“We went to the door and I let Asha in. I expected an uberawkward moment when he and Vayl met. But Asha took care of that problem right away. "So you belong to Jasmine," he said in his melancholy voice. It somehow delivered Vayl his deepest condolences without bearing a trace of malice toward me.”

“Cole!" Cassandra smacked him on the shoulder."Wha-?" When he opened his mouth all you could see was half-chewed goo."How old are you?" I demanded. I threw shrimp at him and it got stuck in his tangle of wig hair. Bergman fished it out, wiped it off, and put it back on the serving dish."Now, thats disgusting," said Cassandra."Children!" Vayl's voice boomed in our ears, loud and sudden enough to make us all jump guiltily. "I trust you are all preforming actual work right now.""Chill out, Vayl," I replied. "Bergman is just conducting and experiment to see how vampires respond to ingesting brown hair dye.""That makes me curious, Vayl," said Cole in a sticky, goodie-between-the-gums voice that reminded me of Winnie the Pooh after a major honey binge. "Have you ever colored your hair? You know blonds have more fun.""Not when they are in the hospital.”

“Excellent."As soon as Bergman left earshot Vayl said, "I am going to buy you some pom-poms and a short pleated skirt-"Hey, if Bergman needs a cheerleard, that's what he's getting."Vayl tipped his head to one side and smiled wickedly. "I was just thinking perhaps I need a cheerleader as well."Cassandra got up. "If that's where this conversation is headed, I'm leaving."She wants some pom-poms too," I told Vayl.I do not!”

“I like these boots," I told Vayl."Do you think they'd sell them to me cheap? I keep ruining mine.""Since when do you fret over money?" he asked with amusement. "I was not even sure you knew what to do with it."I shrugged. "A women has needs.""Still." said Cole. "Gosh, Jaz, why didn't you say something to me? I'd never let you suffer.”

“Seriously?"I shrugged. "He can't suspect much if every time we're alone instead of talking I have my way with him." Cole shook his head. "You don't think it'll work?" I asked.He rolled his eyes. "Vayl might be a vampire, but he's also a guy. Who's about to be deliriously happy. Good God, if you work this right, he won't even be mad if finds out because of the way you decided to hide it from him.”

“Vayl, this is not a pleasant moment for me," I confessed."No?""Locked in a windowless, doorless room with a dancing, headless corpse and a secret sucker that can move fast enought to tear us both a new one if I miss?”

“Jumping up and down is definitely sexy," Vayl assured me. "Would you like to do it two or three times right now before we get down to business?"Sterling and Cole groaned at the same time "Ewww!”