She made them with love, because that‘s how she does everything, and I want a piece of that love for myself.

“You bake bread?” “Yeah, why?” “You‘re a hitman,” she sputtered. “You can‘t bake bread.”

“I‘m not over you. And I never will be.”

How would she look with a crown of autumn leaves atop her auburn hair, striding through the trees, head held high and eyes bright? How would it feel to have her walking beside him, arms intertwined?

“Don‘t. Don‘t. ‘Cos every time you open those lips I want to kiss you. Every time you speak, I want to carry you off somewhere. Every time I look at you, I‘m seeing us together.”

“You know what they say—stolen fruit always tastes sweeter.”

I don‘t have a good name for what‘s overtaken me. Perhaps . . . yearning?

"You are exactly as you are meant to be, my Anna."

I like the way he says dis and dat instead of this and that.

“Thank you for giving me you,” he whispered. “Thank you for wanting me,” I whispered back.

“Make me happy, Angel.” I glance back up, finding his blue eyes locked on mine. “Let me feed you. Eat your treat.”

“I don‘t deserve her.” Nero laughs. Like the bastard he is, he laughs. “No shit, you don‘t deserve her. King, she‘s a woman. We don‘t deserve any of them.” “Exactly.” “But that doesn‘t stop us from keeping them.”

I wonder if there‘s a way I could ask her to write Italian wedding soup on a Post-it for me. It feels wrong to not have this meal documented like the rest.

I‘m going to blame exhaustion and confusion for the tears that fill my eyes, not the kindness in his voice. Not hearing him call me sweet after the vivid and vicious memories of being called stupid.

She was our hope, but we were her destruction.

“I just . . . well, you‘ve been in front of my building for the past three hours, and you see, I‘m a doctor. I wanted to . . . I wanted to make sure you were still alive.” “I‘m not,” she says. She isn‘t sure why she said it so quickly, but suddenly nothing has ever felt more true. She‘s been dead for a year.

“You don‘t hate me like you pretend you do, do you? If you want me on my knees, Anastasia, we can make that happen.”

“That I would fight with every breath in my body to make you feel safe around me. To convince you that we can be equals, that we can have what soulmates have. I‘ve waited this long, Isla, and I‘ll continue to wait for as long as it takes.”

And suddenly, there is no hesitation. The words just travel effortlessly across the table straight from his lips to my ears. “Ms. Underwood, you looked exquisite on your knees.”

“I love you,” he repeated without hesitation. “I‘ve loved you since the first moment I saw you. And I‘ve only loved you more since I got to touch you, kiss you, make you mine. Every new thing I discover about you is yet another reason why I‘m a fuckin‘ goner. Why I‘m yours for life.”

“I don‘t care if you‘re good for me,” I say. I kiss him deep and hard. I kiss him like he kissed me at the art show—like I‘ll eat him alive.

“You deserve more.” I smile at him. “I deserve you,” he tells me. “After all this time, I deserve you.”

“Come along, little wife,” I purred, wrapping my claws around her slim arm and guiding her towards the aisle. “You smell like a meal, and it‘s time for the feast.”

I wonder if she likes the ocean.

Though my heart has been blackened by all the blood I‘ve spilled and all the dark thoughts I‘ve kept and nourished over the many years, when you look at me like this, I believe there may be some good left in me yet.

“It‘s true. Because you are my reason.” “You called me that last night.” “I did. You‘re my mate, but you‘re also my reason. My reason to exist. My reason to survive. My reason to hunt, to fight, to endure. I do it all for you, and for the chance that, someday, you might return just a fraction of the love I have for you, my mate.”

"I don't operate on luck."

“I am very happy. Because I have your essence now and I can sense your feelings for me.” Loki Beams. “And you love me. Maybe not as much as I adore you , but that‘s only fair. I‘ve longed for you my whole life, loving you in an instant. It will take more time for you to share my feelings, but I promise you, I will stop at nothing until you do.”

I decide then that I have to taste her before I kill her.

If she had been a candy jar, he would have eaten and eaten until he threw up and then still he would have eaten more.

“Because you make me weak, kairos, and I should have killed you long ago to prevent that weakness from spreading.”

“I care for you, my Anna. I should like to love you, too.”

“I am where I always have been, love: at your feet waiting for you to claim me as your own.”

“You have no guards?” “I am the guard.”