Page 218 of Black Reign

Violent.

Unmanageable.

I love her.

Not someday.

Not potentially.

Not after we solve Beaumont.

Not after I decide whether she's an enemy of Blackwell.

Now.

I love the woman in my arms.

I loved her before I knew she had cornflower eyes.

Before I knew her name.

Before I knew the exact weight of her pressed against my chest.

I loved a cursor blinking in the dark because I knew she was still there.

I loved Still here.

I loved every argument she refused to lose.

Every disappearing act I pretended didn't hurt.

Every photograph that gave me nothing and somehow felt like everything.

I fell in love with Vesper.

Now I'm holding Sabine.

Same woman.

My heart doesn't give a shit about the distinction.

She's mine.

Not possession.

Not ownership.

Something much more frightening.

Mine to lose.

I lower my mouth against her hair.

“You're bleeding.”

“Little bit.”

Even now.