Chapter 24

Twenty-Four

Becks' face darkens immediately when he recognizes who I'm with. "What's going on here?" he demands, his gaze bouncing between me and Talon.

I have nothing to feel guilty for; Talon and I were just talking, but shame still rises to the surface, freezing my tongue.

Talon stays silent, waiting for me to answer for the both of us, but when I don't say anything, Becks takes an aggressive step toward him. I slide in between them, placing my hands on Becks' chest to keep him from advancing. He stops but keeps glaring at Talon over my shoulder.

"We have a project together," I lie, the words tasting bitter in my mouth. "We needed to talk about the assignment and sync up our schedules."

I glance over my shoulder at Talon, willing him to play along. He arches a brow as he looks down at me, but he nods, shifting his attention to Becks. "That's right. For our Natural Chemistry class. We're doing a project on objects in nature and their natural attractions to each other. It's going to take a couple of late nights, but I'm sure we'll get the assignment banged out soon enough."

No. He. Didn't.

I could wrap my hands around Talon's neck right now and squeeze the life out of him and not feel even a little bad about it.

The slight scent of smoke permeates the air and Becks' temperature spikes beneath my palms.

"Welp, I'll see you tonight, Freckles," Talon says jovially, and slaps me on the back before heading down the hall. It might be my imagination, but I swear I hear his low chuckle echo off the walls as he goes.

"What happened to keeping your distance?" Becks asks, taking a step back, and I drop my hands from his chest. His brows are drawn as he watches Talon's retreating form, a frown pulling down his face.

I heave a sigh. When did my life get so complicated? Oh yeah, the minute I decided to do the bonehead thing of entering an underground competition that may or may not get me killed. That's when it got so complicated.

"Sometimes creatures are unavoidable," I say, and that's sure the truth when it comes to Talon. It seems like no matter what, he keeps stepping in my path. Only time will tell if that's a good or bad thing.

Another wave of smoky air hits me. No need to guess what Becks thinks about it. His dislike of Talon grows daily.

Some of the tightness leaves Becks' muscles, and I assume Talon must have just turned the corner behind me.

"So you have a project with him?" Becks asks, his green-eyed gaze swinging to me.

I have a choice to make here. Come clean, or keep up the lie? I should come clean, but something tells me I'm going to need the excuse.

"Yeah, but it probably won't be that big of a deal," I say, and then try to shove down the guilt and shame that starts to boil over.

"Sucks," Becks says, but then tilts his head toward the courtyard and we wander in that direction.

Ensley's grin stretches across her face when we reach our table and sit down with our lunches across from her. She's sitting alone, and that doesn't bode well. I was counting on Shayla and the others as a buffer.

"So . . . " she starts, looking back and forth between us. "How are you guys doing today?"

Giving her a funny look, Becks shrugs and then takes a bite of his burger. Ensley doesn't even bother razzing him about the meat as he chews, and that right there should have tipped him off that something is up, but instead he goes on happily munching his burger without realizing what is about to hit us.

I, on the other hand, know exactly what type of cyclone is swirling in Ensley's mind, and shoot her a look that says I'll skin her alive if she continues down this path. Seeing my glare, her smile only grows, and she winks at me.

Winks . At. Me.

"So nothing particularly eventful from the last couple of days?" she asks, her voice dripping with false innocence.

Becks dips a fry in ketchup, and I try to catch his eye, but he's too focused on his food to notice. "Besides Chaos, nothing really to report."

No. Abort, Becks. Abort .

"Speaking of Chaos, you booked it before Locklyn even got back from her trial. I haven't gotten the chance to ask you about that yet. You weren't home when I got in last night."

Becks finally has the sense to look a little uncomfortable, but he just shrugs again. "Just some stuff I was working through. I needed to get out of there to clear my head." He finally flicks his gaze toward me, but it's too late now. Ensley laid her snare and her brother walked right into it.

