Quotes by Tessa Dare

Oh no. Dont smile. Youll kill me. I stop breathing when you smile.

Oh, dear. She let her head fall back to the pillow. There it went. Ive fallen in love with you now.Just now? Chuckling, he came to a sitting position, resting his forearm on one bent knee. Well, thank God for belated blessings. He ran a handthrough his hair. Its been coming on rather longer than that for me.What? She sat bolt upright. What can you mean? Since when?From the first, Amelia. From the very first.

I was afraid. Of getting hurt in other ways. To be truthful, I still am.His thumb stroked her cheek. I would never hurt you.I dont think you can promise me that. She squeezed his bruised fingers. But it makes things a bit more equal, to know that I can hurt you, too.His gaze fell to her lips. He said simply, without any trace of irony, You are killing me.

Im infatuated with you, I cannot deny it. Physically speaking, youre a very attractive man. But I dont like you, the vast majority of the time. So far as I can gather, you behave abominably in public and are only marginally better in private. I only find you remotely tolerable when youre kissing me.

Clearly the sight of a well-muscled forearm incited a woman to utter depravity. How else to explain the invention of cuffs?

You dont want me to feel obligated? Well, Im sorry, Lily. I am herebecause I feel obligated. He brought her hand to his chest, pressing herpalm flat against his rapidly thumping pulse. Im obligated by my heart. Itsdecided youre essential to my existence, you see. And its threatening to go out on labor strike if I dont make you mine this very day. So yes. I am here on bended knee, acting from a deep, undeniable sense of obligation. I am, quite simply, yours. He swallowed hard. If youll have me.

I knew right then you were the only one for me. He pulled her handfrom his face, kissed her palm, then pressed it flat against his chest. Beatings, battles, fights. No matter how bleak the circumstance, no matter how my soul despaired ... this heart never once gave up. His voice deepened, went thick with emotion. Ive a theory as to why. Do you want to hear it?She nodded.This heart is yours. Its yours, he said. It always will be.

No, Susanna, he said. I cannot love you just a little. If thats what you want, you must find a different man. His green eyes were breathtaking in their intensity. His thumb brushed her bottom lip. Because I can only love you entirely. With everything I am, and everything I ever will be. Body, mind, heart, soul.

A hint of sensual frustration roughened his voice.“And I will curse the gods along with them, Min. Some wild monsoon raged through me as I looked at you just now. It’s left me rearranged inside, and I don’t have a map.

You’re my home, Susanna. My home, my heart, my dearest love. Wherever you are, that’s where I belong. Always.” - Victor Bramwell, Earl of Rycliff

I will insist you be man enough to take it. I won’t have you making light of my feelings, or making light of yourself—as if you’re not worthy of them. Because you are worthy, Colin. You’re a generous, good-hearted person, and you deserve to be loved. Deeply, truly, well, and often.”He looked utterly bewildered. Well, what did he expect, after the power he’d given her? He couldn’t compare a woman to a torrentially beautiful monsoon, and then look surprised that he’d gotten wet. “You reckless man.” She laid a touch to his cheek. “You really should be more careful with those compliments.

Her chin lifted. Very well. Here is my best offer. Half of my nakedness for all of yours.He pretended to think on it. Its a bargain.

Squabbling over too little is just human nature. But it says a great deal about a person, what they do with abundance.

No, no. Dont make that face. Every time I propose to you, you make that twisty, unhappy face. It wears on a mans confidence.

Why must this be so mortifying? Oh, thats right. Because its my life.

Prithee, He protested, if thou wouldst waiteth a goddamned second-

The love of books was an instant connection, and a true boon for a girl who tended toward shyness, because it was a source of endless conversation.

He rubbed his hands up and down, warming her. “Then that’s all you need to know. I have you. If there are beasties in the dark, they have to get through me.

I love you, Jeremy.”He still felt it, that wince of doubt. The urge to push her away. She said it so simply. As though there was nothing easier, more natural in the world. The words themselves hung in the air, so tiny, so bare.Jeremy felt as though she’d thrust a frail, delicate, birdlike thing into his big, clumsy hands, charging him to keep it safe. And God forgive him, his first impulse was to shove it away. He would destroy it, surely. In his desperation, he would grasp it so tightly it would break into a thousand pieces—and his own heart would break along with it.

It was only a matter of time. She would love him before the week was out and it would be gloriously terrible, wonderfully hopeless.