c2p-cmd/Good-Quotes-Authors huggingface dataset:
Celeste committed the cardinal sin of leaning across Jack's arm. "You will excuse me, Madam, but I have something most particular to say to Monsieur Trestain.""That was rude," jack said, though he was smiling."No doubt you thought her very beautiful.""No doubt that is what you think I thought.
— Marguerite Kaye, The Soldier's Dark Secret
Celeste rejoined him. "How you ladies do love a bargain," he said."You were listening!""I left before you shared the secrets of your undergarments." Jack looked sheepish. "That didn't sound quite how I intended."Celeste blushed. "You should not have mentioned it at all. A lady's undergarments are not a fit topic for a gentleman to discuss at a military dinner.""Actually," he retorted, "you would be surprised at how often the subject comes up.
— Marguerite Kaye, The Soldier's Dark Secret
Her feet moved into the vast space, but all she couldsee was Cyrus. He strode through the room the way acaptain commands his ship. Was it possible his maroon bruise made him more dashing? He was a fine sight in a black broadcloth coat. Hersalacious gaze dropped to a brass button lower on hiswaistcoat. The metal glimmered, winking at her withflirtatious intent very near the tuft of hair she rememberedso well at his navel. The corner of Cyrus’s mouth crooked. If shelooked ready to devour him, he read the message onher face, no words required. “Claire.” He said her name like a treasured sound. Then, herlandlord bent low over her hand, kissing her knucklesand keeping her fingers in a tender hold.Her flesh sung a merry tune recalling how she’dgripped those broad shoulders of his in a fit of passion.Was that only two nights ago? Her cheeks turned hotat the memory. Cyrus rose to his full height, holding her hand. Heplanted a kiss on her forehead. “Mmmm…” he hummed approvingly. “You smellof almonds.” His lips lingered on her hairline, givingher another soft kiss. “And vanilla, I think. Somethingyou cooked?” He breathed in her scent, standing close yet notintimidating in the least. His own smell was cleanand starched with a hint of coffee. She reached high,touching his face like a woman with every right topartake of the feast he offered. “It’s face powder.” One finger stroked the smoothsquare of his jaw, her voice curving with amusement. “Today I join the ranks of ladies who meet for luncheon,and I can’t be sure if I’ve been lured here orgoaded by one very challenging man put on earth toharass my senses.” She caressed his jaw, the grain of his skin smoothto the touch. He must’ve shaved in the last hour. Hismouth quirked sideways, pressing the maroon bruisehigher up his cheek. “Something tells me you’re the perfect woman tosoothe such a man or put him in his place.” His pewterstare flicked over her exposed skin, settling on hercleavage. “As to your senses, I shall treat them withthe utmost care.
— Gina Conkle, The Lady Meets Her Match
They sat in a sphere of quiet, save the sound of theirbreathing and the carriage’s creaks and sways. Outside,the coachman yelled his encouragement to the steedsmoving them forward. The whole carriage cocoonedthem in a peculiar world with the heaven’s wool-thickmists pressing against the windows. Her hand didn’t stop rubbing his neck, but sheshifted her leg, bending her knee to rest her leg onhis thigh. Her patten slipped off, dropping to the floorwith a thud. Cyrus’s head moved off the squab. “Are youundressing for my benefit?” His smile’s wicked curve played on her. From herstays to her drawers, everything was too tight, toomuch against her skin. Cyrus reached for her handworking his neck muscles. He brought it to his lips andkissed her knuckles thrice with slow adoration. “We don’t have to stop,” she said, her voice breathyand quick. “I’m sure you have more aches and pains.” Mid-kiss, he smiled against the back of her hand, hiswarm breath brushing her skin. “There are so many ways a man could go withthat.” Humor lightened his voice. “But I’m sure youmean to provide tender care to my neck only.” She grinned at her unintended innuendo. This wasthe experience she craved—to flirt and tease, to kissand touch. Cyrus put his lips to her wrist, marking herwith hot kisses. A spangle of pleasure shot up her arm. “You would break down the meanest soul withyour soft heart.” He set her hand on the blanket’sscratchy folds, his thumb caressing her wrist. “High praise, indeed, sir.” Tinseled sparks danced across her skin, not lettingher recover from those gentle touches, his lips to herarm. He stroked a lone finger on her hand that restedbetween them. “And you don’t care one bit that I’m the son of aMidland swine farmer, do you?” Cyrus asked the unexpected question, but his voiceconveyed confidence in her answer. Was her chivalrousbrawler showing a hidden spot? She peered athim, wanting a better view of his shadowed features. How was she to decipher this latest turn? The carriage bumped and rocked, and the outsidecandle lantern swung another shaft of light inside. Hisquicksilver stare pinned her. “Miss Mayhew, have you ever wondered how afreehold farmer got to be in such a fine place?
— Gina Conkle, The Lady Meets Her Match
But the pain, the tearing blackness, the white heat of his uncontrollable fury, the terror that made him run from himself, the sweats and the shakes, and the dull ache in his head, they were all too real. ~~~~She kissed him to stop the words babbling out. She was in love. “Jack,” she said, because it was all she could trust herself to say. “Jack.” She loved him. She kissed his eyelids. She loved him.
— Marguerite Kaye, The Soldier's Dark Secret
Celeste grabbed his arm. “You see, you are running away from the truth. Why won’t you talk about it?”“Take your hands off me. Now.”She had gone too far. She knew it would be insane to push him further, but she knew with certainty that was exactly what she was going to do. Celeste tilted her head and met his stormy eyes. “No.
