Page 90 of Cruel Prep (Princes of Ravenlake Academy 1)

He held me and soothed me and whispered words in my ear that did more for me in one second than months of therapy.

It’s just a place.

It was so unlike anything I’d come to expect from him. Unlike anything he’d ever done before.

I thought maybe we’d reached a turning point in our relationship. Maybe this was actually becoming something. Maybe the only true thing Cora had ever told me was that, for some reason, I was different to Finn—unlike all of the girls he’d been with before.

That delusion slips away when I walk into his house, and he immediately tells me to strip.

“What?” I grip my bag tighter, still wondering if I should run.

Finn grabs my bag from my shoulder and pulls me into his house, closing the door behind me. “Take off your clothes.”

I laugh because I hope he’s kidding. I just got here, and we haven’t really spoken since the night at the park a week ago.

His dark brows rise expectantly. Waiting for me to submit. To obey.

“You’re serious?”

Finn bites his lower lip, slowly pulling it into his mouth before letting it go.

Good God, is it possible for him to do anything without oozing sensuality?

He moves towards me, his eyes the color of tropical waters, and lays a hand on my hip. His fingers push up the hem of my shirt, slipping across my skin, sending tingles through my entire body.

“Have I ever done anything to make you think I’m not serious?”

Helpless to the sway he has over me, I lean into him, my hips brushing against his. “Why?”

Finn’s hand slides over the curve of my body, moving from my waist to my chest and then higher…

Until he seizes hold of the lock around my neck.

I’ve grown so used to the weight of it against my collarbone that I almost forget I have it on.

Finn tugs on it. “Because you’re mine, remember?”

“Is anyone here?”

He shakes his head. “It’s just you and me. All day.”

I nod, processing. The idea of stripping down in front of Finn makes me nervous, despite the fact he has seen me in much more vulnerable positions. But I’ve been nervous with Finn a lot of times, and it has never been for nothing.

Sexually, it has been amazing.

I’ve opened up in ways I didn’t expect, and I’m starting to understand that there is power in submitting. There is a freedom that can be found in submitting yourself to someone else in this way.

And I like it.

I like being bold with Finn. God knows I’ve spent enough of my life being afraid.

So, meeting his eyes, I step back and lift my arms over my head.

Finn raises a brow, his lips pinching into a bitten-back smile, and carefully pulls my shirt over my head. Then, he tugs on the denim legs of my shorts, peeling them down my legs so I can step out of them.

I think we are done, but as soon as the shorts are gone, he stands up and then spins me around by the shoulders until my back is against his chest. He flicks my bra off with two fingers and gently, finally, slides his fingers down my arms to push the straps away.

Finn’s hands replace my bra, cupping me tenderly. I lay my head back on his shoulder.

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