“Civilization was a dance, and the ancient Wyr were late to the ball. They donned masks and slipped with silent predatory grace into the ballroom. They watched with sharp eyes that glittered deep in the shadows behind their assumed facades, recording and learning the twist and rhythm of the dance, the social mores, when to bow and press their lips to the back of the hand, how to smile and say good evening, please and thank you and yes, I shall take more sugar with my tea.All the while they noted the pulse that fluttered at the base of the dancers' necks, the scents of sweat and the quickened breath.”

“You and the babies have my protection from the Vampyres, Khalil said, his mental voice as smooth as a rope of silk slipping over her neck. At a time of my choosing, you will do anything I ask you to do, for the sum of one favor. Agreed?She gave him a jerky nod. Agreed.Khalil gave Grace a sulfurous smile.”

“Xanthe, you are the most beautiful surprise in my life. I hardly noticed you at first. You carry the quiet of a river with a still surface that runs very deep. I found that the more I looked at you, the more I saw—and now the more I see of you, the more beautiful you become and the more I want you.” He paused then said deeply, “I’ve never wanted anyone the way I have grown to want you.”

“Rune’s eyes danced and his lean tanned features lit with laughter. “You . . . cooled the meat for me?” “Rasputin cannot eat the chicken when it is too hot,” she said, frowning at him. “It seemed logical that you would not be able to either.”

“Who knew that the Wyr warlord’s real animal form was a mother hen?”

“Don’t sulk,” he told her. “It doesn’t become someone of your age.” She rolled her eyes even as, he was delighted to note, she kissed him back. “Oh, the age thing? You just had to go there, didn’t you?”

“He gave her a lazy predatory smile as he moved his torso over heres. "You're not afraid of me at all anymore, are you?"She sobered. Call her crazy, but she thought he would rather cut off his hands than hurt her. "So what if I'm not?" she muttered.His beautiful, cruel mouth pulled into a smile. "I think if your're not crazy, it's a very good thing," he said. He moved, and before she realized what he intended, he had her hands pinned over her head. "It gives me all kinds of license to do bad things to you. With you. On you. In you.”