Aileen

“The creatures are dangerous,” he said. “And you’re a very stubborn woman. You might decide to get yourself killed just to spite me.”
― Ilona Andrews, On the Edge

“I wish there were some way I could repay you,” she said, wiping her hands.
“There is.”
She looked up. “What can I do for you?”
“You could kiss me, Rose.”
She froze, the kitchen towel in her hands, sure she had misheard.
“Surely, I deserve one kiss for saving your brother.”
“Why would you want me to kiss you?”
“I want to know what you taste like.” A slow smile stretched his lips. “Don’t tell me you haven’t thought of it.”
She had thought of it, but she would die before admitting it. “Can’t say I have.”
“One kiss,” he said. “Or are you scared?”
― Ilona Andrews, On the Edge

“She wished she had a manual or something, some kind of instruction sheet that would clearly spell out what a responsible parent did in this sort of situation. Her imagination painted Georgie twenty years later, sitting in leg irons before some Broken psychiatrist. “Well, you see, it all started with bubbles”
― Ilona Andrews, On the Edge

“It wasn’t my intent to make you lose your employment.”
Rose waved her hand. “No need to be so modest. You planned it all out brilliantly--getting me fired, cutting off my only source of income, all the while positioning yourself as my hero and savior.”
Declan’s eyebrows came together. “That is brilliant. I wish I would’ve thought of it. Alas, I was simply being charitable to a fellow human being. Brad needed to talk. All I could do was lend him a willing ear.”
Declan the Good Samaritan. She grinned. “You also generously lent him your fist.”
“Well, you didn’t expect me to slap him with an open hand. One simply doesn’t.” Declan smiled back.”
― Ilona Andrews, On the Edge