Page 8 of Omega Tricked
I appreciated him keeping his voice low and not drawing attention to me. “That’s okay.” Why I said that when I truly wanted to take him up on his offer, I wasn’t sure. Pride maybe? I didn’t want to look like a wuss?
He frowned. “I’m serious. I like anchovies, but judging from the nauseated expression on your face, you don’t.”
I paused what I was doing, my stomach rolling from the scent of fish. “Yeah. I’m not really a fan.”
He surprised me when he took the knife from my hand and held out his. “Come on, switch with me.”
When our fingers brushed, my stomach twittered with awareness. What the hell was wrong with me? Why did he affect me so strongly, when I was trying so hard to ignore him? “Fine,” I said brusquely, taking his knife and moving to the cutting board he’d been working at. I didn’t like admitting defeat, but I also didn’t want to humiliate myself by puking the first day of class.
“It’s nothing to be ashamed of,” he whispered. “I get that same look on my face when I have to eat ochre.”
I didn’t respond, baffled by how empathetic he seemed. Since when did alphas give a crap about small things like an omega’s feelings? Jacob had been the type to mock me if I showed any weakness.
Tom stopped at our station. “Nicely chopped tomatoes, Dylan. You must have some good knife skills.”
Since I hadn’t chopped 99 percent of the tomatoes, I grimaced, but before I could come clean, Lex interjected. “Should I toss the anchovies in the pan with the garlic now?” he asked.
Tom nodded and moved over to him. “Yes. Then we’ll add the tomatoes, olives, and capers.”
“Sounds good.” Lex smiled at Tom, and the omega seemed to beam. I couldn’t really blame him; alphas could often excite us when they focused their attention on us. If we were open to being claimed, we couldn’t help but react to their alpha energy. Tom was obviously open to Lex, but I still couldn’t tell if Lex was straight or not. It was possible Lex was just a friendly type of guy.
Tom moved on to the next station, and I addressed Lex. “You should have told him you chopped the tomatoes.”
He laughed. “Why? Is there some tomato chopping award I’m not aware of?”
I frowned. “But you did the work.”
“So?”
“Alphas usually love the attention and praise.” Hell, half the time they took the praise when it wasn’t even owed to them.
“I’m here to learn to cook better, not stroke my ego,” Lex said, his light blue eyes fixed on me. “Why are you here? You don’t seem interested in cooking.”
My cheeks warmed, and I looked away. “It’s none of your business why I’m here.”
“True.” He smirked. “But since you won’t tell me, now I simply have to find out your story.”
Scowling, I gave him an irritated look. “I hope you’re joking.”
“Maybe.”
Thankfully, Tucker came up at that moment, so the conversation died. But it wasn’t lost on me that the rest of the lesson Lex seemed to watch me, as if studying for a test. By the time the cooking class was over, I couldn’t escape from his inquisitive gaze fast enough.
Chapter Four
Lex
It wasn’t easy pumping the good citizens of Yellow Springs for information. While they loved to talk, they had very little to say about the compound nestled in the mountains above the city. It was as if there was some unspoken rule about not discussing what went on there. The secrecy surrounding the fortress only made me more curious. Had my dad stumbled on something going on in the compound and he’d been silenced? I didn’t want to be a conspiracy theory type of person, but the unwillingness of anyone to divulge information pertaining to the compound seemed odd.
My one hope was that kid Dylan. I’d taken that local cooking class on a whim, in hopes of breaking the monotony of small-town living. When Dylan had announced he lived at the compound, I’d been floored by my luck. Then when Tucker had picked me and Dylan to be his cooking partners, I’d almost laughed at how fortune was shining on me. I’d spent days hanging out at the local bars and restaurants, trying to get information about the compound, and then miraculously, Dylan had fallen in my lap.
Of course, getting anything out of Dylan had its challenges. He wasn’t an easy person to talk to. He was guarded and wary of alphas. There was also a bit of a time crunch. The class was only six sessions long. That meant I’d have to work fast to figure out a way to get close to Dylan before the semester ended. We’d had two classes so far, and I was on my way to the third. Dylan hadn’t said much to me during the first two classes, but I held out hope I could charm him. I could sense his unwilling attraction to me. While I was straight, I was usually quite adept at getting omegas of both genders to like me.
When I arrived at the culinary school, I took my usual seat behind Dylan. While he didn’t turn around and greet me, I could sense he was aware of me. Tucker came in a few minutes behind me, and he of course was happy to chat. As I talked with Tucker about what the next recipe might be, I noticed Dylan turning his head slightly, as if listening to our conversation. I smiled inwardly, hoping that was a sign he wanted to be friends.
The instructor Tom arrived with a small stack of recipe books. “I thought I’d let you guys choose what recipe you want to cook.” He held up three book. “I have Chinese, Mexican, and French cookbooks. I’m going to pass them around, and I want you to discuss with your cooking partners what to make.”
Tucker moved to kneel beside us, and Dylan turned in his chair to face the other omega.
