c2p-cmd/Good-Quotes-Authors huggingface dataset:
Matt was almost completely naked. A tattered loincloth and an ugly chain with a yellow diamond were his only apparel.
— Priya Ardis
My knitting is simple", he said again. Ï can make anything you want with it, but it will always be simple.
— Amy Lane, The Winter Courtship Rituals of Fur-Bearing Critters
When I was twelve, my sixth-grade English class went on a field trip to see Franco Zeffirelli’s film adaptation of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. From that moment forward I dreamed that someday I’d meet my own Juliet. I’d marry her and I would love her with the same passion and intensity as Romeo. The factthat their marriage lasted fewer than three days before they both were deaddidn’t seem to affect my fantasy. Even if they had lived, I don’t think theirrelationship could have survived. Let’s face it, being that emotionally aflame, sexually charged, and transcendentally eloquent every single second can really start to grate on a person’s nerves. However, if I could find someone to love just a fraction of the way that Montague loved his Capulet, then marrying her would be worth it.
— Annabelle Gurwitch, You Say Tomato, I Say Shut Up: A Love Story
honestly i don't understand the rousing of romance all that well. i used to believe in this thing called fate, or destiny. a romantic romeo and juliet, monet and veronica, etc. but now i feel jaded, maybe agnostic to the idea.but choice used to seem so unromantic, as if some mystic force was not behind the meeting of 2 beautiful individuals. but now i think choice is the greater of the two simply for this fact: by choosing someone you are saying that out of all the people in the entire world i have decided that i want you apart of my life in perpetuum, for the rest of my life, and no one else.no haphazard circumstance, no chance meetings where distant planets align. it's simply two rational individuals who make a choice and an effort to remain together.
— stephen christian, The Orphaned Anything's: Memoir of a Lesser Known
I’m the guy who knows how you can hurt so much that your insides feel like they’re cut and bleeding.
— Stephanie Witter, Patch Up
Always go after the girl. No matter what she says. Chase her.
— Marilyn Grey, The Life I Now Live
On a ship that's made of paper, I would sail the seven seas. (Just to be with you.)
— Scott Spencer, A Ship Made Of Paper
I have nothing to give but my heart so full and these empty hands.""They're not empty now.
— Louisa May Alcott, Little Women
Smile. it's the second best thing you can do with your lips.
— Jill Shalvis, Head Over Heels
You are going, Jane?""I am going, sir.""You are leaving me?""Yes.""You will not come? You will not be my comforter, my rescuer? My deep love, my wild woe, my frantic prayer, are all nothing to you?"What unutterable pathos was in his voice! How hard was it to reiterate firmly, "I am going!""Jane!""Mr. Rochester.""Withdraw then, I consent; but remember, you leave me here in anguish. Go up to your own room, think over all I have said, and, Jane, cast a glance on my sufferings; think of me."He turned away, he threw himself on his face on the sofa. "Oh, Jane! my hope, my love, my life!" broke in anguish from his lips. Then came a deep, strong sob.
— Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre
Do whatever you must, Karigan," he told her, his voice so quiet it would not carry, "to come back. You must come back. To me." ~King Zachary
— Kristen Britain, Blackveil
If the human heart sometimes finds moments of pause as it ascends the slopes of affection, it rarely halts on the way down.
— Honoré de Balzac, Père Goriot
I have seen clouds part for the sun. I have seen rainbows. I have seen flowers in the morning, covered in dew, and I have seen sunsets so brilliant with fire they made me want to weep. And I have seen Dan smile at me, his lips still wet from my kiss, and if I had to choose which sight moved me the most I would say it was that one.
— Megan Hart, Dirty
Never be ruled by possessions, and never, ever make wealth more important to you than your self-respect and your dignity." - Lady Taylor
— Julie Garwood
That dog is a wolf, is he not?''Aye, well, mostly.'A small flash of hazel told him not to quibble.'And yet he is thy boon companion, a creature of rare courage and affection, and altogether a worthy being?;'Oh, aye,' he said with more confidence. 'He is."She gave him an even look.'Thee is a wolf, too, and I know it. But thee is my wolf, and best thee know that.'He'd started to burn when she spoke, an ignition swift and fierce as the lighting of one of his cousin's matches. He put out his hand, palm forward, to her, still cautious lest she too, burst into flame.'What I said to ye, before . . . that I kent ye loved me-'She stepped forward and pressed her palm to his, her small, cool fingers linking tight.'What I say to thee now is that I do love thee. And if thee hunts at night, thee will come home.'Under the sycamore, the dog yawned and laid his muzzle on his paws.'And sleep at they feet,' Ian whispered, and gathered her in with his one good arm, both of them blazing bright as day.
— Diana Gabaldon, An Echo in the Bone
She was like a heroine in a novel that she herself was writing the character kept protesting that she was too strong for love and yet the narrator went on describing her desire.
— Anna Godbersen, Envy
How about we give each other everything we can and not blame each other for what we can’t.
— Jill Shalvis, The Sweetest Thing
It kept him alive, he was certain; even more, it kept his darkest of his demons at bay.
