“Te amo, Querida, he whispered suddenly, stroking her hair. Tu eres mi luz en la oscuridad. This is the second time you ve said that, Cassandra murmured. What does it mean? I love you. His voice was as rough as his hand on her cheek was gentle. You are my light in the darkness.”
“I need to go hunting now, he rasped. Before I tear off your clothes and plunge my c*** and my fangs inside you.”
“There’s a little angel on one of my shoulders saying that this is a wicked thing to do. Then there’s a little devil on my other shoulder, and she looks a lot like you.”
“In my experience, people who want to keep their painful injuries are using them as a crutch. They’re hiding from something.”
“He wasn’t gullible enough to be bullied by the ghost’s accusation – for Andrew Fletcher had his share of guilt, but he’d never thrown anyone down a well, either.”
“The shows she’d watch on the Discovery Channel hadn’t prepared her for a kidnapping. Terrorist attack? Yes. Defending her home? Yes. Kidnapped by a police officer? No. She’d have to write to the network about that.”
“He kissed the cord running between her shoulder and neck, his teeth grazing the skin. Clamping her thighs together, she struggled to breathe through the wave of desire. Biology dictated the amount of time it took for women to become aroused, nearly twice that of men, but in a single moment, he’d disproved that theory.”
“I freeze when I come face to face with a naked man’s chest. Why does this keep happening to me? Trying to keep my eyes averted from his very naked lower regions, I look up.”
“Kurt pick his way around testing for heat before taking each step and avoiding places where the ash was heaps up.”
“Shifters mate for life. We have one true mate and when we meet, we know immediately. By scent. Instinct. You are mine.”
“She raised the shovel, ready to plunge it into the soft soil. I am not afraid. I am not. You should be. A sinister, accented voice pierced her consciousness. The shovel fell from her nerveless fingers, thudding onto the cold ground. Cassandra knew that voice; it had the rich, dark cadence that had haunted her dreams since the night she d first met him. She spun around, the hood of her cloak falling to her shoulders. Rafael Villar stepped out from behind a mausoleum. The shadows embraced his bronze skin, obscuring the scars on the left side of his face while moonlight highlighted his exotic Mediterranean features on the right.... You! You ve been the one disturbing my people?”
“Rafael possessed unfathomable strength. His speed defied the laws of nature...and his bite, good God, his bite. How could something so macabre feel so pleasurable?”
“It may be small comfort, but I believe Rafe doesn t want to kill you. A light laugh escaped her lips. Actually, that is a substantial comfort.”
“Rafe pulled Cassandra into his arms. At first, I wanted my arm back to feel whole again and to not appear weak before my enemies. Now I only want it to hold you.”
“Rafe tugged her closer before she could trip over a gravestone. Damn it, woman. Devil take your wagon! You fail to grasp the severity of this situation.”
“I can’t let it happen. I can’t risk it. I have to protect you, and I will. With every breath in me, I will.”