"But you and Lock must have met up again last night, right? She said you took her to get her hand stitched. She wouldn't let me take her after the trial, by the way." Ensley leans forward and plops her chin on her palm like she's settling in for a long story.

I need a new best friend .

"Ensley," I warn, holding my knife like a dagger and hoping she gets the point, but she just chuckles at my weak threat.

Becks looks at me and then back at Ensley, finally catching on that she knows what happened between us. Or at least knows something. Pink appears high on his cheeks, which somehow makes him look both adorable and incredibly attractive at the same time.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he says, and then shoves the last bit of the burger in his mouth and chews slowly, keeping his mouth busy so that he doesn't have to say anything else.

I twist in my seat, scanning the courtyard for Shayla and Owen, or anyone who usually sits with us. I'd even welcome Leo's pushy company right now. Anything to keep Ensley from prying.

"Oh come on, Becks. I've been watching you two tiptoe around this for ages. It couldn't be more obvious that you both are hot for each other."

My jaw literally falls open. Becks freezes.

Ensley bursts out laughing. "This is just too good. You guys should see your faces right now."

"We're no longer friends," I say, more than half meaning it, but Ensley just snorts another laugh.

"You love me."

I do, but this is too much. I'm going to kill her for this later.

"Ensley," I grit out. "I already told you this topic wasn't open for public discussion."

Becks looks back and forth between Ensley and me. "You two have been talking about this?"

"Yes," Ensley says at exactly the same time I say, "No."

Becks rubs a hand over his face. "I cannot be having this conversation with you," he says to his sister.

"Me either," I say, and push back from my seat. Lunch is only half over, and I've hardly touched my food, but if I don't get out of here in the next two seconds my face is going to catch fire.

"Locklyn, wait," Ensley calls as I head to dump what's left of my food.

Chair legs scrape against the stone floor behind me as someone gets to their feet. I hear Becks say, "Stay put. You've done enough."

I scurry from the courtyard, feeling like hundreds of eyes are staring at me. A prickle of awareness makes the fine hairs on the back of my neck stand on end, and so I know Becks is following me. He catches up to me as soon as I push through the doors that lead back into the hallway. Without saying a word he grabs my hand and pulls me into the first empty room he finds, which happens to be a dimly lit storage closet.

After locking the door behind us, he turns to me with a wince on his face. "I'm sorry about my sister. She has the subtlety of a wrecking ball."

I can't help the snort of laugh that comes out of me. "You'd think I'd be used to it by now. We've only been friends for a decade."

Becks barks out a half laugh then shakes his head. "It's a pity you can't choose your siblings."

"Yeah."

A single low wattage bulb lights the space. We're surrounded by school supplies and cleaning products—not the most romantic of areas—but as we stare at each other the air starts to charge.

Becks trails his fingers down my bare arm, causing a chaos of sensation to break out inside me. He continues his trek down my arm until he reaches my hand; he takes it in his own and tugs me forward until I'm close enough to rest my hand on his chest and feel his heart thumping beneath my palm. It's beating just as quickly as my own.

"I didn't want to have that conversation with her before we'd had a chance to talk," he says.

"Right, talk. We didn't really get to do much of that last night."

A grin spreads over Becks' face. "You're right. We didn't get much talking done."

"I meant after ," I say, ducking my head, but Becks doesn't let me look away. Stepping even closer, he uses his fingers to tip my head back, forcing me to look up at him.

"I want to be clear with you, Locklyn. You're too important to me to be anything other than honest with."

I nod, holding my breath for what he's going to say next.

"I want to be with you. I have for a long time."

Hearing those words makes my heart soar. I've always dreamed of hearing him say that, but never thought I actually would.

"How long?" I ask, greedy for the details he wasn't willing to give me the night before.

"Years," he admits, and I'm completely blown away. How is that possible? How hadn't I seen it sooner?

"That's a long time," I say, not giving up that I've been falling for him for just as long.

