Historical Romance Quotes

What is your name, my pet?"
"Kitty," she replied.
DeVere threw back his head with a guffaw. "Kitty? How delightfully apropos!" His erstwhile companions forgotten, he patted a muscular thigh. "Come then, Kitty, my sweet, little puss. Sit on your master's lap, and I'll stroke you 'till you purr."
-A WILD NIGHT'S BRIDE ~ Victoria Vane

At times Valentine wasn't sure whether he kept Matthews about because of his supreme unctuousness or because he had half a suspicion the valet was trying to kill him. ~ Suzanne Enoch

Have you considered - between now and any future leg-shackling, that is - the possibility of spending some time not running things?" "Oh, I do," she said earnestly. "Twice daily! I try very hard not to run things in my sleep, nor whilst cleaning my teeth. Far too difficult to bark orders with tooth powder in one's mouth. ~ Erica Ridley

With a hoarse moan, he swept her against him, kissing her wildly, passionately, his mouth promising and teasing, as if her kiss had broken the dam that had held back his passion. ~ Karen Hawkins

I thought you were the loveliest, most enchanting creature God ever created. ~ Judith McNaught

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

You may not know this, but talking about mathematics eliminates any possibility of being kissed in the first place. ~ Lisa Kleypas

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

She was the sweetest ambrosia sent straight from heaven. Or the most sinful temptation to drag him down to hell. He didn't care. ~ Juliette Cross

As the tension between the Protestants and the Church of Rome intensified, so did the desire for a third way among dissenting groups. Soon a new group emerged, though in some senses it was also an old group - one that felt it could trace its origins all the way back to the New Testament. Known collectively as the Radical Reformation, these persecuted groups often advocated a nonviolent ethic, the separation of church and state, and a desire for both personal and corporate holiness. The ideas of these radicals spread through Europe, and over the years the Amish, Mennonites and Anabaptists, and to a lesser degree the Covenanters and Quakers, emerged or were influenced by this movement. ~ David Holdsworth

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

You make me burn with life, and yearn to set aside my cold and distant, solitary ways. ~ Stacy Reid

From the second Edmund burst into the ceremony, she'd no longer wanted to be a duchess.
She just wanted Edmund.
Seeing his face had been like being flooded with magic. He was sunshine and sultry nights.
Laughter and sensuous kisses. The other half of her heart. ~ Erica Ridley

Horeb bent over me and ran his hand down my neck, not stopping when his fingers reached my chest.
I jerked backward. "What are you doing?"
His eyes were black and intense. "A little taste before the wedding, Jayden? ~ Kimberley Griffiths Little

He pulled her into his arms. Closing his eyes, he savored every inch of her small frame. God, why did she have to be the daughter of the Governor of Fort William? Why could she not be a simple lass from his clan. "Och, mo leannan, what am I to do with you?"
She took in a stilted gasp. "Love me. ~ Amy Jarecki

I want ye," Lachlan choked out, surprised at his words and the desperate sound of his own voice. He did not look at Bridgette as he spoke but kept his gaze down to the ground as a war between honor and desire raged within him. "I want ye more than I want air to breathe. ~ Julie Johnstone

Was your magic carpet out of commission? ~ Marguerite Kaye

Damn, you're good,' he said and rolled onto his back. The man wasn't much for flowery speech, Alesandra thought with a smile. It didn't matter. She was arrogantly proud of herself because she'd pleased him. Perhaps she should give him a little praise too. She rolled onto her side to face him, put her hand on his chest directly over his pounded heart, and whispered. 'You're good, too. 'Tis the truth, you're the best I've ever had.'
He opened his eyes to look at her. 'I'm the only one you've ever had, remember?' His voice was gruff with affection.
'I remember,' she said.
'No other man is ever going to touch you, Alesandra. You're mine. ~ Julie Garwood

Everything in his life backfired. First that rocket at Waterloo. Then his engagement. Now this whole blasted arrangement with Emma. Despite the supposedly impersonal nature of their marriage, she was slowly working her way under his skin, under his scars. If not deeper. ~ Tessa Dare

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

I love historical romance, absolutely love it. ~ Julie Garwood

I suppose you'll not let me rest until I admit that I like your company?"
"You're getting to know me well ... "
"Very well, I'll admit. You're slightly more than tolerable. ~ Jody Hedlund

A hedgehog? And just how does a hedgehog make love?" he demanded.
No, I thought. I won't. I will not. But I did. "Very carefully," I replied, giggling helplessly. So now we know just how old that one is, I thought. ~ Diana Gabaldon

