J.R. Ward

Okay, okay, okay _ go to your corners, boys. This is a nice Aubusson carpet you__e standing on. You get blood on it and I__l have Fritz so far up my ass I__l be coughing on his hankie.

Good? No, that didn't go far enough. She'd made him feel_ alive. Awakened.

Look upon me, Mistress. Watch as I wither!

And mortal terror in a female was Z's favorite turn-on. He got off on it like most males favored crap from Victoria's Secret.

Those eerie diamond eyes shifted over to her and she stilled, as if he's willed her to do so.There was a moment of silence. And then in a rough voice the man whose life she saved spoke four words that changed everything...changed her life, changed her destiny: "She. Comes. With. Me.

Mary._ Turning at the soft sound of her name, she glanced behind herself. Then frowned. __assiter?_ ____ over here._ __here?_ She looked all around. __hy is your voice echoing?_ __himney._ __hat?_ ____ stuck in the fucking chimney._ She raced over to the fireplace and got on her hands and knees. Looking up into the dark flue, she shook her head. __ass? What the hell are you doing up there?_ His voice emanated from somewhere above her. __on__ tell anyone, okay?_ __hat are you__ An arm came down. A very sooty arm that was encased in a red sleeve that had white trim. Or what had been white trim and which was now smudged with ash. __ou__e stuck!_ she exclaimed. __nd thank God no one lit this fire!_ __ou__e telling me,_ he muttered in his disembodied voice. __ had to blow out Fritz__ match like a hundred times before he gave up. Fuck, that sounds dirty. Anyway, just remind me never to try to be Santa for your kid, okay? I__ not doing this again, even for her._ Mary stretched a little farther in, but the logs on the hearth stopped her. __assiter. Why can__ you free yourself by dematerializing__ ____ impaled on a hook that__ iron. I can__ go ghost. And will you just take this?_ __ha

The necklace was a good excuse," he murmured."For what?""I thought maybe I could go to Charleston and show up at your front door to give this back and maybe_ you might let me in. Or something. I was worried that another male would court you, so I've been trying to go as fast as I could. I mean, I figured maybe if I could read, and if I took a little better care of myself, and if I tried to stop being such a mean-ass motherfucker_" He shook his head. "But don't misunderstand. It's not like I expected you to be happy to see me. I was just_ you know, hoping_ coffee. Tea. Chance to talk. Or some shit. Friends, maybe. Except if you had a male, he wouldn't allow that. So, yeah, that's why I've been hurrying."His yellow eyes lifted to hers. He was wincing, as if he were afraid of what might be showing on her face."Friends?" she said."Yeah_ I mean, I wouldn't disgrace you by asking for more than that. I know that you regret_ Anyway, I just couldn't let you go without_ Yeah, so_ friends.

When her blue-black eyes lifted to his, everything disappeared. Their bodies dematerialized. The room they were in ceased to exist. Time became nothing. And in the void, in the wormhold, Wrath's chest opened up sure as if he'd been shot, a piercing pain licking over his nerve endings. He knew then that there are many ways for a heart to break. Sometimes it's from the crowding of life, the compression of responsibility and birthright and burden that just squeezed you until you couldn't breathe anymore. Even though your lungs were working just fine. And sometimes it's from the casual cruelty of a fate that took you far from where you had thought you would end up.And sometimes it's age in the face of youth. Or sickness in the face of health. But sometimes it's just because you're looking into the eyes of your lover, and your gratitude for having them in your life overflows...because you showed them what was on the inside and they didn't run scared or turn away: they accepted you and loved you and held you in the midst of your passion or your fear...or your combination of both. Wrath closed his eyes and focused on the soft pulls at his wrist. God, they were just like the beat of his heart. Which made sense.Because she was the center of his chest. And the center of his world.

I would do anything for you. Anything."With that, he pushed his way out...and as the door eased shut, she realized that I love you could indeed be said without actually uttering the phrase.Actions did mean more than words.

A book unopened alters not the ink on its pages. What is there is there.

You keep showing up here? Being who you are?' There was a pause. 'I'm going to fall in love with you.' -Rehvenge

One thing, though," Qhuinn murmured."What?"The voice that came out his throat was unlike anything he'd ever heard from himself before. "If any guy breaks your heart or treats you like shit, I will bust him apart with my bare hands and leave his broken, bloody body for the sun."Blay's laughter rumbled around the tiled walls. "Of course you will--""I'm dead fucking serious."Blay's blue eyes shot over his shoulder."If there are any who dare to hurt you," Qhuinn growled in the Old Language, "I shall see them staked afore me and shall leave their bodies in ruin.

And for all he had learned to bandage himself up on the outside, the wound remained just as bad and deep as the moment it had been made - when it became obvious that the one male he wanted above all others was never, ever going to be with him.

V had a passing thought that she used the word "anyway" like an eraser on a crowded chalkboard. She said it whenever she needed to clear off the things she'd just shared to make room for more.

Rhage exhaled slowly, air easing out of his nose. As he sank into his skin, he reveled in the perfection of peace. The heavenly silence. The great roaring absence.

Love, he realized, was like the daggers he made in his forge: When you first got one it was shiny and new and the blade glinted bright in the light. Holding it against your palm, you were full of optimism for what it would be like in the field, and you couldn't wait to try it out. Except those first couple of nights out were usually awkward as you got used to it and it got used to you.Over time, the steel lost its brand-new gleam, and the hilt became stained, and maybe you nicked the shit out of the thing a couple of times. What you got in return, however, saved your life: Once the pair of you were well acquainted, it became such a part of you that it was an extension of your own arm. It protected you and gave you a means to protect your brothers; it provided you with the confidnece and the power to face whatever came out of the night; and wherever you went, it stayed with you, right over your heart, always there when you needed it.You had to keep the blade up, however. And rewrap the hilt from time to time. And double-check the weight. when it came to weapons. Why hadn't it dawned on him that matings were the same?(From the thoughts of Vishous)

After a moment, Wrath turned to John. "This is Lassiter, the fallen angel. One of the last times he was here on earth, there was a plague in central Europe-""Okay, that was so not my fault-""-which wiped out two-thirds of the human population.""I'd like to remind you that you don't like humans.""They smell bad when they're dead.""All you mortal types do.

Wrath held her even closer, right to his beating chest. _. . . a son?_ __es. A son._ All of a sudden, he felt the biggest, widest, happiest grin hit his face, the g*dd*mn thing stretching his cheeks until they hurt, making his eyes water from the strain, pulling at his temples until they burned. And the joy wasn__ just on his puss. A flush so great it burned him alive flooded through his body, cleansing him in places he didn__ know were dirty, washing out cobwebs that had crept into his corners, making him feel alive in a way he hadn__ been in a very, very long time. Before he knew what he was doing, he burst to his feet with Beth in his arms, leaned back, and hollered at the top of his lungs, with more pride than his six-foot-nine frame could hold. __ soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooon! I__ having a soooooooooooooooooooooooon!_-Wrath & Beth