— Marguerite Kaye, The Soldier's Dark Secret
The earl narrowed his eyes as he hopped off his bay gelding and surveyed the deep green expanse of lawn surrounding the ancestral home. The graceful house, built atop and around an ancient abbey, wore its centuries of accretion with aplomb, as if it had always perched atop thisgentle slope. In the slanting late afternoon sun, the fading red-brick walls glowed. “My God, I hate the country,” he said.
— Jenny Holiday, The Miss Mirren Mission
Claire coaxed free another loop of cloth. The slow side of cotton against cotton matched the soft tenor or her voice.'I have lots of talents Mr. Ryland. Listening is only one of them.
— Gina Conkle, The Lady Meets Her Match
Waves of ice cold shock swept over Theo.Mrs. Dietrich, the woman who fed him chocolate cookies every time she pulled a sliver from his finger, the woman who’d tended him through every sickness and illness he’d had, the woman he loved as much as his own mother: a war spy and traitor.Impossible!“You think your mom is a spy?” He said the words slowly, not quite believing they came from his mouth. “For Germany? That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.
— Jess Schira
Well, to be fair, he’s in a situation where intelligence does rather go out the window,” Cross said. “I have a theory that women actually siphon off our cleverness during the courting phase, and keep it for themselves. Which is why they always seem to see the endgame before we do.
— Sarah MacLean, Never Judge a Lady by Her Cover
She had always swum alone. She had never swum in the company of a man, and this man -- She dragged her eyes away again...."Go in. I will follow you but don't look."Jack laughed. "I never make promises I can't keep," he said.
— Marguerite Kaye, The Soldier's Dark Secret
Sleep well in my arms tonight, love, but know that we must come to an understanding of sorts--for I be a full-blooded male as this fire in my loins doth remind me--and unfortunately, not the saint ye so obviously would have me!
— Virginia Aird, Captive Angel
There is no shame in being illiterate. One need only feel ashamed when one denies the opportunity to learn.
— Virginia Aird, Captive Angel
Are you quite through with your lurid comments and wicked amusements?""Hardly, my dear, this is just the beginning. You may not be eager now, but I shall melt that ice of yours yet. I always get what I want, and I don't mind waiting for a little while.
— Virginia Aird, A Fiery Lass
I point out. It was the most foolish, jape-fisted bit of buffoonery I have ever seen, and I am impressed in spite of that.
— Robin LaFevers
Does that sort of blatantly lascivious glance generally sway women to jump into your bed?" she asked tartly."Often enough to make it worth the attempt.' He grinned. "Besides, it need only work occasionally. "a man must sleep sometime.
— Sabrina Jeffries, How the Scoundrel Seduces
Husband-hunting. Always a rousing sport. I suppose you go there dressed to kill.""No, indeed. What good is a dead husband?" She smiled airily. "I go dressed to maim only.
— Sabrina Jeffries, How the Scoundrel Seduces
Dallying? Dallying, mind you?" She marched up the last few steps. "As if I would ever min a million years dally with you." She wouldn't. Really, she wouldn't!His low chuckle behind her put the lie to her words. "Never say never, my lady. A vow like that is sure to come back to bit you in the arse. Which would be a shame, given that you have such a fine one.
— Sabrina Jeffries, How the Scoundrel Seduces
Sometimes time can play tricks. One moment it idles by, an hour can seem a lifetime, such as when sitting by the river at dusk watching the bats snatching insects above the limpid waters; the breaching fish causing ringed ripples and a satisfying plop. Other times, time flashes by in an immodest fashion. So it is with the start of war. First time quivers with the last strum of a wonderful peace, the note holding in the air, mysterious and haunting, filling the listener with awe. Then, with a rising crescendo the terror starts with uncouth haste; with a boom the listener is shaken from their reverie and delivered into the servitude, of an ear-shattering cacophony.
— M.A. Lossl, Mizpah Cousins: life, love and perilous predicaments during the Great War era.
There's no need for chains. I can still take you until you're begging for more.
— Harper St. George, His Abductor's Desire
To order a wife by mail seemed strange to him indeed; so strange he could only open the letters in the confidential cloak of night, undisturbed by even the servants..." Lord Hartford's thoughts at the prospect of reading letters in response to his advertisement for a mail order bride in "To Find a Duchess
— Lisa M. Prysock, To Find a Duchess
Of course, even though Peter and I have had our disagreements, we share a bond I'd defend to the death if needs be. If all goes according to the natural order of things, siblings will know us longer than our parents, longer than our spouses and friends." Lord Westdale to Duncan
— Kieran Kramer, Loving Lady Marcia
He laid her hand on his jutting cock. "This beast is what I want to put inside you, princess. It will hurt you, I fear, and you'll never be the same."She ran a finger along the length of him, then smiled softly. "I should hope not. How good can a seduction be if one ends up the same afterward?
— Sabrina Jeffries, How the Scoundrel Seduces
I've never done this with a woman like you before. Never wanted to. I only know... I don't want it to end.
— Sabrina Jeffries, How the Scoundrel Seduces
When I saw the women ranged in the windows, when I saw their calculating looks, assessing my purse...and other things, I realized I didn't want any of them in my bed." ..."That's why I left, princess," he rasped. "Because I realized it was you I wanted in my bed. Only you.
— Sabrina Jeffries, How the Scoundrel Seduces
I supposed you've already kissed him? Don't deny it, that guilty look is a complete giveaway. Did you like it?"	"Felicity!"	"Well?"	"Yes." Ainsley laughed. "Yes, I did."	"Was it a good kiss? The kind of kiss to give you confidence that your Mr. Drummond would know what he was doing? The kind of kiss that made you want him to do more than kiss you?
