.

  When four P.M. came around, I walked out of Biology with Lucas. We were both in great spirits, not even complaining about the gray skies and cold wind.

  “What are you up to this weekend?” I asked, stopping outside the science wing where I’d promised to meet up with Zoya.

  “I am spending it with Harry,” said Lucas with a broad smile. He looked utterly beautiful with that openly cheerful grin. Noticing my dazed expression, he poked my forehead with a finger. “Stop spacing out like that.”

  “But you’re so pretty!”

  He chuckled, poking at my cheek.

  Students hurried past us, all eager to get out of the academy for Easter weekend. The crowd emptied out, leaving us standing in an empty field while the school around us became quiet.

  “It’s getting late,” said Lucas, checking his watch. “Why are we standing here and not getting the fuck out of here. Are you waiting for someone?”

  “Zoya said she would meet me here. Maybe her class is running late?”

  “Hey there!” someone shouted from behind us. Both Lucas and I turned around to see a girl running towards us. “Are you Paris?” she asked, reaching us.

  “Yeah. What’s up?”

  “Dr. Lincoln called you to the Physics lab up on the third floor.”

  “He called me now?” I glanced at Lucas who shrugged. I ran fingers through my hair, wondering why he would want to see me this late in the day. “Could you do me a favor, Lucas?” I asked as
the girl ran towards the main academy building.

  “You want me to wait here all alone for Zoya?” he guessed.

  “Please?” I said, batting my lashes.

  He sighed exaggeratedly. “First she’s late and now you’re about to disappear.” When I continued to make puppy eyes at him, he agreed. “Fine. Go see what he wants.”

  “Thank you!” I said, hopping on the spot and giving his cheek a kiss. “I’ll be right back!” I rushed back towards the science wing.

  My footsteps sounded loud against the marble tiles as I ran through the empty hallways to reach the Physics lab on the third floor. My mind churned with thoughts on why Dr. Lincoln would want to see me this late in the day. Most of the school had already emptied by then.

  Reaching the Physics lab, I pushed open the door and entered it. My chest heaved as I panted hard. Looking around, I found it completely empty.

  As my breathing became regular, I looked out of the locked glass windows. Darkness was falling over the grounds. Doubt flickered through my mind. Just as I was about to leave the lab to venture into the staffroom to look for Dr. Lincoln, I heard footsteps approaching my way. In the quiet hallway, the clacking sound of shoes against the marble floor felt awfully loud.

  I waited, wondering why these science professors would call me to see them this late in the evening. Discomfort rose within me.

  My gaze went to the doorway of the lab when the sound of footsteps stopped.

  Lucien Bettencourt stood there with five of his cronies behind him. A savage grin lifted the corner of his mouth as his pale blue eyes raked me from head to toe. He seemed satisfied to see me there.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked, clutching the strap of my bag. Panic welled inside me. Nothing good could ever come with a confrontation with Lucien. He already hated me. Swallowing the building tension inside me, I said, “This is the physics lab. My teacher will be here soon, so you better not create any trouble here.”

  Lucien laughed loudly.

  “She is kind of cute, isn’t she?” he asked, looking around at the tall, hulking boys around him.