Stone Crest: Rise of a Raven

16. Chapter 16

Chapter sixteen

Locke

I watch Raven leave, my chest caving in with every step she takes. I wasn’t trying to hurt her. I was trying to protect her. Being in my class is too much. The pull is too strong, and I know before long I’m going to snap. I’d rather it not be in a room full of people that will have us both terminated within the hour.

Also, the chance of exposing my secret is too high. I can’t be trusted. Obviously, because I made up a lame excuse to miss the board lunch to discuss the charity event. Sasha pouted and again, tried to convince me we should have dinner. Alone. I politely declined. We’ve had a few dinners, and I was very clear on what it meant. Absolutely nothing.

Leaving Sasha in the office, I bolt out into the foyer and inhale, letting my wolf sense which way she went.

Left.

With measured steps I follow her scent all the way down the hall and to the bathrooms by the stairs. With a quick glance at the camera, I press a palm to the door when I see it’s not pointed directly at the bathroom entrance.

A girl is standing at the sink, and she jumps back when I bang open the door.

“Leave,” I command.

Gathering up her purse, she scurries out, and I quickly do a stall check, seeing the last one is the only one occupied. Instead of saying anything, because at this point, she knows I’m here, I casually lean back against the counter with my arms crossed. My eyes are focused on the wooden door. A solid three minutes go by.

“I can sit in this stall all day, Locke.” Her voice flows from behind the door, an edge of stubbornness lacing the words.

“We need to talk.”

“I prefer handwritten letters.” She says. ”My mailing address should be available through the administrative office.”

I’ve had enough, and my wolf is clearly as irritated with this as I am. I step off the sink and reach for the top of the door. With one hard tug, I’ve broken it off the hinges and tossed it behind me. Raven sit’s cross legged on the toilet seat, a peppermint rolling around her mouth, scrolling through her phone.

“That was a bit dramatic,” she muses.

“I’m sorry you heard that.” I head straight for the elephant in the room.

“Heard what?” She angles her head, her blue eyes piercing me with anger. “You trying to remove me from your class?”

“I thought it was best.”

She stands with a scoff. “Bullshit.”

“Raven this thing is reckless.”

“Is it reckless because you’re my professor? Or that you have a girlfriend you failed to mention?”

“She’s not my girlfriend,” I defend.

“Have you slept with her?” She lifts a brow.

“No.”

“Does she want to?”

“Yes.”

“Do you?” She fires back.

“No. The only person I want anywhere near my cock is you,” I force out through clenched teeth.

She tries to sidestep me, but I move with her, guiding her back against the wall.

“I don’t know what you want from me, Locke.” She furrows her brow. “This hot and cold game is not something I’m interested in.”

“I want you.” I state the truth. We both know it. “But I can’t have you.”

My had lands on her waist, slowly trailing back to her spine. I can feel the goosebumps along her skin as I run my fingertips under the hem of her shirt.

“Then why are you in here?” She asks, her voice shaky as my touch moves higher up her spine.

“Because I’m angry.” I reach the nape of her neck, squeezing. “Because I don’t want to stay away, Rae.”

She searches my face for what seems like an eternity before she pushes off the wall, unraveling my grasp. “Doesn’t seem like we have much of a choice, Locke.”

When she leaves me standing in the broken stall, I curse before landing my fist in the wooden petition between the neighboring stall, leaving a gaping hole like the one that’s beginning to form in my chest.