c2p-cmd/Good-Quotes-Authors huggingface dataset:
The town , wrapped in red and green, greeted him, welcome him home as he drove down familiar streets. Driving his old truck filled Hunter with pleasure. He didn't have to look for IEDs on the side of the road. He grinned all the way to the apartment, enjoying the ride, the peace of the nigh, the old brick buildings on Main Street, the holiday finery, the palpable presence of town spirit.	He parked his truck in front of the apartment building that Ethan owned as a side business, and suddenly couldn't wait another second. He hurried up the front stairs, down the inside styaircase, then just about ran down the hallway to his basement-level unit.	He had his key in his hand, but the doorknob turned easily as he put his hand on it. Cindy had left the door open for him.	He grinned like a fool as he walked in. The loose floorboard in the middle of the living room creaked a familiar welcome as he passed his army duffel bag on the floor where he'd dumped it earlier. Cindy's little pink purse sat on his brown leather couch like a cupcake on a tray.	"Cindy?" He strode toward the bedroom in the back, his smile spreading as he anticipated a private party. If she was waiting for him naked in bed, the proposal would have to wait a litt. "Honey?"	But she wasn't waiting for him naked.	She was waiting for him dead.
— Dana Marton, Deathwish
She turned on the radio. Christmas music filled the car. She turned it off with a groan.	"It's not going to turn you into an elf if you listen," he promised and liked the smile that played at the corner of her lips, wiggling the small mole that kept drawing his attention.	She glanced at him. "Do you believe in Christmas?"	"I do," he said without hesitation.	"Even after all you've seen and done overseas?"	"Especially because of that...
— Dana Marton, Deathwish
I learned from a tough Philly cop, Carmen Morales. She taught me the rules."	"What rules?"	"Rule #1: Trust no one. Rule #2: Miss nothing. Rule #3: Reveal nothing. Rule #4: Question everything. Rule #5: Eye on the clock. Rule #6: Get lucky. Rule #7: Trust your instincts.	"Good rules to live by. The army has rules too."	"I bet.
— Dana Marton, Deathwish
He smiled. "I bet the paper ran something about you once your hiring was confirmed. A new cop is big news in a small town. People were probably admonished to make you feel at home."	She shook her head with some amusement. "I would have felt more at home if they shot at me,.
— Dana Marton, Deathwish
Everything I do is for her, for Fallon.
— Soraya Naomi, For Fallon
Next time, we go slowly. I want to explore every delicious inch of you.
— Alexa Grace, Profile of Terror
No, but I imagine there's a gun tucked away somewhere on your body. And I know what you can do with that, hotshot."He took a step toward her. "With what, sweetheart? With the gun? Or the body?
— Lynn Raye Harris, Hot Shot
A spark of fiery hunger shot through her as he took over, completely dominating the kiss, his tongue invading her mouth. His hand slid back and cupped her head in that way she loved. Craved.
— Katie Reus, Bound to Danger
There's beggary in the love that can be reckoned.(Anthony and Cleopatra - William Shakespeare.)
— Sarah Stuart, Dangerous Liaisons
He'd told her she was his. That he was jealous and he wasn't sharing her. Where the hell had that come from?He didn't know, but as she leaned forward and pressed her mouth to his abdomen, he knew he'd spoken the truth. He was jealous. Completely and utterly, and it twisted him up inside to realize it.
— Lynn Raye Harris, Hot Shot
There’s beggary in the love that can be reckoned. (Anthony & Cleopatra - Shakespeare.
— Sarah Stuart, Dangerous Liaisons
She lost herself in the kiss, moving her body against his, her excitement rising, the tension inside her spinning tighter and tighter.
— Lynn Raye Harris, Hot Shot
Some times we choose our fate,” she said. “Other times it’s chosen for us.”	The cleft between his dark brows deepened and his jaw clenched then released. “And sometimes its what we make it.
— Megan Mitcham, Enemy Mine
I know you’re afraid of getting hurt, again,” Rick said as he gently took Angela’s hands in his. “I can’t predict your future. I’m just asking you if I can be a part of it.
— Josephine Harwood, Dark Secrets
To get what I wanted I became the monster I’ve always hated...
— Megan Mitcham, Enemy Mine
Not shy at all. I just don’t think this is the time or place to remind you how beautiful you looked on your knees in that little curtained alcove, sucking me off and daring me not to make a sound. Ah, see there ya go, shuttering those eyes as if I said something distasteful. You asked, Detective, however if you insist on responding to my memories so harshly I’ll keep them to myself.
— Jessie G., Past Hurts
He did that slow perusal thing with his eyes that guys did when they wanted a girl to know they liked what they saw. A slow smile curved his lips. “Yep.”She recognized that look. She may have been out of the dating game for far too long, but she still understood the process. What she didn’t know was how to respond.
— Tami Lund, Naked Truth
First thought? I’d kissed you without knowing for sure that you were gay and it could have blown up in my face. Then, when it didn’t, I thought about kissing you again. After that I just wanted to be the person you could confide in and trust with the all the pain I saw in you.
— Jessie G., Past Hurts
That’s the past. I have even less power to change it now than I did to stop it then.
— Jessie G., Past Hurts
The great October Alandy heroine
— Bacon Aguirre
You're not so tough. No tougher than the man whose blood will spill from your veins.
— Dawn M. Turner, Promises
Sometimes it's all I can do to not look at you.
— Katie Reus, Under His Protection
How am I making you feel?”She considered the answer. “Like all my nerve endings are on fire. Like I want more, but I don’t exactly know how to ask for what I want.” She swallowed. “Or maybe I do.
