Luna must’ve felt my anxiety because she purred and butted her head against mine. I appreciated the comfort she offered, even if I didn’t deserve it. “I was going to give the comm back,” I said. “I just hadn’t figured out how.”

Thunderclouds gathered on Torran’s brow, so I rushed to add, “Not because I don’t accept your apology, but because a gift is not necessary. My current comm is fine. I am happy that you apologized, and your promise was already your gift. I don’t need a comm in addition.”

“I told you to keep it. And I’ve seen your current comm. It is not fine.” His eyes narrowed. “How are we supposed to coordinate if you can’t receive messages?”

“Kee is working on it.”

Torran’s thumb stroked across my inner wrist for the third time, and I suppressed a shiver. I didn’t think he even realized he was doing it, but electric tingles danced up my arm with every pass.

“Keep the comm. Use it.” I opened my mouth to protest, and he silenced me with a look. “If you must, return it when the job is finished.”

I pressed my lips together in thought. Borrowing a comm for the duration of my time on Valovia was far more palatable than accepting an expensive gift. I dipped my head in reluctant agreement.

“Good. Now I must speak with Nilo. Enjoy the rest of your day.”

I raised an eyebrow and looked down at the wrist Torran still held. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw his mouth quirk, then he very deliberately stroked his thumb across my wrist a fourth time before letting me go.

My eyes flashed to his face, but his expression was unreadable. His eyes, however, pulsed with color.

He wasn’t as unaffected as he seemed. And he’d absolutely known what he was doing.

This time, the shiver was impossible to suppress.

Since Torran had pretty much given me permission to snoop in the rest of his house, I planned to do exactly that, but first, I stopped in the kitchen, which was both beautiful and unfamiliar, and poked around until I found the refrigerator and the box I’d brought from Starlight.

I pulled out Luna’s food and water bowls and set them in an out-of-the-way corner. Luna hopped down to check them out, then sent me a wave of longing when she found her food bowl empty.

I dug around in the box until I found the container of jerky. I’d barely touched it when Luna’s eyes locked on me. I swear she could hear the rustle of treats from two sectors away. I pulled out a piece and Luna tensed.

“Don’t tell anyone I’m spoiling you.”