As a lady of clocklike precision yourself, you may appreciate my schedule. I have kept strictly to it every day for the past decade. From eight in the morning to eight in the evening, I devote myself to my duties. Then from eight in the evening to eight in the morning, I . . . do . . . not. ~ Erica Ridley

Every morning," he said softly, his breath caressing her cheek. "You were my only thought." He tilted closer. "Every night, you were my only thought." His lips brushed her cheekbone. "Every moment of every day, you were my only thought. ~ Erica Ridley

i really like reading books ~ Dale Carnegie

I'll teach you not to look at me like that," Charles snarled through his hair before pushing it off his face. "Do you think I didn't notice? The way you look at me when you think I'm not watching?"
Oh, God!
He had to get out of there. Slip out of his grip as soon as possible, before he lost control of his body. He was already feeling it in his groin - the fire Rochester had lit was already making his balls throb.
His reply was desperate, a whisper, a tiny, brazen lie: "You're mistaken."
"Oh, that's how it is, then? You have the nerve to tell me it's not true?" The next moment he felt something firm pressing against his buttocks. Something hot and shameless. Charles's rock-hard erection.
Dorian's lips parted in a surprised moan. The air escaped his lungs and treacherous arousal rose all the way to his throat, breaking his voice and his willpower.
"No…" I don't know. "I didn't mean to. I wasn't spying on you on purpose."
"But you did. You always do. ~ Valentina C. Brin

She was an ocean, and he was just a sinking man lost in her waves. ~ Giselle Beaumont

She was dangerous. I'd heard the rumors, that she had a history as a wild woman, that she'd been married to a gambler, maybe even been one herself, that her past was scandalous at best. But who was I to judge? My past was littered with scandal. ~ Margaret Madigan

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

You should not have kissed me," she replied breathlessly.
"I do a lot of things I shouldn't. It does not mean I won't do them again. ~ Amy Sandas

Why does sin feel so good if it is a terrible thing? ~ Amy Jarecki

He'd seen that absent look from her dozens of times in London. She thought herself invisible, and was not. Not to him. This was the second time he'd mentioned marriage to her. The second time she heard nothing but his words. ~ Carolyn Jewel

Mm hmmm." His gaze dropped to her lips. "I missed ye." Lordy, he could melt marzipan with that sexy Scottish burr.
With a dip of his chin, he brushed a kiss across her mouth. Hot tingles spread down her back. Eva moved closer and pressed her body flush with his toned, muscular form. If they hadn't been born so many centuries apart, she could have believed they were made for each other, fitting together perfectly as if molded from the same clay.
Closing her eyes, she drank him in, allowing her senses to take over. Hot, spicy male kissed and held her in a tender embrace with arms that could crush a man, let alone her fine bones. Yet he cradled her with incredible tenderness. ~ Amy Jarecki

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

Men fight like men. Women fight like unchained demons. ~ Heather Blanton

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

She turned to him with wide, shocked eyes. "Why did he..."
His lips twitched. No coarse language in front of the infants limited the ability to discuss the fountain of baby piss that had just arced halfway across the room.
"Twasn't you, darling. It's one of their favorite bath-time games.
"Something about the cool air on their naked...berries," he substituted at the last second....
"Do I have piddle in my hair?" she whispered, her eyes sparkling with laughter above her flushed cheeks.
"Not much," he assured her with a straight face. "You look almost becoming."...
"Decades from now, when our children ask how I fell in love with their mother, I'll say 'twas her sweet, gentle compliments during bath-time, and her fleetness of foot whilst dodging a flow of --- ~ Erica Ridley

A good man would tell you to stop writing. A good man would say to you, "No, love, don't wait for me. Live your life." A good man would be happy that you were off somewhere in the world doing all the things you deserve. But, Miss Ada, I am no good man. I am, in fact, selfish, very bleeding selfish when it comes to you. Good man or no, I will tell you I believe a life lived without love is one not worthy of living a'tall. ~ Eden Butler

Every word you have ever uttered, is engraved upon my heart. ~ Elizabeth Hoyt

You've always done as you pleased, Princess. I can't change you, nor do I want to. You're strong, a fighter. And I've never wanted another woman as I want you. ~ Sandra Jones

People generally forget the things they are ashamed of, but no one ever forgets an insult. ~ Lina J. Potter

