Ruby pushed away the weight of sleep, clearing her throat as she opened her eyes. Light streamed in from the open drapes, and with a groan, Ruby rolled to her other side only to groan again when every muscle in her body seemed to announce itself. She reached out across the bed, not all surprised to find it empty. Ruby forced her eyes open again, and when she saw the state of her apartment, she giggled.

The quilt was in a jumble at the foot of the bed, and the fitted sheet had come loose. An empty box of wine was sitting on the nightstand, and the strap-on and bottle of lube were lying on the floor.

Ruby fought her way out of the sheets and sat on the edge of the bed for a moment. She blinked away her sleep, running her fingers through her hair as she checked the time. Tickled she had slept until one, Ruby set up her coffee maker and, unable to stop herself, she put most of the apartment back in order before she picked up the strap-on and went into the bathroom.

***

Courtesy of Max, Bennett’s little refrigerator was refilled with fresh blood, and what remained of the tainted was packed up and handed off to Gus with orders to return it to Max. With the starve still fresh in her mind, Bennett sucked down one bag before pouring herself some wine and settling on the sofa. She stretched out and crossed her legs at the ankles, and before Bennett completed her first thought, Xi was on her lap.

“How would you feel about taking a trip, boy?” Bennett said, scratching Xi’s neck. “South of France? Monte Carlo? Egypt? Did you know they used to worship your kind in Egypt? Thought you were quite the cat’s meow, no pun intended.”

Xi’s throaty rumbling was all Bennett had to hear, and content in giving him attention, Bennett petted and rubbed and petted some more until there was a knock on the door. The sound caused Bennett to jump, and Xi followed suit, except when he did, he dug his claws into her thigh and launched off of her like a rocket.

“You little bugger,” Bennett said, rubbing her leg as she stood up. “Thank God I’m healing quickly again.”

Bennett opened the door and smiled when she saw Ruby in the hall. A second later, the whites of her eyes became fully visible when she noticed the strap-on dangling from Ruby’s fingertips.

“I think you forgot something when you left.”

“Get in here,” Bennett said with a laugh, taking the toy from Ruby as she walked by. “And please tell me no one saw you.”

“Halls were empty, and I cleaned it, by the way, although there’s not much of this left,” Ruby said, handing Bennett the almost empty bottle of lube. “So you may want to add that to your grocery list.”