“Why couldn’t we just lose ourselves in the fire again? When passion was enough, and the questions didn’t matter.”

“He … loves her. Well, he’s crushing on her anyway.”I didn’t know the term but I understood its meaning well enough. I sighed. “I thought she’d be smarter.”He raised his eyebrows. “She’s plenty smart.” He looked thoughtful. “You don’t believe in love then?”“No.” I wanted to look away, couldn’t. “I don’t know.”

“I’m just trying to do the right thing. I’m a vampire.”“Duh.”“And you’re not.”“Again: duh.”“I could hurt you. I could lose control.”“If you were anyone else, I’d have kneecapped you by now.”

“Something bloomed right then and there in the small dark space between us. I didn’t know what it was, but I knew enough to know it was rare and delicate. And it felt so real I might have been able to reach out and touch it if I tried.”

“I closed my eyes, wondering why it was no effort at all to call up the exact shade of his dark eyes, hostile as they were. I should be thinking about the bounty on our heads, not whether or not I’d get to see him again. Because of course I’d get to see him again; he’d probably try and stake one of my brothers, if not me. Hardly a promising start to a relationship.Relationship?What the hell was I thinking?No doubt my impending birthday was making my head fuzzy. There was no other explanation. I just needed more sleep.”

“What's the matter with you?" I hissed at her as we followed Kieran and Solange inside.'She's royalty!'"And a vampire, remember?"'Oh yeah,' Chloe paused. 'Nope, princess trumps vampire.”

“You’ll have to turn your back.”He turned slowly. The view from the back was just as good as the view from the front. I could practically hear Lucy snickering in the back of my head. I might be the vampire daughter, but she was the one who was a bad influence. No question.”