“How do you define difficult?”“By your presence.”She grinned fully, delighted to feel the tensiondissipate. “Now you are just flattering me for noreason.”He grunted.“On the contrary,” she said, as if his grunt hadbeen a worded response. “It was most flattering.”He stared at her.“What? Did you think I wouldn’t figure out how tointerpret your grunts?”

“You don’t like me, do you?” she asked suddenly and pathetically, just like a small child. Sergei did not look at her but merely said, “What makes you think that?” “It is normal to try to make conversation while in the car with someone, isn’t it?” “Oh, well, my English is only average,” he lied. “Maybe, but I speak Russian,” she persisted Sergei grunted. “What, your Russian is only average too?” she said, raising an eyebrow.”

“You don't know how to take no for an answer, do you?”“That wasn't a no,” I teased. “Now—” using his wrists to drive his hands, I pushed them down and jumped as he lifted me up again, “—show me what's so scary about this vampire side.”“Ara, we—” he tried to speak, but I leaned down and gripped his lips tightly with mine, then pulled a little—using my teeth.He drew back abruptly and stared at me, wide eyed, but with a tentative grin. “So, you don't wanna be a vampire, but you like using your teeth?”“I'd like you to use your teeth.”“Physically. Not figuratively,” David practically grunted.“Stay out of my head, vampire.” I bared my puny teeth at him; he chuckled. “Now, do as you're told. Bite me.”

“Something started thumping rhythmically against the door. Julianne hiccoughed and stared in horror, fearing whoever was in there would fling it open.A man grunted again and again.Georgette frowned. "Is he ill?"The door thumped harder. A woman started making repetitive high-pitched noises, sounding like a squealing pig.Julianne frowned. "What are they—hic—doing?""We must leave," Anne whispered.The thumping turned into banging, and the man's grunting grew louder. "Feel my mighty sword.""He has a sword?" Georgette asked.The woman behind the door screamed.Georgette gasped. "He killed her.""I'm coming," the man said."Not inside me," the woman said in a curt voice. "I don't want a brat."Julianne dropped the candle and clapped her hand over her mouth. She'd thought a bed was required. As she stared at the door, she tried to figure out how the amorous couple had managed, but she failed.”

“He shook his head, but I kept flattering him, telling him how fine his beard was, how fair his skin was (ha!), how it was obvious from his nose and forehead that he wasn't some pig herd who had converted, but a true-blue Muslim who had flown here on a magic carpet all the way from Mecca, and he grunted with satisfaction”

“So," he said. "Mab."I grunted vaguely in reply."You hit that," Sanya said.”