Harrow shivers again when Gideon groans like that, the cool Ninth black of her eyes flashing for a moment with something sharper. "Do that thing you did the other night," she says, and if her voice takes on a hint of her usual command, it's somewhere between an accident and an intentional choice. "Your nails on my back and my sides, over the shirt."

Still keeping one hand firmly in Gideon's hair, she leans in, kissing her hard.