Page 34 of Riot of Autumn

“Ruby threw herself at me and touched my butt. I had to protect myself.”

Zara grins at me. I throw a weak punch at Ezra’s side, and he rolls off me. I get a good look at his morning wood in those fucking shorts and bite back a groan. I move to the chair to put a little distance between me and Ezra’s giant dick. Ezra stays on the floor, and Zara takes a seat on the couch next to Rhys.

Once everyone settles back down, Zara lays out her idea to protect Ezra. It sounds like a solid plan, but it’s magic that relies on me, so there’s a fifty-fifty chance I’ll fuck it up.

Rhys sends out a group text to round up the troops. I’m getting sick of my phone only blowing up with Fae related problems. Someday Ezra will get back to sending me dirty memes and Lena will message me lists of the library’s newest romances.

The plan is for everyone to meet at Miri’s later tonight. Half of us have to work during the day, so it’s the earliest we can get together.

Rhys groans, “I actually had the night off tonight.”

“Eh, we don’t need you, anyway.” I throw a pillow at Rhys’s head.

“Speak for yourself.” Zara smiles at Rhys, all liquid and dreamy. “I always need you.”

“Stop. I already feel weirdly hung over. I don’t need anything else making me nauseous.”

“I never knew you had such thin skin, Ruby,” Rhys says while he practically mauls my sister. My living room is too small for this many people.

“Everyone, go away. I need to get ready for work and I want to walk around my house naked for a while.”

Rhys gives me a grossed-out look, and I smirk back at him. Ezra drags a hand over his head as Zara pulls Rhys up off the couch and pushes him toward the door.

“See you guys later.” Zara waves goodbye as she and Rhys walk through the front door, leaving me and Ezra alone. There’s an awkward moment where neither of us speaks. I expertly avoid eye contact, scratching Axil’s ears instead.

“Ruby…” Ezra starts, and I can practically hear the “we should talk” ready to fall out of his mouth.

“Yeah, hey, no. We’re not going to do this right now. I’m going to get ready for work and you’re going to go check on Mrs. Confeffi’s elderly cat.”

“Sprinkles is fine,” Ezra says.

“Okay, but I don’t want to chit-chat right now.” I take a deep breath and meet Ezra’s eyes. I hate being vulnerable, and that’s exactly how I’m feeling. “Please.”

There’s an almost stricken look on Ezra’s face when I say that word,please, but he nods and takes a step back. My basketball shorts are hanging dangerously low on his hips, but now is not the time to get dick-stracted. I’ve never seen a man in real life as incredibly cut as Ezra. His muscles are so damn defined they ripple when he takes a breath. Seeing all of his warm brown skin on display in front of me makes it hard to remember what we’re talking about. Or rather, what I want to avoid talking about.

Before I realize what I’m doing, my hand is on Ezra’s chest. My fingertips brush over his heart, tracing the ink of the first tattoo I gave him. It always makes me smile. I inked my name on him in a scrawling script. He’d gaped at me like a fish out of water when he saw what I’d done, but he’d given me free rein. What did he expect?

Secretly, I think he liked it. I’ve never examined why I felt the need to put my name on his chest. Like he was mine, and I needed to mark him. That topic has always felt too dangerous to poke at.

Ezra sucks in a deep breath, his body practically trembling beneath my touch. A spark of magic jumps from his skin to mine, and I yank my hand away with a gasp. Taking a step back, I cross my arms to keep from touching him again. This should not be so confusing. This is Ezra. But I’m finding it hard to know what’s right or wrong anymore.

“Ruby.”

“Um. Okay. I’ll see you at Miri’s later tonight. You’d better go before I’m late for work.”

Some of the tension leaves Ezra’s face, his shoulders relaxing a little. “So, you have enough time to walk around naked?”

“Goodbye.” I shove him toward the door, and he chuckles, sounding much more like the Ezra I’m familiar with.

“Alright. See you later, Cube.”

“Bye, asshole,” I grit out. “Make sure you wash my shorts before you bring them back. I know you’re free-balling.”

With that, I shut the door, sagging against it while I try to calm my heartbeat.

13

RUBY

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