— Rebecca York, Betrayed
Shane felt a jolt of heat, a desire that threatened to overwhelm rational thought. And perhaps for the moment that was all right.
— Rebecca York, Betrayed
I don't suppose you have a rocket powered helicopter hidden in your bra?
— Jackie Williams, Tinted Lenses
He owes me nothing, yet gives me everything in return. —SHEA
— Michelle Warren, He + She
This doesn’t have to be anything more than what we want, Andra. We don’t need to define this. You are warm, honest, beautiful, and full of wit. I appreciate how vibrant you are, and how you challenge me. I want to spend time with you simply because I enjoy being around you.” I heard his sigh. “I don’t want to suffocate you. No labels, no drama. Just fun. Maybe a kiss or two.”“Or three. Or four,” I added.
— Whitney Barbetti, He Found Me
He sighed and moved his hands under water, linking with mine. “You are like a drug to me. Dangerous. Addicting. I can’t get enough of you.” He brought our hands above water and kissed one of my hands, linked with his. “But I want more, more than just a night, more than just a few touches. And I have a feeling that once we cross that line, you will run away.
— Whitney Barbetti, He Found Me
I can’t take any more of being careful around her. I want her. Not just for now, but for always.—HEW
— Michelle Warren, He + She
For the first time since I met her, I understand her need to keep her name secret and respect that. Here, someplace other than at home, we can be who we want, be with who we want, as long as it makes us happy. There’s no past today, only this moment together, right now. —HEW
— Michelle Warren, He + She
All the bad in my life led me to her, which makes me think that I can live with the past if she is my future. —HEW
— Michelle Warren, He + She
Shea is in my arms in seconds. We’re not just holding each other but pressing out all the bad, letting it seep from us, and allowing it to disintegrate in the air, leaving room for only the good within our embrace. With everything that we have with each other, I think there is no room for anything negative. Not anymore. —HEW
— Michelle Warren, He + She
You don't have to be religious to hear God, you just have to be willing, and there's a big difference between the two.
— Karyn Rae, The Achilles Heel
That night I dreamt of the moment I found my mother’s body. My life was a series of befores and afters: before my mother’s death and after my mother’s death. Before I left the Monster and after I left the Monster. The first thing I remembered about my mother’s death was the minutes after. I’d always dreamt of it this way
—  remembering the after. It was during the after that I remembered the before.
It's normal to love a dangerous woman. They know how to wield their power, an they're not afraid of yours. They make you work for everything you get and it's all the sweeter once you get it. Makes you feel 'coraggioso' to be able to hold her.
— Alexi Lawless, Complicated Creatures: Part One
As Ian popped the lock and opened the car door, he turned to Phoebe. “Can you do me a favour?”She immediately stepped toward him, fully embracing their new mature relationship. “Of course.”Ian looked pointedly over his own shoulder and said, “Tell me the truth. Does this car make my glowing ass look fat?”She’d naturally followed the direction of his gaze, but now she looked up, hard, into his eyes. And she smiled back at him despite herself. She even laughed. “You’re an idiot.”“When things get too serious, I get a rash.”She pointedly looked back down at his nether regions, despite the fact doing so made her blush. Still, she spoke coolly, dryly. “Not on your ass.”If Ian believed in love, that would’ve been it for him. Instantly. Enthrallingly. Eternally. Instead, he just laughed. “Thank God for that. See if there’s anything remotely clothinglike in the backseat or the trunk.
— Suzanne Brockmann, Do or Die
One glance at the way he looked at her, and Sam knew exactly what he was. A lethal habit, she thought. The accelerator on a race car. A halo jump on a crystal clear day. The best possible rush with the worst possible consequences.
— Alexi Lawless, Complicated Creatures: Part One
Then it’s a deal, we’re friends.”[…]“Can we just make one conditional rule here? That if we get into a situation where we know—absolutely—that we’re going to die, we can have—“She pulled her hand away. “Don’t say it!”He did. “Sex.”She glared her disbelief. “You are such and asshole!”“I am,” Ian agreed. I’m afraid that accepting me for who I am comes with the territory when talking friendship.”“Stay in the shadows, asshole,” she said, then turned to stalk up the lawn toward the deck.“Thank you,” he said as he headed for the shrubs. “I appreciate our open-minded acceptance of my asshole-ishness.”And he wasn’t sure, but he could’ve sword that he heard Phoebe laugh.
— Suzanne Brockmann, Do or Die
Nothing sexier than a woman who knows how to hurt you.
— Alexi Lawless, Complicated Creatures: Part One
I’m not the one who kissed you in the bathroom. In case you’re thinking I forgot about that, or somehow missed it, or …”“Kind of hard to miss,” Ian agreed. “Your lips, mine. A distinct smacking sound. Yup, that was me kissing you. Still, it was short—quickly over and done. A kiss good-bye. The subtext was I hope we don’t die, but if we do, it was nice meeting you. Not at all like that under-the-dock kiss.” He paused. “The one where you jumped me. The first time. So far.” He narrowed his eyes at her, much the way she’d done to him. “Naturally I’m suspicious. Did you intentionally leave my clothes behind?
— Suzanne Brockmann, Do or Die
Her business, more than any other, proved how much vulnerability could cost you. And she'd paid for every good thing she had, again and again, until the pain of exposure had made her choose her vulnerabilities sparingly. Pleasure, tenderness, intimacy... these were all luxuries Sam stole where she could find them...
