“How is it different?"He rolled his head back, sable hair falling down on his shoulders. "With Rose I knew what to say. I could take a step back and talk to her. I remembered all the crap from the magaznies. It was easy.""And with me, it's hard?" Why? Because she was a swamp girl? And how did the magazines fit into it?William looked away from her. "I don't like it when you're away. If I don't see you, I can't settle down. If I see you talking with another man, I want to claw his throat out. And none of the things you're supposed to say fit."Oh, this had to be good. "What sort of things?"He sighed. "The lines. Like, 'You're my everything,' or 'Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?”

“He grinned. "You're jealous."I considered it. "No. But when you stared at that woman like she was made of diamonds, it didn't feel very good.""I stared at her because she smelled strange.""Strange how?""She smelled like rock dust. Very strong dry smell." Curran put his arms around me. "I love it when you get all fussy and possessive.""I never get fussy and possessive."He grinned, showing his teeth. His face was practically glowing. "So you're cool if I go over and chat her up?""Sure. Are you cool if I go and chat up that sexy werewolf on the third floor?"He went from casual and funny to deadly serious in half a blink. "What sexy werewolf?"I laughed.Curran's eyes focused. He was concentrating on something."You're taking a mental inventory of all people working on the third floor, aren't you?"His expression went blank. I'd hit the nail on the head.I slid off him and put my head on his biceps. The shaggy carpet was nice and comfortable under my back."Is it Jordan?""I just picked a random floor," I told him. "You're nuts, you know that?"He put his arm around me. "Look who is talking.”

“Since when do you give a crap about my welfare anyway? I think you're confused as to the nature of our relationship. You and I, we don't get along. You're a psychopathic control freak. You order me around and I want to kill you. I'm a pigheaded insubordinate ass. I drive you mad and you want to strangle me.""Once! I did it once!""Once was plenty. The point is, we don't play nice. We-"He jerked his arms out from under my knees, pulled me to him, oblivious to the dagger, and kissed me.”

“Audrey kept moving with practiced quickness, stepping over roots protruding over the trail and pushing ferns and branches out of her way. She kept a brisk pace, but Kaldar didn't mind. From his vantage point, he had an excellent view of her shapely butt. It was a butt that deserved some scrutiny."If you're waiting for my behind to do a trick, you're out of luck," Audrey called over her shoulder."How the hell did you even know?" Did she have eyes on the back of her head?"Woman's intuition," she told him."Aha, so it wouldn't be the fact that I stumbled twice in the last minute?""Not at all.”

“Eat slowly," the blueblood said. "Don't cut your food with the fork. Cut it with the knife, and make the pieces small enough so you can answer a question without having to swallow first." Why me? "Right. Any other tips?" Her sarcasm whistled right over his head. "Yes. Look at me and not at your plate. If you have to look at your plate, glance at it occasionally." Rose put down her fork. "Lord Submarine..." "Camarine." "Whatever." "You can call me Declan." He said it as if granting her a knighthood. The nerve. "Declan, then. How did you spend your day?" He frowned. "It's a simple question: How did you spend your day? What did you do prior to the fight and the pancake making?" "I rested from my journey," he said with a sudden regal air. "You took a nap" "Possibly." "I spent my day scrubbing, vacuuming and dusting ten offices in the Broken. I got there at seven thirty in the morning and left at six. My back hurts, I can still smell bleach on my fingers, and my feet feel as flat as these pancakes. Tomorrow, I have to go back to work, and I want to eat my food in peace and quiet. I have good table manners. They may not be good enough for you, but they're definitely good enough for the Edge, and they are the height of social graces in this house. So please keep your critique to yourself." The look on his face was worth having him under her roof. As if he had gotten slapped.She smiled at him. "Oh and thank you for the pancakes. They are delicious.”

“Tiny gold sparks flared in his irises. "You're in my rooms in my bathtub naked and you're still mouthing off."Did he expect anything different? "Hey, I didn't kick or punch you in the throat. I consider this progress. And you haven't choked me again, which is some sort of record for you...”

“Curran strode toward me, eyes blazing. "If I let her go, I'll need a replacement. Want to volunteer for the job."He looked like he wouldn't be taking no for an anser. I swiped Slayer from its sheath and backed away from the edge of the roof. "And be girlfriend number twenty-three soon to be dumped in favor of girlfriend number twenty-four who has slightly bigger boobs? I don't think so."He kept coming. "Oh Yeah?""Yeah, you get these beautiful women, make them dependent on you, and then you dump them. Well, this time a woman left you first, and your enormous ego can't deal with it. And to think that I hoped we could talk like reasonable adults. If we were the last two people on Earth, I'd find myself a moving island so I could get the hell away from you.”