Ruined Sinner by Becker Gray

Chapter Six

Aurora

We were about to run the gauntlet.

This was the true test. One we were certain to fail. Because this was the one where everyone was actually going to see us.

For the last week, I’d managed to avoid being seen with Phin in any kind of romantic way. Not that he wasn’t trying, because he was. Sometimes I would turn around after class and there he would be, grinning at me like a jackass. Sometimes he would wink at me, sometimes he would pull his lower lip between his teeth. Sometimes he’d look at me like he wanted to swallow me whole and then my heart would pound in my chest like I was running a race.

Jackass. Fuckwit, colossal arsehole.

But now, we were being put to the test. Iris, Keaton’s girlfriend, was back for a visit, and Keaton wanted to celebrate. Which I was all for because I missed Iris. But that meant there would be no avoiding anyone today.

Phin wrapped an arm around my waist. “Are you ready for this?”

“Look, we’re keeping the touching to a minimum.”

He shook his head. “No, no. You wanted to sell this, remember? So your friends can vouch for you, and also so Sera and Lennox don’t make things worse with your family by trying to fix this mess. And let’s face it, Sera isn’t going to believe it unless she sees it with her own two eyes. So buckle up, buttercup. You and I are a thing now.” He gave me a small, tight smile.

“Have I mentioned that I loathe you?”

Dark amusement curved his lips even more. “More than once. Several occasions, actually. But it’s okay. It gets you hot.”

“It most certainly does not!”

“Oh, I think it does,” he said, his voice going into a low purr.

Okay, maybe I had thought about some hate-kissing with him. But he didn’t need to know that.

Still wearing that dirty, flirty smirk as if he could read my thoughts, he said, “It’s okay. It can be our little secret.”

“We’ve got too many of those already,” I grumbled.

Smiling, he leaned in and kissed my cheek. It was soft. A whisper of a kiss really. And there was a part of me that wanted to lean in too. That part of me that, in fact, didn’t hate him. That part of me that had once dreamed that maybe, just maybe, Phineas Yates could be someone I cared about.

That part of me had died two years ago, obviously—but then I would see glimpses of him that reminded me of how he used to make me feel. It was very confusing.

“Don’t overdo it, Yates.”

His hand reached up and his fingers brushed my hair off my cheek, tucking a strand behind my ear. “You know, your eyes and the dark hair, they’re a terrific contrast. Eerie almost. But it suits you. And just so you know, it doesn’t matter what version of you I see, I’m obsessed with it all.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “You know we’re not around anyone else right now, right? You don’t have to pretend.”

He gave me an unreadable smile and his fingers squeezed oh so gently at my waist. “Let’s go inside, shall we?”

Keaton was extra. And when it came to Iris, he was extra extra. He’d rented an entire restaurant in the nearby town of Hope, just a couple of miles from the school, so we could celebrate her being back with us.

Keaton and Iris had fallen in love in this whole whirlwind romance at the beginning of the year. She’d only been here a semester, hell, just a couple of months really, before she’d gotten some prestigious internship in Paris. She’d graduated early and packed up her bags. Now she either came back to visit or Keaton was gone to see her once a month. It was very sweet. And the two of them were completely besotted with each other, which gave every inner happily-ever-after-wanting princess an awww moment.

Keaton had the restaurant decorated in soft tea lights, bringing a hint of Paris inside this Vermont eatery. La Chaumiere had accommodated him because he was a Constantine, and that’s how being a Constantine works.

Phin opened the door for me and then stepped aside to let me pass. I gave him a brief nod. “Thanks.”

“Try and smile. You’re not off to the guillotine.”

“Right.” I forced a smile on my face.

He grimaced. “Jesus. Actually, the scowl is better.”

I pursed my lips.

“Nope. Not that face,” he said. I threw up my hands exasperated, and he shook his head. “Not that one either.”

I gave him the plastic smile I used at state events, and he grinned back. “Ah, that’s the one I’m looking for. Try that one. I mean Sera is going to see right through it, but the others won’t.”

My stomach flipped at the thought of Sera. He was right. She was my best friend, and she would absolutely see through this. So would Sloane for that matter. Sloane could spot a liar a mile away. Though she had a particular area of weakness when it came to people she loved. So maybe I had a little hope.

As the hostess directed us toward where our friends were, Phin took my hand and wrapped his larger one around it. “It’s going to be fine.”

When we walked in, everyone was laughing. Tanith had pulled Owen to the dance floor and was trying to make him dance with her. Which he sort of did but in this kind of stiff way as if he were looking for a rapid exit. But she hopped around him dancing, and he gave her this indulgent smile like she was his whole world. Which, God, I suppose she was.

I always thought him cold, unyielding, but he would give Tanith anything. She could ask for his trousers and boxers right now he would walk around swinging in the wind. It was quite impressive.

And then of course my brother kept trying to pull Sloane off to the side. I knew what that meant. He wanted to give her a poke.

Shudder.

They were sweetly in love. Although Sloane was terrifying, and I wondered what would happen if Lennox fucked up at some point. I mean I would kill him. And then Sloane would dig up the remains and kill him again. Except she would take her time, which was scary. As for Keaton and Iris, they were so wrapped around each other and in love it made me want to gag a little.

At least I thought that was what the burning in my throat was. It definitely wasn’t jealousy. I definitely wasn’t jealous that they had the real thing, and all Phin and I had was an elaborate act.