— Marguerite Kaye, Strangers at the Altar
My father prided himself on maintaining traditions that were hundreds of years old. You'll feel as if you've stepped back into the eighteenth century."	Her brows lifted in surprise. He could see the wheels turning in her clever brain, but she chose merely to nod, and perversely, though he knew he would not like it, he wanted to know what she was thinking. "Go on. Say it."	"It is nothing. Only - you are very much a man of the nineteenth century."	"You mean you're not surprised I left such a backward place."	"Such a backward place must be crying out for a man like you." Ainsley pushed her windswept hair out of her eyes.
— Marguerite Kaye, Strangers at the Altar
Kissing gave a man all sorts of immoral ideas. Such ideas were, in Madame Hera's world, the province only of men. That Ainsley herself had had ideas - her mind boggled, trying to imagine what Madame would say to that.	In fact, those very ideas cropped up in several of the letters Felicity had forwarded to her, variously referred to as 'unnatural desires,' 'longing,' 'carnal stirrings,' fever of the blood,' 'indecent thoughts' and even, memorably, 'an irrepressible need to scratch an itch.
— Marguerite Kaye, Strangers at the Altar
Her face flushed, her eyes flared and she poked him in the chest. "Ach, I had nae caution, you brastling gaupie! What about you? You recklessly left the sword out when there are children around!"Anger crackled in every fibre of her body. He felt it. He saw it in the flash of her hair, the light of her eyes. But she was standing right in front of him and she was so very whole."Reckless!" He grabbed her arms and yanked her to him. "I'll show you reckless!
— Nicole Locke, The Knight's Broken Promise
Any friend of my cousin's is a friend of mine, sir. How exactly do you know Lady Zoe?"Before Tristan could answer, Zoe jumped in. "We met at some party, did we not, Mr. Bonnaud?""Yes." Tristan forced a smile. "Clearly a very dull one, since neither of us can remember which one it was.
— Sabrina Jeffries, How the Scoundrel Seduces
She thinks I'm too...impulsive.""Can't imagine why," Tristan muttered, "when you do things like ride off into the woods after gentlemen in pursuit of a thief---
— Sabrina Jeffries, How the Scoundrel Seduces
How had things gone so terribly wrong? She wasn't supposed to be returning to Murdoch House in defeat, and she most certainly was not supposed to be returning alone.Lilly should be there. And Gideon. High-handed, muleheaded, wonderful Gideon. She'd never admitted it, not even to herself, but a part of her had expected him to come back to Murdoch House with her. Or perhaps it was more accurate to say that no part of her had been able to imagine going back without him.
— Alissa Johnson, Nearly a Lady
You like this darkness. You like learning me by feel.” Feeling very bold indeed, she nuzzled at him until she found his mouth with her own. “I like it too.
— Grace Burrowes, The Captive
Think of this- that the writer wrote alone, and the reader read alone, and they were alone with each other.
— A.S. Byatt
I’ve told you before, ma chérie, love is not about submission. It is the willingness to give of yourself. That is a great power and gift, if you allow yourself to wield it.
— Monica Burns, His Mistress
They did go on so, don't you think, those Victorian poets, they took themselves so horribly seriously," he said, pushing the lift button, summoning it from the depths.As it creaked up, Blackadder said, "That's not the worst thing a human being can do, take himself seriously.
— A.S. Byatt
... not within my memory.""All 300 years of it?"That comment earned her a frown."My apologies," she amended lightly. "I supposed I should not tease you about being so old.""Nay, feel free."His slow smile flashed in the moonlight."I would be happy to prove to you that I possess all the prowess and stamina of a man of 30. Mayhap I should demonstrate.
— Shelly Thacker, His Captive Bride
Simm watched the hanging with disgust. Why would the young man pretend to be a spy when he had no skills and no natural ability? As far as he could tell there had been no secret inks, no codes, and little effort to keep his movements secret. Maybe the world was better off without such fools; fledglings who fell out of the sky only to die on the ground.
— Dory Codington, Fate and Fair Winds
We shall not be indiscreet here in the broad light of day,” she said, but she’d left a question in the words when she’d intended a stern admonition.He smiled down at her. “Someday, Gillian, I will have you writhing and moaning in the broad light of day. Outdoors even.”“You’d get leaves in my hair.” She could afford the humor, because he was behaving.“Among other places, but then I’d help you remove them.
— Grace Burrowes, The Captive
It was a struggle to not fall in love with a man who was determined to be decent to her when what she sought was indulgence of her wanton nature.Her recently discovered, very frustrated wanton nature, damn him.
— Grace Burrowes, The Captive
I have never paid for fornication, and I don't intend to begin with you. When you come to me, and come to me you shall, you shall do so of your own accord and wholly free of all commerce and custom.
— Hope C. Tarr, Claimed by the Rogue
They should put their clothes on if they could find them which might be difficult in the darkness.He decided that could wait until dawn.
— Shelly Thacker, His Captive Bride
He kept pushing her, expecting for her to break. Fearing it. But he was the one who splintered apart. He was the one who broke.
— Amber Lin, Falling For The Pirate
The Girauds' child was looking more and more like a problem.Luke pressed his lips into a thin line. When she'd leaned in the stagecoach blazing with fervor over what was in the arcane books, it had taken all his willpower not to throw a bolt of magic to stop her heart.
— Ann Gimpel, Blood and Magic
What have I done?" he asked, his voice raw. "You used to be such a sane, sensible lady.""You took me on a journey into my own heart.
— Shelly Thacker, His Forbidden Touch
I do not want to be a relative and passive being, anywhere. I want to live and love and write.
— A.S. Byatt
And then you realize one day that you can't remember her scent and nothing smells like her anymore. You can't remember how she feels or the sound of her voice. You haven't thought of her every second of every day. Then--then you feel more alone than on the day you lost her.
