“Dawson shifted, dropping his head into his hand. "Do you ever stop talking?""When I'm sleeping," Blake replied."And when you're dead," Daemon threw back. "You'll stop talking when you're dead."Blake's lips thinned. "Point taken.”

“I don’t think we got the chance to introduce ourselves the other night at the diner. My name is Blake Saunders.” He offered his free hand.Daemon glanced at Blake’s hand before returning his gaze to me. “I know who you are.”Oh, geez. I twisted toward Blake. “This is Daemon Black.”His smile faltered. “Yeah, I know who he is, too.”Laughing under his breath, Daemon straightened. At his full height, he was a good head taller than Blake. “It’s always nice to meet another fan.”Yeah, Blake had no idea what to say to that.”

“And no one will kill Bill.”I laughed softly as I unbuckled the seat belt. “Blake. His name is Blake.”Daemon pulled the keys out and leaned back, his eyes glimmering with amusement. “He’s whatever I decide to call him.”

“I thought the whole thing with Blake would ruin this afternoon, but I had underestimated the magnetism of Daemon and his kisses.”

“The smile was still on his face, but his words were like the arctic winds. “You don’t talk to her. At all.” There was no stopping He-Man when he came out to play.”

“There was a pause, then his lips stretched into a smile. "You're right."Hell froze over. Pigs were flying. "Come again?""You're right. I should have checked in at some point. I'm sorry."The world was flat. I didn't know what to say. According to Daemon, he was right about 99 percent of the time. Wow.”

“This was it. And it was right. Perfect without the dinner, movies, and flowers, because how could you really plan something like this?You couldn'tDaemon sat back-A fist pounded on the door, and Andrew's voice intruded. "Daemon, are you awake?"We stared at each other in disbelief. "If I ignore him," he whispered, "do you think he'll go away?"My hands dropped to my sides. "Maybe"The pounding came again. "Daemon, I really need you downstairs. Dawson is ready to go back to Mount Weather. Nothing Dee or I are saying to him is making a bit of difference. He's like a suicidal Energizer bunny."Daemon squeezed his eyes shut. "Son of a bitch...""It's okay." I started to sit up. "He needs you."He let out a ragged sigh. "Stay here and get some rest. I'll talk-or beat some sense into him." He kissed me briefly and then gently pushed me back down. "I'll be back."Settling in, I smiled. "Try not to kill him.""No promises." He stood, pulled on his pajama bottoms, and headed for the door. Stopping short, he looked over his shoulder,his intense gaze melting my bones. "Dammit."A few seconds after he stepped out into the hallway and closed the door behind him, there was a fleshly smack and then Andrew yelling. "Ouch. What in the hell was that for?""Your timing sucks on an epic level," Daemon shot back.”