Well...I'm on birth control" I was drinking the water again and choked on it. It took several moments of coughing before I could gasp out. "What?" "It takes a while for it to start working, so I figured I should be prepared, just in case." "Just in case," I repeated, still dumbfounded.

It'd be nice to have someone who understood some of the things that went on in my head.

Call me crazy for asking this, but, um, are Lissa and I going with you?" "No" "No?" "No.

Jailbait," he declared, leaping up. "You're a saint. A goddess, even.

We all screw up. Everyone makes mistakes. That’s what she did. It was bad judgment, that’s all. You don’t cut off the people you love for mistakes like that.

I changed my mind," he said. "I'll take you up on helping me get a job." I almost swerved into oncoming traffic.

No," Dimitri interrupted gently. He moved his face toward mine, our foreheads nearly touching. "It won't happen to you. You're too strong. You'll fight it, just like you did this time." "I only did because you were here." He wrapped his arms around me, and I buried my face in his chest. "I can't do it by myself," I whispered. "You can," he said. There was a tremulous note in his voice. "You're strong—you're so, so strong. It's why I love you.