Ah, now, don't get all mushy on me. We ain't dating." Butch

Just once" Blay said softly. "Do it just once. So I'll know what it's like.

V had a passing thought that she used the word "anyway" like an eraser on a crowded chalkboard. She said it whenever she needed to clear off the things she'd just shared to make room for more.

Cause nothing said lovin' like a shitload of motion detectors.

I will not fall in love with you," she said. "I can't let myself. I won't." "That's all right. I'll love you enough for the both of us.

When I lie this close to you, when I smell your scent, when I hear your voice, I know everything that matters." She looked down the length of him. "You are the male I want to mate with. That's who you are.

As always, Blay was the anchor who kept him from being swept away.