Jeaniene Frost

“He laughed, the sound rolling over me more than once with the echoes in the enclosed hallway. his laughter was so unique - part amused grow, part purr, and all self-assured male. Its effect on me was tangible, turning up my own lips and making me step closer to him before I realized what I was doing.”

“This time, his smile widened into a full-fledged, wicked grin that made him almost devilishly handsome. I looked away, not wanting my thoughts to inflate his ego. To distract myself, I concentrated on the scarred hand holding mine. His grip was light, as if I could pull away at any moment, but we both knew better.”

“Vampires don't tan. Without UV protection, we get sunburned, heal, and just repeat the process over and over.” — Spade, First Drop of Crimson by Jeaniene Frost”

“You probably love to tell kids to get off your lawn, too.”

“This is our true tie," he whispered, his breath falling hotly onto my lips. "You're meant for me, and I will have you.”

“I’d relived enough terrible events happening to cautious people to know that prudence wasn’t a guarantee for happiness.”

“Yes, but you are still only human.”I laughed, the sound of it drowned out by the crunch of rocks as the mountain continued to shudder as though in the throes of birth pangs.“So was Van Helsing, yet in every movie, he beat the vampire in the end. Never underestimate the power of humanity.”

“You be sweet to our boy here, and remember, be good only if being bad ain’t more fun!”

“How can you stand touching her?” my sister blurted, staring at our clasped hands. “Doesn’t that hurt?”I seized on the change of topic. “These gloves are specialized rubber. They block the current.”Gretchen’s gaze traveled over Vlad, disbelief still stamped on her features. “Yeah, but how do you two do anything else, unless he has a special, currentrepellingglove for his—”“Gretchen!” my father cut her off.My cheeks felt hot. Don’t say a word, I thought to Vlad, seeing his chest tremble with suppressed laughter.“He has a natural immunity,” I gritted out.”

“It must be important or he wouldn't dare disturb me now,” he muttered.Then he drew away to look at me. “If it's not, I'll kill him and return to you directly.”

“If I didn’t want you so much,” he said in a deadly purr, “I’d let you keep fucking me with your gaze, but you make me impatient.”

“I stretched out my hands as if to ward him off. “Not yet. I want to know what your end game is first.” Another flash of teeth, this time showing his fangs. “To have you screaming my name within the hour.”

“I’m the only authentic Vlad. Everyone else is merely an envious imitation.”

“I’d forgotten to keep blasting a song in my mind. I remedied my mistake, but the lyrics to “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me” seemed too close to home at the mo-ment. “Culture Club?” Now his mouth curled downward. “And you accuse me of practicing cruel and unusual punishment.”

“We are all more than the sum of our sins,”

“Why would I seek to break your heart?” “Because you can be a merciless bastard at times,” I answered honestly. A smile flitted across his lips. “True, but I want you with me.”

“I told you once before,” I said, the words husky from remembrance. “Everyone holds their sins close to their skin.” Fangs gleamed for an instant before Vlad bit into his wrist, pooling up two deep crimson holes. “Then come,” he said, holding it out. “And taste mine.”

“Don’t. I’m all sweaty and bloody,” I protested. “Heavens, not sweat and blood,” he replied mockingly. I managed to smile. Smartass vampire.”

“No, I do my torturing in the dungeon like any other respectable castle owner,”

“Good. If you checked your e-mail every five minutes, or keep texting and Tweeting in the middle of our conversation, I might snap your neck out of sheer principle.”

“I'm attracted to a lot of hot guys. If Chris Hemsworth were here, I'd light him up like a firecracker with how fast I'd jump on him.”

“You’re meant for me, and I will have you.”

“This isn't going to be easy," I grumbled as we headed toward the exit.Bones shrugged. "Nothing worthwhile ever is.”

“Quit it! Tate, enough of the taunts, and Bones, how old are you? Why don't I just give you a pair of my panties to hang around your neck? Then whenever you feel jealous, you can wave them at whoever's pissing you off.""Like you wear panties," Tate muttered.”

“If anyone's under a spell, Justina, it's me. Your daughter put one on me five years ago, and I haven't broken free of it yet. Oh, and you'll be delighted to know, we've decided to resume our relationship. Don't bother with congratulations—trust me, your expression is congratulations enough.”

“I can give you honesty, monogamy, and more passion than you can stand, but not love. That emotion died in me long ago, as I suspect you already know.”

