"Never in my life had I been more frustrated. Go figure it wouldn't be with a human but a freaking alien. At least I now knew that the male species were asses no matter what planet they hailed from."

"My heart cracked. Daemon never begged."

""Don't be scared of Bambi" the demon said. "She's only curious and maybe a little bit hungry."?"

"That's the funny thing about trying to escape. You never really can. Maybe temporarily, but not completely."

"The mansion was as silent as I wished the inside of my head could be. No noise " not even a ragged inhale of breath or a whispered word. Truly blissful."

"Is this what you do with your spare time? he asked me, ignoring his sister."What-are you deciding to talk to me now? Smiling tightly, I grabbed a handful of mulch and dumped it. Rinse and repeat. "Yeah, it's kind of a hobby. What's yours? Kicking puppies?"

"I ate lunch with Keira today. Second day in a row, I told him, then winced at how stupid that sounded.Rider's grin turned into a full smile, transforming his handsome face into the kind of masculine beauty that was like a punch to the chest. "That's really good, Mallory. His voice dropped as he reached over, curving his hand over my arm. There was a near electric rush from his touch. "I'm proud of you. For real.Giddiness surrounded my heart as I stared at his large hand, darker than my own. He knew how big that was, and I didn't feel so idiotic. He got it. He got me. And that meant the entire universe to me."

"You know what they say about boys next door..."

"But I'm insane. You're crazy. Maybe that's why, We can just make crazy together."

"Eat it," I ordered, holding it with two hands now, making it dance in the air. "It's begging you. 'Eat me'."He arched a brow."Perv," I muttered.Aiden pressed his lips together, but when he glanced at me and my dancing bun, he burst into laughter. "All right, give me the bun."

"Something weird moved through me, a feeling of familiarity, and as I stood in front of my locker, I found myself thinking of the one bright thing in a past full of shadows and darkness.I thought about the boy who made my chest hurt, the one who'd promised forever.It had been four years since I'd seen him or even heard him speak. Four years of trying to erase everything that had to do with that portion of my childhood, but I remembered him. I wondered about him.How could I not? I always would.He had been the sole reason I survived the house we'd grown up in."

"It's just snow, Lesa said, rolling her eyes. "It's not going to hurt you.Kimmy smoothed her hands over her blond hair. "Sugar melts."Yeah, and shit floats. Lesa took her seat, yanking out last night's English homework."

"At least I don't look like a Christmas tree.""You look like the star atop the tree."

"The past never went away and it was not designed to do so. It would always be there, and it should be acknowledged."

"I wanted Kat out. Every cell of my being demanded that I protect her, even though I knew she was hella capable of doing so herself, but I wanted her far away from here. Hell, I'd keep her in Bubble Wrap if it weren't so damn creepy and also inconvenient, considering I had a terrible habit of obsessively popping the damn things until not a single bubble was left."

"And I learned that sometimes when someone says something so devastatingly perfect, there isn't a need for a response. The words said it all."

"Kat didn't get it when it came to the whole Thanksgiving thing. She didn't think she belonged or was a part of us. She had no idea that she was beginning to mean more to me than. Well, than anyone else that was going to be here on Thanksgiving. And that was dangerous. Potentially stupid. Risky. Also exhilarating. Thrilling."

"Strange how something good can come from something horrible."

"It was me who had to carry myself over the finish line, and all I needed to remember when I felt like not trying was that that feeling wouldn't last forever."

"Ash is going to kick your ass, Daemon."Daemon's grin went up a notch. "Nah, she likes my ass too much for that."

"A few seconds after he stepped out into the hallway and closed the door behind him, there was a fleshly smack and then Andrew yelling, "Ouch. What in the hell was that for? "Your timing sucks on an epic level, Daemon shot back."

"Memories, even bittersweet ones, are better than nothing."

"Grabbing a scarf off the chair, I threw it at him. He caught it, clutching it to his chest as he flew into the air. "You gave Tink a scarf. Tink is free!" He flew out into the hallway like a little cracked-out fairy, screeching, "Tink is freeeeee!"Ren looked at me. "What the actual f**k?"I sighed. "He's obsessed with Harry Potter. I'm sorry."Tink darted back into the room, holding the scarf to his bare chest. "There is no reason to apologize when it comes to Harry Potter.""You do remember what happened to Dobby, right?" I said."S**t." Tink's eyes widened and he dropped the scarf."

