Page 117 of Cruel Elite (Princes of Ravenlake Academy 3)

Grab Penny and kiss her or make her miserable?

There’s no competition.

I wrap an arm around Penny’s back, my hand sliding under the loose material of her sweater and over her warm skin, and dip her back in a kiss.

She’s surprised, gasping against my lips, but collects herself quickly.

She’s more intoxicating than the alcohol in my veins. In just a matter of seconds, I feel myself losing control.

I don’t know how to pull away from her.

I don’t know how to hit the brakes.

Penny, however, does. She presses her palms to my chest and backs away, gently disentangling from the kiss.

“We have to talk, Noah.”

I sigh. “I know, I know. I fucked things up.”

“No,” she says, waving her hands. “It’s not that. There’s something I need to tell you.”

“You’ve said enough,” I assure her. “You confessed a lot to me, and I needed time to process it all. I’m not the best at dealing with my emotions, as you may have noticed. Instead of dealing with my shit, I blamed you for it. I was convinced you stole my dad away from me because… because yours was dead.”

She grabs my hand. “I never would have done that to you, Noah. Never.”

I run my thumb over her knuckles. “I know. Saying it out loud makes it sound even more ridiculous. Of course, you didn’t.”

“Well, now that we have that sorted, I do have to tell you—”

“No, please. I’m a little drunk right now, so I think it’s a good time to get this all out.” I wince. “I know that sounds bad, like I can only be vulnerable when I’m drunk, but you know what I mean.”

Penny smiles at me, her glossy pink lips pinched at the corners, tiny dimples visible in her cheeks.

It gives me the confidence to keep going. I feel like a blathering idiot, but if she’s smiling, something must be going right.

“Penny, the deal is, I’m—”

A roar erupts from inside, loud enough the deck shakes beneath our feet.

“What the—?” Penny opens the back door to try and figure out what’s going on and immediately, a guy just inside the door points at her and shouts.

“Here she is! I found her!”

Just like that, Penny is pulled through the back door into the party.

I scramble after her, trying to figure out what is going on.

When I get inside, she has disappeared into the crowd, but a group of guys are pushing and shoving into a line near the bar where J.C. is standing, a piece of paper held in his hands.

“Thank you, one and all, for your applications. It was very difficult to make the decision, though I had a wonderful time pouring over your messages, photos, and very enlightening videos.” He winks at a buxom brunette in the front of the crowd. “But in the end, there was no competition.”

Penny is pushed into an opening on the floor in front of J.C., her eyes wide and confused. I see her lips mouthing words, but I can’t hear her.

No one else seems to, either, because they don’t answer her.

Instead, they lift her up so she’s standing on the bar next to J.C.

J.C. grabs her arm and lifts it into the air like she’s just won a heavyweight title. “Introducing, The Sacrifice!”

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