"I wish I'd acted on it ages ago, but I didn't know how you felt, and I was always worried about ruining our friendship. I tried to talk myself out of how I was feeling so many times. It would have been so much easier if I didn't feel this way."

Even though I can relate to what he's saying because I have the same fears and concerns, no one wants to hear that someone tried to talk themselves out of liking you, out of wanting to be with you, that part of them wished they didn't want you the way that they do.

My face must broadcast my thoughts, because he rushes to add, "You have to know having you in my life, in whatever way possible, is so important to me that the fear of pushing you away was paralyzing."

"It's okay. I get it," I say. And I really do. It's not fair of me to be upset with Becks for something I thought at one time or another as well.

"And then I became the dragon heir," he says, weariness leaking into his tone. "I wasn't free to pursue you after that. I didn't think it would be fair to either of us because I knew ultimately a mate would be picked out for me by the council and I wouldn't have a choice in who I ended up with."

I start to pull back a little, but he anchors a hand against my lower back so I can't get far. "Then what's changed?" I ask, because all those things still hang over our heads.

A dark shadow seems to pass over his face. "The thought of losing you has been driving me insane. The Chaos trials were bad enough, but last night, when I saw you in Talon's arms—" He sucks in a deep breath and holds it before letting it back out. "I was so close to shifting right there to track down Talon and rip his head off. After you broke the last compulsion, I had to take off because I was worried I wouldn't be able to stop myself if I saw the two of you together."

I don't bother defending myself again. We've already been over this. I won't apologize for what the vampire tried to compel me to do. But a seed of something ugly wedges its way between my ribs, making me uneasy. It bothers me that what finally propelled Becks to act might not have been the depth of his feelings for me, but jealousy.

Dragon shifters have a tendency to hoard what they consider their own, and I can't help but wonder if that is what Becks is doing with me. Are his feelings true, or are they muddled by his possessive instincts?

"But you're still the dragon heir," I point out. "The council is still planning to pick your mate. So where do we go from here?"

Becks swipes a thumb over the curve of my cheek, and just like every time he touches me, it scrambles my mind a little.

"I don't know what's going to happen. As the dragon heir I'm bound in unbreakable ways. The truth is we may not be able to change the council's minds, but I don't think I could live with myself if I let you go. I want to give this, give us, a shot. I think we deserve that. Don't you?"

His words sweep my concerns right under the rug and out of sight. I want that too. I want it so badly.

"I do," I whisper, and then lick my lower lip.

His gaze falls to my mouth and heats, but he forces his eyes back up to mine and groans. "We have to leave this room right now."

Not what I was expecting him to say.

"Why?"

His eyes dip to my mouth once again and hold. He feathers the pad of his finger over my lower lip, making my breath catch. "Because if we don't, we won't be leaving for a very long time."

I cock my head. I mean, that doesn't sound too bad to me.

"You're considering it, aren't you?" he asks.

I shrug and Becks laughs, shaking his head. Much to my body's disappointment, he releases me and steps back. "Come on. Lunch is going to be over any minute. I won't be responsible for you missing any classes."

He unlocks the door but turns back to me before opening it. There's a pleat between his brows. "We need to keep this between us for now. With the exception of Ensley of course," he adds with an eye roll.

I blink up at him. "You want us to hide our relationship?"

He sighs. "I don't want word getting back to the council members. It might give them an excuse to pick my life-mate quickly."

It is a completely valid reason, yet that little seed of doubt between my ribs starts to chafe. I nod anyway, knowing that, logically, he's right.

We leave the storage closet only moments before the bell rings and students start pouring into the hallways. As Becks walks me to my next class, keeping a respectable distance between us and without holding my hand, I tell myself that once we get this mating thing taken care of, nothing will stand in our way. But rather than being ecstatic that everything I ever hoped for is finally coming true, a sour sensation lingers in my gut for the rest of the day.