“I cannot do it. I cannot bear it. I cannot go back to what I was here. I cannot stand at her side and watch another take her. I am not that strong or that good.”

“So just tell me what you like on the menu, and we'll negotiate."All that is required is that you taste what is ordered. You do not have to eat it."No, no more of this tasting shit. I've gained weight. I never gain weight."You have gained four pounds, so I am told. Though I have searched diligently for this phantom four pounds and cannot find them. It brings your weight up to a grand total of one hundred and ten pounds, correct?"That's right."Oh, ma petite, you are growing gargantuan." I looked at him, and it was not a friendly look.”

“I give good advice. I do not always take it.”

“I walked towards her. Jean-Claude grabbed my arm. "Do not harm her, Anita. She is under our protection.""I swear to you that I will not lay a finger on her tonight. I just want to tell her something."He released my arm, slowly, like he wasn't sure it was a good idea. I stepped next to Monica, until our bodies almost touched. I whispered into her face, "If anything happens to Catherine, I will see you dead."She smirked at me, confident in her protectors. "They will bring me back as one of them."I felt my head shake, a little to the right, a little to the left, a slow precise movement. "I will cut out your heart." I was still smiling, I couldn'tseem to stop. "Then I will burn it and scatter the ashes in the river. Do you understand me?"She swallowed audibly. Her health-club tan looked a little green. She nodded, staring at me like I was the bogey man.I think she believed I'd do it. Peachy keen. I hate to waste a really good threat”

“What did they think I was going to do, steal a body? If I wanted to, I could empty the damn place and get every corpse to play follow the leader. Perhaps that was why I needed watching. Perhaps." --Anita Blake”

“I told her why we are here. I told you wouldn't hurt Jack.""The coffin?" I smiled. I couldn't help it. He was a 'jack in a box.”

“I let Richard walk out on me. I think he’d have gone anyway, but I just sat on the floor and watched him go. I didn’t stand in his way. I figured it was his choice, and you cant hold someone if they don’t want to be held. If someone really wants to be free of you, you have to let them go. Well, fuck that, fuck that all to hell. Don’t go, Asher, please, don’t go. I love the way your hair shines in the light. I love that way you smile when you’re not trying to hide or impress anyone. I love your laughter. I love the way your voice can hold sorrow like the taste of rain. I love the way you watch Jean-Claude when he moves through a room, when you don’t think anyone’s watching, because its exactly the way I watch him. I love your eyes. I love your pain. I love you.”