“Oh my God! I'm crushing an angel. Let me up!”

“You want to play? Come find me angel boy.”

“He shot her a grin brimming with deliberate wickedness. "Today, I want to lead you astray."Her returning smile was a little shy but full of a quiet mischief he figured most people never saw. "Are you sure I'm not already beyond redemption?"He chuckled. "How could you be with a name like Angelica?"She made a face. "I'm an Annie, not an Angelica.""I prefer Angel.""Do you like your women angelic?"He chuckled. "No baby, I like my woman exactly as she is.”

“Take care of my heart won't you, Sophie? It's a little odd having it outside my body-but I'm planning to steal yours to make up for it.”

“I knew that before I asked . . . but part of me can’t help hoping that maybe this time, he’ll love me.”“As I can’t help hoping that my mother will rise, and will once again be the woman who sang me such lullabies that the world stood still.” Pulling her into a crushing embrace, he pressed his lips to her temple. “We are both fools.”

“I'm the best," Elena muttered to herself the next morning s she got out of the taxi in front of the magnificient creation that was Archangel Tower."Hey, lady, you gonna pay me or just talk to yourself?""What? Oh.... Keep the change."... "...you got a big hunt coming on?"Elena didn't ask how he'd pegged her for a hunter. "No. But I do have a high chance of meeting a horrible death within the next few hours. Might as well do something good as up my shot at getting into heaven.”

“Oh yeah, that’s the one who kept watching me as if she was waiting for me to grow fangs and try to eat her. I couldn’t help it—I used my claws to scratch my nose. Her eyes almost popped out of their sockets.”