The doors whipped closed behind me and I blindly turned a corner, slamming right into Wallace’s chest. I scowled at him and he held up his hands in defense.

“I was just going to check on him and try to salvage the rest of the night.”

“He’s just fine and dandy,” I muttered, shifting my steps so I could walk around him. Wallace’s hand shot out to stop me and I reeled in the temper threatening to unleash because it wasn’t Wallace I was this angry with. I was exhausted and wanted to go back to my room even though I knew it wouldn’t matter anyway. I was too keyed up to go back to sleep now, too haunted by the images I knew would follow me. I resisted shrugging his hand away even though I wasn’t in the mood for a fight with him.

He shifted his grip, reaching for my hands and used his thumbs to flip open the catches securing the fabric around my wrists. I flinched, trying to pull away, but the stern look he shot my way had me relenting with a deep sigh of acceptance. I nodded and

slipped my thumb under the seam to slide them off.

When he saw I was going to remove them myself, he moved his hands away and let me attend to the chore. Despite my earlier hesitations, I pulled off the gloves and slid them both into one of my pockets.

They were such a part of me that I felt exposed without them. Wallace knew it would make me uncomfortable and that was probably why he’d done it. I started to hide my bare hands in my pockets, but Wallace grabbed for them. As his fingers closed around mine, the flash of consciousness was immediate. With expert ease I spent years being taught, I calmed the chaos with my mind and felt a quiet sereneness envelop us both.

“You always did have a way with your hands,” he whispered quietly, sliding his hands around so his fingers twined with mine.

“What is it that you want, Wallace?” The question wasn’t even fully out of my mouth when the image of Wallace and I wound around each other in bed played out like a porn vid in my head. I shut it down just as quickly and narrowed my eyes at him. “File it away or I’ll leave you with the belief that you’re the scum I have to scrape off my boots after climbing out of the reverse osmosis tanks, got it?”

“I need to explain, Taran.”

By the tone of his voice, I could tell he wasn’t talking about trying to break down the events that lead to his escape from Widow’s Bay. “I’ve not asked for an explanation.”

“But you’re going to get one anyway.”

Shocking images flashed in my mind and I faced the accident of Midnight’s Star all over again.