“Is this what you do with your spare time?” he asked me, ignoring his sister.“What—are you deciding to talk to me now?” Smiling tightly, I grabbed a handful of mulch and dumped it. Rinse and repeat. “Yeah, it’s kind of a hobby. What’s yours? Kicking puppies?”

“Yeah,it’s kind of a hobby. What’s yours? Kicking puppies?”

“What is your name?” I asked, voice hoarse.“Alexandria,” she repeated in a soft voice I’d never heard Alex use in real life.“And who am I?”“Aiden.” She smiled, and I flinched. “You are my Master.”

“What's your deal?" I asked in the hallway after class. "I know you did that."He shrugged. "So?" ... "That was rude, Daemon. You embarrassed him." ... "And I thought using your ... stuff would draw them here?" ... "That was barley a blip on the map. That didn't even leave a trace on anyone." He lowered his head until the edges of his dark curled brushed my cheek. I was caught between wanting to crawl into my locker or crawl into him. "Besides, I was doing you a favor." I laughed. "And how was that doing me a favor?"... "Studying math wasn't what he had in mind."That was debatable, but I decided to play along ... "And what if that's the case?""You like Simon?" His chin jerked up, anger flashing in his emerald eyes. "You can't possibly like him."... "Are you jealous? ... Your jealous of Simon?" I lowered my voice. "Of a human? For shame, Daemon.”

“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.”

“Kitten..." "Don't Kitten me." I scowled, on a roll now. "You left around five or so and didn't get back till when? Past two in the morning? What were you guys doing? And get that stupid smile off your face. This isn't funny." Daemon tried to get rid of the smile but failed. "I love when your claws come out.”

“Daemon’s gaze dipped again, and I shivered under his intensescrutiny. Why, oh why, did Blake need to bail early, leaving me behindwith Daemon? “Where did you get this dress?” he asked.“Your sister,” I told him blandly.He frowned, looking half disgusted. “I don’t even know what to sayabout that.”