“I knew how he felt, how it was like being swallowed by winter, so that even your insides were too stark and too cold.”

“He kissed me as if we had all the time in the world, as if it weren’t cold outside, as if winter weren’t coming, or the dawn, or any of the dangers that waited for us outside this field. I kissed him back as if he were right, as if there were only the two of us, as if the only worry we had were my curfew.”

“I love you, too,' he whispered, one corner of his mouth lifting into a smile. I grinned back, then kissed him until I felt light-headed and breathless.”

“Logan?''Yes?' I pulled my clothes back on even though the fabric stuck to my wounds. So much for trying to keep them clean.'How did you know it wasn’t really me?''Are you kidding? Your eyeballs could be on fire and you wouldn’t bat your lashes at me like that.”

“He went farther into the shadows to exchange his pants for the leather breeches. Too bad. When he emerged again, he looked pretty good even though it wasn’t his style. And he was lucky there were no tights, after all. He tilted his head.'You like it.''Shut up.' I blushed. I hated vampire extrasensory perception. It wasn’t fair that he could hear my heartbeat or smell my skin or what ever.'Girls are so weird.'Kieran snorted. 'No kidding.''Please, you two were fighting ten minutes ago, and now you’re the best of friends?' I said witheringly. 'Guys are weird.”

“I would never believe that I was better off without the Drakes and they without me. Growing up, I’d seen them more often than my own grandparents. They were part of my landscape. And if that particular landscape suddenly included earthquakes and volcanoes and mudslides, then too bad; I already built a house there and dug the well and planted crops. It was an analogy my parents had to understand. They were homesteaders; they knew that once you found your home, you dug your roots. Period.”

“He shrugged one shouler, looked away. "It's not so bad,not really.""Why do you stay?" I asked quietly. "Is it because your mother mentioned me?""I knew I shouldn't have told you that," he muttered."What did she say, Colin?"He didn't answer right away. "Colin?"He sighed, raked a hand through his hair. "She spoke of a girl with violet eyes.That's all.""Do you still miss her?""Aye." He came closer."Is that why you stay? To honor her memory? Even though my mother is horrid?"His eyes locked onto mine. "I stay for you, Violet."I suddenly felt warm all over. "For me?”