Page 35 of Cruel Elite (Princes of Ravenlake Academy 3)

I march down the hallway and take another right into a small alcove beneath a stair well, not visible from the hallway.

I’m not surprised when Penny slinks into the dark space across from me.

We’ve always been drawn to one another. It’s a force beyond our control, one that makes no rational sense.

Even when I’ve threatened to ruin her, she cannot make herself stay away.

“What do you want?” she asks, her voice high-pitched and nasally. “Is this to apologize for your drunken behavior the other night? If not, I’m not interested.”

She has on a pink suede mini skirt with buttons down the front, thigh-high boots, and a shirt that falls off of both shoulders, pooling around her arms.

She is dressed like an actual doll. Like she’s headed to a runway rather than to school.

Who is she working so hard to impress?

“I just like knowing that you do what I tell you. This was a test. Congratulations, you passed.”

Her glossy lips part in a huff. “You asshole. You’re so smug. I didn’t follow you because ofyou, I followed you because I wanted to tell you that I’m not going to spend my last semester in this town afraid of you. You don’t scare me.”

“No?” I ask, eyebrow arched.

She crosses her arms and shakes her head.

In a flash, I move across the small alcove so I’m standing half a breath away from her.

Penny, for all her posturing, gasps in surprise and throws her hands out to protect herself. Her palms land on my chest, her manicured fingernails digging into my flesh.

“Hmm.” I smile and shrug. “I guess I got a different impression from you.”

She grunts and slaps my chest, but I don’t budge. I hold my ground and tower over her.

“Oh, look at the big guy intimidating the short girl,” she mocks, rolling her eyes. “How tough you are, Noah Boone. How brave. Is this your plan? To beat up a girl who doesn’t stand a chance against you? Go ahead. Let’s see how that storyline plays out for you. I think we both know who will win.”

I chuckle. “You think I want to hit you?”

She stares up at me, unblinking.

I can smell the trademark cinnamon and citrus smell of her skin, and I make an effort not to breathe through my nose.

“I want to destroy you, Penny, but I won’t do it with my fists,” I say, leaning down to whisper the words against her skin.

“What are you going to do?” She shivers, her body trembling against mine.

I realize all at once how close we are.

I pull back, flashes of my dream over the weekend coming back to me.

I bat them away.

Now is not the time to be distracted.

“I don’t want to ruin the surprise.” I turn away and move out of the alcove.

Penny calls after me. “This isn’t you, Noah. You aren’t this guy.”

Even after all these years, Penny thinks she knows me.

She thinks the kid she made out with in Finn’s close is still who I am.

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