— Alexi Lawless, Complicated Creatures: Part One
As Ian looked at her, he felt something in his chest slip and shift. The pressure came with a blood-tingling rush of triumph and satisfaction, pride and a deeply burning sense of possessiveness. His inner caveman warrior had been awakened and wanted to rush around the room, peeing into the corners, marking it—and her—as his own, while shouting Mine! and randomly smashing things for emphasis.But he knew that was he was feeling was the equivalent of emotional and hormonal indigestion. He hadn’t done this in a long time. And he particularly hadn’t done it with a woman he liked as much as this one. In fact, he’d never had sex with anyone that he genuinely liked as much as he liked Phoebe.
— Suzanne Brockmann, Do or Die
Why does it not surprise me that you talk during sex?
— Suzanne Brockmann, Do or Die
What she wanted was right there, between them, pressed against her stomach—so big and accessible and user-friendly—neatly covered and ready to go.
— Suzanne Brockmann, Do or Die
We shouldn’t do this,” he said again as he looked up into her eyes. “But, God, I want to. I just …” He closed his eyes, exhaled hard. “Pheeb. I’m a bad bet. There’s no future here. I know this feels big, this thing between us, right now it feels huge—and shh, don’t make a dick joke, I’m serious. But it’s not going to feel as big or special tomorrow, or, shit, even later tonight. I mean, yeah, I can make you feel good. I know it. And God knows you can make me … Jesus, you’re so beautiful, I just —”She stopped him there, again, with a kiss, and just like that, it was as if something snapped.
— Suzanne Brockmann, Do or Die
I figured it was probably best for me to leave that bicycle back there for a real emergency.
— Suzanne Brockmann, Do or Die
This is what we, in the con business, call making a spectacle of ourselves. Let’s try to avoid that from now on.”“Except […] Mr. No-Sex-in-the-Bathrooms is going to describe two probably drunk people who staggered in. Plus, he thinks I’m a prostitute. We can double down on that by …” She stopped him, glancing back into the store throught the big plate-glass windows. Ian looked, too, and sure enough, the clerk was still watching them warily.“Perfect, she said, and the made what was, absolutely, the international two-handed gesture for sexual intercourse. She then added a couple of exaggerated hip thrusts, saying, “I want to make this absolutely clear, because this guy’s kind of an idiot.” She then rubbed her fingers together, after which she held out her hand, palm up, as if to say Pay me.Ian cracked up. “That’s actually kind of scary. Sex with a mime. Do I have to pay extra to make sure you don’t do the trapped-in-a-box thing while we’re doing it?
— Suzanne Brockmann, Do or Die
… now that I’m stuck here for an undetermined amount of time, it seems beyond foolish not to let me help.” She took a bite for emphasis. “You could at least let me make you a sandwich,” she added balefully through her mouthful.“That was me being respectful of your law degree,” Ian said.
— Suzanne Brockmann, Do or Die
You don’t drink?” Samantha asked, clearly surprised. Jack shrugged easily. “Occasionally. But it’s not my poison.” “And what is your poison?” He eyed her dress. Samantha laughed, a husky, sexy sound. “So your reputation is earned.” “Which one is that?” “The one about you being a wily, unapologetic, womanizing rake.” “That’s a mouthful.
— Alexi Lawless, Complicated Creatures: Part One
True love has a habit of coming back.
— Turcois Ominek
There are two ways of spreading light to be candle,or the mirror that reflects it.
— Chetan Bhagat, Revolution 2020: Love, Corruption, Ambition
He offered me a ride up from the abyss and I took it. But a ride with the devil is never free. And accepting that ride can only lead to hell.
— S.D. Skye, Son of a Itch
But one look at Wildcard's face, and he knew there was trouble. Problem? he signaled.Wildcard responded with an obscene gesture that more than conveyed his opinion that not only was this a problem, but it was a big problem...."Okay". That was not anywhere near the complete reaming Muldoon imagined "We'll take a different route down.""We could", Wildcard agreed. "But they've got a prisoner.."Oh man, that hurt. Dream op to nightmare...Muldoon gritted his teeth and considered his options."Holy fuck", Wildcard said. "When I tell you that a stupid ass French photog is going to turn this perfect op into a total clusterfuck, what you say sir, is 'Oh, holy fuck'. If this isn't the time to use your full adult vocabulary, Lieutenant, I honestly don't know what is".
— Suzanne Brockmann, Into the Night
Love was more than a choice, more than a feeling, it was a commitment.
— K.T. Bryan, The Edge Of Trust
She was strength and power and so many things he’d pretended for twelve years he didn’t miss, didn’t need.
— Natalie J. Damschroder, Hearts Under Siege
You’ve got to admit that you live at the center of a vortex that seems to funnel nothing but trouble your way.” ~FBI Special Agent Clive Poole to Maggie Mae Castro
— Beth Yarnall, Find Me Maggie
If I’m going down, I’m going down with lipstick on.” ~Maggie Mae Castro
— Beth Yarnall, Wake Up Maggie
What exactly does the I in FBI stand for?” ~Maggie Mae Castro
— Beth Yarnall, Wake Up Maggie
Great. This girl was going to seriously mess with my ability to stay on parole. ~Maggie Mae Castro
— Beth Yarnall, You're Mine, Maggie
Really? Assaulting an officer? That’s a new one for you.” ~ FBI Special Agent Clive Poole to Maggie Mae Castro
— Beth Yarnall, You're Mine, Maggie
You have a very attractive revenge streak in you. I like it. A lot.” ~Maggie Mae Castro to FBI Special Agent Clive Poole
— Beth Yarnall, You're Mine, Maggie
So he was handsome. That fact did nothing to soften her feelings toward the walking interference she studied across the room.
