"I'll accept your apology on one condition." He folded his arms across his chest."Anything?""You trust me."I cocked my head to the side. "I trust you, Cam.""No, you don't." He walked over to my small table and pulled out a chair. "Have a seat."Sitting down, I tugged the hem of his shirt down as he headed back to the stove, putting the tiny skillet over the burner."If you trusted me, you wouldn't have reacted the way you did," he simply said, cracking an egg. "And that's not me judging you or any of that kind of shit. You got to trust me that I'm not going to be an ass or freak out over that kind of stuff. You have to trust that I care enough about you."

"You really shouldn't trust a soul in this game. Not when everyone has something to gain or lose."

"I understood books. I did not understand boys-especially alien boys."

"That kind of love should've been able to beat sickness. That kind of love should've conquered anything."

"Silence is not a fucking virtue. It's a disease-a cancer that eats away at you and fucks with your head."

"How long have you been standing there?""Just long enough to see you give Daemon the middle finger.""He deserved it."

"You make me wish I had a soul so I could be worthy of you."

"Thanks, I muttered and added under my breath, "Douchebag.He laughed, deep and throaty. "Now that's not very ladylike, Kittycat.I whipped around. "Don't ever call me that, I snapped."It's better than calling someone a douchebag, isn't it? He pushed out the door. "This has been a stimulating visit. I'll cherish it for a long time to come.Okay. That was it. "You know, you're right. How wrong of me to call you a douchebag. Because a douchebag is too nice of a word for you, I said, smiling sweetly. "You're a dickhead."A dickhead? he repeated. "How charming.I flipped him off."

"I'm not leaving, Kitten. You're going to do this."My mouth opened as did the door behind us. Stomach dropping, I turned to see Mom standing there in all her fuzzy-bunny pajama glory. Oh, for the love of God."

"There's always tomorrow." I followed him. "Tomorrow's not going to change anything.""We'll see.""There's nothing to see. You're wasting your time.""When it concerns you, it's never a waste of my time," he replied."

"A soft smile curved up her lips, and my gut dropped a little. A smile I'd never known a smile could have that kind of effect. Could feel like a kick to the chest."

"Am I glowing?""Like a Christmas tree.""Not just the star?"The bed moved a little, and I felt his hand brush my arm. "No. You're super bright. It's kind of like looking at the sun."

"Because you're beautiful, Layla, and while I may say that one word to you a lot, I don't simply toss it around. And I've seen many, many beautiful things. People as beautiful as demons are atrocious. You, by far, shine brighter than any of them. It's more than what's on the outside. It comes from within you. I've seen a lot of things and nothing, nothing, comes close to you."

"But I wasn't done. Staring into eyes that were as bright and beautiful than any tawny jewel, I said what I had never said before. And I said it with every ounce in my being behind it. "I love you, Roth." My voice shook with emotion."I'm in love with you."

"Jealous is an ugly thing."

"People are assholes, Mouse. You already know that. He paused as he scooped some of my hair back, gently tossing the strands over my shoulder. "And there's nothing to be embarrassed about.I glanced over at him. Everything about his steady gaze and the serious press of his lips screamed earnest. But he was wrong. "It is...embarrassing."Not if you don't let it be. His leg brushed mine as he turned in his seat, facing me. Our eyes met. "You have the power over that. People can say crap. They can think whatever they want, but you control how you feel about it."

"Look at the time." I tipped my chin toward the clock. "It's past midnight. It's January second. You lost."For several moments he stared at the clock like it was an Arum he was about to blast into the next county and then his eyes found mine. Daemon smiled. "No. I didn't lose. I still won."

"Nothing fun in life is easy."

"She wasn't the only one who was overjoyed.Deacon had launched himself at Aiden-Aiden saintly St. Delphi-nearly knocking him backward, over a fallen pure. The brothers hugged, oblivious to those fighting around them. Other than their eyes, they absolutely had nothing in common.Which was why I liked Deacon."

"I shot him a look. "That bouncer was really big."His lips quirked. "Oh, Kitten, see, I try not to say bad things.""What?"The grin spread. "I would say size doesn't matter but it does. I would know." he winked, and I let out a disgusted groan. He laughed."

"Aiden was gone. Like Caleb, but in a different way. I'd lost both of them."

"I didn't want to spoil the mood. This was probably the longest Daemon and I had ever spoken without some statement earning him the finger."

"This reminds me of old times, he said, and his lashes lifted. As his gaze drifted over me, it was focused but all too brief, because he looked away, a muscle working along his jaw. "Kind of.A flush raced across my cheeks as I switched out the ball for a new one. He was right-this was like all the other times I'd cleaned him up. Well, when I was younger, I tried to clean him up, but had no idea what I was doing, but as we grew older, and he got into fights defending me or for some other reason, this was our routine.Except I was pretty sure that when his gaze roamed over me just now, he'd checked out my breasts, and that was definitely something that hadn't happened before."

"Daemon had spoken to Blake earlier in the day, the entire conversation had gone down between the two without fists being thrown and I missed it."