— Desiree Banks, The Sheriff's Widow
The worst mistake I ever made has become the best thing I ever did.- Darius Wainwright
— Jayne Fresina, Once Upon a Kiss
There’s no scandal involved,” she said airily. “I have no connection with you whatsoever. I have nothing to do with you. You are a thimble filled with water next to my ocean. You are a grain of sand to my beach. You are a tiny star in the sky. You’re nothing to me.
— Karen Ranney, The Virgin of Clan Sinclair
Are you quite certain you won't mind having a virgin on your hands?" Not that she imagined she would remain that way for much longer. The penis pressing against her seemed to say that her time as a virgin was down to mere minutes.
— Hope C. Tarr, Claimed by the Rogue
So she learned at the age of almost twenty-six how to kiss a lover. Such kisses involved tongues, lips, taste, feel, and soft, needy noises that had her pressing up into his body and wanting to consume him with her hands and her mouth.
— Grace Burrowes, The Captive
I live to bring you pleasure.” To Gilly, his words rang like a vow.
— Grace Burrowes, The Captive
So you are the brash young lover returned from the dead?" the Frenchman finally said."And you are the devoted fiance returned from the card room," Robert shot back...
— Hope C. Tarr, Claimed by the Rogue
You would fare far better with a lover who makes you laugh than one who makes you curse - and cry," he added, stepping to the cone of colored light.Beyond mortified, Phoebe dashed a quick hand across her damp eyes, hoping he might at least miss that much of her shame. "Sir, you should have made your presence known."One dark brow arched upward, "I believe I am doing just that.
— Hope C. Tarr, Claimed by the Rogue
Mercia wasn’t a little-in-love sort of man. He was mad, dark passion, sweeping emotion, and complete loss of reason, with his gaunt male beauty, his wealth and power, and his haunted past.
— Grace Burrowes, The Captive
He rose up like a languid god after devouring a bountiful feast.
— Paula Quinn, Laird of the Mist
So the Bawdy Bluestocking was the proprietress of her own shop, selling lurid novels to ladies in the front and more esoteric fare in the back, from the looks of the shelves around him. He spied Pope and Crabbe, Shakespeare, of course, and names he did not recognize at all. He wondered how she chose her stock and where it came from. She must spend her days in endless research. The thought was unaccountably lovely to him.
— Evelyn Pryce, A Man Above Reproach
This was now officially the most inane conversation in which Griff had ever been a participant—and that included a drunken debate with Del over ostrich racing.“The color isn’t too awful?” She twisted a fold of the skirt. “The draper called it ‘dewy petal,’ but your mother said the shade was more of a ‘frosted berry.’ What do you say?”“I’m a man, Simms. Unless we’re discussing nipples, I don’t see the value in these distinctions.
— Tessa Dare, Any Duchess Will Do
You make me burn with life, and yearn to set aside my cold and distant, solitary ways.
— Stacy Reid, The Duke's Shotgun Wedding
Release Lady Mirabelle and the kitten or I’ll run you through, skewering your belly, pinching out your life.
— Sue-Ellen Welfonder, To Love A Highlander
You have not known very many men.""I have no wish to know any others. I love this one.
— Shelly Thacker, His Forbidden Touch
I would be anyone if only I could be with you.
— Shelly Thacker, His Forbidden Touch
As he looked at her, she felt that flood of restlessness that she now knew was called desire.
— Shelly Thacker, His Forbidden Touch
The softness of her touch, the emerald eyes gazing into his when they held hands and circled, attacked his defenses and flung them aside as if he were a helpless lad. If she'd come at him with a dagger, he might have let her stab him in the heart.
— Amy Jarecki, The Highland Henchman
She promised you'd get to shore in one piece.' Cheap said, 'and I won't make a liar out of her. But if you know what's good for you, you'll forget about that girl. Ask anyone on the coast. Or the Lord God himself. They'll tell you. Lucas Cheap sailed with the Brethren. He makes good ever on his threats.
— Donna Thorland, The Rebel Pirate
Have you ever seen Russian nesting dolls?”Thrown by the questions, she opened her eyes. Why would he suddenly speak about a child’s toy? “I own a few of them.”“Then you must understand that undressing you is like playing with one of those dolls. I open one to find another beneath it. I took away your gown to find you are still as clothed as you were a moment ago and I wonder how many more layers I will have to work through to get down to you—the doll I’m searching for.
— Dominique Eastwick, The Duke and the Virgin
Hetty shivered. Goodness, he had no business looking at her like that. Physician my eye! Physicians definitely didn't look like him; they were short, round and adorned with wigs and spectacles.
— Susan Lodge, Only a Hero Will Do
Sparhawk had fallen into a nest of pirates.
— Donna Thorland, The Rebel Pirate
There is not a man alive who would not want you.
— Shelly Thacker, His Forbidden Touch
And then she fell into his arms. It was what he’d dreamed of on sleepless nights, holding her, feeling the press of her breasts to his chest, the flare of her hips in his hands. He forgot all about where they were, why they were alone together. He forgot the risk of his dishonor and her ruin. There was still a corrupt beast inside him, waiting for this chance. All that mattered was that they were alone, and she was with him, and he wished he never had to let her go.
— Gayle Callen, Redemption of the Duke
Now that you made me a knight again", he said lightly, "I'll have to keep my mind on certain knightly virtues like chastity."Ciara could not remember that ever being a knightly virtue.
— Shelly Thacker, His Forbidden Touch
Enya assessed him like a woman would a piece of fine cloth. "Rugged land for a rugged man.
