“Then tell me,” she said.
He exhaled slowly.One hand slid up to cradle the back of her head, his fingers threading through her hair as though he needed the contact to steady himself.
“When you touched me tonight, when we bonded...”His throat worked, struggling for words.“I’ve never felt anything like it.Not just the pleasure.”His voice dipped lower.“Though that nearly killed me.”A faint, crooked smile flickered over his lips before fading.“It was the connection.The clarity.Something inside me finally stopped fighting itself.”
Her heart tightened and she hugged him.
“I’ve spent my whole life trying to control myself,” he continued, voice steady but soft.“Every second of every day.Every breath.Always worried I’d hurt someone.Always worried I’d prove the world right about what Pollux variants are.”His thumb brushed her cheek.“But with you, it didn’t feel like losing control.It felt like choosing.”
A lump formed in her throat.
He pressed his forehead to hers, eyes closing as he breathed her in.
“You make me want to fight smarter,” he murmured.“Not harder.You make me feel like I’m more than a weapon.More than a risk.You make me feel—” His voice faltered for a moment.“—whole for the first time in my life.”
Her vision blurred with sudden emotion.She cupped his jaw, turning his face toward hers.
“You’ve always been more than a weapon,” she said softly.“Long before me.”
He opened his eyes.
“But now,” she whispered, “you’re not alone in carrying it.”
His expression broke then with relief so profound it stole her breath.He pulled her against him again, holding her tighter.
They lay together in the quiet, wrapped in each other and the bond and the lingering heat of what they’d shared.Outside, the city was dark, restless, preparing for a tomorrow that would test all of them.
But here everything felt steady.
Everything felt right.
After a long moment, Gray pressed a slow, reverent kiss to her temple.“Stay with me tonight,” he whispered, though the bond had already answered for her.
She curled closer, her body fitting to his as though made for him.
“I’m not going anywhere.”
