“Very,” Bella agreed. “You smell like the air after a good, hard rain, when the earth is clean and the grass and the flowers are all still soaked. It's pure and soft and crisp all at the same time,” he murmured, staring off into space. “It's the kind of scent you can never get enough of. I've always thought if that was the way all blood smelled to vampires, I could kind of understand why they're the way they are.” “Azar...” He leaned in a little closer, and, to her deep shame, she didn't move away. “It's the truth,” he said, stroking her hair. “It's not just your scent, it's everything. It's the way you move, the way your voice is always just a little bit hoarse like you're just getting over a cold, the way your left eyebrow twitches whenever I say something that pisses you off. Everything about you just draws me in.” His lips hovered so close to hers she could almost feel them. Something about the light friction before contact brought her to her senses, a

Logan completely ignored the goblin's words. He asked his friends, "What if we pretended to be lost hikers?""That might work if there were one or two of us," Kelda sighed, "but five? And we're all wearing brand new clothes. I don't think he'd buy it.""We could just go in guns blazing," Ira suggested. "Just kick in his door, string him up by his balls, and then beat him like a naughty kitten until he's raw and tells us where the treasure is.""What if Jakey nukes him from orbit with his God Cannon?" Rafe threw his opinion into the mix. "That was pretty badass, and it'd save us a ton of work.""That'd destroy the treasure along with the demon," Logan shook his head. "As much as he wants to bust out the God Cannon again, it should be reserved for special situations. Great power and great responsibility, you know?""Oh no," Rafe gasped. "Why'd you have to go and say that, Jakey? Now you're gonna get shot by some burglar and die in my arms while you lecture me about being a hero.

“You have no idea how good it feels to be home.” Logan sighed as he pulled their black Jeep, Shadow, into the driveway. “Even though we were just in Canada, it feels like we’ve been gone forever.”“The long-ass drive didn’t help, bro,” Rafe added from the passenger seat. “I literally got bored of sleeping. Sleeping, Jakey!”“Well, I had a lot of fun,” Kelda piped up. “I’m always happy to go on road trips with the love of my life and my best friends! I could never be bored when I’m with you guys.”“Aww,” Ira cooed as she slipped out of the vehicle. “I enjoyed your company too, Kelda.”“Maybe it was just the shit I was smoking.” Rafe shrugged. “It’s a new strain Slothy and I developed. We call it ‘The Clockstopper,’ because time nearly slows down when you smoke it.”“Is that FDA approved?” Logan asked as he opened the door and stepped out into the driveway. “Or are you just putting whatever chemicals you can find into your body?”“Bro,” Rafe shook his head disapprovingly, “you of all

"He didn't notice," Logan stifled a laugh and winked at Gula.The curvy redhead giggled and then raised up the lids of the platters. When he saw what was underneath, it felt like his mouth was hit with a tidal wave.The first platter contained several pieces of smoked salmon, with perfectly red flesh and several singe marks from the cooking process. Underneath platter number two was a massive bowl of rice pilaf, topped with a few pieces of fresh bay leaves and half a lemon.Gula picked up a lemon, squeezed it delicately over the bed of rice, and then placed it off to the side. The elves sat down in one of the empty seats, picked up her utensils, and licked her lips happily.“Dig in, guys!” she ordered. “I know it’s not much, but I did my best.”“Gula,” Logan drooled, “this looks like the best meal we’ve had in months.”They passed the platters around the table, and each took a piece of salmon as well as a couple large scoops of rice. The salmon that he'd grabbed was one of

“What’s the matter?” Logan asked with a grin. “Are you shy?”The redhead snorted. “Anything but,” she argued. “It’s just… I don’t know… I feel like Sister Abina and Sister Kelda are putting a lot of pressure on me to hook up with you.”“Really?” Logan noted sarcastically. “I didn’t notice.”They passed by a few of the offices of the lower-level cult members, and then they were at the computer room. Logan stepped aside and let the elves enter the room first.“Well… I want to,” Gula continued. “I really, really want to. But--”“You want to ease into things,” Logan finished her sentence. “I get it, Gula. We don’t have to rush into that if you’re not ready.”“What?” the Sister of Gluttony asked with a confused quirk of her lips. “That’s not what I meant at all.”“What did you mean, then?” Logan questioned.Gula looked down at the ground bashfully and then turned her head up to stare him in the eyes. The elves bit her lip, and Logan could see that her nipples were growing erec