Page 42 of Ruin

Lira was instantly transfixed.

His eyes were a swirling, iridescent gold, like liquid sunlight, and stood out in stark contrast with his red skin. Though they seemed to dance with mischief, there was a sharpness there,and unmistakable intelligence. She had the sense he missed very little.

High cheekbones led to a strong jawline and sculpted lips with four points on the upper instead of two like hers. Those lips were currently stretched in a broad grin that was both charming and slightly feral, exposing sharp white teeth.

“And who’s this little morsel?” He canted his head to the side. “It’s a bit undersized, but I could go for a snack.”

Ruin growled, the sound low and menacing, but beneath the concealment of her hood, she was smiling. She understood and treasured his protectiveness, but in this instance, it wasn’t necessary. There wasn’t any meanness in Hush’s eyes, only curiosity and appraisal.

Flipping her hood back, she offered a small smile. “Hello, Hush. I’m Lira, not food.”

At the sight of her, his dark brows shot up and his eyes went almost comically wide. But it was Ruin's reaction that really caught her attention. The corners of his mouth twitched upward, a rare smile softening his beautifully harsh features.

Pleasure swelled within her.

“Oh, fuck! Ruin, that’s a human!”

He snorted. “Yes, I’m aware.”

“Where in the hells did you find a human on the Outer Rim?”

“She was the slave of a Mogovian trader.”

“Ugh. Fuckin’ slavers. You killed ‘im, yeah?”

Ruin looked mildly insulted at the question. “Of course.”

“Good, good.” Hush paused, eyes bouncing back and forth between her and Ruin. “Sooo, you freed her and then just decided to keep ‘er?”

Lira tried to hide the sudden rush of apprehension at the question. What would he say? Would he declare he had no intention of keeping her? Would he?—

“She ain’t a pet, Hush. I’m not keepin’ her. She chose to stay with me.”

That… wasn’t quite what she’d been hoping for. Schooling her face, she pushed aside the ridiculous twinge of disappointment.

Hush raked his gaze over her once more. “Eh, you're right. She'd probably make a terrible pet.”

A sound of indignation escaped before she could stop it. Heat rushed to her cheeks as she realized how illogical the reaction was. She didn't actually want to be seen as a pet. But, still, if she did, she'd be a damn good one.

Hush's ears perked at the noise. “No affront intended, little morsel. It's just, you got no claws or fangs, so you wouldn't be any good at attackin’. And that tiny nose? Humans have a notoriously shit sense of smell, so trackin’ is out.”

“Some people have pets just as companions, you know,” she countered. “They're not meant to do anything but provide comfort and affection.”

He gave her a supremely skeptical glance, like that was one of the more absurd things he’d heard. “That doesn't sound like a real thing.”

She huffed, then cut a narrow-eyed look at Ruin when he chuckled under his breath.

Traitor.

“So… ” Hush started, drawing her attention back to him. “Are all humans as”—he brought a hand up, first finger and upper thumb stretched open wide before he pinched them till they were almost touching—“runty as you? Like, are you normal sized?”

“I’m not runty!”

That time, even Ruin made a skeptical face. Her mind flashed back to the males Vargot bought to breed her with. Okay, yes, they'd all been bigger than her, but not by a huge margin.

“I think I'm normal sized,” she replied with a shrug.

“Huh. Didn't know humans were so tiny. You're like a little miniature person. It's kinda cute.”

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