— Amy Jarecki, The Highland Henchman
I've tried to deny it even to myself...My heart and soul are filled with you.
— Shelly Thacker, His Forbidden Touch
Ciara, there are certain things a man does not ask of a lady.""You are not asking.""Aye.
— Shelly Thacker, His Forbidden Touch
His tongue tapped his top lip as he cupper her breast in his hand. "Tis boidhche --beautiful.
— Amy Jarecki, The Highland Henchman
I said kiss me again.” A sultry smile curved her lips. “Would that be such a difficult task to perform?”Christ almighty, she wanted him to kiss her again. And she was ordering him to do so.
— Monica Burns, His Mistress
I sincerely pity the poor man you marry. I doubt he’ll have a moment’s peace.
— Heather   King, A Sense of the Ridiculous
Alyssa tried to lift her chin. She was going to do the one thing she loved again- something that reminded her of her mother; something dear to her. So what if she felt this undeniable attraction toward the dark-haired man. Correction. Earl.So what, indeed.
— Nicole Castro, Stone and Glass
Ah, does my princess now want what I offer?
— Sai Marie Johnson, In Empires and Embraces
I would have asked you to let down your hair" turning to regard her with a grin, his teeth a slash of white in his blackened face."But it is not quite long enough anymore.
— Shelly Thacker, His Forbidden Touch
If one plays with fire, one should be prepared to burn, Jane.”“You say that as if I’m in danger from you.”“Maybe you are,” Tobias growled as the scent of her invaded his nostrils...
— Monica Burns, His Mistress
A fiery little cat you are, Caecelia. Like a lioness in heat, oh how you bloom.
— Sai Marie Johnson, In Empires and Embraces
His tongue tapped his top lip as he cupped her breast in his hand. "Tis boidhche --beautiful.
— Amy Jarecki, The Highland Henchman
Keep the guests company, and mind your asses! Stay out of the hall before my chamber!
— Sai Marie Johnson, In Empires and Embraces
Gideon could not imagine any other young unmarried woman of his acquaintance passing up the opportunity to snare, if not himself, then the Carradice fortune. In any case, the number of women who’d rejected him in any way was gratifyingly small. Yet Miss Prudence Merridew had most unmistakably rejected him. Several times. Wielding that damned lethal reticule like a little Amazon, to emphasize her point.
— Anne Gracie, The Perfect Rake
Now you also know what it is to be wanted and loved.
— Julianne Donaldson, Blackmoore
Let me have you in the most intimate ofways, let me give you a part of myself that no other man may touch.Make me yours forever.
— Rachel L. Demeter, The Frost of Springtime
Pain is in the mind. And, in my mind, ma chérie … I was withyou.
— Rachel L. Demeter, The Frost of Springtime
The arrogant man probably thought his path to heaven was already assured, and that he acted in accordance to God’s will just by breathing.
— Maya Banks, In Bed with a Highlander
If you have found a woman who can stir both body and spirit, sir, do not give her up lightly. Do not. The alternatives can be damnably complicated. [Joseph Warren]
— Donna Thorland, The Rebel Pirate
No matter where she went, God was her family. He was her hope.
— Tricia Goyer, A Christmas Gift for Rose
And there are no words left, try as men may, to describe that little death, that incandescent instant when, transacted with mutual love, there is no difference between sweet submission and exquisite conquest.
— Isolde Martyn, Mistress to the Crown
She gently bit his bottom lip, his ear. Worked her way down his body until she reached the inside of his thigh, then bit hard, breaking the skin, drawing blood. "My mark," she said, looking up at him. "Now you'll go back to your wife with my mark.
— Dominique Wilson, The Yellow Papers
Under the sanctuary are the catacombs where the dead wait for resurrection. The living do not venture there. The caverns here underneath the Sanctuary are illuminated only by dim shafts of light from the sanctuary. The walls are etched with flowers of frost, but at least I am out of the wind. Dark bays line the hall in front of me, a vast rabbit warren, each hold filled to the brim with the scent of the past.
— Ned Hayes, Sinful Folk
Devilment showed in his eyes. “Well, since it is a trial, we should practice so that we can perfect our kisses.”“You need no practice. You are clearly an expert.
— Vicky Dreiling, What a Reckless Rogue Needs
Papa had always told Justine that guns had a remarkable capacity to focus the mind. She couldn’t say with any confidence that her actions had cleared the minds of the drunken louts before her, but she’d sharpened their attention. They gaped at her, slack-mouth and stupefied, trying to make sense of what their bleary eyes told them.
— Vanessa Kelly, Confessions of a Royal Bridegroom
Like the magnolia tree, She bends with the wind,Trials and tribulation may weather her, Yet, after the storm her beauty blooms, See her standing there, like steel, With her roots forever buried,Deep in her Southern soil.
— Nancy B. Brewer, Letters from Lizzie
I suppose when you say you slept with him, it was more than just a nap?"Lillian shot her a withering glance. "Daisy, don’t be a pea wit.
— Lisa Kleypas, It Happened One Autumn
I am afraid of him now. The one I love most in the world.
— Neil Jordan, The Borgia Apocalypse: The Screenplay
Miranda shook her head slowly. 'Good heavens. That's quite an act you put on.'He drew himself up haughtily. 'I beg your pardon.''An act,' Miranda repeated. 'Stand as tall as you like, and frown at me all you wish. I saw you just now. You were feeding cats.''So I was. And do you make something of that?''You,' Miranda said daringly, 'have a kind heart.'He turned away from her, the tails of his greatcoat swirling about him. 'Don't enlarge too much upon the matter. The cats were hungry. I had food. This seemed to be a problem with a ready solution. It's not kindness to solve problems; it's efficiency.''I stand corrected. You have an efficient heart.
