Page 50 of Riot of Autumn

“You’ve caught me. What can I say?” She shrugs as she stops swaying and inhales deeply. Her eyes drift over each of us in turn. “Did you know that some Fae can taste your fear?”

Seraphina’s eyes land on me and she licks her lips as if she’s tasting something delicious. “I’ve been able to sense theirs for months now, but not you.” She sucks in her bottom lip, her eyes drifting to the water and then back to me. “Interesting.”

“How about you fuck off,” Davis grunts, shooting her a death glare when he walks past her.

“That’s rude. I just came to say hello.” Seraphina pushes out her bottom lip in a pout and I barely hold back the eye roll.

There’s something about the way she’s looking at me that has my skin crawling. The need to get away from her bubbles under the surface, making me itchy.

“Enjoy the view,” Archer says as he salutes her with his middle finger. “I hear there are mermaids in the water. You should go shove your face in there and hold it under until you see one.”

Neither Rhys nor I say a word as we pass her, but her quiet laughter follows us on the wind. Nothing the Fae do is innocent. So, what the hell is she up to?

17

RUBY

It’s nearly nine when the door of Puck’s swings open and Ezra walks in. My stupid heart starts breakdancing in my chest and I…oh, hell…I’m blushing. He sent me a picture of the sunset earlier and I’m ashamed of the girlie giggle that came out of me. Seeing Ezra stalk toward me, making my memories roar to life of how it felt to be pressed to his body. How he’d flipped me around like a rag doll and positioned me however he wanted.

My breath gets caught in my chest and my whole body feels a flush of heat before it settles deep in my belly. Oh, Lord. I’m in so much trouble. Ezra hasn’t even said hello yet.

It’s almost closing time and I’m restocking the napkin dispensers behind the counter. There’s a serious look that’s not typically on Ezra’s face, and my spinning heart takes a dive. Oh, shit. Is he coming here to tell me we made a mistake, that he doesn’t want to grab my ass in front of the others? Or that we should forget about everything that happened?

Ezra’s serious face morphs into a goofy grin as he approaches me. Now I’m really confused.

“Why are you scowling at me? I haven’t even said anything yet and you look like you’re ready to karate chop my face.”

“Hey, Ezra,” Tecia calls out as she sweeps behind him. She’s filling up the salt and pepper shakers on the tables.

“Hi, Tecia,” Ezra says back, his eyes never leaving mine.

I almost say something snarky, but channel my sister instead and try to stay calm before I know there’s something to freak out about. How does she do this all the time? It’s annoying. I’d rather blurt out the first thing on my mind and let everyone else deal with explaining shit.

“You looked mad when you walked in.”

Ezra sits down on the stool opposite me, pulling over some napkin dispensers and helping me fill them. “Not mad, just worried.”

Ezra looks delectable right now. He’s wearing an old Guns N’ Roses t-shirt, some Hawaiian floral shorts, and a pair of sneakers. His eyes are bright, and he looks like he’s been outside most of the day.

“What are you worried about?” What I really want to ask is, are you worried about me, us, what we did? Damn insecure brain and other body parts. Get your shit together.

“We were out on Davis’s boat today, and when we got to the dock, Seraphina was waiting for us.”

A sound of displeasure leaves my throat. Ezra reacts with an animalistic sound of his own that has us both straightening.

“Did you just…purr?”

“No,” Ezra emphatically denies with a shake of his head.

My mouth curves up and I make that same sound as before in the back of my throat. The color of Ezra’s eyes lightens, more of the gold taking over the brown, and he makes the purring sound again.

“Dude.” I draw out the word, and Ezra points a finger at me.

“This is your fault.”

I throw my hands up in the air, my fists full of napkins. “How is this my fault?”

“You keep making that noise, and my fucking wolf or some other damn animal inside me likes the way it sounds.”

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