Richelle Mead

“Adrian smiled and clasped my hands, taking a few steps toward me. "And as for who you are, you’re the same beautiful, brave, and ridiculously smart caffeinated fighter you’ve been since the day I met you.” Finally, he put “beautiful” at the top of his list of adjectives. Not that I should have cared.“Sweet talker,” I scoffed. “You didn’t know anything about me the first time we met.”“I knew you were beautiful,” he said. “I just hoped for the rest.”

“And besides . . . I don’t want to leave you. Er, you guys.”He smiled, and it lit up his whole face. “Well, ‘we’ are certainly happy to hear that. Oh, and I’m also happy to watch our darling little love child dragon while you’re in St. Louis.”I grinned back.”

“I also had to come tonight to apologize. If you need to go to Mexico to finish this process off, then I understand. I was wrong to criticize you for it or even imply that I had some kind of say in it. One of the greatest things about you is that in the end, you always make smart decisions. Can’t always say the same for myself. Whatever you need to do, I’ll support you.”

“I see how it is,” I snapped. “You were all in favor of me breaking the tattoo and thinking on my own—but that’s only okay if it’s convenient for you, huh? Just like your ‘loving from afar’ only works if you don’t have an opportunity to get your hands all over me. And your lips. And . . . stuff.”Adrian rarely got mad, and I wouldn’t quite say he was now. But he was definitely exasperated. “Are you seriously in this much self-denial, Sydney? Like do you actually believe yourself when you say you don’t feel anything? Especially after what’s been happening between us?”“Nothing’s happening between us,” I said automatically. “Physical attraction isn’t the same as love. You of all people should know that.”“Ouch,” he said. His expression hadn’t changed, but I saw hurt in his eyes. I’d wounded him. “Is that what bothers you? My past? That maybe I’m an expert in an area you aren’t?”“One I’m sure you’d just love to educate me in. One more girl to add to your list of conquests.”He was speechless for a few moments and then held up one finger. “First, I don’t have a list.” Another finger, “Second, if I did have a list, I could find someone a hell of lot less frustrating to add to it.” For the third finger, he leaned toward me. “And finally, I know that you know you’re no conquest, so don’t act like you seriously think that. You and I have been through too much together. We’re too close, too connected. I wasn’t that crazy on spirit when I said you’re my flame in the dark. We chase away the shadows around each other. Our backgrounds don’t matter. What we have is bigger than that. I love you, and beneath all that logic, calculation, and superstition, I know you love me too. Running away and fleeing all your problems isn’t going to change that. You’re just going to end up scared and confused.”“I already feel that way,” I said quietly.Adrian moved back and leaned into his seat, looking tired. “Well, that’s the most accurate thing you’ve said so far.”I grabbed the basket and jerked open the car door. Without another word, I stormed off, refusing to look back in case he saw the tears that had inexplicably appeared in my eyes. Only, I wasn’t sure exactly which part of our conversation I was most upset about.”

“I sent a quick text to Adrian: I have a hickey! You can’t ever kiss me again. I honestly hadn’t expected him to be awake this early, so I was surprised to get a response: Okay. I won’t kiss you on your neck again.So typical of him. No! You can’t ever kiss me ANYWHERE. You said you were going to keep your distance.I’m trying, he wrote back. But you won’t keep your distance from me.I didn’t dignify that with a response.”

“I wasn’t aware of just how close he’d moved to me until now. So many details came into focus. The shape of his lips, the line of his neck. “I’m not dangerous,” I breathed.He brought his face toward mine. “You are to me.”And somehow, against all reason, we were kissing. I closed my eyes, and the world around me faded. The noise, the smoke . . . it was gone. All that mattered was the taste of his mouth, a mix of cloves and mints. There was a fierceness in his kiss, a desperation . . . and I answered, just as hungry for him. I didn’t stop him when he pulled me closer, so that I almost sat on his lap. I’d never been wrapped around someone’s body like that, and I was shocked at how eagerly mine responded. His arm went around my waist, pulling me onto him further, and his other hand slid up the back of my neck, getting entangled in my hair. He took his lips away from my mouth, gently trailing kisses down to my neck. I tipped my head back, gasping when the intensity returned to his mouth. There was an animalistic quality that sent shock waves through the rest of my body.”

“But when I touch you, your aura … it smolders. The colors deepen, it burns more intensely, the purple increases. Why? Why, Sydney?” He used that hand to pull me closer. “Why do you react that way if I don’t mean anything to you?” There was a desperation in his voice, and it was legitimate.”

“So many details came into focus. The shape of his lips, the line of his neck. “I’m not dangerous,” I breathed. He brought his face toward mine. “You are to me.” And somehow, against all reason, we were kissing. I closed my eyes, and the world around me faded.”

“The Alchemists’ beliefs are my beliefs,” I say quickly. She arched an eyebrow. “Are they? I would hope your beliefs would be your beliefs.” I’d never thought about it that way before, but I suddenly hoped desperately that her words were true.”

“My nails dug into his back, and he trailed his lips down the edge of my chin, down the center of my neck. He kept going until he reached the bottom of the dress’s V-neck. I let out a small gasp, and he kissed all around the neckline, just enough to tease.”

“Sometimes it's worth lingering on the journey for a while before getting to the destination.”

“Something clenched in my chest, and for a moment, the whole world narrowed down to the green of his eyes.”

