Page 58 of Cruel Academy (Princes of Ravenlake Academy 2)

“Throw yourself at unsuspecting women?” I spit, trying to gather up anger and ignore the flames being stoked in my belly.

“Unsuspecting, perhaps. But always willing.”

“You don’t ask if I’m willing.”

He shrugs. “Didn’t have to ask. If you remember, I’m the one who stopped our kiss before. You seemed willing enough then.”

My cheeks burn with embarrassed heat. “Is that what that was—just you having fun?”

Caleb’s mouth tips into a half smirk. “I thought I’d make this more pleasurable for both of us. Isn’t that what you wanted?”

“You know that’s not what I meant.”

“But it’s what you wanted,” he says, voice silky and soft, taking a step towards me.

I hate that I can’t tell him no.

I hate that I can’t flip him the bird and tell him to take his confidence and shove it.

I hate that my lips burn from their brief contact with his and that my body aches to be close to him again.

Because it is what I wanted.

It’s what I still want.

I lift my chin and narrow my eyes. “No, it’s not.”

Caleb’s face doesn’t change as he moves towards me. He grabs my right arm and pulls hard, spinning me around. Then, his arms wrap around me and pull my back against his chest.

I yelp in surprise and try to buck against him, but Caleb’s arms tighten around me.

“This is what you want, then?” he asks in my ear. “You’ve been grabbed from behind. What do you do now?”

I still for a moment and then let out a cry of frustration. “This is a training exercise?”

Caleb smells as delicious as always, and I feel the rumble of his laughter in my entire body. “I’m just trying to give you what you want, Haley Cochran.” My name sounds like a dirty word when he says it. “So, try to get out of the hold. How would you escape?”

My arms are pinned to my sides so I can’t move. Just last week, this same position nearly made me hyperventilate. I lost all ability to control my thoughts or actions. Memories I’ve tried to forget and shove aside came rising up like billowing smoke, choking me.

Now, however, a different emotion entirely rises up inside of me—another one I’ve tried uselessly to beat down into submission.

But now that Caleb’s arms are around me and I can feel the warmth from his skin, there is nowhere for the feeling to hide.

My lips still burn from our brief kiss, and I know what I want.

I can’t lift my arms, but I have enough mobility to slide my hand around to the space between our bodies. Caleb is confident in his hold, and he doesn’t adjust his grip or reposition as I squirm.

But I feel him freeze the second my hand turns, palm outward, to cup him.

His breath hitches in my ear, sending a shiver of nervous anticipation through me, but I push through my hesitation and massage my hand over the length of him.

He is in jeans, but I can still feel the stiffening occurring between his thighs.

I slide my hand out of the way and, rather than pull away from Caleb, I press myself closer, rolling my hips back.

His fingers tense and tighten on my sides, holding me more firmly in place.

Then, suddenly, my world tumbles out of orbit.

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