Page 42 of Riot of Autumn

“What are you talking about?”

Ruby throws her hands up in the air. “I heard you at that party, Ezra. You were telling Loralei she should go get him. That he deserved someone like her.” Her voice is rough as she spits out the words. “You were supposed to be one of my best friends and even you thought the guy I was dating could do better.”

This time it’s my turn to rear back. “What? No. You’ve got that wrong.” My voice is deeper, a growl rumbling in my throat as my animalistic side rises, pissed that our bond, our mate, is hurting. “He’s the one who didn’t deserve you. He and Loralei were sleeping around with each other behind your back. Every time I tried to bring it up, you blew me off, telling me to stop trying to sabotage things. I knew the only way you’d believe it was if you saw with your own eyes. Those two are assholes who deserved each other. That dick Philip wasn’t worthy of licking your dirty fucking boots.”

I’m breathing hard when I finish and Ruby’s not faring much better.

“Why did you reject me when I tried to kiss you, then?”

I gape at her, my mouth slack as I search Ruby’s face for the lie. She’s kidding, right?

“When did you try to kiss me?”

Ruby gets up from her seat and wanders over to the side of the office. Brochures are stacked on a shelf, and she fans them out and then straightens them back into a pile. “Do you remember the massive bonfire the night you graduated high school?”

“I do,” I say slowly, wracking my brain for the memories of that night. How could I have possibly missed Ruby trying to kiss me?

“We were down by the water, arguing about something. Who the hell knows what? I tried to kiss you and you ran. Like sprinted as if your fucking ass was on fire to get away from me.”

I shake my head, and then close my eyes, a sudden weariness taking over me. When I open my eyes, I know there’s anger and frustration shining out of them. Not at Ruby, but for my fucked-up past. “I remember that night. We were down by the water. A huge wave crashed and splashed over our feet.”

Ruby’s mouth parts, her eyes going wide as if she’s figuring something out, so many years later. I nod at her.

“I panicked. I had to get away from the water.” I’d already been seeing a therapist at that point, but I was far from okay with the water. Especially when it surprised me like that. “I wasn’t running from you. Fuck.”

The pulse in her throat is hammering, and her eyes are wide. Their vibrant green shade is my favorite color in the world.

How many misunderstandings have we had over the years that led up to this? The miscommunication and distrust, the hurt and fear that could have all been erased if either of us had opened our mouths and told each other how we feel? That’s easy to say in retrospect, but laying your heart out for someone else is fucking scary.

Ruby and I have been circling this need for one another for too long. The fuse was lit, and we’ve been running from it ever since. It’s finally catching up with us and things are about to blow. I’m done waiting for the right moment, for everything to be perfect. I need her now.

I’m up out of my chair, rounding the desk to get to her. Ruby meets me halfway, the raw need in her eyes a mirror of my own emotions. Our bodies crash into each other, and I drive my hands into Ruby’s hair. Her fingers dig into my sides, pulling me closer to her as our mouths collide. I kiss her with every emotion on the tip of my tongue, wishing she could understand how damn much she means to me. How many nights I’ve laid awake in bed thinking about what it would be like to touch her any time I wanted to. Wishing she wanted the same thing.

Ruby kisses me back like she needs the contact just as much as I do. Like she’s telling me I’m hers and branding herself onto my lips, my skin.

We shuffle back until I find my chair. I drop down and pull Ruby onto my lap. My hands roam down her back and over her ass, squeezing it and guiding her hips to rock against my aching cock. I’m so fucking hard I could probably come from Ruby grinding all over me, but that’s not what I want. Not this time. Ruby breaks the kiss, moving her lips over my jaw and down my neck, before licking me.

Fuck.

I groan loudly as Ruby chuckles. I hold her hips and thrust up, driving a moan from her lips, just as the bell over the front door chimes.

No! If there is a god of part Fae shifters, please make whoever it is go away.

Ruby presses her lips together, her nostrils flaring as she tries not to laugh. Although her flushed cheeks and half-lidded gaze tells me she’s not unaffected. She reaches up and swipes her thumb over my lips, wiping away traces of her lipstick.

“Hello. Anyone home?”

I roll my head back and barely hold in a sigh. Ruby straightens up on my lap, her face drawn into a mask of horror. Her eyes dart around the room like she’s searching for a place to hide. It’s Mrs. Bunchen, Cadence’s mother.

“I do not want to talk to that bitch,” Ruby hisses and curses when Mrs. Bunchen says hello again, sounding that much closer to my office.

Ruby slides off my lap and drops to my feet, slipping under my desk as she flips the bird toward the doorway. I take another swipe over my lips and tuck my chair under my desk as far as I can without running over Ruby. I can’t get up right now. My hard-on is probably visible from space. Mrs. Bunchen would likely get the wrong idea that it’s for her.

“Oh, there you are. Hiding away in here,” Mrs Bunchen says as she puts a hand on the frame of my office door. I think she’s posing.

She’s not an unattractive woman, although she’s old enough to be my mother. The way she constantly tries to set me up with her daughter, and yet flirts and touches me any time she sees an opening, is what I find so unappealing about her. She’s exhausting to be around, forcing me to dodge her hands and advances.

“Yes, sorry. I was just on a call,” I lie through my teeth. “What can I do for you today?”

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