— Eliza Lloyd, Best Served Cold
Courage,” he said, “is being absolutely terrified of something and doing it anyway.
— K.T. Bryan, The Edge Of Trust
Then it was silent. Heavy now, not the sleepy silence of before. The kind of silence that meant horrifying things.
— Natalie J. Damschroder, Hearts Under Siege
[Prince Stefan’s] family was of Eastern European descent, with some real royalty thrown in via a connection to Vlad the Impaler—who hung from a branch that Ian wouldn’t kept secret had the family tree been growing in his yard.
— Suzanne Brockmann, Do or Die
[describing Aaron, hero's brother] His hair was shorter and lighter, and his eyes were more green than blue. And even though he was tall, he wasn’t quite super-sized. He was more sculpted, more … elegant. more slender and beautiful and less raw-boned. Less Stone Age and more Bronze Age—but till the kind of man who enjoyed living in a cave.
— Suzanne Brockmann, Do or Die
From her vantage point, looking up at [Ian] through the water-spotted and slightly blurry lenses of her glasses, he was quite literally larger than life. Right at that moment, with his hands up on his head, his muscular chest bare, and his boxer shorts clinging to him in a most revealing way, water matting the hair on his chest and his legs and his eyelashes, he was ridiculously attractive. Even with his more conventionally handsome brother standing next to him.Of course the fact that Aaron was looking down at her with unconcealed dislike in his pretty hazel eyes might’ve had something to with it, as if she weren’t a person but instead a pile of excrement left on his pool deck by a wart-covered troll with an intestinal ailment.
— Suzanne Brockmann, Do or Die
Was it really called dry humping, if they did it underwater? Probably not. Crying shame that they both had their jeans on, because this was definitely one of those adrenaline-fuelled moments of passion with a total loss of inhibition, where need and desire trumped all reason.
— Suzanne Brockmann, Do or Die
Stay on my six, he said, nuzzling the hair at her ear and breathing deeply the sweet scent of her.You remember what that is, right?It's your ass.
— Lynn Raye Harris, Hot Pursuit
If you're worried I'll bite, I promise to tell you first.
— Lisa Renee Jones, Escaping Reality
Friendly fire was never friendly, and it was coming. Operation Stand-and-Watch was over. Did that mean Operation Bust-His-Balls was on deck?
— Cristin Harber, Winters Heat
I guess what they say is true. Anything the government wants to hide, they stick it in New Mexico
— Maya Banks, Whispers in the Dark
Erik got to his feet, aware of her watching him, and tried not to preen at the frank admiration in her eyes. Preening was not manly.
— Tiffany Snow, Blank Slate
I thought you were more like GI Joe, but now that I know about the cape, you sound more like Superman." Mia Kensington to Colby Winters
— Cristin Harber, Winters Heat
(scene: Rock and Vanessa are in a tree house in the Costa Rican jungle) “Placing 9mms inside a pot and securing the lid–capuchin monkeys sometimes snuck in and messed with his stuff, and the last thing he wanted was to accidentally plugged by some light-fingered primate–he turned back around to find Vanessa’s head cocked, her lips pursed.
— Julie Ann Walker, Thrill Ride
Here, you drive," Erik said."What? Why?""In case we do have to start shooting; I have a badge and you don't," he explained."Fine. But for the record, I'm a better shot than you are.""For your information, I was the youngest kid awarded the rifle shooting merit badge in my troop," Erik said, holding the wheel as she climbed across him."Is that supposed to impress me?""Just enough to get you back into my bed." She took over the gas pedal and Erik slid out from underneath her."It takes more than fancy shooting," she said loftily, making a sharp turn.Erik was thrown against the door. "Would you warn me before you do that?""It's a car chase!
— Tiffany Snow, Blank Slate
Thanks, Ms Wilding.’She raised one eyebrow. ‘Who?’	‘You must be Tom’s daughter, the photographer. You look like him. A prettier version, sexy, even.’ His laugh was a smoky rumble as he spun on his heel. ‘Don’t presume to know anything about me, Mr Lawson.’He hefted his pack and strode away, power in the length of stride.
— Helene Young, Half Moon Bay
Um, h-h-hi,” Sophie stammered, closing the door behind her. Meeting her gaze were crystal eyes like blue shards of glass.
— Jennifer Lane, With Good Behavior
So what do you do for sex? Just one-night stands? Or do you play a lot of five-on-one?" -- Clarissa
— Tiffany Snow, Blank Slate
He was an FBI agent. She was a wanted fugitive. To think the would be together was like saying maybe a shark could go vegetarian. It just wasn't going to happen.
— Tiffany Snow, Blank Slate
All he'd done was lose her underwear and practically get her blown up.Hell. This had to be the absolute worst first date of her life.
— Tara Janzen, Crazy Hot
Romantic Suspense, we love you so. You make us cringe, and give us hope. Sometimes we lust, sometimes we cry, But in the end, you make us sigh.
— Maureen A. Miller
Nick looked to the sky again, searching for a last glimpse of the shiny jet. ‘For us, maybe, but courtesy of Nina and her reckless ambition Ellie Wilding will remember this day for the rest of her life.
— Helene Young
Sophie clutched Grant tighter. 'I don’t know what screwed-up messages from your family are floating around in your head right now, but you’re staying right here.
— Jennifer Lane, Bad Behavior
I’m glad I went to prison," Grant rasped in Sophie’s ear, so quietly only she could hear. "Because then I found you.
