Page 60 of Cruel Prep (Princes of Ravenlake Academy 1)

All because of me.

Her fingernails dig into my shoulder blades, leaving angry scratch marks against my skin.

I hope they scar. I hope I wear them forever as proof that this night happened. As proof that I felt something for someone. At least once.

No matter how it turns out.

“Finn. Oh God,” she squeezes her eyes closed and clenches her thighs around my hips. “Don’t stop. Don’t stop.”

Lucky for her, I wouldn’t dream of it.

I pump into her with renewed energy. The second she stiffens and her body begins to convulse, milking me, I give in. I release, gasping and cursing into her neck and breasts until the very last convulsion.

When it’s over, we lie on the mattress, catching our breath.

And I realize all at once that my plan just got so much harder.

I set out to ruin Lily DeVry, to take everything she had to give.

The problem is, the taking comes with a price, and I’m not sure I’m ready to pay up.

Lily DeVry is worming her way inside of me, settling in like rot in the trunk of a tree, and I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to cut her out.

Worse, I’m not sure I want to.

25

Lily

“It’s so good to see you experiencing new things and people,” Dr. Sharon says.

She’s smiling at my mostly false, PG-rated explanation of my first two weeks at Ravenlake Prep.

If only she knew the real story.

“Thanks,” I mumble.

“Good things can’t come in if you keep the door closed,” she says gently, reminding me of one of the first breakthroughs I had in her office after dad Died. It has become my mantra over the years. One of many, actually.

I smile and nod in passive agreement. But I’m not so sure I agree anymore.

Back then, I thought only good would be waiting outside the door. Beyond death and sickness, what did I really know about the bad in the world?

Now I know the truth. When you leave the door open, all kinds of things can come inside. Good and bad alike.

Finn and I had sex three times before I left early Sunday morning. And it wasn’t anything like I imagined it would be.

More than anyone else I’ve ever been with, he cared about my pleasure. He told me where to lie and how to open my legs, but he made sure I felt good. I could see it in the way he watched my face as he slid inside of me. In the way he sped up his movements when my thighs clenched around his hips.

He cared when it was good for me, andthatwas good.

But Finn isn’t all good.

Just because he’s shown me a softer side of himself doesn’t mean I can trust him.I’m the bad guy, he said moments before I dragged him up to his room.

What does that make me? Finn laid himself in front of me, explaining exactly who he was, and I still wanted him so fucking bad. I still threw the door wide open and invited him in. Into my body. Into my world. Into my heart.

“What about Cora?” Dr. Sharon asks, looking back on her notes from our last session. “She was a friend you made on your first day, right? How is she?”

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