— Lara Adrian, Kiss of Crimson
Angel clicked on a few more pictures on the screen, and Alex made small talk about the place. Then he finally walked away. He stopped just before walking out.“Did Valerie say anything else to Sarah?”Angel glanced back at him. “About what?”“You know about that guy she’s seeing.”Angel turned his attention back to the computer. “No, not really.”Alex frowned. He wasn’t one of those guys, so he wasn’t about to keep asking. If Angel knew anything, he’d tell him. He’d just have to wait until the rehearsal dinner.He started back out when Angel spoke up. “I’m not sure, because she didn’t actually tell me, but I overheard Sarah on the phone last night. It sounded like Valerie was telling her about him.” “Yeah, what did you hear?”Angel looked up trying to remember. Something seemed to come to him but he hesitated. “I don’t think you wanna hear it, Alex. I know I wouldn’t.”Alex squeezed the doorway with his hand. What the hell could he have heard? “Tell me.” Angel shook his head and looked back at the monitor. “Only reason I caught my attentions was because I overheard Sarah ask her something about wearing lingerie.”Alex felt the hair on the back of his neck rise and his gut tightened. He banged his fist against the doorway. He didn’t need to hear any more. Angel had been right that’s the last thing he needed right now. He charged back out of the office, infuriated with himself. Why the fuck had he asked?
— Elizabeth Reyes, Always Been Mine
Maybe illusion and artifice—lies, even—are a necessary part of romance.
— Jody Gehrman, Babe in Boyland
I will find her.""And when you do?" Roger asked."I will make her mine," the warrior answered in a hard, determined voice. "She will be mine."The vow was made.
— Julie Garwood, Gentle Warrior
And she swung the old oar at him with all her strength.It hit with a great thwack, splintering in two, and he went over the side, into the dark, cold waters of the lake, sinking like a stone.It took her two seconds. And then she let out a scream for help, tossing the broken oar away from her, and jumped into the water after him.It was very cold, numbingly so, and as it closed over her head she grabbed forhim, wrapping her arms around his body, ready to sink to the bottom with him.Instead he kicked, pushing them up so that they broke the surface, his armclamped around hers as she struggled. "Jesus, woman!" he snapped. "When did we have to become Romeo and Juliet?
— Anne Stuart, Breathless
I don't know whether to toss you through that window or shake your hand and say 'Well done'" Henry said in a tired voice.
— Julia Quinn, Splendid
Love and ego can never exist together, just as the Sun and shadow cannot.
— Banani Ray, Gautama
Every girl should have at least one wild fling on her resumé.
— Donna Cummings, Summer Lovin'
He loves her for everything she is and is not. She’s old enough to appreciate that.
— Mandy Nachampassack-Maloney, Asha in Time
A kiss is only as sweet as the heart that gives it.
— Kristy Pellegrin
My name's Sean, Jem. I'm Sean.
— J.A. Belfield, Darkness & Light
Suck on this, Edward.
— Dani Smith, Black Dog and Rebel Rose
Amy, listen to me. What I do. The choices I make. They're mine. Only mine. The consequences of those decisions—mine."Mine," he repeated when she sighed heavily. "No one else's."Silence. Only the warm wetness of her tears dampening his shirt.It broke his heart.
— Cindy Gerard, Into the Dark
I think I love you, Bennett. Probably not relevant at the moment so no need to say thanks.
— Helene Young, Shattered Sky
She had wanted more than she could have.She had wanted him, and more... she had wanted him to want her.In the name of something bigger than tradition, bolder than reputation, more important than a silly title.
— Sarah MacLean
And your green eyes are the color of the hills- the color of my home.' His voice dropped to a whisper. 'Aye, there's something about you, Lindsey Waters.
— Cyndi Tefft
Lily looks back down at the necklace in her hand that Kavita had given her. "It must have cost a fortune.""It did." He confirms. "Though not nearly as much as you're worth."Lily looks up at him. "Don't say that. You hurt me everytime you speak.
— Carroll Bryant, Last Flight Out
I don't know who he was," Kavita flat-out states, "but whoever he was he sure did a number on you, didn't he?"Mary leans forward to ensure he would see her deviant stare. "Did it ever occur to you that maybe I did a number on him?"Kavita leans in closer as well, and with that same deviant expression, "Yes. I have.
— Carroll Bryant, Last Flight Out
The white lily stands for purity. Artists for centuries have pictured the angel Gabriel coming to the virgin Mary with a spray of lillies in his hand, to announce that she is to be the mother of the Turks.
— Carroll Bryant, Last Flight Out
You know," Kavita begins, "I think I can pick out my own furniture. I am an artist after all. I do have some taste.""No you don't." Nick plainly states. "No man has taste. Besides, I didn't pick it out, she did. Wives are good for things like that.
— Carroll Bryant, Last Flight Out
It took me two years to give him all of my heart, and he threw it away in one night.
— Dannika Dark, Seven Years
I looked at him like a stranger, someone I’d never seen before, and he looked at me like I’d been lost to him for a thousand years and finally found.
— Emme Rollins, Dear Rockstar
This is how life works. Deciding whom to love is not an alien form of decision-making, a romantic interlude in the midst of normal life. Instead, decisions about whom to love are more intense versions of the sorts of decisions we make throughout the course of our existence, from what kind of gelato to order to what career to pursue. Living is an inherently emotional business.
— David  Brooks
See me just as I see you.
— Nicholas Sparks, See Me
Or you just not ask her.""You might as well slit my throat.
— Dee Henderson, The Witness
I want you to know, chickens aren’t sexy. Not to me.”This was met with silence.“Are you there?” She was slurring her words now, which was embarrassing, so she took a deep breath. “Cam? Can you hear me?”“Yes, chickens aren’t sexy. Uh…I don’t think they’re meant to be.
— Jill Shalvis, Instant Attraction
He pulled away the glove, and at the first glimpse of her fragile, white hand, all thoughts of negotiation fled. "I don't see how matters could become worse," he muttered. "I am already besotted with a needle-tongued, conceited, provoking ape leader of a lady."Her head jerked up. "Besotted? You're nothing like it. Vengeful is more like it. Spiteful.
