“But there simply was no grey area for him. There was only black, white, and annoying.”

“And Annwyl. Remember what I told you." "Protect my right side?" "No." "Feint with my left?" "No." "Nice ass?" "No!" His growl of annoyance only elicited a sweet chuckle from his woman. "Watch my rage, heart of my heart?" "Condescending cow.”

“I’m your uncle?”Oh. So that’s what was bothering him. Izzy could have done a lot of things at this moment to assuage Eibhear’s annoyance. A lot of things.She didn’t do any of them.Instead she said, “Well…you are my uncle.” She brushed a bit of nonexistent dirt off his bare shoulder. “And I was your ward until years later when you finally had your vile, dirty uncle way with me.””Izzy.”

“Feeling her strength return right along with her annoyance, Dagmar stepped back and raised her foot, slamming it down on the tip.“Ow! Evil barbarian viper!” He rose on his hind legs, his front claws grasping his tail. “You are aware this is attached to me?”“Yes. That’s how I knew it was taking liberties!”

“His affection for the human grew steadily by the day. Sometimes by the minute. And it wasn’t simply her beauty, but her utter lack of fear of everything and anything except her brother. She didn’t fear dying. She didn’t fear battle. And, most importantly, she didn’t fear Fearghus. She touched him. Ran her hands across his scales and through his mane.But it was when he covered her up with the fur and she sighed his name in her sleep, that he lost his heart.”

“What are we doing with him?" Briec asked eagerly. "Are we throwing him out a window? Let's throw him out a window! Or off the roof!”

“Annwyl?” Ragnar repeated, suddenly remembering that Keita had said the same name before they’dburst out of the woods. “This is Annwyl?” Ragnar looked the woman over, from her absurdly large feetto the top of her unkempt head. “This?”This human who had more muscles than seemed necessary for any royal and watched him and his kinwith what he could only term as the mad eyes of a diseased animal.”