He didn’t flinch, didn’t seem as though my threat meant a damn thing to him.
Before he could respond, though, the stray we were talking about appeared just behind him. “It’s fine,” Yun said.
Kaidan looked over his shoulder, his gaze softening in a way that proved he truly cared for her. I wasn’t sure if that look made me relieved or angrier. “You don’t have to go.” He leaned in closer to her, though I could still easily catch the words. “Don’t do this, Yun. You can stay here as long as you want.”
“I’m not going to cause you problems.”
“It’s not a problem.”
Yun smiled, but it felt dim, forced, as she shook her head. “No. This was only a temporary thing anyway. It’s really okay.”
For a moment I thought Kaidan wouldn’t move, that he wouldn’t let her pass, but after one long look at her, he stepped aside. “Call me tomorrow,” he ordered.
The idea of anyone else giving her orders had me ready to act rather petty before an elbow in my side—no idea who did it—got me to rein in that temptation.
“Of course. Sleep well.” Yun came down the steps, but she didn’t look directly at any of us. Instead, she moved toward the trailer, steps steady, not too slow nor too fast.
It was like she did exactly what she knew we expected, but not a thing more. I let it go, preferring to do this behind closed doors. Let her get her little hissy fit out now.
The moment we got into the trailer, she headed back toward her room.
Ingram moved around her, using the shadows to block her path as Kenyon shut the door at the back of the group, closing us in.
“Where are you going?” Ingram asked.
“To bed. You wanted me back—I’m here. Now I’m going to sleep.” She didn’t yell, didn’t even appear hurt. Instead, she offered a flat expression as she faced Ingram.
“What the fuck is wrong?” Ingram asked, then closed his eyes and gentled his voice. “What happened, Spark? You were fine this morning, so obviously something got under your skin. What was it?”
She still refused to meet Ingram’s gaze—or anyone else’s—even as she answered. “Nothing. Why? Did you need something? Did you need a guiding session?”
Guiding session.The way she said it had all the feeling that she’d have for taking out the trash. It made it clear she didn’t want to do it, which went to further prove something had happened. We’d gotten to the point of almost daily guiding sessions, and Yun sure seemed to enjoy it, so what the fuck had happened?
Sure, I didn’t like that she was taking it out on us, but I also wanted to know what had caused this. I wanted to take apart whoever had fucked with her—and thus, with us.
“This isn’t about guiding,” I said.
She turned, the look she gave me as cutting as a razor. It made me nearly miss the uncaring distance—this sure wasn’t uncaring. “Of course it isn’t.”
I found myself smiling, the edges sharp as ever. Maybe I shouldn’t have given her that look, but something about her attitude set me off. It was one thing if she snapped at me, if she put distance, but this? It was different, it was shutting down, and it bothered me in a way I didn’t know how to handle. “What’s the problem with that? Last I checked, you really enjoyed guiding. Is that it? You feeling lonely? You wanting us to give you a good seeing to?” I ran my fingers down her arm, the touch light but teasing.
I’d much prefer working this all out with sex anyway. I didn’t like dealing with bullshit like emotions, so I’d take this to a bed anytime.
A sharp pain went through my fingers, as though I’d touched a live wire, and I yanked my hand back. It took a moment for me to recognize just what that was—a very low version of her protection power.
She’d fried espers with that, but she’d just set a clear boundary with me.
Though she chose not to really harm me, which means she doesn’t hate me.
I nearly rolled my eyes at that guess. It felt juvenile and foolish.
Still, I turned my hand around to look at my fingers and huffed.
“Let’s calm down.” Kenyon stepped forward, his voice easy.. “Let’s just talk this out.”
“I don’t have anything to say,” Yun pressed.
“Right, go figure that Blizzard there puts up an ice wall,” I muttered.