— Loretta Chase, Lord of Scoundrels
He took in the squeaky music, the vulgar and pining melodies, because passion immobilizes good taste and seriously considers what soberly would be thought of as funny and to be resented.
— Thomas Mann, Death in Venice and Other Tales
Oh, aye. I'm the devil all right. And last night, you were begging to step into the fire.
— Liz Carlyle, My False Heart
Good luck, Oretsev. Find the firebird, and when this is over, I'll see you well rewarded. A farmhouse in Udova. A dacha near the city. Whatever you want.""I don't need any of that. Just..." He dropped Nikolai's hand and looked away. "Deserve her.
— Leigh Bardugo, Ruin and Rising
Honest to God, she was the noisiest woman he'd ever been shot at with.
— Jill Shalvis, Smart and Sexy
I remembered Nahadoth's lips on my throat and fought to suppress a shudder, only half succeeding. Death as a consequence of lying with a god wasn't something I had considered, but it did not surprise me. A mortal man's strength had its limits. He spent himself and slept. He could be a good lover, but even his best skills were only guesswork - for every caress that sent a woman's head into the clouds, he might try ten that brought her back to earth.
— N.K. Jemisin, The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms
Misha, my best friend who got me into bed and fucked me with a lie.
— Penelope Douglas, Punk 57
Conn was a wickedly passionate, fiercely dominant man who loved her too much to ever really hurt her.
— Joely Sue Burkhart, Take Me
You ought to be blowing me kisses, wench.
— George R.R. Martin, A Storm of Swords
I’ll support whatever you decide. I’llhelp you any way I can. What’s mine isyours, okay? If you need something, I’ll make sure you have it, however I have to get it. -- Jason Dorsey
— Jasinda Wilder, Falling into Us
Max - "...Do me a favor, if the constable comes knocking, tell him I was here all morning, will you?"Dodsley - "Killed someone again, did we?"Max- "Never before luncheon, Dodsley. It's still early yet.
— Gaelen Foley, My Wicked Marquess
Jenny: But surely Lord Blakely could not abandon his estates for so long.Gareth: No. Lord Blakely could not. Not unless he had someone he could trust to run his estates in his absence. And Lord Blakely...Well, Lord Blakely did not trust anyone.Jenny: Lord Blakely is talking about himself in the third person, past tense. Its disturbing.
— Courtney Milan, Proof by Seduction
Find the pitch and pace and syllables and words you love to hear. Delight your own senses, and self-romance.
— Alexandra Katehakis, Mirror of Intimacy: Daily Reflections on Emotional and Erotic Intelligence
Just leave me alone, I want to be alone,” she said when Jack tried to open the car door. She hit the lock, and wound the window up. Since the roof was down, it was a fairly pointless exercise.
— Sarah Mayberry, Can't Get Enough
I hated him, loved him, wanted him, and yet I wished him away. So many conflicting emotions of wants and needs. So much fear. Not because of him, but because of myself—of how deep my feelings and desires were running, and how much I would fall if I happened to lose my grip.
— J.C. Reed, Conquer Your Love
That made love—not grace—the magic ingredient. Then anew thought hit her. Perhaps love was grace. A shiver wentup her spine. What did that make anger? The antithesis ofgrace?
— Penelope Marzec, A Rush of Light
Witch Baby wanted to ask Ping how to find her Jah-Love angel. She knew Raphael was not him, even though Raphael had the right eyes and smile and name. She knew how he looked--the angel in her dream--but she didn't know how to find him. Should she roller-skate through the streets in the evenings when the streetlights flicker on? Should she stow away to Jamaica on a cruise ship and search for him in the rain forests and along the beaches? Would he come to her? Was he waiting, dreaming of her in the same way she waited and dreamed?
— Francesca Lia Block, Witch Baby
What sort of look are you going for?” Damn, how did he answer this? “Something…normal,” he finally said.
— Toni Blake, Whisper Falls
She was an extension of his dreams. A sprinkling of magic dust, of unfeasible wishes, on his stable existence. The one thing-the one bright, marvelous thing-he wanted more than the world, but didn't deserve. However much he was tortured for her sake, however much blood he had spilled to protect her, the bruises to his body and the thrashings to his sanity, it would never be enough to make a wretch like him worthy of such a miracle.
— V.S. Carnes, Sand for Dreams
We knew each other to our fingertips. No, that's not right. We only knew each other in our fingertips, and that was nothing at all, and for a while that was okay. We could have been a love story, a fairy tale, an indie film about high school and selective insanity featuring a boy of angel parts and a girl made of dreaming. We could have been all the best things: bracelets sliding down arms while shots slid down throats, laughter and crashing music in dark and flashing rooms, kisses that started hesitant but didn't stay that way.
— Amy Zhang, This Is Where the World Ends
After 40 years of marriage, isn’t it amazing when you can look at your partner sound asleep next to you and still believe they have potential.
— Kaylin McFarren
He dropped his voice, so low that Tessa wasn’t sure if what he said next was real or part of the dream darkness rising to claim her, though shefought against it.“I’ve never minded it,” he went on. “Being lost, that is. I had always thought one could not be truly lost if one knew one’s own heart. But I fear I maybe lost without knowing yours.” He closed his eyes as if he were bone-weary, and she saw how thin his eyelids were, like parchment paper, andhow tired he looked. “Wo ai ni, Tessa,” he whispered. “Wo bu xiang shi qu ni.”She knew, without knowing how she knew, what the words meant.I love you.And I don’t want to lose you.
