Trance by Kelly Meding

Author:Kelly Meding [Meding, Kelly]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Published: 2011-10-24T22:00:00+00:00

Twenty-one

Exploration

Gage never let me go, and on the elevator ride up to our floor, I noticed something: I reeked. Really reeked. I hadn’t showered in … well, days. Between the grime and stagnant water from the construction site and the battle sweat of the previous evening, I needed a shower badly. Fresh clothes couldn’t hurt, either. Keeping me so close to his side when I had to look like hell and smell like crap warmed my heart. I would have pushed me away a long time ago.

The elevator stopped. The doors swished open, and Gage led me out. Instead of hanging a left as I expected, we immediately turned right. I recognized the tangy scent of the bathroom—soap and hard water and tile cleaner.

“You read my mind,” I said.

“I thought you could use a shower.”

My heart tripped, and I couldn’t stop from asking, “Together?”

He stopped walking, his hold on my hand loosening. “No. I figured I’d get you there and help you get started. I can find Renee if you’d be more comfortable.”

Having no sight gave my ears a little extra oomph, but I detected no hidden inflections, no disappointment draped over his matter-of-fact statement. I desperately wanted to see his face. Conversation with Renee aside, I couldn’t deny my attraction to Gage, but sex complicated everything, and it would really complicate us. Married Rangers hadn’t been allowed in the same units. Burgeoning relationships were split up quickly so as not to complicate unit dynamics.

“I think Renee is too occupied right now to bother bathing me,” I said.

“Yeah.” More silence. “I didn’t bring you here to seduce you, Teresa.”

“I know, Gage.” I just wanted him near me while I couldn’t see. Protecting me. “Are you angry with William about something?” The words slipped out, voicing something that had been bothering me all night. The timing seemed both awful and perfect—Gage would never walk away and leave me stranded in the bathroom. Would he?

“I’m not angry with William,” he said, his voice firm. Almost amused. “I was frustrated with myself, and I misdirected. I’m sorry.”

“Frustrated how?”

The hand holding mine tensed, but he didn’t let go. He cleared his throat—I imagined his face shuttering, ready to stop a conversation he didn’t want to have, and I wanted to scream. “Would you like me to leave, Teresa?”

“Stay.” I squeezed his hand firmly. “Can’t have me slipping and banging my head on the shower faucet, can we?”

“No, we can’t.” He placed my hand on the tiled wall. “Hang here for a minute, while I get some towels and soap.”

“Okay.”

The warmth of his arm left. His footsteps receded. The instinct to flee warred with the unfamiliar nugget of attraction that I’d been nursing since Bakersfield, the desire I felt each time he touched me or kissed me. Standing in the bathroom, blinded by my mysterious powers, and unsure if we’d even survive against Specter, I decided I didn’t want to think about the consequences of where this could take us. I wasn’t a leader. I didn’t choose to be.

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