claudia

I hear the birds singing. Listen. I hear them in their cage. The others-all our kind who know of her-they think of her as heartless, but she wasn't heartless. She was only aware of things which I didn't learn till so many decades had passed. She knew secrets that only suffering can teach...

I miss him in so many ways, but right now I miss him in the way you always miss someone when you're single among a room full of couples.

Shh, kitten,_ he whispered in English once more, nuzzling her temple, mouth open and hot against her ear. __rust me._ His palms curved beneath her breasts, lifting them as his blunt fingertips tweaked her nipples expertly enough to have slickness gathering between her clenched thighs. __ou are the most beautiful thing I have ever touched. Une ange, bébé._ Hegroaned quietly as he caught her earlobe between his teeth. __e t__dore,_ he muttered, thrusting against her backside.

You__e doing it again,_ he said.__oing what?_ I asked, wondering if I had done something wrong.__elting my heart with your smile,_ he said.

What mysteries we are, human, vampire, monster, mortal, that we can love and hate simultaneously, and that emotions of all sorts might not parade for what they are not.