— Cassandra Clare
We stand there for a moment, staring at each other, savoring it. And then all at once, we slam together. Mia's legs are off the ground, wrapped around my waist, her hands dipping in my hair, my hands tangled in hers. And our lips. There isn't enough skin, enough spit, enough time, for the lost years that our lips are trying to make up for as they find each other. We kiss. The electric current switches to high. The lights throughout all of Brooklyn must be surging.
— Gayle Forman, Where She Went
You have to be a romantic to invest yourself, your money, and your time in cheese.
— Anthony Bourdain, Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook
Being in the habit of saying "Thank you," of making sure that people receive attention so they know you value them, of not presuming that people will always be there--this is a good habit, regardless...make sure to give virtual and actual high-fives to those who rock and rock hard.
— Sarah Wendell, Everything I Know About Love I Learned from Romance Novels
To HelenI saw thee once-once only-years ago;I must not say how many-but not many.It was a july midnight; and from outA full-orbed moon, that, like thine own soul, soaring,Sought a precipitate pathway up through heaven,There fell a silvery-silken veil of light,With quietude, and sultriness, and slumberUpon the upturn'd faces of a thousandRoses that grew in an enchanted garden,Where no wind dared to stir, unless on tiptoe-Fell on the upturn'd faces of these rosesThat gave out, in return for the love-lightThier odorous souls in an ecstatic death-Fell on the upturn'd faces of these rosesThat smiled and died in this parterre, enchanted by thee, by the poetry of thy prescence.Clad all in white, upon a violet bank I saw thee half reclining; while the moonFell on the upturn'd faces of the rosesAnd on thine own, upturn'd-alas, in sorrow!Was it not Fate that, on this july midnight-Was it not Fate (whose name is also sorrow)That bade me pause before that garden-gate,To breathe the incense of those slumbering roses?No footstep stirred; the hated world all slept,Save only thee and me. (Oh Heaven- oh, God! How my heart beats in coupling those two worlds!)Save only thee and me. I paused- I looked-And in an instant all things disappeared.(Ah, bear in mind this garden was enchanted!)The pearly lustre of the moon went out;The mossy banks and the meandering paths,The happy flowers and the repining trees,Were seen no more: the very roses' odorsDied in the arms of the adoring airs.All- all expired save thee- save less than thou:Save only the divine light in thine eyes-Save but the soul in thine uplifted eyes.I saw but them- they were the world to me.I saw but them- saw only them for hours-Saw only them until the moon went down.What wild heart-histories seemed to lie enwrittenUpon those crystalline, celestial spheres!How dark a woe! yet how sublime a hope!How silently serene a sea of pride!How daring an ambition!yet how deep-How fathomless a capacity for love!But now, at length, dear Dian sank from sight,Into western couch of thunder-cloud;And thou, a ghost, amid the entombing treesDidst glide away. Only thine eyes remained.They would not go- they never yet have gone.Lighting my lonely pathway home that night,They have not left me (as my hopes have) since.They follow me- they lead me through the years.They are my ministers- yet I thier slaveThier office is to illumine and enkindle-My duty, to be saved by thier bright light,And purified in thier electric fire,And sanctified in thier Elysian fire.They fill my soul with Beauty (which is Hope),And are far up in heaven- the stars I kneel toIn the sad, silent watches of my night;While even in the meridian glare of dayI see them still- two sweetly scintillantVenuses, unextinguished by the sun!
— Edgar Allan Poe
The second he slipped inside of me, all I'd doubted, questioned, or feared evaporated, leaving me with one single, definite truth--I'd fallen in love with him in an all-consuming blaze that would blind me if I wasn't careful. We fit together like poorly cut puzzle pieces, but when the edges joined and were positioned just right, our scattered images came together to create a solid, deliberate piece of art, completely crystal clear and in focus. I was a goner.
— Rachael Wade, Preservation
Ah, damn it, lass,'he called after her. 'I've busted my stitches wide open.''What?'she cried, hurrying back to him. 'Let me see!''Ah-ha!' He snared her around the waist, dragging her down with him to his lap.'You still care for me!
— Kresley Cole, If You Deceive
He stalked up behind her to clench her hips, and she stilled.In a breathy voice, she asked, "You're going to make love to me again, aren't you?"In answer,he lifted her onto the counter, tore off her shift, then pressed her naked body back into the blooms.
— Kresley Cole, A Hunger Like No Other
Breathing in the scent of his hair, I realized I'd needed him my whole life, before we even met. First, his music and the way he taught me through books and recordings. Then, he saved my life and refused to abandon me no matter how much I deserved it.
— Jodi Meadows, Incarnate
You came here a fighter, Maddie. Maybe you'd lost a round or two, but you were on your feet. You want to stay in Lucky Harbor? Fight for it. You want a relationship with your sisters? Fight for it.""What about you? What about a relationship with you?"He pulled back to look into her face as if memorizing her features. His voice, when he spoke, was low and gravelly with emotion. "I'm already yours. Always have been. All you have to do is step into the ring.
— Jill Shalvis, Simply Irresistible
Above all, she wanted to look as though she had not given the matter a moment's thought, and that would take time.
— Ian McEwan, Atonement
It’s always funny watching something so beautiful not know how beautiful it really is. It’s sad even.
— Holly Hood, Twisted Magic
She was an exotic flower amongst the snowdrifts, out of place, a Technicolor misfit in a monochrome Christmas movie.
— Thomm Quackenbush, We Shadows
You'll do fine.""What, you're psychic now?""Didn't you know?" he asks seriously. "Must be an aftereffect of the bond.