— Courtney Milan, Unraveled
Beatrix wished she were a swooning sort of female. It seemed the only appropriate response to the situation.Unfortunately, no matter how she tried to summon a swoon, her mind remained intractably conscious.
— Lisa Kleypas, Love in the Afternoon
Don't you understand brother? I want to find a love...that will free me from this love...
— Neil Jordan, The Borgia Apocalypse: The Screenplay
Just look at the fellow, standing there like a bloody Greek god. Do you think she chose him because of his intellect?”“I graduated from Cambridge,” Christopher said acidly. “Should I have brought my diploma?
— Lisa Kleypas, Love in the Afternoon
I'm not broken,' he repeated. 'Although at the moment . . . ' This was what came of violating the sentimentality quota. Everything he kept bottled inside him came out. He shut his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. 'At the moment,' he muttered numbly, 'I may be coming a bit unraveled.
— Courtney Milan, Unraveled
You are intelligent, you are diplomatic, you are beautiful, and you are and always will be...[he kisses her]...MINE...
— Neil Jordan
You have a spine of steel and fire in your eyes, Rosalie. To have such a quality, one must be shaken to the foundation of one’s soul and put back together. I want to know how you emerged from hell made of steel and fire.
— Moriah Densley, Song For Sophia
Good night, my lord.” The words were pronounced in her most withering tone.By contrast, he remained quite alarmingly unwithered long after she left.
— Christina Brooke, London's Last True Scoundrel
But I am a writer, and I deal in words, and I need to have them spelled out for me--precisely.
— Sydney Jane Baily, An Improper Situation
Without entering here into a dissertation upon the historical romance, it may be said that in proper hands it has been and should continue to be one of the most valued and valuable expressions of the literary art. To render and maintain it so, however, it is necessary that certain well-defined limits should be set upon the licence which its writers are to enjoy; it is necessary that the work should be honest work; that preparation for it should be made by a sound, painstaking study of the period to be represented, to the end that a true impression may first be formed and then conveyed. Thus, considering how much more far-reaching is the novel than any other form of literature, the good results that must wait upon such endeavours are beyond question. The neglect of them—the distortion of character to suit the romancer's ends, the like distortion of historical facts, the gross anachronisms arising out of a lack of study, have done much to bring the historical romance into disrepute.
— Rafael Sabatini, The Life of Cesare Borgia
Thinking back on the outing to the theatre, she added, ‘I want a man, not a preening peacock!
— Katherine Givens, In Her Dreams
A gentleman can’t let a lady sleep in an armchair while he takes his ease in a bed.”“But you are not a gentleman,” she pointed out. “You are the greatest scoundrel in all the land.”He tilted his head to consider that. “All right. You take the chair.
— Christina Brooke, London's Last True Scoundrel
She narrowed her gaze. “I don’t trust you to keep your eyes closed.”“Smart woman,” he said. “I wouldn’t trust me, either, if I were you.
— Christina Brooke, London's Last True Scoundrel
Dickens must have first heard his famous The law is an ass quote from a woman. And she was damned right, for all the good it did her.
— Moriah Densley, Song For Sophia
She ate it and cried.Soon, he put the melting ice cream away."Shura," Tatiana whispered, "darling, forget what should have been. Remember all that was.""Tatiasha, babe," Alexander whispered, coming back to bed to be covered, "my one and only wife, forget our age, our splendid youth, forget it all and let our crazy love make us young.
— Paullina Simons, Tatiana's Table: Tatiana And Alexander's Life Of Food And Love
Angela turned in her chair. Resting her chin on folded hands, the mirror reflected the look of a girl in love. ‘Oh, what a blessing fate has bestowed on me.
— Katherine Givens, In Her Dreams
I only hope I may not be ruined,” she was saying miserably. “I should be obliged to marry you after all, and then I’d likely murder you before the wedding breakfast was over.
— Christina Brooke, London's Last True Scoundrel
Keep your hands off me.” She spoke viciously, through her teeth, and he caught a glimpse of her deVere ancestry. She was a virago in tiny, fragile, fairy form.
— Christina Brooke, London's Last True Scoundrel
I would feel much better about this whole affair if you would slap me and get it over with. I know you want to.
— Moriah Densley, Song For Sophia
Tears blurred her vision as she leaned over him. His mouth was surely made for smiling. For laughing. For kissing. Grief welled up along with the feeling that he might never do any of those things again.She closed her eyes and pressed her lips to his. They were cool and unresponsive.Then they parted.She jerked back, saw his eyes flutter open.“Don’t stop now,” he whispered.
— Elena Greene, Fly with a Rogue
Don’t. Don’t play that game.” His brow pressed to hers. “When I heard you cry out . . . it was like a saber to the gut. I wanted to die.
— Tessa Dare, Any Duchess Will Do
I know not by what power I am drawn to you, but it is as a moth is drawn to the flame, and I cannot fight it, I must be consumed.
— Andrea Zuvich, His Last Mistress
I was shy,” said six-foot-one of bashful male. He grunted as a sharp, feminine elbow thudded inconspicuously into his side.
— Anne Gracie, The Perfect Rake
Do you think ladies’ eyebrows can communicate as well?” she asked.“No, they don’t have sufficient thicketry,” he said with authority.“Thicketry?”“Yes, that is the official term.
— Anne Gracie, The Perfect Rake
She's elegant," Olivia stated. "I would kill to have her figure.""Really?""Of course. I have always wished to look precisely like her. Though obviously, not enough to avoid food," she added."That's madness. You have everything she doesn't."Olivia opened her mouth, ready to argue. "Everything she hasn't."She frowned at him."Including me.