— Jennifer Lane, Bad Behavior
I met Ana doing free weights,” Roger said. “This hard-body señorita was putting me to shame on squats, and I asked her how she got such a tight ass —”“And then she decked you.”“Nah, she loved it! She’s real proud of that butt — she should be. She took me to one of her classes, and I got hooked. She’s a Zumba instructor.”Grant absorbed that information for a moment. “You do...Zumba?”“It’s great! Much more fun than PT. You just get going...” He did a little two-step maneuver on the city street, dancing to an unknown Latin beat. “Cha cha cha. Heeuh? Ana does this a little better than me...”Grant tried to hold it in. He really did. But his body quivered, his shoulders shook, and soon a whooping laugh erupted — which lasted quite a few seconds.Roger abruptly stopped his dance. “You judge, Madsen. Not cool.
— Jennifer Lane, On Best Behavior
I long for your embrace, your warmth, and your gentleness. I crave your touch. Your body, your mind, your words move me. I fear I am not capable of expressing the depth of my emotion, for I have never known such a feeling and never will again. As much as I have striven to remain detached, my heart and my soul belong to you, now and forever.
— Chris Lange, An Era Apart
I love you. We’re getting married, and that’s the way it is. Get used to it.
— Julie Garwood, The Ideal Man
He walked hesitantly toward her and then wrapped his arms around her in a gentle hug.“You just looked like you needed one,” he said.
— Maya Banks, Shades of Gray
Fully revealed, the green eyes pierced her heart. In them, she sensed pain, loneliness and despair. Yet they weren't seeing her. Focused on the movement of the blade, the mesmerizing gaze seemed a world away. Stroke after stroke, the unmasked face appeared in the mirror.
— Chris Lange, Enchained
All that guides me is fear,And all that finds me is lossDeath defines which paths I crossIt is within the shadows that I stumbleAnd I am desperate without a voiceHere I am threatened by the resolve that you are my soulBut if my lies are the path that I have to wander because there is no choiceWill you love me still?In the darkness of the night when I wish to do nothing more than take flight?Will you hold me to this plane and ease the suffering and pain?When all you know is the truthAnd all they see is the liesWill I be the one you find, or the one you leave behind?Alone may be the only home I shall find
— Cassandra Giovanni, Walking in the Shadows
Sunny - If you can explain yourself before someone kicks your ass, count your blessings and give some thought to going back to the priesthood.Nick - I would, but now-a-days that vow of chastity might be a problem.
— J.A. Dennam
They wanted so desperately to love each other more, to remove their clothes and submit their naked bodies to each other, but it was almost as if they were cursed since the first day that they met, and it was pure torture knowing that they could only get so close, but was unable to go the height that the both of them wanted so intimately to climb.
— Keira D. Skye
Ah, and then her beautiful face…actually, the level and angle that she was holding the umbrella, the whole time as she passed within Suresh’s view, only allowed him to see the bottom of her chin at most. Still, with a body as beautiful as hers, Suresh was quite certain that her face would be nothing less than positively stunning!
— Andrew James Pritchard, Monsoon Love and Other Nepali Stories
Nathan whispered close to her face, “Just a kiss my ass.
— R.T. Wolfe, Black Creek Burning
If you think your scars bother me, you're wrong. In my eyes, you're a hero. Your scars are just proof of that.
— Pamela Clare, Skin Deep
You broke the Man Code, dude. 'No man shall knowingly and with malice aforethought kick another man in the nuts.'""Okay, so I kicked him in the nuts. The little fucker was fleeing the scene of a crime where he'd pointed a weapon at my buddies."[from short story "Beer Run" at the end of Skin Deep]
— Pamela Clare, Skin Deep
This is what I love to see--different branches of law enforcement at each other's throats. It gives the bad guys the head start they need, which in turn gives us all job security.
— Pamela Clare, Breaking Point
I wish Darcangelo were here. He'd fucking hate this.
— Pamela Clare, Breaking Point
Got enough leg room there, Rossiter?" Marc asked."You bet. If not I'll just make use of the overhead bin.
— Pamela Clare, Breaking Point
I know from experience that females need a certain amount of chocolate. We have two of them in the house. I don't want them growing restless.
— Pamela Clare, Skin Deep
Look!" She pointed, a smile on her face. "Wild pigs!""They have razor-sharp tusks, so don't try to hug one.
— Pamela Clare, Breaking Point
I've got no tolerance for a man who hurts women. Every man on this planet owes his life to a woman. I hope they catch the bastard and hang him by his nuts.
— Pamela Clare, Skin Deep
If I told you your bare ass looks fantastic in the moonlight, would you hold that against me?
— Pamela Clare, Breaking Point
Some part of him had hoped that a woman might one day see beyond his scars to the man he was inside. But Megan was doing more than just ignoring his ugliness. She was _accepting_ it with a woman's gentleness, her touch soothing memories of savage pain, grief, loneliness.
— Pamela Clare, Skin Deep
I suspected you were tired of looking for things you should have found a long time ago. ~ Jared
— Julie Leto, Dare Me
Awakened by the oppressive midday heat, Zach opened his eyes to see a small blue and tan lizard doing what looked like push-ups about a foot away from his face.
— Pamela Clare, Breaking Point
Live life to the fullest and never forget the people that supported you along the way.
— Dorothy W. Cosey
It's going to be okay. Donny doesn't know it yet, but he just picked a fight with the wrong bunch of guys." -- Julian Darcangelo
— Pamela Clare, Skin Deep
Liza took her time sipping her tea. “That’s what I hear Janet. Of course, living it up can take years off your life and add them to your face.
— Gwenn Wright
He wanted to tell her that if it were simply a matter of crossing the river Styx and trading places with Beau, he'd be gone in a heartbeat.