— Tera Lynn Childs, Fins Are Forever
Do you want to fix it?""I just said I was in love with her. Why wouldn't I want to fix it?""You want to know how?""Goddamn it, Del." He drank again. "Yes, since you're so fucking smart. How do I fix it?""Crawl."Jack blew out a breath. "I can do that".
— Nora Roberts, Bed of Roses
Mara,” his arms gave me a squeeze, “baby, you’ve got to live in the now. Not in your head. Not controlled by your fears. You can’t live for what might happen five months in the future. You got issues you gotta face today. You gotta deal with them now. You got two kids who count on you and their lives aren’t gonna go perfect every day because you weigh every decision you make and tread cautiously. Those options are no longer available to you. You’re gonna have to live day to day and make decisions on the fly. And I’m tellin’ you I’m here to help. You need it and they need it. Are you honestly gonna say no?
— Kristen Ashley, Law Man
You totally love him. He's your widdle snookums.
— Thea Harrison, Serpent's Kiss
Love doesn't always mean rings and veils and walks down the aisle.Sometimes love means broken windows and broken hearts,and not being able to fix either. And sometimes love means telling you, there's no such thing as time in Heaven so don't rush to meet me. Stay a while, and pick, girl, the roses.
— Jennifer Gooch Hummer, Girl Unmoored
He had taken George, my beloved George, from me. And he had taken my other self: Anne.
— Philippa Gregory, The Other Boleyn Girl
My favorite color is you.
— Suzanne Brockmann, Born to Darkness
Indelible, adj.That first night, you took your finger and pointed to the top of my head, then traced a line between my eyes, down my nose, over my lips, my chin, my neck, to the center of my chest. It was so surprising. I knew I would never mimic it. That one gesture would be yours forever.
— David Levithan, The Lover's Dictionary
Ah, sweetie. If the poets couldn’t unriddle them, then you certainly can’t. Be kind, and keep your ears on offer if she wants to talk. But you can’t draw out the strangeness, Edgar. It’s not a poison.
— Allyse Near, Fairytales for Wilde Girls
Joel’s face swam across my vision and I blinked, goose bumps running up my arms. I shook his memory away, determined to stay focused, although my heart caved at the thought of his last words to us, right here in this very spot: Take care of each other. I’d be damned if I was going to let him down now.
— Rachael Wade, The Gates
No one messes me around, I don't give second chances and I never waste tears over people who aren't worth it. I save them for the people who are.
— Phillipa Ashley, Just Say Yes
Strano come certi ridicoli rituali appaiano perfettamente sensati quando si è innamorati.
— Alexandra Adornetto, Hades
A man's weakness is a woman's beauty...a woman's weakness is falling in love.
— Jemina Akhtar, Veil of Lies
Samira’s guards are coming for you. You’re being summoned. Didn’t you hear the horn? Come on, they’ll be here any second looking for you.” I bit my lip to hold back a smile of my own at why we hadn’t heard the horn.“Summoning me …”“Your guess is as good as mine, now come on. Cam, for crying out loud, fix your hair.” She cocked her eyebrow and gave me the I-know-you’ve-been-messing-around look. “And you,” she shot Gavin the same look, “zip up your fly, Don Juan.” She rolled her eyes and turned for the door.
— Rachael Wade, The Gates
I think he could handle being used. It would be good for him. He's having trouble sleeping.
— Victoria Dahl, Start Me Up
Lips to lips, mouth to mouth,Comes the speaker of the shrouds,Suck in the spirit, speak the words,Let secrets of the dead be heard.
— Yasmine Galenorn, Witchling
... fantasy is not practice for what is real—fantasy is the opiate of women.
— Shannon Hale, Austenland
Certein bodies... become luminous when heated. Their luminosity disappears after some time, but the capacity of becoming luminous afresh through heat is restored to them by the action of a spark, and also by the action of radium.
— Marie Curie
You are always looking at people like this.” And then she made a face, one he couldn’t possibly begin to describe.“If I ever look like that,” he said dryly, “precisely like that, to be more precise, I give you leave to shoot me.
— Julia Quinn, Just Like Heaven
Pray as if all things depend on God, and work as if all things depend on you.
— Christina Dodd, Scent of Darkness
Scent is the strongest tie to memory.
— Maggie Stiefvater, Forever
Because you have only known me for like fourteen seconds and seven of those were us making out and you still know more about me than all of my friends in this stupid place.
— Maggie Stiefvater, Forever
I've fallen in love with you. I love you even now when you sit before me with the eyes of a wolf. So take pity upon the fool I have become. I forgot it was only a bargain between us.
— Ronda Thompson, The Untamed One
It would ha' been a good deal easier, if ye'd only been a witch.
— Diana Gabaldon, The Exile: An Outlander Graphic Novel
‎"You want more?" she asked a bit breathlessly. "Even after what we did?"His mouth took on a sardonic twist. "I'm afraid quantity usually matters for me . . ."--THE PRINCESS'S ASSASSINS
— Emma Holly
We had no one else to learn this from- none of our parents were shining examples of relationship success- so we learned this from each other: when someone you love needs you to, you can get a hold of your five-alarm temper, get a hold of the shapeless things that scare you senseless, act like an adult instead of the Cro-Magnon teenager you are, you can do a million things you never saw coming.
— Tana French, Faithful Place
...Usually i’d sit back and just enjoy the view for what it was because it’s not often you come across something so ridiculously out of place, a girl like you, on the subway, it’s like spotting a unicorn at the zoo.I reasoned how to pull this off, to get you, to say hi, to ask your name, what your voice sounded like, if you had a cute smile because i like cute smiles. In ten minutes I had a thousand thoughts of you and you had no clue...