— Eloisa James, The Duke Is Mine
Sea and land may lie between us, but my heart is always there with you.
— Nancy B. Brewer, Letters from Lizzie
Lord Carradice managed to look wicked, smug, and saintly, all at the same time.
— Anne Gracie, The Perfect Rake
Like a sparrow in its flitting, like a swallow in its flying, a curse that is causeless does not alight.
— Nancy B. Brewer, Garnet
She is a jewel far richer than a mountain of coin could bring!
— Andrea Zuvich, His Last Mistress
Whenever doubts become a crime... whenever parents become afraid their children might turn them in; a country where the power of the government is mired inextricably with the jurisdiction and the executive, where you have three secret polices spying on the population and people disappear without a word, that is not my country... My country and Nazi Germany, those are two very different places. And I dearly hope I’ll live to see the day when the latter one falls.
— Osiris Brackhaus, Lovers in Arms
Her blonde tresses now lay unbound and flowing in comely waves down her back, like pale serpents against the blue sea of her costume.
— Andrea Zuvich, His Last Mistress
Aye, we are. Ye told me that ye loved me, and that this is where ye wished to be. I told ye that I wished for ye to remain here with me. I offered a betrothal, if ye’ll recall, when ye were ready. But I neglected to tell ye the most important thing before our passions overtook us yesterday. I love ye, too, Aileana. I never want to lose ye again. I want ye beside me, always.
— Willa Blair, Highland Healer
I'm fat," she blurted out. "You are not fat. You're the most beautiful, voluptuous woman I know." His eyes moved down her body, deliberately, slowly, then back up to her face. What she saw in them sent fire squirming through her stomach and lower."I want every inch of you," he said, growling it. "I want to fall on my knees and worship at your hips." He reach out, shaped her curves from breast to hips with a burning sweep of his hand that a man was allowed to give only his wife.
— Eloisa James, The Duke Is Mine
Quin reached out, spun her back to him, and pulled her into his arms, held her tight, so tight that she could hardly breathe. "I need you," he said, low and fierce, into her hair. "Oh, G-d, Olivia, how did I ever live without you?"She reached up, pulled his face down to hers. "I'm yours, for good or ill."There was a little click as the door to the ballroom closed, but Olivia paid no mind. "You're the missing piece of me," Quin said. "You make me feel.
— Eloisa James, The Duke Is Mine
I pronounce ye married, laird and lady. No’ ’til death will ye part. And now, Toran,” he added with a wink, “ye may kiss the bride.
— Willa Blair, Highland Healer
Moonlight does things to a street scene that no other natural or man-made phenomenon can effect. People walk slower, their smiles lingering on contended faces. Horses that usually move along fast enough to stir up the dust off the street plod lazily in the clear, cool night. And in dark corners where people forget to look, the goons come out.
— Bailey Bristol, The Devil's Dime
There was no mistake," he said. "You freely gave me a kiss because I kept silent about supposed engagement."Well, you could have been more gentlemanly about it," she said with a sniff."If I'd been gentlemanly, you wouldn't have enjoyed it half as much.
— Vicky Dreiling, What a Wicked Earl Wants
This women's orchestra made a demure picture in their muted dove grays, alright, but they played like they were gowned in scarlet and gold.
— Bailey Bristol, The Devil's Dime
Linnet’s thudding heart raced blood through her veins, sending a flush of embarrassing heat to her face. She had been avoiding him, but she could never tell him why. It took all her discipline not to quail under Sir Anthony’s penetrating gaze.  Blast the man. She’d lost count of the times he’d made her feel like a blushing maiden. Strictly speaking, she was still a maiden, but she’d given up blushing years ago—along with simpering, flirting, and so many other talents deemed useful to unmarried women. Except, of course, in Sir Anthony’s august presence.
— Vanessa Kelly, Lost in a Royal Kiss
Those who prosper by thievery, thuggery, or by ruining another, have chosen to live on the devil's dime.
— Bailey Bristol, The Devil's Dime
Whatever cosmic attraction had drawn [Jess & Addie] to one another in the first place was beginning to fill in with the chinks and mortar of very real, very likeable human traits.
— Bailey Bristol, The Devil's Dime
I have lived recklessly, gambled my income away at the horse races, gone whoring, have been more drunk than sober, beaten men to a pulp with my hands, have had a man’s nose cut off for insulting my father and have been indebted to villains more times than I care to say. But, I do not want to live like this anymore. I want a quiet life with a good woman who will care and love me – not for being the Duke of Monmouth, but for me, Jemmy.
— Andrea Zuvich, His Last Mistress
She had covered herself in frost, so every part of her grew cold and would not feel, because of that single part that longed to hear that word, yet had never known the hope, or expectation, that it would.
— Shehanne Moore, The Unraveling of Lady Fury
Rule three? You mean there's more?
— Shehanne Moore, The Unraveling of Lady Fury
[Jess]"... you were wonderful. Magnificent. Incomparable. Unparalleled. Incredible.""Oh, stop it!" Addie grinned and blushed, and backed a step with each word, as Jess advanced toward her with each accolade. But on the third step, her back made contact with the ivy wall, and Jess kept moving toward her until he'd pressed her into its soft, green embrace. Then he moved another inch until his Sunday boots straddled her Sunday pumps.
— Bailey Bristol, The Devil's Dime
Women. You'll interpret anything as love. You see a man wearing an idiotic expression, and you assume he's been struck by Cupid's arrow when in reality, he's digesting a bad turnip.
— Lisa Kleypas, Married By Morning
There isn’t going to be a ‘next lover,’” Grant said automatically, outraged by the idea. “I’m the only man she’s going to have.