"Don't ever touch her again, Hayden growled.Kurt looked up, eyes wide. "Are you threatening me- over her? I'm like your brother, Hayden! "Not anymore."

"A demigod? I repeated like I'd just learned to speak a few seconds ago. "A real, live demigod?"Opposed to a fake, dead one? He chuckled, proud of himself, and then sighed when my eyes narrowed on him. "You used to have a sense of humor, Seth."

"I don't know how we made it to the bed or if the water was ever turned off in the shower. But we were together, our bodies slippery, our wet hair soaking the sheets we were tangled in. And then we were tangled, our legs and arms. His hands were everywhere, paying reverence to the many scars on my body. His lips followed, and I grew reacquainted with the hard muscles of his stomach, the feel of him."

"While you're deep in something, you never say or do what you need to. It's always after the fact, when it's too late, that you realize what you should've said or done."

"I frowned as my fingers throbbed. "Wait a sec. There's a chance I can't work with fire and you let me do that?"How else am I going to figure out your limitations?"What the hell! I pulled my hand free, furious. "That's not cool, Blake. What's next? Trying to stop a moving vehicle by standing in front of it, but whoops, I can't do that and now I'm dead?"

"My heart shattered. 'The boy that you keep painting - the one at the warehouse and at the art gallery? That boy is you, isn't it?'Rider didn't say anything.'It's not you from the past,' I whispered. His handsome face blurred. 'That's still who you are.'He closed his eyes."

"You worry about hurting me, but you never seem to worry about me hurting you. And I'm the one with the killer touch."

"I like your hair down." He twisted his fingers through the curls.My eyes drifted shut as I relaxed next to him. "It's a mess. I need to get a haircut."Hayden's fingers stilled. "No. You shouldn't cut your hair. It's beautiful."I would never cut my hair. Ever."

"She let out a strangled laugh. "Yeah, that's how it works. I just woke up one morning and was like, 'gee, I want to screw Kyler.' Seriously, you have no clue."

"This is everyone's fight. Becauseit's everyone's future."

"When I got home, a spicy scent lured me into the kitchen. My stomach grumbled and I might've started drooling the moment I spotted the cheesy enchiladas cooling on the counter.They were drenched in homemade queso.My favorite.Dropping my bag on the floor, I skipped over to where Rosa was placing the plates on the table. I wrapped my arms around her from behind and squeezed.Rosa laughed as she turned. "It's the queso, isn't it?Nodding, I dropped my arms and stepped back."

"I don't want to know about love.''But you should, my child. You need to know about love. The things people will do for love. All truths come down to love, do they not? One way or another, they do. See, there is a difference between love and need. Sometimes, what you feel is immediate and without rhyme or reason.' She sat up a little straighter. 'Two people see each across a room or their skin brushes. Their souls recognize the person as their own. It doesn't need time to figure it. The soul always knows... whether it's right or wrong."

"I'm a lot to handle, but I can assure you, you'll have fun handling me."

"But if you take off your clothes, I'm sure I can get them dry.My eyes went wide. "Are you trying tog et my naked?His silvery gaze met mine. "Do you really need me to answer that?A hot, sweet flush stole across my cheeks. When he was like this-open, flirty, and downright sexy-I was at my lamest. I wasn't used to this side of him. I don't think I ever would be, and there was something thrilling in that. But I stared at him, caught between the images playing out in my head and the very real man standing before me."

"This isn't a book. This isn't a paranormal fantasy or whatever the hell it is you read. There is no set plot or clear idea of where any of this is going. The enemies aren't obvious. There are no guaranteed happy endings."

"Think about what I said, Kat. You have nothing to prove."I don't?"No, I said, and I'd say it a thousand times.But I knew screaming it from the top of Seneca Rocks wasn't going to change how she felt."

"Why me?" I blurted out, then closed my eyes briefly. "Okay. Don't answer that."

The food arrived just then—a thank God—and the conversation was deterred... for about two minutes.

"I'm going to answer that question," Cam said, peering at me through his lashes.

I wanted to face-plant into my stuffed chicken. "You don't have to."

"No, I think I do."

"Just so you know, I get incredibly bored quite easily and you will be forced to be my source of entertainment. You'll kind of be like my own personal jester."I flipped him off."Well that wasn't funny at all."

"Did you think you could stop me? I'll burn the world down to save her."

"Oh no I know that look. What are you thinking?That this is the most ridiculous declaration of attraction I've ever heard."

"Oh, shimmer down, Hunter. You're too testy. How many times have I've told you that you need to chill out, take a vacay. Disney World is really fun this time of the year. you should check it out."

"Now I was nothing but a shade of grey - my moral compass ambiguous."

"Listen to me, Ember. I couldn't hurt you. I can't. Hayden settled his eyes on me. They were softer than I'd ever seen. "I love you- I've loved you since the first time I saw you."

"People can say crap. They can think whatever they want, but you control how you feel about it."

"I'm like a cat. I swear I have nine lives."

"Remind me," he paused, drawing in a stuttered gasp, "to never piss you off again. Christ, are you secretly a ninja?"