— Stephan K. Garcia
We’re more than common rock,” he murmured. “We’re pretty nigh indestructible when we’re in our stone forms.”I thought this over. “Then why didn’t they pick you up and throw you into the sea?”He sent me a dark look. “You’re a bloodthirsty lass, aren’t you?
— Taylor Longford, Valor
His tender tone turned her heart over. She obliged, tilting her head back slightly and looking up at him in the firelit darkness. When he bent his head and his mouth met hers, she gave a little sigh, her lips parting slightly in surprise and expectation. He kissed her with the same sure decisiveness with which he did everything else, his mouth trailing to her cheek and chin and ear, returning again and again to her mouth and lingering there, his breath mingling with her own. She felt adrift in small, sharp bursts of pleasure. Was this how a man was suppose to kiss a woman? Tenderly... firmly... repeatedly? His fingers fanned through her hair till the pins gave way and wayward locks spilled like black ribbon to the small of her back. In answer, her arms circled his neck, bringing him nearer, every kiss sweeter and surer than the one before. Soon they were lost in a haze of sighs and murmurs and caresses.
— Laura Frantz, The Colonel's Lady
You ever had a hickey? I want to give you a hickey.""Karl, we're not fourteen!""Don't bloody care. I was in love with you when I was fourteen -- your neck owes me a hickey."(Karl & Elena)
— Dianna Hardy, The Witching Pen
You are my one and only, for all eternity.
— Vicky Dreiling, How to Marry a Duke
All romantic novels end the same way, but it's the process of getting there that provides all the enjoyment.
— Candice Hern, A Proper Companion
Just one look and then I knew that all I longed for long ago was you
— Elizabeth Berg, Dream When You're Feeling Blue
Forgive me for being the stupidest man on the planet?”“Careful. You’re talking about the man I love.
— Sarah Mayberry, Her Secret Fling
Eldest taught me about ancient religions that worshiped the sun. I never understood why- it's just a ball of light and heat. But if the sun of Sol-Earth swirls in colors and lights like that girl's hair, well, I can see why the ancients would worship that.
— Beth Revis
It's the Snickers bars. Snickers equal romance.
— Lisa Scottoline, Look Again
Gradually, we have become each other's weather.
— Paul Zweig, Eternity's Woods
I intend to marry Michael, and squander all his money and run his life, and make sure he never again consorts with wicked women or gambles with licentious men. I promise I will henpeck him until he has no life beyond what I allow him, and when we die, I will lie in his arms through all eternity.
— Christina Dodd, In Bed with the Duke
You’re staring at my ass.”“Yes, I am.” It’s what he did in the mornings, when she woke up and spent the first hour lying around in bed.
— Tara Janzen, On the Loose
Watching him, his hands buried in his pockets—to keep from circling her neck she supposed—she couldn't help but marvel at the curious mix of Southern courtesy and male arrogance, the natural assumption he shouldered of being lawfully in control. "Engaging in a moral battle isn't always hazardous to one's health, you know.""Doesn't look like it's doing wonders for yours.""Saints be praised, it can actually be rewarding."Looking over his shoulder, he halted in the middle of the room. "Irish.""I beg your pardon?""You. Irish. The green eyes, the tiny bit of red in your hair. Is Connor your real name?""Yes, why..." she said, stammering. Bloody hell. "Of course.""Liar."She felt the slow, hot roll of color cross her cheeks. "What could that possibly have to do with anything?""I don't know, but I have a feeling it means something. It's the first I've heard come out of that sassy mouth of yours that didn't sound like some damned speech." He tapped his head, starting to pace again. "What I wonder is, where are you in there?
— Tracy Sumner
... you've experienced the single scene out there - it's blood test and background checks and references and 'Please pee in this cup before we can go on a date' screenings, all clinical and stripped bare of any romance.
— Katie MacAlister, A Girl's Guide to Vampires
Her unusual upbringing had made her worldly enough to understand that every female, no matter her genus and species, had the ability to physically coerce a male into full cooperation.And yes, she knew just the male to coerce.
— Delilah Marvelle, Prelude to a Scandal
People snare when I tell them that I’m an emotional prostitute. But after my rebuttal, they begin to realize that they are one too. Like me, they have pimped their emotions for the affections of another. Like me, they’ve gone through life tormented by the idea of living a happily ever after, not realizing that the ever after isn’t so happy.
— Beatrice McClearn, Diaries of an Emotional Prostitute
Where love is great, the littlest doubts are fear; Where little fears grow great, great love grows there.
— William Shakespeare, Hamlet
He released her with obvious reluctance and shoved open his door, then came around to open her door. His chivalry brought an even broader smile. "Bet this doesn't last long", she teased. He took her hand. "You keep waiting for me to open it, and I will keep coming around.
— Colleen Coble, Lonestar Homecoming
Aku percaya, tak pernah ada kata salah untuk cinta.
— Sefryana Khairil, Coming Home
As for the piano, the faster her fingers flew over it, the more he marveled. She struck the keys with aplomb and ran from one end of the keyboard to the other without a stop.
