“He didn’t get under my skin,” Lexi ground out.

I grinned to myself but didn’t comment. “Did you all eat?” After I got back a chorus of agreements, I asked, “Lexi, if I let Luna out, will you keep an eye on her?”

“Of course. I’m close to the front door if you want to let her out now.”

I called Luna to my shoulder, then stepped outside. The air was crisp, but the sunlight made it slightly warmer. I soaked up the rays for a few minutes, aware that the sun was already dipping toward the first sunset of the day.

As soon as Lexi appeared, Luna went to greet her with a happy chirrup. Lexi looked cool and untouchable in a slim pair of black slacks and a long-sleeved blouse. I wondered if she realized that the shirt was the same green as a certain Valoff’s eyes. With Lexi, it could go either way.

I waved to her and headed back inside. I stopped by the war room, but Torran wasn’t there, so I kept looking. His office door automatically opened as I approached, but the room itself was empty. Two stops later, I found him in the gym, sweaty and shirtless, as he fought an invisible foe masquerading as a punching bag.

The muscles in his arms and back rippled with every strike. Clearly the universe was trying to tempt me, not that I needed much help in that arena.

If Torran was feeling the short night, I couldn’t tell from his movements, which remained light and fast. He’d been holding back when we’d sparred. So had I, but not to the same degree. Even Eli would be hard pressed to keep up with him.

Torran bent to retrieve the towel on the ground before turning to face me. Something dark flickered through his expression as he met my eyes, but before I could guess what it meant, he asked, “Did you eat?”

“Yes,” I said, watching him closely. “Someone left a tray at my door. Who should I thank?”

He rubbed the towel over his head before answering. “I wanted to apologize for keeping you up so late. You didn’t appreciate my last gift, so I tried something new.”

“You didn’t need to apologize, but I enjoyed the food. Thank you. When you have time, I’d like a tour of the kitchen, so I don’t have to guess how things work.”

“Of course. I’m sorry I didn’t do it yesterday.”

I shrugged. “There was a lot going on. I made it work.” I kept my eyes firmly above his neck, even though they kept trying to drift down. “Did any new information come in?”

“No.”