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She pulls me in and kisses me again, firm and intense. "Is it weird that your confidence in me is making me hot?"
"Kef no. I love making you hot." I love this side of her. Actually, I love all sides of her. I love that Ruthie is finding her confidence, just because it means a lot to her. I love her no matter what. I kiss her back, nipping at her lower lip. "Thanks for paying my bail. Erzah was getting kinda pissed at me for spending his credits."
"We can pay Erzah back," she says easily. "But later. For now, let's go up to my room. It's not far from here."
"Your room?"
"In the dorm." The look she gives me is heated. "I want to do things to you. I've missed you, you know."
I groan, because I've missed her, too. It's like being whole again now that she's here at my side. That she's feeling frisky is just a bonus. "Do we need to ditch Salvotor? Or the custodians?"
"Salvotor thinks I'm furious at you. He's going to make himself scarce." She grins at me, the delicate loop in her lower lip moving as her smile stretches. "And the custodians won't arrest you as long as you're not loitering in the street. The only place you're loitering tonight is with me."
"Sounds like a dream," I murmur, and when she takes my hand, I gladly let her lead me away.
I'd follow this female anywhere.
KAZEX
I'm in a besotted haze as Ruthie leads me out of the custodial office and into the street. She waves to a few women that we pass by, ignoring the curious looks they give me. It looks as if she's made a few friends in the week that she's been in town and I'm glad. I don't like the thought of her sitting up in her room, alone and afraid.
The dormitory has a human female manning the front desk, and she frowns at me as Ruthie and I enter. "You! You're the creep!"
"He was just looking out for me," Ruthie explains, turning to give me a sweet smile. "Melody, meet Kazex. He's my mate."
I want to puff my chest out with delight at her words. Her mate. Hers. This is the first time she has ever claimed me, and in front of another to boot. My heart swells with pride. "I am pleased to make your acquaintance."
"Likewise," she says, although the suspicious expression doesn't leave her face. She gives me a tight, polite smile and then turns back to Ruthie. "If you need anything, you know where to find me."
"I'll be fine, I promise." Ruthie squeezes my hand, tugging me after her. "Come on. I'll show you where I've been staying."
I let Ruthie pull me along, utterly content to be hers.
Her mate.
Truly, the best two words in the universe.
She opens a door at the end of the hall and steps inside. I follow after, and I'm surprised at the sight before me. The room is exactly what I expected it to be—one narrow bed, a small table next to a window, and minimal decorations. What surprises me is the mess. Normally Ruthie is fairly tidy, keeping our quarters neat and always making the bed. This room is chaos. The bedsheets are all balled up at one end of the bed, and dirty clothes are strewn all over the floor. Wrappers from the bakery stand are on the floor, and the table is covered with small boxes from the same place, and snack foods from the general store. As I stare at the surroundings, Ruthie grabs a package of dried noodles and hops onto the bed, folding her legs under her and reclining on the mound of blankets. "It's a mess, isn't it?"
She sounds proud of the fact. "It is. A deliberate mess?"
Ruthie nods at me. "I wanted to see how I felt about not cleaning up after myself. Ruth-Ann is totally anal about keeping her things tidy, you know? And I wanted to see how I felt about cleaning up if it was just me alone. Turns out I'm a slob."
I love the delighted grin she shoots at me as she wriggles on the bed. "I'm all right with that."
"I know. You're all right with everything about me. That's one of the things I love most about you." Her expression turns sweet and she lifts one of her boots into the air. "Take my shoe off for me?"
I do, getting to work on the fasteners. I love seeing her happy and carefree. It's such a relief. I've been so worried that she's been hiding away in terror, unable to cope. "I like seeing you like this. You should have more faith in how strong you are."
"Oh, I'm a weenie," Ruthie tells me, crunching down on dried noodles. "The first night alone I was terrified and I jumped at every noise. But then the morning came, and I was fine. I realized I could do hard things and it felt like it opened a door for me. That even though I was scared, I still did it. It's like...something in my brain healed just a bit more. Does that make sense?"
