Page 286 of Black Reign

He stays with me until the last tremor fades, then kisses his way back up my body—over my racing heart, the hollow of my throat, the corner of my mouth—until his forehead rests against mine.

We breathe the same dark air.

His fingers are still gentle between my thighs, no longer seeking, only soothing.

“Tonight,” he says quietly, the same promise as before, only now it feels different.

Heavier.

Real.

I nod, still half lost in the aftershocks.

He draws the robe closed again with surprising care, then pulls the covers over both of us.

When he settles beside me this time, it is skin to skin where the shirt has come open, his arm a solid weight around my waist.

My cheek finds his chest.

His mouth brushes the top of my head.

And somewhere between one slow kiss against my temple and the feel of his fingers moving through my curls, the last of the fear finally drains out of me.

“Ghost?”

His hand pauses.

“Hmm?”

I smile against his skin, voice barely more than a breath.

“You're very inconvenient in person.”

His chest moves beneath my cheek with a quiet laugh.

“Go to sleep, princesse.”

I close my eyes.

This time, when sleep comes, Xavier’s arms are around me⁠—

and the ghost I’ve been chasing through machines for years is warm, and real, and still speaking soft, dirty French against my hair even as the rain keeps falling outside.

11

Sabine snores.

Barely.

A soft little sound I would never have believed Vesper capable of making.

I stand beside the bed at six twelve in the morning and listen to it again.

There.

Tiny.

Almost a sigh.