“Age before beauty, Mr. MacRieve. If you think you can fit.""Only humans call me Mr. MacRieve.""I'm not a human. So would you like me to call you Bowen, or Bowe for short?""Bowe is what my friends call me, so you doona.""No problem. I have a slew of other more fitting names for you. Most of them end in er.""You in the tunnel first.""Don't you think it'd be unbecoming for me to be on my hands and knees in front of you? Besides, you don't need my lantern to see in the dark, and if you go first, you'll be sure to lose me and get to the prize first.""I doona like anything, or anyone, at my back. And you'll have your little red cloak on, so I will no' be able to see anything about you that might be... unbecoming.""Twisting my words? I'll have you know that I am criminally cute - ""Then why hide behind a cloak?""I'm not hiding. And I like to wear it. Fine. Beauty before age.”
“MacRieve, you're on my cloak. Let up -. Give it back!""It was slowing you - and therefore me - down.""If you had gone first - ""I dinna. If you want it, why no' use magick to take it from me?""You really do not want me to do that.""You really must no' want your cloak back. Come then, witchling, just take it from me.""Keep the cloak. It'll be worth money one day.""Doona fret, witch. You're no' so unbecoming from my angle. Bit scrawny where it counts, but no' too bad.""Scrawny where it counts, MacRieve? Funny, I'd heard the same about you.""No' likely. Maybe you're just too young to have heard the rumors about Lykae males. Tender wee ears and such.”
“Schecter turned to MacRieve. “And what is your field, Dr…?”Despite the fact that he was a prince, he answered, “Mr. MacRieve. I’m here in a security capacity for my wife. She’s the beauty and brains—I’m the brawn.”She stiffened again at his calling her his wife. MacRieve had no idea how much that word bothered her.Schecter asked, “Why exactly would anyone need security?”“Are you jesting?” MacRieve asked. “You doona know?” He flashed an aggravated look at Travis, then said simply, “Because we’re in the bluidy Amazon.”
“When you got captured, I didn't know..." He trailed off, had to chug whiskey before he could continue. "If it'd be like...""What?""Like it was with Clotile.""Oh, Jackson, no. I was okay. I'm unharmed.""Didn't know if I'd get there too late," he said with a shudder. Then he crossed over to me, until we stood toe-to-toe. "Evie, if you ever get taken from me again, you better know that I'll be coming for you." He cupped my face with a bloodstained hand. "So you stay the hell alive! You don't do like Clotile, you doan take that way out. You and me can get through anything, just give me a chance."--his voice broke lower "just give me a chance to get to you." He buried his face in my hair, inhaling deeply. "There is nothing that can happen to you that we can't get past."..."When you say we...?"He pulled back, gazing down at me, his eyes blazing. "I'm goan to lay it all out there for you. Laugh in my face--I don't care. But I'm goan to get this off my chest.""I won't laugh. I'm listening.""Evie, I've wanted you from the first time I saw you. Even when I hated you, I wanted you." He raked his fingers through his hair. "I got it bad, me." My heart felt like it'd stopped--so that I could hear him better."For as long as you've been looking down your nose at me, I've been craving you, an envie like I've never known.""I don't look down at you! I'm too busy looking up to you."..."The corners of his lips curled for an instant before he grew serious again. "You asked me if I had that phone with your pictures, if I'd looked at it. Damn right, I did! I saw you playing with a dog at the beach, and doing a crazy-ass flip off a high dive, and making faces for the camera. I learned about you"- his voice grew hoarse -"and I wanted more of you. To see you every day." With a humourless laugh, he admitted, "After the Flash, I was constantly sourcing ways to charge a goddamned phone--that would never make a call."I murmured, "I didn't know...I couldn't be sure.""It's you for me, peekon.”
“Similar situation ? Like the one where you put me in fear for my life, then let go of that damned vine to heartlessly build my fear ? MacRieve, I hope I enthralled you. Then you can rot wanting me to be yours.”
“Damn it, MacRieve, if you keep calling me kitten, then I'm going to start calling you something equivalent, like hound dog - and then we'll both be losers.”
“Mariketa: Stalking me, Mr MacRieve?Bowen: No' likely, witch. I only stalk what I want to catch.”