Home > Work > Midnight Alley (The Morganville Vampires, #3)
41 " Claire fell asleep on the couch with her head in Shane's lap as he and Michael and Eve kept talking, and talking, and talking. It was three a.m. when she woke up; Shane hadn't moved, but she was covered with a blanket, and he was sound asleep, sitting straight up.Claire yawned, groaned at sore muscles, and rolled to her feet. "Shane. Up. You need to go to bed."He woke up cute, softened by sleep. "Come with?" He was only half joking. She remembered being curled up with him in her bed, the night she'd been so scared; he'd been careful then, but she wasn't sure she could count on that kind of self-restraint at three a.m., when he was half-asleep."I can't," she said reluctantly. "Not that I don't want to ..."He smiled and stretched out on his side on the couch, leaving a narrow space between his warm, solid body and the cushions. "Stay," he said. "I promise, no clothes will come off. Well, maybe shoes. Do shoes count as clothes?"She kicked hers off and climbed over him to slip into that small pocket, and sighed in relief as his body pressed against hers. She didn't even need the blanket, but he put it over the two of them anyway, and then combed her hair back from her neck and kissed her on the soft, vulnerable skin. "
― Rachel Caine , Midnight Alley (The Morganville Vampires, #3)
42 " No way," Eve replied. "If you're going, go big.""Remind me to play poker with you later," Michael said. "I love a girl who'll go all in."She hip-bumped him. "That's what you want to do with me later? Dude. Respect the dress, at least."Michael trailed his pale fingers down her back, following the line of her spine, all the way to the red rose. Eve shivered, and her eyes went half-closed. Whatever Michael whispered in her ear, Claire thought it was probably way too personal to hear. "
43 " Claire started to follow, but Shane's grip on her arm had tightened, and he was holding her back."What?" she asked, and turned to face him. God, he looked amazing. He needed to let Eve dress him all the time."Before we go in," he said, and bent and kissed her. Claire distantly heard the whistles and catcalls of the shot drinkers -- distantly, because the kiss was sweet and hot and wild, and there was something crazy in it that made her just quiver inside.He pulled away way too soon. "Stay with me," he said, with his lips near her ear, and she nodded. Like I'd let you out of my sight. "
44 " Oh, like you don’t throw a hissy every time somebody trips your angst switch! "
45 " All she wanted to do was sleep. She’d have taken a ride with Satan in his big red handbasket if it had helped her get off her feet for a few minutes. "
