“Carstairs is alright, I suppose. If you like that sort.”“Oh?”“The taken. The uninterested.”“As opposed to… you, Gabriel?”“Well, yes.”

“You there, you look like a well-rounded lady, oh yes, and I mean well-rounded”

“Let me feed you,” he whispered, his tone suddenly husky.He sounded like sex. Or at least, what Julia imagined sex would sound like if it was sitting on a white banquette with shining blue eyes and an arrogant jaw, trying to press a cold glass up to her mouth.Oh my, Gabriel. Oh my, Gabriel. Oh my, Gabriel. Oh…my…Gabriel.”

“Alright, all right," I said. "What if I tell you a story, instead?" Highlanders loved stories, and Jamie was no exception. "Oh, aye, " he said, sounding much happier. "What sort of story is it?”

“Will you be all right?" she askedHow could I be?Would you be all right, I felt like screaming, if you'd just watched your family taken away, watched your entire town taken away, to be murdered. I'll never be alright.”

“You like them," I realized.Noah's eyebrows lifted in question."Like as people.""As opposed to...furniture?""They're my PARENTS.""That is my understanding, yes.”