The last and most evil Hellfire member, Rhys, was in the corner drinking something amber-colored and lounging about, looking bored with the entire affair. But as ever, his gaze was fixed on Sera, who was chatting to one of the other guests. Laughing in that way she had, where it took up her whole face.

He looked at her like he was a werewolf and she was the full moon.

Of my brother’s friends, he was the most terrifying. I didn’t know him well. But despite the rumors of him destroying hearts, lives, and reputations, there had been a moment this winter when he’d been exactly what I needed. When he’d helped me.

My nose started to sting, and I quickly blinked away the tears that threatened to well, shoving the sudden swell of emotion back down where it belonged into the darkness. Tucked away, where no one could see it.

Rhys caught my gaze then and gave me a nod. Which I’d learned was his way of acknowledging he saw me. But his scowl returned back to Sera and then quickly snapped back to me and Phineas, down to our hands together, and back up to my face. Then one dark, straight brow cocked into a perfect arch.

A silent what the fuck?

And here we went. I forced the smile a little harder and marched in with a wave. “Hey, guys.”

All conversation ceased. Every single one of our friends turned to stare at us. It was Iris who gave a nervous laugh. “Oh, come on.”

My brother scowled at Phineas. “My fucking sister, mate?”

I rolled my eyes. Because that was such a Lennox thing to say.

Owen merely blinked. Slowly. I could see it, his mind working and worrying, trying to ascertain how the fuck this had happened. Because everybody knew I had always vowed to kill Phin. And now here I was holding his hand.

Hell, even I wondered what the fuck I was doing.

Phineas released my hand and slung an arm over my shoulder. And then he leaned in and nuzzled my neck. “I know. You guys think this is bananas, but Aurora and I are giving this a shot.”

More blinking. More stares.

Sera walked over. “I just want to make sure that I’m not delusional. Aurora, you’re okay?” Her eyes were too wide and her eyebrows were raised, communicating her unmistakable meaning. Are you really okay? Has he drugged you?

I smiled brightly. Because what could I say? ‘I have to do this, or my mother will make me marry a royal-fucker?’

“Everything’s fine Sera.” I knew what I was going to have to do to sell this, to make it look real. I steeled myself and then glanced up at Phin with an adoring look on my face. Hopefully not one that said I would like to boil your nut sack and force feed it to you. “Yes, there were a lot of misunderstandings before. But this makes me happy.”

Phin glanced down at me. And wow, he was really good at this. Because he was giving me a look that said he absolutely adored me. And I knew they would believe it. They were going to buy this all on the power of his sell alone.

I just had to ignore the way that look made me feel, the way it sped my pulse.

“Yeah. I’ll be holding on to her this time around.”

Sera kept blinking like she couldn’t believe it. But then she gave me a warm squeeze, wrapping her arms around me tight and stepping back. She looked Phin up and down. “You fuck up again, and I will be the one you need to be terrified of.” She pointed at Sloane. “Not her. I will plot and plan all the ways to kill you so slowly and painfully that you’ll end up begging for the sweet release of death.”

He nodded, his brow furrowed and his gaze serious, like he really, truly cared about having my best friend’s approval. God, he was a good actor. “Understood.”

And then everyone was hugging us like we were in some kind of club or something.

It was as easy as that. As the party went on, Phineas was always there, with a drink or a snack. Wrapping his arm around me, kissing my neck, and every time I felt a brush of his lips, I nearly jumped a mile out of my skin. He was never very far from me. Touching me all the time. There was something sweet about that.

Don’t be a dummy. This is just for show, he is not into you.

It wasn’t until the boys went outside to talk about Hellfire club business—new recruits I think—that Sera, Iris, Tanith, and Sloane descended on me.

They seemed like they were smiling. Truly, they did. But then I saw the calculating look on Sera’s face, and I asked innocently, “What’s up, you guys?”

She shook her head. “I’m not buying it. Convince me.”

I laughed to cover my nervousness. “Maybe there comes a point for everyone when they just get tired of fighting, you know?”

Interestingly enough, that response seemed to satisfy Tanith, Iris, and Sloane. Although Sloane did narrow her gaze at me as if she could tell I was lying. But then she let it go. Because after all, she and Lennox had hated each other for years. I mean honestly, there was a point when she almost did kill him. Ah, young love.

But Sera—Sera couldn’t fathom ending a fight. “Aurora. This is you we’re talking about. There’s no way you’re giving up the fight. You hate him.”

“I do. I did. But we talked, and you know, I can choose to be angry with him or forgive him, and I’m choosing to forgive him. Because I can’t seem to escape him anyway. And when I’m with him, I like how I feel. That’s the best way I can describe it. It’s like my skin is humming. And I feel like I’m the only person in the room. I don’t want it to end.”

Sera studied me. “So this is really for real then?”

I nodded slowly, knowing that she was going to be hurt when she found out the truth…the lie. That was if she found out.

“Are you sure about this?” she asked.

I nodded again. “I’m sure.”

She sighed. “Well then, I guess congratulations are in order. Just so you know, though, if you do decide to kill him, Sloane and I will help you with the body.”

I laughed. “Thanks, guys.”

And just like that, everyone believed us. And I wasn’t sure if I was happy or extremely disappointed.

Either way, this was real now. And sooner or later, I was going to have to live up to my end of the bargain.