“May I take your vein for a moment? I find myself... curiously depleted"Okay, right. Talk about your Johnny-on-the-spots: He locked them in and all but tore off his arm and threw it at her.”

“I’m going to take your shirt off. All right?”He laughs, his eyes locking with hers. “I have been waiting for a year to hear you say those words, Kiem. It’s not nearly as satisfying as I had imagined.”

“The feel of her body against his was exhilarating, driving all rational thought from his head. “All right, prepareyourself, Claire Brennan.”She looked up at him curiously. “Prepare myself forwhat?”He gazed at her affectionately. “Repeat your mantra, orwhatever it is you do. Because I’m about to kiss you.”

“He bent his head, bringing his lips near her ear. “Talk of the future confuses you, I know. But I think about it all the time."His hands moved slowly down her bare arms. “When the time is right, when it’s our time, I want to undress you – slowly – in front of the fire. Slowly, one item at a time. I want to roll down your stockings and unlace your corset. I want to slowly take the pins out of your hair and catch the weight of it in my hands. Then I want to learn the feel of every inch of you.”

“Is he your warden now too? You know I saw this story on the news last week about controlling, abusive teenage relationships and-"Okay!" I cut him off, and then shoved his arm. "Time for the werewolf to get out!”

“This may sound a little West Texan to you, but I like it. When I'm talking about.. when I'm talking about myself, and when he's talking about myself, all of us are talking about me.”