Page 64 of Cruel Prep (Princes of Ravenlake Academy 1)

For some reason, my cousins and I liked getting close to it. We’d get close enough to feel the buzz in the air.

Liking how close we were to danger.

Liking the feel of getting close to the thing that could hurt you without really letting it hurt you.

Except, with Finn, I’ve flung myself into the fence. The shocks are moving through me, and yet, I can’t seem to pull myself away.

Finn’s hand comes up into my hair, grabbing at the base of it and tugging, giving him better access to my mouth. He sucks at my bottom lip and flicks his tongue against mine.

Then, he twists my hair over my shoulder and sits up, bringing his body closer.

I lean in, too, ready for wherever he wants to take this.

Until, to my surprise, he wraps something around my neck.

I jerk back in shock.

Finn pulls away, sitting back in his seat, eyes narrowed on me with a devious smile playing across his perfect lips. “You like it?”

My hand comes to my throat, and I realize it’s a necklace of some kind.

No one but my mom has ever bought me jewelry, and I’m trying to understand what it means. Why he would do it.

But then, I look down and see the lock.

The necklace chain is thick, with a black ribbon woven between the metal. The chain ends with a metal hoop on each end, held closed with a heavy silver lock that rests against my collarbone.

Finn lifts his hand to show me, pinched between his fingers, a shining brass key. Once he knows I’ve seen it, he tucks the key into the pocket of his jeans.

“What is it?” My skin is cold where the lock touches my skin. It’s a chill that is slowly radiating outwards, as though the metal is cursed. “A necklace?”

He shrugs casually. “You can call it a necklace if you want.”

“What would you call it?”

His dark brow flicks up to touch the black hair curling over his forehead. Amusement is written all over his face. “A collar.”

“Like I’m a fucking dog?”

“No. Like you’re mine,” he says evenly. He almost sounds rational. “I thought you’d like it.”

I grit out, “Why would I like this?”

“Because you liked being mine the other night. You begged for it, didn’t you?”

His eyes trail over me, flicking back to the collar again and again, like he wants to make sure it is still there.

Embarrassment and anger and disappointment floods me, and I want to tear the necklace from my neck and hurl it at him. Except, I can’t.

He has the key.

But also, I have a sense that is what Finn wants.

He likes control, but more than that, Finn likes when he has to claim it. He likes when control has to be wrenched from the hands of someone else. When it has to be fought for.

He reaches out and strokes his finger down my arm, leaving a trail of goose bumps in their wake.

“When I slid inside of you and claimed you as mine, I distinctly remember you asking me to do it again … and again …and again.”

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