Page 12 of Riot of Autumn

Ruby’s voice is raspier than normal, breathier when she speaks. “I have no idea.”

“We’re all sitting around waiting for these assholes to do something. We need to stop being patient and start figuring out what exactly they want.”

“Agreed.” Ruby’s eyes are locked on mine.

There’s a charge building in the air that has nothing to do with magic. It’s the same one that’s always there when I’m around Ruby, since the first time I saw her. Ruby was in the grade below mine in school, but Wild Haven is small. You knew nearly every kid in the grades on either side. I remember, it was the first day of school, and one of the kids was teasing her. She was adorable even as a little kid, but her mom was a junkie who rarely worried about whether her child had clothes that fit. One of the little dicks made a comment about Ruby’s shoes and she kicked him in the nuts.

I’m pretty sure I fell in love with her right then and there. I wasn’t a stranger to my own twisted shit. My home life wasn’t happy. My dad was messed up, and my mom was miserable. The tragedy, as the town called it, didn’t happen until I was twelve, but I still recognized the pain in Ruby that day. I saw that same desperation in her that I had buried deep in me. We were kindred souls. The kind who had fucked-up lives, but were too young to know it wasn’t how everyone else lived.

Looking down at her now, it’s hard to see that same kid in her. But I still want to protect her just as badly now as I did back then.

“You shouldn’t be out here by yourself.”

The softness disappears from Ruby’s eyes, and her shoulders stiffen. “Excuse me?”

“If Colton and the other Fae are going to come looking for you, for who knows what reason, then it’s not safe.”

“I’m not going to hide out in my house until all this goes away, Ezzie.”

Great. Back to Ezzie. I guess the novelty of being a wolf has worn off.

“I’m not saying that you have to, Cube, just that I don’t want you getting hurt.” Another layer of ice gets added to her walls. Ah, fuck.

“Fine. I assume you won’t be working alone at your clinic then, either. Or even with Murray there. We both know he’d hide under his desk at any hint of trouble.”

Joe Murray is the receptionist who works part time at my veterinary clinic, and Ruby’s not wrong about him. He’s afraid of his own shadow. There’s no way he’d be any help in an emergency.

“It’s not the same.” Are we really having this damn conversation while my dick is dangling in the wind? I pinch my nose between my brows. Ruby turns, giving me her back. She’s messing with her paint brushes like they’re more important than this conversation.

“Listen, why don’t you take a break from painting for a little bit. You’ve got the diner…”

Ruby whips around to glare at me.

“That’s my job. This is…”

Strands of her purple hair that escaped the tie cling to her damp neck. She’s so beautiful.

“Jesus. I don’t want to have this conversation with your wang out.” She turns back around.

“This is what, Ruby? Your hobby? Your secret pastime that you tell next to no one about? How long are you going to hide this away?” I wave my hand around the room, gesturing at all the incredible pieces of art that have never seen the light of day. Everything she’s painted is hidden here, except for the ones at Rhys’s house. Seriously, I don’t know how he convinced her to let him have those pieces. I’ve been begging her for years and she always tells me to fuck off.

“Is this take a shit on Ruby day? Anything else you want to pick at, Ezzie?” She fists a handful of brushes and stomps over to a counter against the far wall. She starts cleaning the brushes, viciously swirling them around in a jar of oil.

“Sure, while we’re throwing it all out there, why the hell are you still working at Puck’s and not doing this full time?” What is wrong with me? This is a fight Ruby and I have had before, and it never ends well. But it’s like I can’t physically stop the words from falling out of my mouth. Abort. Abort!

Ruby doesn’t stop cleaning. Her shoulders are bunched up, and she keeps ignoring me.

“Cube, you’re so fucking talented, and you’re wasting your time waiting tables.”

“People need to eat. Nothing wrong with filling that need.”

“There is when you could be doing so much more.” I wince, immediately wishing I could take back the words, but I’m too stubborn to say that to Ruby.

She turns toward me again, and I almost take a step back. She’s right, we really shouldn’t be having this conversation when I’m naked. I’m going to get kicked in the dick.

“Maybe I don’t want to share this with the world. Maybe this isn’t for anyone else but me. Did you ever think about that? Or are you too self-absorbed to consider that what you want isn’t the same as what someone else might want? Maybe I want to paint whenever I want, without pressure, without judgment from people over whether or not I’m worthy.” She’s breathing hard, her chest rising and falling.

A trickle of sweat drips down her neck and disappears down her chest, between her breasts. Fuck, I want to lick that same path, to taste every inch of her dewy skin. I lift my eyes to meet hers.

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