“You know," he said, "under normal circumstances, you inviting me to the bedroom would be the highlight of my day."I crossed my arms and sat on the bed. I did so out of simple fatigue, but a moment later, I was struck by what I was doing. This is where Adrian sleeps. I'm touching the covers he's wrapped in every night. What does he wear? Does he wear anything? I jumped up.”

“I’m not a warrior or a goddess,” I said at last.Adrian leaned closer. “As far as I’m concerned, you’re both.”

“He’d moved toward me again. His hands released mine and moved to my waist, and I noticed I wasn’t the only one breathing heavily. He pulled me to him, bringing our bodies together. The world was all heat and electricity, thick with tension that was only one spark away from exploding around us. I was balancing on another precipice, which wasn’t easy to do in heels. I wrapped my arms around his neck, and this time I was the one who drew him closer.”

“No matter how much i loved him it was a matter of my life or his death he was now my enemy and a harm to mori. It was my job.butcould i do it or would love stand in theway ”

“I wanted him. I arched my back, fully aware of how vulnerable that made me and that I was giving him an invitation. He accepted it and laid me back against the table, bringing his body down on top of mine. That crushing kiss of his moved from my mouth to the nape of my neck. He pushed down the edge of my dress and the bra strap underneath, exposing my shoulder and giving his lips more skin to conquer.”

“When I look into his eyes, I could see without a doubt that he loved me more than anyone else in the world, that I was his salvation, the same way that he was mine.”

“That's the kind of guy you'd follow to hell and back.”

“You have the patience of a saint," I grumbled, slouching into a chair. "And besides, you don't hang out with him 24/7.""Neither will you. It's only 24/6.""Same difference. It might as well be 24/10."She frowned. "That doesn't make any sense.”

“Love and Loyalty, run deeper than blood." Love that quote even though I haven't read the book.”

“Under normal circumstances, you inviting me to the bedroom would be the highlight of my day.”

“Historically inaccurate.' Adrian gestured at me with his other hand, the one not on my shoulder. "Who the hell looks at you and says 'historically inaccurate'?”

“Good God. What a noble lot. You're all Spartacus, arnt you”

“Everything about her has to do with me.”

“Enjoy what you have, every little detail of wherever you are. Don´t focus on where you aren´t.”

“I've lost someone, too; someone I loved. I know how you feel."- Does it get easier?"Yes. But you'll never be the same again.”

“Because I’ve got a lot more terms of endearment to use. Honey pie. Sugarplum. Bread pudding."“Why are they all high-calorie foods?”

“I know I’m not supposed to say this, but I love you.”

“Wow,” said Adrian. He sat down on the bed and tested its bounciness, giving it a nod of approval. “This is amazing. What do you think, buttercup?”“I have no words,” I said honestly.He patted the spot beside him. “Want to try it out?”

“History is important because it teaches us about past. And by learning about the past, ypu come to understand the present, so that you may make educated decisions about the future.”

“No," I said softly, feeling all the energy run out of me. I was tired. So, so tired. "I don't want a war. I...I can't unleash something like that."Then, for the first time so far, Dorian spoke."I can," he said.”

“Oh... Adrian, I've got one more favor to ask you. A big one." "Fondue?" he asked hopefully.”

“Adrian Ivashkov wasn’t easy to surprise, but I surprised him then when I brought his mouth toward mine. I kissed him, and for a moment, he was too stunned to respond. That lasted for, oh, about a second. Then the intensity I’d come to know so well in him returned. He pushed me backward, lifting me so that I sat at the table. The tablecloth bunched up, knocking over some of the glasses. I heard what sounded like a china plate crash against the floor.Whatever logic and reason I normally possessed had melted away. There was nothing but flesh and fire left, and I wasn’t going to lie to myself—at least not tonight.”

“Doing that...pertecting her like that-it was very brave." He paused. "Stupid, but still brave. Why did you even try it?”

“Rose once told me "If your eyes weren't open, you wouldn't know the difference between dreaming and waking."Adrian Ivashkov to Sydney Sage”

“You were totally unprepared for her”

“I was so awash in sensory overload that I was caught completely unaware when he did push me away”

“The only thing true about what you just said was the storybook damsel part - and that only because you're pretty enough to be one.”

“I'd said it before and meant it.Alive or undead,the love of my life was a bad ass.”

“No podía ser la novia de Mason porque cuando me imaginaba a alguien sujetándome y murmurándome marranadas al oído, ese alguien tenía acento ruso.”

“The best jury of your peers that you’ll ever find is…well, you. Only you know what you’re capable of and what you want to be.”

“Do not ever let anyone make you feel like you're less. Do not ever let anyone make you feel like you're invisible. Do not let anyone push you around.”

“What am I supposed to do with a wool coat? Especially here in Palm Springs?”“Sleep with it,” he suggested. “Think of me.”

“The tension between us kicked up a notch, and I realized that along with our bodies being nearer, so were our lips.”

“But what are loyalty and caring really worth?""To me? Everything.”

“All the while, my mind reeled with what had happened.I have a hickey. I let Adrian Ivashkov give me a hickey.”

“But each time you use spirit, you're more likely to go crazy.”“Already crazy about you, Sage.”

“I’m not dangerous,” I breathed.He brought his face toward mine. “You are to me.”And somehow, against all reason, we were kissing.”

“Adrian's face was the picture of perfect politeness and restraint, meaning something disastrous was about to happen.”