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“I want my own name. I want somewhere I cannot abandon in six minutes. I want to own more than what I can carry.”

Her mouth curved faintly.

“I want to sleep in a bed without automatically choosing the position closest to the door.”

“That one may take a while.”

“Yes.”

“And I want you.”

The humor disappeared from her face.

I forced myself not to look away.

“Not because my ŭre recognized you. Not because you saved me. Not because we survived.”

Silver-white light stirred beneath my skin. I ignored it.

“I want you because when you laugh, I want to hear it. When you go to work in that lab, I want you to come back and tell me what irritated you.”

Her lips parted.

“I want to know where you are because you told me, not because I tracked you.”

Something shifted in her expression.

“And I want to worry about you without turning that worry into authority.”

That one mattered most.

I held out my hand. She looked at it for a moment before placing her fingers in mine.

Warm. Certain.

My hand closed around hers.

“I want you,” I said. “But I want you free to refuse me more.”

Her fingers tightened slightly.

“If you choose me, I want it because this is a life you want too.”

Talia watched me for several seconds. “If I choose you, I keep my work,” she said. “And I decide whether I leave it.”

“Yes.”

“If something affects me, you tell me. All of it. Even if you think knowing will scare me.”

“Yes.”

“Even if you think I’ll make the wrong decision.”

I hesitated.

Her eyebrows rose.

I almost smiled. “Yes.”