— Pamela Clare, Breaking Point
dont use relationship for ur own selfishness
— Ikechukwu Joseph, Achievers Handbook 2: Over 100 Inspirational Keys to fulfill your Destiny
Whether it is the best of times or the worst of times, it is the only time we have. 
— Art Buchwald
Because things are the way they are, things will not stay the way they are.
— Bertolt Brecht
But now, I know, how absence can be present, like a damaged nerve, like a dark bird.
— Audrey Niffenegger, The Time Traveler's Wife
Bringing people into the here-and-now. The real universe. That's the present moment. The past is no good to us. The future is full of anxiety. Only the present is real--the here-and-now. Seize the day.
— Saul Bellow, Seize the Day
Everybody's trying to make every minute of the present last forever. Preserve every second.
— Chuck Palahniuk, Choke
The fear of becoming old is born of the recognition that one is not living now the life that one wishes. It is equivalent to a sense of abusing the present.
— Susan Sontag, Reborn: Journals and Notebooks, 1947-1963
Yesterday is a cancelled check
—  tomorrow is a promissory note
I know now: what is is all that matters. Not the thing you know is meant to be, not what could be, not what should be, not what ought to be, not what once was.Only the is.
— Augusten Burroughs, Lust & Wonder
Walking along past the store windows, into which she peers with her usual eagerness, her usual sense that maybe, today, she will discover behind them something that will truly be worth seeing, she feels as if her feet are not on cement at all but on ice. The blade of the skate floats, she knows, on a thin film of water, which it melts by pressure and which freezes behind it. This is the freedom of the present tense, this sliding edge.
— Margaret Atwood, Bluebeard's Egg
That's all anyone has, and it's always brief, although, of course, some people believe they have a past where they can accumulate things and a future where they will accumulate still more. By the way, speaking of the present moment, do you masturbate a lot?
— Paulo Coelho, Veronika Decides to Die
I have one aim only: to impart a fraction of the meaning of the word now.
— Frederick Salomon Perls
The present is a great treasure, live in the present.
— Lailah Gifty Akita
He [Abram] believes that the PRESENT is the only real thing and everything else is an illusiona distraction
— Jennifer DeLucy, Seers of Light
When I meet you, in that moment, I am no longer a part of your future. I start quickly becoming part of your past. But in that instant, I get to share a part of your present. And you get to share a part of mine. And that is the greatest present of all.
— Sarah Kay, No Matter the Wreckage
If a man decides that it is better for him to resist the demands of a present feeble love, in the name of another, of a future manifestation, he deceives either himself or other people, and loves no one but himself. Future love does not exist. Love is a present activity only. The man who does not manifest love in the present has not love.
— Leo Tolstoy
The distance runner who accepts the past in the person he is, and sees the future as a promise rather than a threat, is completely and utterly in the present. He is absorbed in his encounter with the everyday world. He is mysteriously reconciling the separations of body and mind, of pain and pleasure, of the conscious and the unconsciou. He is repairing the rent, and healing the wound in the divided self. He has found a way to make the ordinary extraordinary; the commonplace, unique; the everyday, eternal.
— George Sheehan, Running & Being: The Total Experience
Infinite mercy flows continuallyBut you're asleep and can't see it.The sleeper's robe goes on drinking river waterWhile he frantically hunts mirages in dreamsAnd runs continually here and there shouting,"There'll be water further on, I know!"It's this false thinking that blocks himFrom the path that leads to himself,By always saying, "Further on!"He's become estranged from "here":Because of a false fantasyHe's driven from reality.
— Jalaluddin Rumi
The present moment is the only one that matters, and what you are doing right now is as delightful as anything else.
— Victor Shamas
In that moment I understand that I have the power to create the situation right here, right now. I could walk past and say nothing, I could stop and talk, I could do whatever, and create a moment. Every moment is my moment to create.
— Gregg Korrol, The Gifted Storyteller: The Power Is in the Story You Tell
You know, if we’re speaking on a cosmic level, you’re never in a better place than you are in the current moment.
— Ryan Daff, Moral Kiosk
The objects of the present life fill the human eye with a false magnification because of their immediacy.
— William Wilberforce
We’ve been together a long fucking time, babe. What’s past is past.
— Lesley  Jones
Now is the only time we have, and the only time that we have any control over.
— Richard Carlson, Don't Sweat the Small Stuff ... and it's all small stuff: Simple Ways to Keep the Little Things from Taking Over Your Life
Time is your cathedral. You know the present is only a pretty illusion in the minds of men. And I think you know that nothing has ever passed away, not entirely.
— Caitlín R. Kiernan, Threshold
Any effort made in the present is like an investment in the future.
— Steven Redhead, Life Is Simply A Game
Writing is taking human experience and wrapping it up into a package of your own ideas and hoping someone will pull the bow smiling on top to see what's hiding inside.
— Roderick Vincent
Welcome the present moment as if you had invited it. It is all we ever have so we might as well work with it rather than struggling against it. We might as well make it our friend and teacher rather than our enemy.
— Pema Chödrön
What you were and what you are now... it's nothing... everything just lies in between...
— shivangi lavaniya
this IS the time when man must be Free.
— Sushil Singh
The future is simple. The future is simple, I can hold it i the palm of my hand; and the present is just a matter of endurance, detachment, and a sense of humor.
— Vikram Chandra, Red Earth and Pouring Rain
If nostalgia holds you hostage,the ransom is the present.
— Khang Kijarro Nguyen
If you lend the present, it will never be returned.
— Khang Kijarro Nguyen
The secret of being happy is not longing for it!
