“You'd be better served ifyou gave me a moment to regain my self-control and let me remove my boots. It's the least agentleman can do.""And you're such a gentleman.""Not with you, love. But I'm trying.”

“If we're going to die there's no harm in telling me pretty lies, In the end it won't matter, and I'll die happy.""I have no intention of letting either of us die. And then where would the lies get us?""If you manage to keep us alive then I promise I'll forget. Just tell me you care about me. If we're going to die then how important is the truth?""It's because we might die that the truth is particularly important,And telling you that I care about you is a waste of time. I wouldn't have crossed the ocean, come out of hiding and tracked you down ifyou didn't matter to me.""Then come up with a better lie. Tell me you love me.""You don't need lies, Chloe,I do love you." he said.”

“I thought you'd be halfway to Tokyo by now,” she said, stalling.“Not without you.”Oh, man, she was so screwed. He was bad enough when he was giving her shit. Right now he was looking at her as ifshe was the most precious thing on earth, and she knew what she looked and smelled like. The world had turned upsidedown.“I don't suppose you love me,” she said. “Even a little bit?”“Don't be an idiot, Ji-chan. Why else would I be here? Now, do you want to stay here or do you want to prove you're reallycrazy and come with me?”“Will you grow your hair again?”“If you want me to.”“Then tell me.”“You're not going to make this easy, are you? Su-chan warned me about you.”“She warned me, too. Tell me.”He let out a long-suffering sigh. “Aishiteru,” he muttered.“In English.”“I love you.”

“I hate to tell you, dragon, but that's an integral part of the whole usiness," he whispered. "If you're afraid to touch me then we're not going to get very far."She lifted her head to look at him. "I thought I could lie back and let you ravish me," she said with complete honesty.He shook his head, the smile hovering around his lips, his eyes intent. "This is a cooperative effort, my love. You have to do your part.”

“She tilted her head to one side, considering him. "Do you love me?""Love is a trick and a sham. A foolish plague and a lie and a torment.""Do you love me?" she repeated, quite calmly. Knowing the answer."Yes, may it curse my soul.""May it save your soul," she said.”

“You'll marry me, my dragon, and you'll bear my children, and you'll drive me mad and live in that ramshackle old house with me and I'll even put up with the occasional visit from your sister ifI must. But you'll marry me. Not because you have to. But because I won't let you go.""Why?" she demanded.And he answered the only way he could, in French. "Je't'aime," he said. "I love you.""Je't'aime aussi," she said. "And I will make your life a living hell," she added in the same language.He smiled down at her. "I'm counting on it.”

“I lied. I do that, you know, when it suits me. I would have thought you'd realized that by now.”