— Gustave Flaubert, Madame Bovary
He’d spent the night in the boat. Next to the spaghetti queen.William glanced at the hobo girl. She sat across from him, huddled in a clump. Her stench had gotten worse overnight, probably from the dampness. Another night like the last one, and he might snap and dunk her into that river just to clear the air.She saw him looking. Dark eyes regarded him with slight scorn.William leaned forward and pointed at the river. “I don’t know why you rolled in spaghetti sauce,” he said in a confidential voice. “I don’t really care. But that water over there won’t hurt you. Try washing it off.”She stuck her tongue out.“Maybe after you’re clean,” he said.Her eyes widened. She stared at him for a long moment. A little crazy spark lit up in her dark irises. She raised her finger, licked it, and rubbed some dirt off her forehead.Now what?The girl showed him her stained finger and reached toward him slowly, aiming for his face.“No,” William said. “Bad hobo.”The finger kept coming closer.
— Ilona Andrews, Bayou Moon
For a long moment, he held her gaze without speaking, simply letting the impact of words sink in, before adding rapidly, as though he wished to get it over with as quickly as possible, "I won't deny that you're beautiful. No mirror could tell you otherwise. But there are beautiful women for the buying in any brothel in London. Oh yes, and the ballrooms, too, if one has the proper price. It wasn't your appearance that caught me. It was the way you put me down in the gallery at Sibley Court." Vaughn's lips curved in a reminiscent smile. "And the way you tried to bargain with me after." bargained," Mary corrected."That," replied Lord Vaughn, "is exactly what I mean. Has anyone ever told you that you haggle divinely? That the simple beauty of your self-interest is enough to bring a man to his knees?"Mary couldn't in honesty say that anyone had.Vaughn's eyes were as hard and bright as silver coins. "Those are the reasons I want you. I want you for your cunning mind and your hard heart, for your indomitable spirit and your scheming soul, for they're more honest by far than any of the so-called virtues.""The truest poetry is the most feigning?" Mary quoted back his own words to him."And the most feigning is the most true.
— Lauren Willig, The Seduction of the Crimson Rose
New hair, new clothes-the classic relationship break-up makeover," Jake said. breaking up with Sam. He just didn't know it.
— Sarah Mayberry, Anything for You
I like to be somewhere at least where you can see a few girls around once in a while, even if they're only scratching their arms or blowing their noses or even just giggling or something.
— J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye
After a moment, he found my neck, kissing the nape, his teeth grazing my skin and causingme to make a small noise very much like a whimper. Before I could take another breath, hislips met mine and I was lost to his touch.
— Cyrese Covelli, Wolfsmage [Witchlock Book 3]
It's a good thing you're an aging orphan," he murmured, gently pushing the hair away from her face. "I don't have to wait around to get anyone's permission.""Permission for what, you rat bastard?" she said. "Such language, dragon. I'm afraid you're going to have to marry me.
— Anne Stuart, The Devil's Waltz
Lips that have tasted the salt of tears always give the sweetest kiss.
— C.J. Carlyon, The Cherry House
I don't know who had the training of you," he continued doggedly, "but your morals are shocking. You spent a night in my bed, remember, after a night in a bawdy house. You go about collecting street urchins and letting inebriated vagabonds kiss you, and then you get into brawls in pawnshops. You are probably past all redemption, but I'm going to reform you anyhow. If you behave yourself, perhaps I'll let you reform me on occasion, but I make no promises.
— Loretta Chase, Viscount Vagabond
Once she called to invite me to a concert of Liszt piano concertos. The soloist was a famous South American pianist. I cleared my schedule and went with her to the concert hall at Ueno Park. The performance was brilliant. The soloist's technique was outstanding, the music both delicate and deep, and the pianist's heated emotions were there for all to feel. Still, even with my eyes closed, the music didn't sweep me away. A thin curtain stood between myself and pianist, and no matter how much I might try, I couldn't get to the other side. When I told Shimamoto this after the concert, she agreed."But what was wrong with the performance?" she asked. "I thought it was wonderful.""Don't you remember?" I said. "The record we used to listen to, at the end of the second movement there was this tiny scratch you could hear. Putchi! Putchi! Somehow, without that scratch, I can't get into the music!"Shimamoto laughed. "I wouldn't exactly call that art appreciation.""This has nothing to do with art. Let a bald vulture eat that up, for all I care. I don't care what anybody says; I like that scratch!""Maybe you're right," she admitted. "But what's this about a bald vulture? Regular vultures I know about--they eat corpses. But bald vultures?"In the train on the way home, I explained the difference in great detail.The difference in where they are born, their call, their mating periods. "The bald vulture lives by devouring art. The regular vulture lives by devouring the corpses of unknown people. They're completely different.""You're a strange one!" She laughed. And there in the train seat, ever so slightly, she moved her shoulder to touch mine. The one and only time in the past two months our bodies touched.
— Haruki Murakami, South of the Border, West of the Sun
I hate to tell you, dragon, but that's an integral part of the whole usiness," he whispered. "If you're afraid to touch me then we're not going to get very far."She lifted her head to look at him. "I thought I could lie back and let you ravish me," she said with complete honesty.He shook his head, the smile hovering around his lips, his eyes intent. "This is a cooperative effort, my love. You have to do your part.
— Anne Stuart, The Devil's Waltz
I beg your pardon for questioning your judgement," she said. "It is nothing to me, after all, if it proves faulty. I am not the one responsible for the Marquess of Atherton's heir and sole offspring. I am not the one who will be toppled from my pedestal if the world learns I have not only permitted but encouraged my nephew to associate with the most shocking persons. I am not the one who-""I wish you were the one who had heard of the rule Silence is Golden," he said.
— Loretta Chase, Lord Perfect
To her surprise, Lucky tilted his head and looked her in the eye, appearing oddly…crestfallen, she thought. “Don’t be nervous,” he said. “I hate making you nervous.