— Ramana Pemmaraju
The best Christmas present you can give to your dead grandfather is not showing up until Easter. And telling no one about it. Especially not yourself.
— Will Advise, Nothing is here...
How do you get so empty? he wondered. Who takes it out of you?
— Ray Bradbury
There you have it! - How they anticipate my wishes, how they grant friendship's little attentions, which are worth a thousand times more than breathtaking presents that merely prove the giver's vanity and humiliate us.
— Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
I had to make a large number of changes to clear Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity (EHS) up, it took years to figure it out. I kept on making change after change until one day I realized that EHS was no longer present.
— Steven Magee, Curing Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity
Taoism as the "art of being in the world," for it deals with the present—ourselves. It is in us that God meets with Nature, and yesterday parts from to-morrow. The Present is the moving Infinity, the legitimate sphere of the Relative. Relativity seeks Adjustment; Adjustment is Art. The art of life lies in a constant readjustment to our surroundings.
— Kakuzō Okakura, The Book of Tea
Hurrying and delaying are alike ways of trying to resist the present.
— Alan W. Watts
How we present ourselves at any given time is dependent on the situation. We constantly balance the tension of high aspirations with the pragmatism of realistic expectations. The key is to represent ourselves in such a way that we can fulfill the expectations we create.
— Marian Deegan, Relevance: Matter More
We must be present enough and receptive enough to “hear” with our whole being beyond just the words that are being spoken.
— Henry Kimsey-House, Co-Active Leadership: Five Ways to Lead
You can never be happy if you're trapped in the past and fearful of the future. Living in the present is the only way to be happy.
— Robert Tew
Hence this life of yours which you are living is not merely a piece of the entire existence, but is in a certain sense the whole; only this whole is not so constituted that it can be surveyed in one single glance. This, as we know, is what the Brahmins express in that sacred, mystic formula which is yet really so simple and so clear: Tat tvam asi, this is you. Or, again, in such words as 'I am in the east and in the west, I am below and above, I am this whole world'.Thus you can throw yourself flat on the ground, stretched out upon Mother Earth, with the certain conviction that you are one with her and she with you. You are as firmly established, as invulnerable as she, indeed a thousand times firmer and more invulnerable. As surely she will engulf you tomorrow, so surely will she bring you forth anew to new striving and suffering. And not merely 'some day': now, today, every day she is bringing you forth, not once but thousands upon thousands of times, just as every day she engulfs you a thousand times over. For eternally and always there is only now, one and the same now; the present is the only thing that has no end.
— Erwin Schrödinger, My View of the World
When you beat a drum, you create NOW, when silence becomes a sound so enormous and alive it feels like you're breathing in the clouds and the sky, and your heart is the rain and the thunder.
— Ruth Ozeki, A Tale for the Time Being
i am here and now in all this Omnipresent , i am the universe.
— Sushil Singh
We tend to forget that life can only be defined in the present tense.
— Dennis Potter
You're the one person whose opinion I care about. When I'm with you, the past dissappears, and I'm a better person.
— Cindi Madsen, All the Broken Pieces
Make the best of what you have today.Today is the day.The best is here: now, it is always be at the present moment.
— Angelica Hopes, Landscapes of a Heart, Whispers of a Soul
Today is a new canvas, paint it with all your favorite colors.
— Anum Sattar
Never job backwards. What might have been was a waste of time.
— Ian Fleming
It was only when I rounded a bend and glimpsed the white peaks ahead that I doubled my abilities, only when I thought how far i had yet to go that i lost faith that I would get there
— Cheryl Strayed
Harry, I’m going to let you in on a little secret. Every day, once a day, give yourself a present. Don’t plan it, don’t wait for it, just let it happen
— Dale Cooper from "Twin Peaks"
He was always crazy about her. If he was a king then she was his crest– the emblem of his kingdom. Without her, his world is lost. He left his house or rather palace, now spends his days on some filthy park-bench. He is a king turned to beggar. Nothing can cure him except his Angel, Emily.
— Atri Cruizer, Present in Love
Don't stay in this now. You'll fall behind.
— Brian Spellman, Cartoonist's Book Camp
Live in the present. Tomorrow is a puzzle you can only solve with the answers you find today.
— Sean Patrick Brennan, The Papal Visitor
Everything Is In the World Is Interesting . If You See From Your Deep Level only From The Present
— Sushil Singh, System dynamics: a practical approach for managerial problems
I have always lived in the present, accepted the misfortunes, made peace with the disappointments, delighted in its little blessings, found happiness in whatever the present moment has offered and sat in the shade of sadness to let the dark moments pass by.
— Balroop Singh
What possible good does it do to resent any moment for unfolding as it does, to wish it didn't happen? Does it change the moment in any positive way? No it does not.
— Guy Finley
„Those who decide to live in the Present, must leave their past behind.
— Frank Wanderer
One day you will wake up and there won't be any more time to do the things you've always wanted. Do it now.
— Paulo Coelho
...Working for peace is never "a one man battle". It means when one person who does not want to work for it is present among others, he/she becomes "another work" for the passionate people to work on upon and this makes the entire work more difficult"!
— Israelmore Ayivor, The Great Hand Book of Quotes
I told her if she really cared about me, then she’d let me do whatever I wanted for my birthday, just like Mom did when I was twelve.”“What happened when you were twelve?”“Oh, Mom offered to take us all out for dinner—us girls, Dad was out of town—to celebrate, but I didn’t want to. This book I’d been waiting for had just come out, and the only thing I wanted to do was read it all night.”“My God,” I said, touching the top of her nose. “You’re adorable.”She swatted me away. “Anyway, Carly and Zoe really wanted to go out so that they could score a meal, but Mom just said, ‘It’s her birthday. Let her do whatever she wants.’”“Your mom is cool.
