“Since we’re playing that game… I tilted my face up to his and gave him a lovesick gaze.“Do you have to sneeze?” he asked.“Be quiet. I’m pretending to enjoy your company, just as you said.”“Try not to strain anything.”“Oh, I won’t. I’m very good at faking it.”That shut him up.”

“I closed my eyes.“Are you okay?”“I’m tired. My knee is hurting again and I’m trying to teleport myself upstairs.”“Um, Kate, you can’t do that.”“I know. But I’m trying very hard. Let me know if I start fading?”

“The phone rang. I picked it up. “Are you sitting down?” Curran's voice asked. “Yes.” “Good.” Click.I listened to the disconnect signal. If he wanted me to sit, then I'd stand. I got up. The chair got up with me and I ended up bent over my desk, with the chair stuck to my butt. I grabbed the edge of the chair and tried to pull it off. It remained stuck. I would murder him. Slowly. And I'd enjoy every second of it.”

“He strained to say something else. I leaned toward him. He focused on me. “Rape,” he promised. “Many, many times. Until you bleed . . .” “I’m so flattered.”

“You’re a prickly, stubborn, spirited woman.”“Don’t forget crude, rude, and vulgar.”“Only when it suits you. You’re sly when occasion calls for it, direct to the point of forgetting tact even exists, sarcastic, fierce, I did mention stubborn, didn’t I?”“Yes,” she said dryly.“You’re also smart, kind, gentle, beautiful, and always cling to your personal integrity, even when it’s in your best interests to abandon it.” A little warm feeling spread through her chest, and even her natural suspicion that he was lying couldn’t quite extinguish it. Where was he going with this? “You’re also quite funny,” he said.“Oh, I amuse you?” He gave her one of his devastating, slightly wicked smiles.“You have no idea.” Arrogant ass.“And all of that means what?”“Just that I mean to have you.” She frowned at him. “I mean to have you, Rose, you and all of your thorns. I’m a disagreeable and stubborn bastard, but I’m not a fool. You didn’t really expect me to pass you up, did you?”

“Raphael turned me over and looked at me, his face close to mine. "You and I will never be done.You're my mate."He kissed the corner of my mouth. I almost cried."I stopped sleeping since you left," he said "I'll sleep for a couple of hours, wake up, you're not there." I closed my eyes."I need an answer, Andrea," he said."An answer?""Mate. Yes or no.""Do you need to ask?" I whispered. "You're my mate.”

“He poked his finger into my chest again. “Well, I have something to tell you: don’t let the sun set on you in this county, because…”I grabbed his wrist and yanked him forward, tripping him with my foot. He went down back first and I caught him by his throat, three feet above the ground, lifted him up a bit and bent down to his face. My eyes glowed with murderous red. My voice turned rough with an animal growl. “Listen well, because I won’t be repeating myself, you racist prick. If you make any trouble for me or my people, I’ll hunt you down like the pig you are and carve a second mouth across your gut. They’ll find you hanging by your own intestines. The next time you hear something laugh and howl in the night, hug your family, because you won’t see the sunrise.”I opened my fingers. He crashed on the ground, his face white as a sheet. He scrambled backward, rolled to his feet, and took off.The three shapeshifters stared at me, openmouthed.“That’s how you intimidate people. No witnesses and not a mark on him. Get your asses to the car.”