“Yes, my dear," he said reaching his hand to her cheek from where he sat. "But, it only takes one success to erase all the failures. When an opportunity presents itself, the only true failure takes place if one doesn't try at all. My wings weren't ready to fly this time, but, next time, you'll see. They all will see.”

“He hit her with his best smile. Her eyes widened. She took a deep breath. 'Oh no, not that seductive face. I'm overcome with the need to take off these awful clothes. What is happening? I do not understand. Oooh. Ahhh.' She touched her wrist to her forehead. 'Somebody help me. I'm being drenched with my own fluids.'Evil woman. 'See now, you shouldn't have done that,' Kaldar said. She gave him an innocent look. 'You've made yourself into a challenge. Now I'll have to seduce you out of principle.''You can try. Not that you'll get anywhere. If you were in love, that would be one thing, but we both know this is pride talking.' Audrey patted his forearm. 'It's all right. I won't tell anybody about your shameful failure. I'll keep it completely confidential.' She pretended to lock her lips and throw away the key.'I'll remind you of this when you're collapsing on my sheets, all happy and out of breath.' He leaned closer. "I'm picturing it in my head. Mmm, you look lovely.''Whatever fantasies help you get through the day.' Audrey said.'So kind of you.''I'm all about being charitable when it doesn't cost me anything.'Charity? For me? Before this was all over, either they would be lovers or they'd kill each other. Right now, he had no idea which it would be.”

“The true measure of success is how many times you can bounce back from failure.”

“Grigorii spared a single glance in his brother’s direction. If looks were daggers, that one would’vesliced straight through the volhv’s heart. “Here it comes. ‘My oldest son . . .’”“Is a doctor,” Evdokia finished in a singsong voice. “And my daughter is an attorney.”Vasiliy raised his chin. “Jealousy is bad for you. Poisons the heart.”“Aha!” Evdokia slapped the table. “How about your youngest, the musician? How is he doing?”“Yes, what is Vyacheslav doing lately?” Grigorii asked. “Didn’t I see him with a black eye yesterday?Did he whistle a tree onto himself?”Oh boy.Curran opened his mouth. Next to him Jim shook his head. His expression looked suspiciously likefear.“He is young,” Vasiliy said.“He is spoiled rotten,” Evdokia barked. “He spends all his time trying to kill my cat. One child is adoctor, the other is an attorney, the third is a serial killer in training.”

“All the logic in the world could not blunt the pain. Logic could not blunt her terrible sense of personal failure. Only time would do those things, and time would do an imperfect job.”

“It's good fortune that we walk backwards into the future, that present and past are all we see.”

“Shock stung her into a quivering mass of pleasure when he captured one of her hands and fed it down to the velvet-smooth thickness of his penis, then urged her to stroke it between her legs.”