— Richelle Mead, The Fiery Heart
I have a very strong sense that we only know where we are by looking clearly at where we've come from.
— Sara Sheridan
You have the here and now. You have a future. Deal with the past so you can stop looking back. It's just the pain.
— Jessica Park, Left Drowning
You are people with a present and with a future. Don't muff the ball. Be excellent.
— Gordon B. Hinckley, Standing for Something: 10 Neglected Virtues That Will Heal Our Hearts and Homes
Here, I stole it for you. Why don’t you tell me what it’s for.”“Aw, Sophronia, how thoughtful. You brought me a present!
— Gail Carriger, Curtsies & Conspiracies
Being there doesn't mean I'm present. I exist only in words. I want to be transmuted fully to white page and ink.
— David Joseph Cribbin, Father Crow and Other Poems
Live in the present. Don't think about things that aren't happening. Definitely don't think about eating cheeseburgers when you're not eating cheeseburgers. First of all, it's not happening. Second of all, it'll just make you hungry.
— Amber heart
A simple token carries the significance of a diamond
— Talia G. Cano
He who least needs tomorrow, will most gladly greet tomorrow.
— Epicurus
Dennis was present, still present, and this, she thought as she stayed landed against him, was no small talent.
— Meg Wolitzer, The Interestings
Any day stands equal to the rest.
— Heraclitus
Neither bend from sorrows of the past, Nor be anxious about future or get excited in the present.Past, present and future are all manifested in AUM- the Self;Which combines all three energies, Material, mental and sleep, in unison.
— Gian Kumar
Lets stop worrying about future and lets start enjoying the present.
— Nadair Desmar
To love in the sense of passion-love is the contrary of to live. It is an impoverishment of one's being, an askesis without sequel, an inability to enjoy the present without imagining it as absent, a never-ending flight from possession.
— Denis de Rougemont, Love in the Western World
Never look back
—  you may only find what you left or let you go.
Being present is being connected to All Things.
— S. Kelley Harrell
Today is a fantasy for tomorrow has gone and yesterday is here!
— Munia Khan
I got you a present.""Did you?""It's a book of poetry--romancy stuff. I thought, 'How schmaltzy is that,' so it seemed like the thing. Then I screwed up and left it in my desk at work
— J.D. Robb, Innocent in Death
When you have nothing but love, you have everything. This means you must live as if you have nothing to hide, nothing to prove and nothing to lose.
— John Kuypers, The Non Judgmental Christian: Five Lessons That Will Revolutionize Your Relationships
If we live with possibilities we are exiles from the present which is given us by God to be our own, homeless and displaced in a future or a past which are not ours because they are always beyond our reach. The present is our right place, and we can lay hands on whatever it offers us.
— Thomas Merton, No Man Is an Island
No time better than the present,’ I always say. Or was that, ‘Nothing is better than a present’? I forget.
— Kaza Kingsley, The Three Furies
Each day, in itself, brings with it an eternity.
— Paulo Coelho
If you can concentrate always on the present, you'll be a happy man.
— Paulo Coelho
The present is what is happening when you strip away all the resentments of your past and all the worries you have about your future.
— John Kuypers
When you do what's important now for you, you create a past that leaves you ready to handle the present. By default, the future is taking care of itself as you make decisions that are acceptable to you no matter what happens tomorrow.
— John Kuypers
To live in the present, you need to act or accept but never stay stuck.
— John Kuypers
When you are living in the present, you know what's important now for you and you act on that knowing.
— John Kuypers, What's Important Now: Shedding The Past So You Can Live In The Present
Why is it that when one man builds a wall, the next man immediately needs to know what's on the other side?
— George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones
Curiosity is, in great and generous minds, the first passion and the last.
— Samuel Johnson, Works of Samuel Johnson
Curiosity killed the cat,” Fesgao remarked, his dark eyes unreadable.Aly rolled her eyes. Why did everyone say that to her? “People always forget the rest of the saying,” she complained. “‘And satisfaction brought it back.
— Tamora Pierce, Trickster's Choice
It's not a silly question if you can't answer it.
— Jostein Gaarder, Sophie's World
I think, at a child's birth, if a mother could ask a fairy godmother to endow it with the most useful gift, that gift would be curiosity.
— Eleanor Roosevelt
There are young men and women up and down the land who happily (or unhappily) tell anyone who will listen that they don’t have an academic turn of mind, or that they aren’t lucky enough to have been blessed with a good memory, and yet can recite hundreds of pop lyrics and reel off any amount of information about footballers. Why? Because they are interested in those things. They are curious. If you are hungry for food, you are prepared to hunt high and low for it. If you are hungry for information it is the same. Information is all around us, now more than ever before in human history. You barely have to stir or incommode yourself to find things out. The only reason people do not know much is because they do not care to know. They are incurious. Incuriosity is the oddest and most foolish failing there is.
— Stephen Fry, The Fry Chronicles
Curiosity is one of the permanent and certain characteristics of a vigorous intellect.
— Samuel Johnson, The Rambler
The love of knowledge is a kind of madness.
— C.S. Lewis, Out of the Silent Planet
She had an immense curiosity about life, and was constantly staring and wondering.
— Henry James, The Portrait of a Lady
It is simply this: do not tire, never lose interest, never grow indifferent—lose your invaluable curiosity and you let yourself die. It's as simple as that.
— Tove Jansson, Fair Play