— Toni Blake, Whisper Falls
My God." He pushed away from the bedpost. "Friends! And do you fall into bed with any man who's 'dear' to you? How am I to take that?""Of course I don't." She stood up, letting the knotted scarf slip away. "I can't seem to help myself. With you. About that. It's extremely vexing.""You're quite right on that count," he said sullenly. "I'm damned vexed. I'd like to vex you right here on the floor, in fact. And the idea of Sturgeon vexing you is enough to dispose me to murder. Is that clear? Do you comprehend me?" He took a reckless stride toward her and caught her chin between his fingers. "I'm not your friend, my lady. I'm your lover.
— Laura Kinsale, Lessons in French
Ah, adventure! Ah, romance! Ah, courtly graces and the noble gestures! Don't you wish you knew people like that? Don't you wish we could still walk around in cloaks and boots and breeches, with leather doublets and flowing white dueling shirts and swords strapped around our waists? Of course, if we did, given the way things are today, there'd be people out there lobbying for sword control, and we'd need a National Sword Association and bumper stickers that would read "Swords don't kill people, knights kill people," and there would be a five-day waiting period and background check before you could buy a rapier. We'd have drive-by lungings and people would be afraid of children carrying broadswords to school. "Milady" would be regard as a sexist term and feminists would go absolutely berserk if any woman called a man "Milord." Ralph Nader would probably get quarter horses banned because they are too small and unsafe in a collision and someone would figure out a way to put seat belts and air bags on our saddles. That's why people join the SCA and read fantasy novels, because the real world sucks.
— Simon Hawke, The Ambivalent Magician
Of course not! I knew you would protect me. You swore that you were strong enough to protect Vivienne, didn’t you? How can you promise to protect my sister, but not trust yourself to keep me safe?” The music swelled to a crescendo. Although Adrian kept her imprisoned against the muscular length of his body, he gave up all pretense of dancing. “Because I don’t lose my wits every time Vivienne walks into a room. I don’t toss and turn in my bed every night dreaming of making love to her. She doesn’t drive me to distraction with her endless questions, her incessant snooping, her harebrained schemes.” His voice rose. “I can trust myself to protect your sister because I’m not in love with her!
— Teresa Medeiros, After Midnight
I love you Mark..." Courtney, PoR.I love you too Courtney..." Mark, PoR.
— D.J. MacHale
Excuse me, your attention please.” He waited until the whole floor had stopped what it was doing and turned to face him. For a split second his impulse control kicked in, but by then his mouth was fully engaged. “For the record, Claire Marsden and I are not having sex.
— Sarah Mayberry, Can't Get Enough
It's true I live on hope. Why shouldn't I? Every day I see her beauty while you rot in hell. You will tell me that I'm deluded but we are all deluded in some way. The question is which is the best delusion.
— Danny Scheinmann, Random Acts Of Heroic Love
I know every guy here, and they’re all pretty much jerks.
— Nicki Elson, Three Daves
Lady Ponsonby was right. The forbidden fruit isn't shaped like an apple. It's shaped like a banana.
— Michelle Marcos, Wickedly Ever After
Speechless and very nearly panting, she fell back against the wall with a thump, knowing that if she lived to be ninety, she would still carry the searing mark of that kiss on her soul."At last," he murmured. "A way to shut you up." Christovao Santos (Chris), Sanctuary
— Sharon K. Garner
Don’t freak out, I’m getting into the bed,” he said.
— Sarah Mayberry, Her Secret Fling
Sadly, however, the sight of her generous D cups no longer sparked an ounce of interest from Little Sam, the man in charge of social activities.
— Sarah Mayberry, Anything for You
His lordship and I are...opposite sides of very different coins.
— Emma Jensen, The Irish Rogue
His hope wasn't lost, it was buried, and somehow Prudence Ryland made that old grave seem much more shallow than it once was.
— Kathryn Smith
Kas was right: a woman could destroy a man. This one could do so, simply by knowing his name. She could do so, simply with her eyes.
— V.S. Carnes, Sand for Dreams
You keep showing up here? Being who you are?' There was a pause. 'I'm going to fall in love with you.' -Rehvenge
— J.R. Ward, Lover Avenged
…..she needed him to know she did not care. She was spirited, tenacious, and full of contempt for him.
— Coco J. Ginger
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.
— Tessa Dare, A Week to Be Wicked
From midnight to 4: 00 AM is the loneliest time in the world. Because for those of us too sad to sleep, the only thing we have to look at is an empty bed, and the only thing we have to think of is every single person who didn't want to fill it tonight.
— Lone Alaskan Gypsy
There are certain kinds of silence that make you walk on air.
— Cecelia Ahern
You cannot mistake thisYou cannot reinvent this moment You cannot call this loveIt is so much more
— Coco J. Ginger
I got a head start and ws already hanging upside down when he caught up. All the blood was rushing to my head, making me feel dizzy. "I can't stay like this much longer," I told him."Head rush."He leaned down and stuck his face next to mine, gifting me with a beautiful smile."I know the feeling," he said. "You give me a head rush all the time.
— Jessica Verday, The Haunted
My hope, my heaven, my trust must be,My gentle guide, in following thee.
— Walter Scott, The Lady of the Lake
If you do not love me I shall not be loved. If I do not love you I shall not love.
— Samuel Beckett
When I am lonely for boys what I miss is their bodies. The smell of their skin, its saltiness. The rough whisper of stubble against my cheek. The strong firm hands, the way they rest on the curve of my back.
— A.M. Harte, Hungry For You