Always Hate Me

16. Kiss the Girl

Devi lay awake on Ryder's bed. She fidgeted excitedly and kicked at the blankets. Crevan was in love with her, just the thought of them being together made her heart flutter. She rolled onto her side so that she could look down at him, fast asleep on the floor. He was using a backpack as a pillow – his hair still damp and messy from a shower. It was dark, but her eyes were well adjusted to the gloom and she watched his broad chest rise and fall.

Devi's gaze rested on the curve of Ryder's lips. When would he kiss her? She'd thought that he would when he brought her back to his room, but instead he'd been rather chivalrous. He'd gone out to get them food, to spare her trucking it to a canteen, and then he'd insisted that she have his bed and he'd opted for the floor. It was sweet. Yet, she would have liked him to kiss her.

Her toes curled as she imagined him lying in the bed beside her. He was so big, they'd struggle to both fit - she'd have to curl up against him. Perhaps they'd be given a bigger room if they told the housing group that they were together. Devi's floaty feeling of happiness hit a snag. She was due back at Dubiki's complex. They wouldn't be able to live together if she carried on there - it was reserved for staff only. Ryder's feelings on her staying on had been clear and she'd been side tracked from arguing further, but she wasn't yet settled to his line of thinking.

Dubiki's place had given her the creeps but she felt an undeniable pull to return to it. There were so many secrets in that place. What had happened to her predecessor? Who was in the room upstairs? What had been wrong with the vampire that they'd dragged past the kitchens? And where had that monster come from?

The statues in the pantheon unsettled her most. What had it felt like, to be turned into stone? Was it a suffocating feeling? Or was it sudden, like being hit by a car? When Devi finally drifted into sleep, it was fitful. She tossed back and forth – kicking off the blankets completely as she tackled her anxious demons.

Ryder awoke when the blankets landed on his feet. He grunted and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. The bed springs groaned beside him as Devi curled up. She shivered, her legs bare and exposed. Moving slowly, Ryder sat up and crept over to her. Her lips were parted and her brow creased in concentration. He was careful not to wake her as he covered her once more with the blanket, tucking her in. His fingers brushed her arm and Devi sighed in her sleep.

Ryder leant over her and gently held onto her wrist. The effect, as ever, was instant. His senses overloaded as magic flooded his system. Ryder closed his eyes, relishing the feeling of empowerment. But why, why was she the key to his magic? Remembering his early training, Ryder started muttering spells – casting runes of ice into the brick work.

Devi moved suddenly, the jolt waking herself up. She opened her eyes and frowned sleepily.

"What are you doing?"

Ryder hesitated.

"Checking your pulse."

"What?"

"It's racing," Ryder continued, "were you having a naughty dream?"

"What- no!"

Ryder grinned, a dimple winking in his rough cheek.

"Was it about me?"

Cheeks flushing scarlet, Devi sat bolt upright and hastily tucked her hair behind her ears.