“… I discovered life sometimes has a way of giving you what you need, but not in the form you expect.”

“Rest,” Logan said. “Both of you.” His caressing gaze moved over his wife and infant daughter.“I’ll watch over you.”“Love me?” Madeline asked with a faint smile, and yawned again.“It used to be love.” He brushed his lips over her closed eyelids. “Now there’s no word for it.”“You once told me that you thought love was a weakness.”“I was wrong,” he whispered, kissing the corners of her mouth. “I’ve discovered it’s my onlystrength.”Madeline fell asleep with a smile still on her lips, her hand curled around his.”

“No matter how strong our resolve, we eventually find ourselves enslaved by the compulsive preference for one particular woman. You’ve been caught, my friend. You may as well reconcile yourself to it.” Nick did not bother trying to deny it. “I was going to be so much smarter than you,” he muttered. Sir Ross grinned. “I prefer to think that intelligence has nothing to do with it. For if a man’s intellect is measured by his ability to remain untouched by love, I would be the greatest idiot alive.”

“It seemed as if some subtle current of recognition had passed between them… not as if they had met before… but as if they had come close several times until finally an impatient Fate had forced their paths to intersect.”

“The Rom believe you should take the road that calls to you, and never turn back. Because you never know what adventures await.” He reached for her slowly, giving her every opportunity to object. Through the cottony gauze of her nightgown, he touched the curve of her hips. He brought her close, into his hard weight.“So we’re going to take this road,” he murmured, “and see where it leads.”

“Love me?” Madeline asked with a faint smile. “It used to be love.” He brushed his lips over her closed eyelids. “Now there’s no word for it.” “You once told me that you thought love was a weakness.” “I was wrong,” he whispered, kissing the corners of her mouth. “I’ve discovered it’s my only strength.”

“I’ve never heard of a man being so eager to confess to the parent of a girl he’s just ruined”

“She shook her head as she confessed, “I want it so much, I’m afraid to hope.” “Never be afraid to hope,” Rohan said gently. “It’s the only way to begin.” -Rohan to Win”

“Was this some new level of depravity? Had he developed a spinster fetish?”

“Where are we going?” Annabelle asked, resisting his hold on her wrist.“To the house. If they’re not willing to be witnesses, then it seems I’ll have to debauch you in front of someone else.”

“You wouldn’t have taken Rose to such a place, would you?””Of course not, but she is a little girl, and I’m-“”My life”, he interrupted quietly. “You’re my entire life. If anything ever happens to you, Holly, there is nothing left for me.”

“Annabelle gave him a chiding smile. “If you’re implying that I’m spoiled, I assure you that I am not.”“You should be.” His warm gaze slid over her pink-tinted face and slender upper body, then sought hers again. There was a note in his voice that gently robbed her of breath. “You could do with a bit of spoiling.”

“He uttered a curse that startled her with its foulness, and gripped her head between his hands, forcing her to stare at him. His voice was savage. “For twelve years I have been in constant torment, wanting you in my arms and believing it would never be possible. I want you for a thousand reasons other than your legs, and…no, damn it, I want you for no reason at all, other than the fact that you’re you. I want to shove myself deep inside you and stay for hours…days…weeks. I want morning and noon and nightfall with you. I want your tears, your smiles, your kisses…the smell of your hair, the taste of your skin, the touch of your breath on my face. I want to see you in the final hour of my life…to lie in your arms as I take my last breath.”

“I’m fairly certain, Captain,” she said, “that the more you discover about me, the more you will dislike me. Therefore, let’s cut to the chase and acknowledge that we don’t like each other. Then we won’t have to bother with the in-between part.”She was so bloody frank and practical about the whole thing that Christopher couldn’t help but be amused.“I’m afraid I can’t oblige you.”“Why not?”“Because when you said that just now, I found myself starting to like you.”“You’ll recover,” she said.Her decisive tone made him want to smile. “It’s getting worse, actually,” he told her. “Now I’m absolutely convinced that I like you.”Beatrix gave him a patently skeptical stare. “What about my hedgehog? Do you like her, too?”Christopher considered that. “Affection for rodents can’t be rushed.”“Medusa isn’t a rodent. She’s an erinaceid.”

“Rohan, one of us is an unmarried man with superior mathematical abilities and no prospects for the evening. The other is a confirmed lecher in an amorous mood, with a willing and nubile young wife waiting at home. Who do you think should do the damned account books?” And, with a nonchalant wave, St. Vincent had left the office.”