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.

When her gaze landed upon his lips, he scooted closer and brushed his mouth over hers. Fire ignited low in his belly and desire coursed through his veins. No doubt, his John Thomas was doing all the thinking; he knew he should listen to the head between his shoulders, the one telling him this was a mistake, but the one between his legs was more insistent.

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.

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?

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.

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.