— Lisa Kleypas, Someone to Watch Over Me
I'm familiar with the myth, I'm merely surprised that a femalewould be familiar with the classics.""You must have a very limited experience with my sex," Alexandrasaid, surprised. "My grandfather said most women are every bit asintelligent as men."She saw his eyes take on the sudden gleam of suppressed laughterand assumed, mistakenly, that he was amused by her assessment offemale intelligence rather than her remark about his inexperiencewith women.
— Judith McNaught, Something Wonderful
Oh! my dearest love, why are our pleasures so short and so interrupted? How long is this to last?Know you, my best Mary, that I feel myself, in your absence, almost degraded to the level of the vulgar and impure. I feel their vacant, stiff eyeballs fixed upon me, until I seem to have been infected with their loathsome meaning--to inhale a sickness that subdues me to languor. Oh! those redeeming eyes of Mary, that they might beam upon me before I sleep! Praise my forbearance--oh! beloved one--that I do not rashly fly to you, and at least secure a moment's bliss. Wherefore should I delay; do you not long to meet me? All that is exalted and buoyant in my nature urges me towards you, reproaches me with the cold delay, laughs at all fear and spurns to dream of prudence. Why am I not with you?
— Michael Kelahan, The World's Greatest Love Letters
Pleasure suffused her and she snuggled deeper into his arms, her heart clenching when he tightened his hold on her. After a while his breathing slowed and his hold relaxed. Convinced he slept, she whispered, "You should have been my first." A small ache pinched her heart.His chest vibrated beneath her hand, sending a thrilling shiver up her spine as his deep voice rumbled through the air, "I'll be your last.
— Sophie Jordan, One Night With You
Would you like me to court you?” the earl finally asked.YES. She smoothed her hands over her skirts to keep from confessing it aloud. “I would like to know if you are,” she replied. “Or what your intentions are, if you aren’t.”“My intentions . . .” His slow smile acted like a torch held to her skin. She felt prickly with heat and yet transfixed by the glowing allure of it. “I intend to have you, Maggie, in every way a man can have a woman. I want your hand in mine while we dance. I want you laughing beside me in the theater. I want you lying naked in my arms at night. And I want you standing beside me in church, saying ‘I will.’ 
— Caroline Linden
You don't have to say a thing except yes. You don't have to do anything, either, I'm quite willing to plan it all." "You?""Yes me.""You'd plan all of it? Even the wedding?""Why not?""You don't even like to plan your own breakfast."He grinned. "You mean more to me tban bacon.""More than [i]bacon?[/i] I'm honored.""You should be, my foolish pea brain.
— Karen Hawkins, The Taming of a Scottish Princess
He stood at the foot of the grave, gloved hands clasped behind him, his dark clothes and hair blending into one black silhouette, as if he were not a presence but an absence, a hole cut out of the landscape.
— Amanda DeWees, Sea of Secrets
Today’s breakfast consist of rice and a piece of bread fried in a bit of salt pork grease. At least I have my memories of grand banquets and fine foods, but this is all the children have ever known. I suppose it is best not to have anything to compare.
— Nancy B. Brewer, Beyond Sandy Ridge
The heavy smell of incense gave me an uneasy feeling as if I had walked into a tomb
— Nancy B. Brewer, Garnet
The wavelets flung themselves up as if trying to pat my feet and I darted back, laughing, and picked up my skirts to chase them back as they receded, in a game of tag more ancient than I then knew.
— Amanda DeWees, Sea of Secrets
The curtains were not yet drawn and with the moonlight spreading across the room, I could see clearly. I undressed and slipped a soft cotton gown over my naked body. I pulled the blanket off the foot of my bed, covered my shoulders and wa...lked out on the balcony. The cool night air blowing through my hair served as a reminder that only a hint of summer remained in this year of 1860.
— Nancy B. Brewer
I've bled for you. I've killed for you. I've held you in my arms and done my best to make love to you. I'd give my life to protect you. Now I sit beside you, askin' you to trust me.
— Pamela Clare, Defiant
Annie is my wife, and she will remain wi' me as my wife, subject only to my rule. I will suffer no man to dishonor her or lay hand upon her so long as I live.
— Pamela Clare, Surrender
She told him ... how her heart had fairly skipped a beat when she'd seen him standing in the middle of the road dressed as a true Highland warrior."If I hadna been in love wi' you already, I'd have fallen in love wi' you then."He grinned, his whiskery face unbearably bonnie even with its cuts and bruises. "So you like the sight of me in a pladdie, aye?""Aye--and wi' braids in your hair." She leaned down and kissed him. "But I think red paint looks silly.
— Pamela Clare, Surrender
I never would have conceived that he would finally succumb to marriage. How did you ever convince him?”“I must actually credit Lady Russell. She explained to me that a man desires above all things to think himself his own master. Thus, I had only to convince Marcus that marrying me was entirely his own idea.”-A BREACH OF PROMISE
— Victoria Vane
Though this marriage is a sham, what we share tonight will be real, my lady. I said I'd treat you wi' the same respect I'd show my own true bride, and I meant it. I'd no' be able to call myself a Scotsman if I let you walk across this threshold.
— Pamela Clare, Defiant
You think to judge me, MacKinnon? I've littered the ground wi' the corpses of men like you."Iain raised his blade and smiled. "You've never met a man like me.
— Pamela Clare, Surrender
_I_ boil it." Joseph entered last, closing the door behind them. "Last time, you burnt it."Connor glared at Joseph. "We were attacked! What would you have me tell the Abenaki? 'I cannae fight just now. I'm makin' candy. Would you like a wee taste?
— Pamela Clare, Defiant