“I am thirsty, and very susceptible to flattery... you could talk me into anything...""So much for fighting the good fight," I observed dryly. "He'll have a harem within a week."Bones watched Juan disappear down the hall, nuzzling the blonde's neck in a manner that didn't speak only of hunger. "He's a fine bloke. He'll learn.""Learn what?" At least he can't get or pass diseases anymore, I thought. That's one advantage turning Juan into a vampire did for womankind.Bones put an arm around me as we headed toward the exit of the flesh feast. "He'll learn that many women can satisfy for a short period of time, but when he falls in love, only one will sustain him forever."I cast him a sideways glance "Are you trying to seduce me?"His lips curled with promise. "Absolutely.”

“Did you really think I'd ceased to care? Kitten, I care so much it wrecks me.”

“You're a beautiful young woman walking without an escort at one in the morning. Why doesn't one of your staff at least see you to your car?""Because they're not sexist pigs who think women are incapable of taking care of themselves."Chance rolled his eyes. "This has nothing to do with feminism. I'm all for gender equality, but the fact remains that women are targeted for more specific crimes than men, and the perpetrators of those crimes often look for circumstances such as these to attack.""See this?" Isa pulled something dark and oblong out of her purse. Chance's mouth twitched."Turbo Vagisil?""No, It's a taser!" Isa said indignantly. "I can take care of myself, Chance. I've been doing that just fine for the past twenty-nine and a half years before you showed up, remember?”

“I love you, Kitten. There's nothing on this earth or under it that can change that.”

“Come lie down with me, I've longed for nothing as much as your arms these past days.”

“Well, what did I expect? S&M didn't stand for soft and mushy?”

“How could you be nervous about asking me to marry you, Bones? I'd die for you. Why wouldn't I want to live for you as well?”

“I didn't understand, either, but love had no sense sometimes. Pondering the why of it was futile.”

“I thought you'd gotten over your whoring when you left him, Catherine, but it seems you only postponed it."Bones' face turned to stone, and he answered her even before I could snap out an indignant response."Don't you ever speak to her that way again." There was pure warning in the whip of his words. "You can call me any name you like and more, but I will not stand by while you slander her out of your own ignorance.”

“Why can’t you just look into my mind and see what happened for yourself? You erasedmy memory, can’t you bring it back?-I buried it beyond even my reach, so as to be sure it stayed forgotten.Great. If Mega-Master Mencheres couldn’t pry it out, then it must really be lost.”

“How unconvincing. Try again.”

“My body is the only thing that’s truly mine, so I don’t give it away as though it’s worthless.”

“People frequently bore me, sometimes amuse me, most often irritate me, but rarely intrigue me.”

“That one tickled. If electrocution is your way of flirting, I commend you on your originality.”

“You think my blood is the only tie between us?"[...] "This is our true tie. You're meant for me, and I will have you.”

“I hadn't expected to be kidnapped today or I'd have worn something more conservative.”

“Antes de ir, tengo que saber: Si la capacidad para leer la mente es real y hay otra cosa que me preguntaba si la ficción tiene razón acerca de que los vampiros—""Pregúntame si brillo y te mato en donde estas," - Bones”

“‎"What the hell was THAT?" I gasped."Premature inflamulation," he replied. "Happens sometimes. Very embarrassing, I don't like to talk about it."A snort of amusement came from my right. I swung in that direction to see Bones bestow the most approving look on Vlad he'd ever given him. Then his expression sobered as he met my gaze.”

“The cool thing about being a writer is: you get to make stuff up. When I started wring about Vampires, I realized, I can take everything i did like about that mythology and anything I didn't like, I didn't have to; because until a real Vampire stands up and says, 'you've got it wrong,' it's anyone's game.”

“The shit's gonna splatter. Start buggin' yo.”

“I’ve got it!” he declared suddenly, snapping his fingers in triumph. “Take your knickers off.” “What?” Did that mean what I think it did? “Your knickers. You know—panties, underwear, muff-huggers, nasty nets—”

“Do you think this is a bloomin’ hotel? What, next you’ll be wanting a bidet?” With infuriated embarrassment, I ground out, “Unless you like it messy, I suggest you show me an alternative, and fast.”

“Don’t you want to go outside and… shag?” It was a strange word, but much better than fuck. A quick grin lit his face before he responded. “Oh no. Right here. Love to do it in a truck.”

“We have to leave!" I said to Vlad. "Now.""Run, Forest, run!" Vlad mocked."Stow it, Drac," I snapped”