Page 55 of Cruel Elite (Princes of Ravenlake Academy 3)

“Noah?” she asks, her voice a low whisper. “Is that you?”

The bathroom is small, just three stalls opposite a line of white sinks with a mirror above, so it’s easy to spot Penny’s feet under one of the stalls. I pull on the handle but it’s locked.

“Open it.”

“What are you doing here?” I hear fabric shifting, and I know she’s putting her clothes back on.

As if that will stop me.

“I’m sure you can guess.”

All movement and sound stops on the other side of the door.

Penny is thinking, considering. I’m sure she knows if she doesn’t open the door, I’ll break it down.

So, after a few seconds, the lock slides back, and the door cracks open.

Penny is standing against the stall wall, her white henley crop top back on. The buttons are undone so I can see the dark red lace of her bra peeking out from under the collar, as well as ample cleavage.

And, just like my imagination, her hair falls over her shoulders and curves around her breasts on either side, almost framing them.

“I did what you asked,” she says, standing up and facing me, defiant.

“Why did you?”

“Why do you think?” she shoots back. “You’ve made it quite clear you’ll make my life hell if I don’t do what you say.”

“So, you’re willing to give me these pictures to post online? It doesn’t quite track.”

I step into the stall with her and close the door behind me, locking it.

Penny follows my movements with her eyes, her throat bobbing nervously.

But she tries to hide it.

As if I’m not noticing every single thing about her right now.

She lifts her head and straightens her shoulders. “I’d rather take them willingly then be forced into it.”

“Or…” I suggest, taking another step closer. Penny doesn’t have anywhere to go. The toilet is behind her and the stall is built for one. She’s trapped. “…Maybe you wanted to take them for me.”

She snorts and rolls her eyes, flipping her hair over her shoulder. “Please. Don’t flatter yourself.”

“You’ve taken pictures for me before.”

Her gaze snaps to mine at the mention of our past, and her cheeks heat. “That was different.”

“I disagree.”

I close in on her, and Penny shifts, pressing her back against the stall wall again.

This time, I follow her, enclosing her body with mine, one hand on the wall, the other stroking the side of her blushing cheek.

When I lean in close to whisper in her ear, I can see goosebumps rising across her chest.

Penny is silent, perhaps for the first time in her life. Speechless.

My goal with Penny is selfish. There’s no grand meaning or purpose.

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