"A smell of burned hair and cotton wafted into the air as I spun toward my desk. There was a low whine from the desk and then smoke billowed out of my closed laptop.I gaped.My precious, perfectly brand new laptop I cherished like one would a small child.Son of a mother. Friend or not, it was so on."

"The alien in my uncle hand obviously taken full control. Soon, it would claw its way out of his stomach and tap dance across my bed."

"A.Coward," he repeated, and I briefly considered picking up the vase in the center of the island and throwing it at him."Not making a choice is the coward's way out. You love both of them. I get that. But you don't feel the same kind of love for both of them, and the sooner you accept that the better."

"Ever since I've met you, I've wanted to break every rule. Aiden turned away, the muscles in his neck tensing. He sighed. "You'll become the centre of someone's world one day. And he'll be the luckiest son of a bitch on this earth."

"The truth is sometimes lost in translation when the facts are not understood."

"There were always choices. I'd made a string of bad ones myself. At least I could admit that."

"She probably had her nose stuck in a book, living in a pretend fantasy world while I was actually out there living in the real fantasy world."

"Hell... His voice was thick, rough. "Mallory, you're..."What? I whispered, feeling my body burn for two very different reasons."You're beautiful. His gaze dipped, tracking the lacy edges of the bra. "Never thought I'd see you like this. So freaking glad I have. You're so beautiful, Mallory."

"Flipping to the front, I caught Aiden's gaze and offered a sympathetic smile."Skittles?""Please."I dumped some into his open palm, then picked out the green ones. Aiden grinned at me."You know I don't like the green ones?"Shrugging, I popped them in my mouth. "The few times I've seen you eat them, you leave the green ones behind."Deacon popped his head between our seats."That's true love right there.""That it is."Aiden's gaze flicked to the road. I flushed like a little schoolgirl and focused on the remaining pieces of candy until Deacon drifted back into his seat. I handed all the red ones to Aiden."

"Because I know what I feel in here. And I'm not the type of person to run from anything, no matter how hard it is. I'd rather face-plant against a brick wall than live for the rest of my life wondering what could've been. And you know what? I didn't think you were that type to run, either. Maybe I was wrong."

"Luc blinked innocently. That little fuck. "I gave you a piece of opal and a Luxen to nom-nom on."

"He'll burn the world for her."

"Seth joined the group of very stern-looking men, and they immediately started talking, their voices too low for me to hear, but it didn't stop me from trying. I learned fairly quickly that I sucked at reading lips. Everything looked like they were saying "tomatoes or "I love you and I doubted that was what was being said."

"He returned my smile with a half grin. "So what do you blog about? Knitting? Puzzles? Being lonely?"

"I've always found that the most beautiful people, truly beautiful inside and out, are those who are quietly unaware of their effect."

"I have the feeling we just made a deal with the devil, and he's going to come back and want our first-born child or something."Daemon waggled his brows. "You want kids? Because you know, practice makes--""Shut up." I shook my head and started walking."

"How did you know I was different? "You mean besides the obvious obsidian, the alien entourage, and the branch? He laughed. "You're full of electricity. See? He reached between the seats and placed his hand over mine. Static crackled, jolting us both. Daemon grabbed Blake's hand and threw it back at him. "I do not like you."

"Come on. He dropped a heavy hand on my back, between my shoulder blades, and my breath stalled.I was effectively silenced by his touch. Perhaps that was why he did it. Not many people would blame him and probably wished they wielded that kind of power over me."

"You don't have to want to be in arelationship for a little bow-chicka-bow-wow."

"Daemon laughed "I'm only at the service of one person in particular"My cheeks flamed as I scooted my chair over. "You are not servicing me in any way."He leaned in, closing my newly gained distance. "Not yet.""Oh, come on, Daemon I'm right here." Dee frowned. "You're about to make me lose my appetite.""Like that will ever happen." Lisa retorted with an eye roll."

"Me and Katy look adorkable in extraterrestrialhighway shirts. You would just look stupid. You can thank me later."

"The Arum are nothing more than what a human would call a parasite. They are not worth the filthy floor you lie upon."