How’d you get to be so good at this?””I had a good teacher.””Better not have been Myrnin or I’ll have to kick his predatory ass.””I mean you, dummy.””Oh.

He’s not doing anything he shouldn’t be doing, right?” “Like what?””Like hitting on you.””Ew. No, of course not. He doesn’t see me that way.” Michael shook his head and went back to his coffee.”What? You...

Oliver laughed – actually laughed.”I like this new Claire,” he said. “You should work her this hard all the time, Myrnin. She’s interesting when she’s forthright.”Claire, possessed by the spirit of Eve, shot him the...

I’m so glad you’re okay.””So, how do we celebrate my okayness? It’s my day off. Let’s go crazy. Glow-in-the-dark bowling?””No””I’ll let you use the kiddie ball.””Shut up. I do NOT need the kiddie ball.””The way...

She was staring at you.”What can I say? Irresistible.’ ‘Shane, it’s not funny. I just—you should be careful.’Always am.’ Which was an absolute lie. Shane’s eyes fixed on hers, and she felt a burst of...

Let’s say she’s a friend of the family.

And next time? Eat the stupid cupcake.

Please don’t go away. You–you matter. To me.

She came awake, stomach rumbling, and opened her eyes to see a plate being held right under her nose. When she reached for it, Shane snatched it back. ‘Nuh-uh. Mine.”Share!’ she demanded.’Man, you are one...

You know what we call pedestrians in Morganville? Mobile bloodbanks.

I love arguing with you, Claire. You always surprise me. And occasionally, you even make sense.

Myrnin turned away to pick up his Ben Franklin spectacles, balanced them on his nose, and looked over them to say, “Don’t do drugs. I feel I ought to say that.

He was a nice guy, middle-aged, a little tired, like most doctors usually seemed to be, but he just nodded and said, “Let me take a look at him. Shane?””I’m not dropping my pants,” Shane...

I always thought he was sweet.

Now defend what is ours, my partner.”He grinned … grinned! … and whirled to meet Myrnin in midleap as Myrnin attacked.

Claire stretched out against the wall and kissed it. “Glad to see you, too,” she whispered, and pressed her cheek against the smooth surface. It almost felt like it hugged her back.”Dude, it’s a house,”...

The Apocalypse must be near, because a guy is arguing against grilling.

[Myrnin to Claire about their costumes of Pierrot and Harlequin, respectively]”Don’t they teach you anything in your schools?””Not about this.””Pity. I suppose that’s what comes of your main education flowing from Google.

Oh, Claire,” he said. “You think me a far better man than I am. That’s kind, and flattering.” “Are you saying that you -“”Doughnuts!” Myrnin interrupted her and darted away, to zip back in seconds...

I’ll do it!””No, you won’t,” Shane and Michael said, at virtually the same time. Shane continued. “You’re barely on your feet, Claire. You don’t go anywhere, not without me.””And me,” Michael said.”Hell,” Eve sighed. “I...

She can go with us to the lab and keep Myrnin pinned down while we pull the plug, if he’s not… you know, better.””Define BETTER with that guy.””Not all fangs and raaaaar.

She was almost at the top of the steps, and Shane was right behind her, when she heard Myrnin say, in a quiet voice that was like the old Myrnin, the one she actually liked,...

I’m worried he’s going to … do something crazy.” “He lives in a hole in the ground, dresses funny, and occasionally eats his assistants,” Eve said. “Define crazy.

I never meant it,” he was saying. “Never meant it to happen. Can’t stand it,seeing her suffer. Must do something, do something… What do I do? What can I do…?

Better be,” Eve said. She mock-bit at his finger. “I could totally date somebody else, you know.””And I could rent out your room.””And I could put your game console on eBay.””Hey,” Shane protested. “Now you’re...

Don’t bait the cougars.

You okay?””Fine.””Your heart’s beating really fast.””Gee, thanks. That’s very comforting that you can hear it.”He smiled, and it was the old Michael, the one she’d first met before all the vamp stuff.”Yeah, I know it...

Nobody’s cut out for this town,” Shane said. “Nobody sane anyway.””Says the kid who came back.””Yeah, kind of proves my point.

Anybody else think that was weird?’ Shane asked as they got into the car. Eve sent him an exasperated glance; the three of them were, of course, in the backseat. Amelie had the front, with...

I’ve got yours.

You know,’ Shane said twenty minutes later, ‘I’d feel a whole lot better about the two of us if you didn’t think i was the go-to guy for breaking and entering.’She felt a flash of...

Hannah: What’s your plan?Claire: Go get himHannah: Honey, that is not a plan. That’s what we in the military call an objective.

This is the biggest damn IPod I’ve ever seen,” Claire said, which made him choke on his beer. “Kidding. I have seen a jukebox before.

Eve: She told me last!Shane: Boyfriend!Michael: Landlord!Eve: Crap. Right. Next time you sell your soul to the devil, I get first contact!

I hardly think there’s any chance of that,” Amelie said. “I doubt you have the capacity.

You’re much shorter than my mom.””Brat,” she said, surprised into a giggle.”That’s no way to talk to a vampire.””Bloodsucking brat.””Better” he said.

Who are you calling?” (claire)Pizza hut” (shane)Loser” (claire)

He started to touch the mechanism under the keyboard, then pulled his hand back with a snap.”Ah,” he said. “Must deactivate the security….Turn around, please.””What?””Turn around, Claire. It’s a secure password!””You have GOT to be...

Michael…Michael got bitten. And now he’s a vampire. But he doesn’t remember becoming one, and that’s a big problem. So if you see him, don’t, you know, hug. He bites. He doesn’t mean it, though.

She smells better,” Claire said. “And she made me cookies.

They came out in a dim, damp basement – a generic sort of place, full of moulding boxes. ‘You take me to the nicest places,’ Claire said, and sneezed.

Hell,’ Shane spit in disgust. ‘I can’t hit a girl. Here, Claire. You hit her.’ He tossed her the bat.

Little bit,” she said.

See?” he said, with an unholy amount of glee. “I hardly broke any laws at all. I should drive more often.””No. Trust me, you shouldn’t,” Eve said. “Think of all the little old people and...

I had a good teacher.””Better not have been Myrnin or I’ll have to kick his predatory ass.””I mean you, dummy.

I think I’d fall for you no matter what, Claire. You’re kind of awesome.

So, been attacked by any vampires yet?””Not one.””Zombies? Giant spiders? Water monsters?”It’s been really quiet on the supernatural front””Too bad, ’cause I got attacked by a devil dog. It was not awesome.

Michael: ‘Hey, remember when I almost didn’t let you into the house that first day you came?’Claire: ‘Yep’Michael: ‘Well, I was dead wrong. Maybe I never said that out loud before, but I mean it,...

I feel like I’m some kind of fugitive here, like I’m hiding from something. Maybe myself.

A rap at the back door made her jump, and she peered through the window for a long time before she eased open the door a crack. She left the security chain on. ‘What do...