“Wouldn’t you like to believe you’re the center of someone’s universe? To feel so special that the rest of the world didn’t matter and it could all wait? What would you be willing to pay for that - any time you needed to feel that way?”

“You drank my blood." With one arched brow, Rachel seared Rees with her stare."Yes, but only because he commanded it.”

“Rachel shook her head, as if casting out the memories from her mind. Something he'd been unable to do in one hundred and ninety-eight years. Memories, painful and stark, failed to retreat, instead they clung to him like a Rottweiler to a bone.”

“Perhaps it was because his life as a human had been so happy and his life since becoming a vampire had been so lonely that Kian clung to any shred of humanity left in him.”

“Then, in a whisper, Sam said, “I met someone else.” Just like that, Darcy's world melted and distorted into something she no longer recognized. His words hung like poison in the air, and she held her breath, afraid to breathe it in.”

“It's beautiful here," Rees murmured, watching the light play upon the water before returning his gaze to her. Mrs. Hollingsworth, his newest client, turned to him and forced a stiff smile. "Yes, money can buy all kinds of beautiful things," she said without a hint of emotion.”

“Hey lady.” Sandy wrapped her arms around Darcy’s neck and kissed her cheek quickly. “So, are we burning anything of his in some occult ritual that will curse him and all his unborn children till the end of their days, or are we just going to key his car?”

“In all of the possible scenarios Kian had envisioned, encountering a lunatic had not been one of them. It just showed him that he could never be completely prepared.”

“Wouldn’t you like to believe you’re the center of someone’s universe? To feel so special that the rest of the world didn’t matter and it could all wait? What would you be willing to pay for that - any time you needed to feel that way?”