“I walked over to Drake and stomped on his foot. Hard. "What will I give you tohelp me? What will I give you?"He stood on one leg rubbing his foot, grinning a grin so steamy, it almost meltedmy underwear. "I never doubted you would defeat her. You are my mate. Youcould do no less."I pointed a finger at him. "You are too arrogant for your own good. I officiallyde-mate you. Go away. I never want to see you again. Except maybe tonight.Naked. Your place. But after that, no more.”

“You are too arrogant for your own good. I officially de-mate you. Go away. I never want to see you again. Except maybe tonight. Naked. Your place. But after that, no more.”

“You think I am very cute, you think me sexy, as well. I can read your thoughts, remember.” I hoisted myself up and slid across his body. You are conceited, arrogant, and domineering, everything I dislike in a man. And you are independent, stubborn, and heedless, everything I dislike in a women. I slid my hands under his back and kissed his dampened lips. So why is it that I love you so much? He smiled a smug, masculine little smile and captured my legs with his. Because I love you, and to be loved by a Dark One is enough for any woman.I pinched him in a particularly vulnerable spot and allowed him to kiss me with all the sexy arrogance he had.”

“How many toes did I have when we left London, does anyone remember?" Jim asked, examining its feet. "I think one is missing.""Stop fussing about a missing toe. We have more important things to focus on, like finding Drake and saving him from whatever trouble he’s in," I answered, straightening my clothing and zipping up my heavy parka."Oh, man, I am missing one! I know I had four on this foot! What sort of place was that company you used, demon-haters or something?""Budget Teleporters is a perfectly good company. Didn’t you listen to their warning about keeping your arms and legs in the portal at all times?”

“What do you know about dragons?”“They're big, scaly, four-legged creatures with wings who terrorized small villages until a virgin was offered up as a sacrifice.”His grinned again. “I do miss the virgins.”

“We have had this discussion before. You are my son. I love you. I will always love you. But I also love Nell, and if you give her the chance and stop rejecting her advances, she will take you into her heart as well.""Oh, yeah, like he's going to allow me to do that," I muttered”

“I ground my teeth. "Just when I thought I was getting a handle on this whole Dark One/demon lord/imp thing, you go and throw knockers into the mix. I'm going to have to request that you stop, Adrian. I'm about at my limit of how many impossible things I can believe before breakfast."He flashed a heart-stoppingly roguish grin at me, his dimples just about bringing me to my knees. "Your middle name wouldn't be Alice, would it?" he asked."No, it's Diane, and you're no White Rabbit, so let's just stop pretending we're in Wonderland, OK?"He laughed and pointed across the tiny square at our destination. I watched him for a moment, seeing a glimpse of the charming, charismatic man he must have been before the demon lord cursed him and leeched away all the softer emotions.”