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From Inside the Grey House:

As he stood and looked toward the closets for clothing, he wished briefly that he had not ordered his people to destroy the cabin: it would be lovely to take Natalia back there and give her memories she would cherish instead of loath. Vincent shook his head trying to clear it, but as he was learning, it was difficult to remove her from his mind. As he walked slowly to the clothing he saw hanging on the closest door, he wondered if he should have brought Natalia with him instead of ordering Charlie to take her home. If she were here, she would be healed in less the 24 hours. As it was, it would be more than 24 hours, and he probably wouldn’t be able to be with her for a more than that.

From Inside the Grey House:

Natalia sat facing the apartment building, watching for the lights to go out. They paid for their dinner long before there was any change in the apartment, staying at the table until the apartment went black. They walked away from the restaurant and went around the back of the apartment building to the parking lot, and watched as the Slayer, Jeffery Tathers, climbed into his car and drove away. Natalia and Charlie said their good nights at the apartment building’s back door. Charlie went to Natalia’s car, climbed into the front seat, made sure no one was watching and changed to wolf form.

From Inside the Grey House:

At the moment, he needed to have a private conversation with Natalia. The sequence of numbers he entered into the device controlled the microphones and cameras for this room only. He knew the code for every room, had programmed them with Vincent. When the code was entered, it turned off all recording devices. In the security room the only thing the guard would notice was the video screen changing to a different room. Rebecca was there now watching the screen intently. She had convinced the on-duty guard to take a break. Joseph ordered her to the security room to distract the guard; she decided to take over the watch.

From Inside the Grey House:

Natalia was pacing the length of downstairs hallway. It was the night after Edwin’s Red Tie Affair, and no one had returned. Sunset was hours ago. Markus was in the security room, waiting for word. It was the full moon, which meant she didn’t even have the company of the wolves, who were sedated and locked in the dungeon. She yelled at one too many of Vincent’s humans for no good reason, causing them to stay out of her way. They were as worried as her but were better able to control their emotions. Consequently, she paced, waiting for something.

It was an hour later when the door of the security office banged open and Markus yelled out the door. “They’re here!”

From Inside the Grey House:

She gave him a quizzical why not look, her head cocked to one side. She blinked a couple of times, then looked down as if to look inside herself. She shook her head, to clear it. He watched as she looked inward again, then shook her head again, a look of denial on her features. She backed away from him, not letting him hold her anymore. He tried to catch her hand, but she pulled away, a look of pure sorrow on her face. She looked up at him, near tears. Her breath was coming fast, and her heart was beating so hard he could hear it. She started to shake her head slowly, letting it get faster as she continued to back away.

From Inside the Grey House:

“I will protect her to the best of my ability and always ask my Alpha for guidance when I’m unsure of a situation.”

“Good. Now get out, both of you. I need time alone.”

Rebecca pulled Charlie to his feet and the two left hurriedly. Outside the office, Charlie grabbed Rebecca to him and gave her a strong kiss. “Thank you.”

She smiled. “Thank me upstairs.”

Charlie grinned, picked his wife up in his arms and practically ran up the stairs to their bedroom.

From Inside the Grey House:

Vincent looked down at the woman sleeping in his arms. A heavy sigh escaped him as he looked around for Joseph. “Take her to the master bedroom. Let her sleep.”

Joseph nodded and took Natalia in his arms. Bowing slightly to the healer and his boss, he walked past the two on his way up the stairs.

Vincent came back to himself and stood. He helped Lilly to her feet, thanking her for her help. He waved her away and turned back to Anthony, who stood glowering at the bottom of the steps.

“Go home, Anthony. This doesn’t concern you.”

From Inside the Grey House:

Two sets of hands pulled her up and out. They set her on the bathmat on her side. She lay shivering for a couple minutes as she was given more water and bits of oranges. A terry cloth robe was laid on top of her to help her chills. Natalia clutched at the robe trying to control her ragged breath. She became more aware of her surroundings as the room became brighter. She took a deep breath, and smelled a flower garden, then the scent of wicks being extinguished. She tried to sit up and was helped by two sets of hands. Her eyes rolled back as a wave of dizziness hit. She put her head between her knees and threw up.

“Rabbit” was the first word that came up today. I laughed a little as I didn’t think I had used that word in any part of the trilogy. Then remembered I used “rabbit” at least once in the first book. Because there are rabbits on Vincent’s estate. As that is in the first book, and not the second, I had to find another word.

From Inside the Grey House:

“How? He has no idea.” She sounded perturbed.

Vincent strolled over and grabbed her bandaged arm. He squeezed, giving her a mean look as he did so. He was angrier than ever before. His mood didn’t improve when she kept in her pain and gave him a dirtier look. “You left your blood. That’s all he needs.”

“Bullshit. You’re the only vampire I’ve ever heard of that can tell one human’s blood from another. And if for some reason Edwin can, he’s never met me. All he knows is that a human killed his men, not which one.”

From Inside the Grey House:

“You’re used to getting things your way. You won’t with her. It’ll be interesting to watch.” He paused to take another sip of the fine brandy. “I wonder how much she’ll get away with?”

Vincent stared out the window, considering his friend’s words. He wanted to argue, but knew Joseph was right. He considered how much he had already done for the human, although he only met her four times. There was something about her, as there had been with the five other women he had had long relationships with. Something that caught his attention from the moment they met. He had taken it for granted that Natalia would stay with him after he freed her. Now, Joseph was telling him she wanted to stay, but as a human, not as a vampire. He wondered if it mattered.

The memory of last night and of what he had done to Lorraine’s female came back to him. He had allowed himself to pretend it was Natalia chained to the wall. The ferocity with which he attacked and killed her had been funneled through his frustrations of not being able to be with the human of his choice. He didn’t believe he would rip Natalia’s throat out. What of the fact that she didn’t want to be changed? Did it matter? He turned back to Joseph, who was now sitting on the edge of the desk, swirling the last sip of brandy in the glass.

“How much have any of them gotten away with, Joseph? As long as she doesn’t betray me or hurt any in our family, she’ll have what she wants.”

“What does she want? Do you really know?”

“No, but I’ll get it out of her.”

“She’s in the master bedroom as you asked. Will you be using that room for a while?”

“Until I trust her, yes. Bring my clothing down from my room at the first opportunity.”