Rachel Caine

Oh hell no. Guys don__ talk about that crap.___ou__e serious.___eally.___hat do you talk about?__hane looked at her as if she were insane. __ou know. Stuff. We__e not girls. We don__ talk about our feelings. I mean, not to other guys.__laire rolled her eyes and said, __ine, be emotionally stunted losers; I don__ care.

It's not your enemies who are likeliest to hurt you. It is, always, those you trust.

You should have trusted me. I'm really tired of people not trusting me.

In this whole screwed-up town, you're the only thing that's always been right to me," he whispered. "I love you, Claire." She saw something that might have been just a flash of panic go across his expression, but then he steadied again. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I do. I love you.

It's an illusion, control," Naomi said. "You ought to understand that by now, young Claire. We are never in control of our destinies, even the strongest of us. All we can hope to do is not be too badly damaged by events.

She needs you for more than just protection. It's how it works. You want the strong girl, you understand that she's with you because she wants to be. Not because she has to be. You know that, right?

Jealous?""Maybe.""No reason. I like my ladies with a pulse.

An intriguing world where vampires rule, only the strongest survive, and romance offers hope in the darkest hours.

In real life, you don't get a reset, and you don't get extra lives, and I got the crap pounded out of me.

Married and buried, wed and dead.

His eyes ignited into a color found only in the heart of the sun. ___es?_____es, already. I__l marry you. Yes. Hell, yes. What am I, stupid?

How'd you get to be so good at this?""I had a good teacher.""Better not have been Myrnin or I'll have to kick his predatory ass.""I mean you, dummy.""Oh.

Yeah, I get it; you're a vampire," she said. "Creepy. And okay, a little hot, I admit." "You don't mean that." "Come on. I still like you, you know, even if you... crave plasma." Michael blinked and looked at her as if he had never seen her before."You what?""Like. You." Eve enunciated slowly, as if Michael might not know the words. "Idiot. I always have. What, you didn't know?" Eve sounded cool and grown-up about it, but Claire saw the hectic color in her cheeks, under the makeup. "How clueless are you? Does it come with the fangs?" "I guess I... I just thought... Hell. I just didn't think... You're kind of intimidating, you know." "I'm intimidating? Me? I run like a rabbit from trouble, mostly," Eve said."It's all show and makeup. You're the one who's intimidating. I mean, come on. All that talent, and you look... Well, you know how you look." " How do I look?" He sounded fascinated now, and he'd actually moved a little closer to Eve on the couch. She laughed. "Oh come on. You're a total model-babe." "You're kidding.""You don't think you are?"He shook his head. "Then you're kind of an idiot, Glass. Smart, but and idiot." Eve crossed her arms.__o? What exactly do you think about me, except that I__ intimidating?___ think you__e_you__e_ah, interesting?_ Michael was amazingly bad at this, Claire thought, but then he saved it by looking away and continuing. __ think you__e beautiful. And really, really strange.__ve smiled and looked down, and that looked like a real blush, under the rice powder. __hanks for that, _ she said, __ never thought you knew I existed, or if you did, that you thought I was anything but Shane__ bratty freak friend.___ell, to be fair, you are Shane__ bratty freak friend.___ey!___ou can be bratty and beautiful,_ Michael said. __ think it__ interesting.

Shane, in case we don__ _ don__ come out of this, I wanted to say__e glanced over at her, and she felt her whole body warm from it. She remembered that look. It made her feel naked inside and out, but not in a creepy kind of way. In a way that felt_. Free. __f what you say is true, and I guess it has to be, I think I know why we__e _ together,_ he said. __ think I__ fall for you no matter what, Claire. You__e kind of awesome.

He started to touch the mechanism under the keyboard, then pulled his hand back with a snap."Ah," he said. "Must deactivate the security....Turn around, please.""What?""Turn around, Claire. It's a secure password!""You have GOT to be kidding.""Why ever would I joke about that? Please turn.

Michael had to pound me a couple of times to convince me not to go stage a rescue." Shane shrugged. "He hits like a girl, for a vampire.

Bite me, Goth princess,_ Shane called from the back. __ot literally or anything.___aybe you should say that to Michael.___ot funny, Eve,_ Michael said.Eve raised her eyebrows and held her fingers up, measuring off about an inch. __ittle bit,_ she said.

Promise me, Amelie, that you__l crucify me with silver before you allow me to fall in love.___ hardly think there__ any chance of that,_ Amelie said. "I doubt you have the capacity.