“He laughed and then leaned in and kissed my neck. It was our second kiss. Yes, I was counting. And no, I didn't want it on the neck. "Do you want to hear more?""We live, right? Because it's not looking very good."He laughed again, and I knew in that instant it was a sound I wouldn't want to live without.”

“Though I wondered what she ever made of my professed love for and intentions to marry Big Bird, the hottie of Sesame Street.”

“I was drinking in the surroundings: air so crisp you could snap it with your fingers and greens in every lush shade imaginable offset by autumnal flashes of red and yellow.”

“I'd more than missed him, I needed him. It wasn't a dependency, it wasn't a weakness or a failure, he was an addition to my very soul. And I laughed into our kiss as I realized that this was what love was. I could live without him, of course I could, and I could function and get on with my days if he wasn't here, but I didn't want to. I wanted him right where he was, in my space and in my life.”

“What are you doing?”“I...” He appeared to have no idea himself. “I wanted to see your freckle.”A vulnerable tenderness flashed across his face, more painful to see than the coldness. It took every ounce of strength I had not tobeg for one last kiss. As fast as his expression had softened, it was back to stone again.“What do you want from me, Kai?”“For starters?” His voice lowered to sexy, dangerous depths. “I want to introduce myself to every freckle on your body.”

“Did we kiss last night?""Yes.""Well, it wasn't memorable because I have no recollection of it."He laughs. "I was kiddin'. We didn't kiss." He leans in. "When we kiss you'll remember it.Forever.”

“Spend the night with me.” (...)“I’m tired of living like I’m not alive.” He dropped his hands from my face to grip my shoulders. “I’m bloody sick to death of it. I want one night to be alive. With you.” He closed his eyes and leaned his forehead on mine.“Please, Anna. One last night and we’ll go back to being safe again. I need this. I need you.”