I don't care who he is. He needs to disappear." Ransom turned and called out the window. "For the love of G-d man. I have England's sweetheart bent over the desk and panting for me. Go away and come back tomorrow. ~ Tessa Dare

[Connor to Major Wentworth, grandson of King George]
My fathers were lairds in the Highlands when yours were still farmin' kale back in Germany! ~ Pamela Clare

No more sounds emerged as he walked through the forest, save the whisper of the leaves above. Though nothing further appeared out of the ordinary, he knew one thing for certain.
He was not alone. ~ Madeline Martin

Two people, one city, different times; connected by a memoir. Can love exist in a city destined for decades of misery? ~ Ahmad Ardalan

It's a jump, Minuette, that's all it is. A jump out of this world, straight into my arms."
Incredibly, she managed to smile. "You will catch me?"
He pressed his lips against hers. "Always. ~ Laura Anderson

She smiled. "Do you know, I suspected you were a good man, deep down. Even if very, very, very deep down. In a fathomless cavern. Underneath a volcano. ~ Tessa Dare

I love stepping back in time ~ Frances McCarthy

Doona fash, Sam." Calybrid, spying her scowl, hurried to balm the wound. "Ye're plenty fair."
"Aye," Locryn agreed.
"With eyes the color of the Alt Dubh Gorm."
"Sure, that too."
"Just… no one will write odes to yer breasts is all."
"On account of ye not having any," Locryn supplied, rather unnecessarily, in Samantha's opinion. ~ Kerrigan Byrne

There is an old saying, that in the desert a camel is more useful than a kingdom," he said ruefully, "but as a location for lovemaking, it leaves a lot to be desired. ~ Marguerite Kaye

Rebel Number Four" is waiting patiently by the door. I named him "Rebel Number Four," for he is the fourth of his kind I have given the name "Rebel." To many he may be just a hound dog, but to me he is a champion and a friend to the end. ~ Nancy B. Brewer

He had an overwhelming urge to take possession of her lips, silencing any mention of another man's name. ~ Tamara Hughes

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

Ridley nodded. 'She told me I couldn't ever tell General Harding or anybody else. Told me I wouldn't be safe.'
'Safe?' Uncle Bob stopped rocking and took the pipe from between his teeth. 'She started in talkin' 'bout you bein' safe, sir?'
Ridley nodded again, and that's when Uncle Bob grinned.
'Well, shoot ... you ain't lost her yet, sir. Not altogether, anyhow. Any female goes to talkin' 'bout you bein' safe ... hmmph. There still be somethin' left in her heart for ya. ~ Tamera Alexander

As my body recalled my soul, I began to quiver with pain and gasp for air. ~ Nancy B. Brewer

Without love, we are pointless. With it, we are infinite. ~ Eden Butler

You are intelligent, you are diplomatic, you are beautiful, and you are and always will be ... [he kisses her] ... MINE ... ~ Neil Jordan

How could he live never knowing what it would be like to hold her close and sleep with her the whole night through? ~ Vonda Sinclair

I would be anyone if only I could be with you. ~ Shelly Thacker

He touched me. He… he whispered things in my ear, things I never would've expected to affect me the way they did. I feel like I lose control when I'm near him. I'm like a leaf fluttering in the wind - when he zigs, I zag. He talks and I jump. He walks and I turn into a blithering idiot. I admit it, I'm clumsy, but when I find myself near him…" He didn't have the courage to finish the sentence. With a sudden lump in his throat, he added: "I don't want to hope, and I certainly don't want to delude myself. Damn it, the thought of deluding myself terrifies me!"
"I think I know what your problem is."
"And what would that be?"
He sat up, offering a sly smile. "You're hopelessly in love with him. ~ Valentina C. Brin

That's what we all were, wasn't it? Created beings who bore traces of their Creator, each with a different piece of his nature augmented in order to show the world who he was. ~ Joanna Davidson Politano

You are not The Giver of My Heart's Desire." I took a deep breath and smiled. "You are my heart's desire. ~ Julianne Donaldson

He lifted his head, staring into her eyes as if searching for something. Voice ragged, he said, "I told you I'm a possessive man, Eleri. I want to keep you, mount you, fill you, but even as I hold you like this... I am still your captive. Have mercy and tell me you'll have me. ~ Sandra Jones

Learning to pipe isn't easy. At first it always sounds worse than a chicken yard full of squawking adolescent roosters. ~ Amy Jarecki

I-I've wanted you ever since..." She untied the sash around her waist and let the dressing gown drop to the floor.
God save him, she wore not a stitch of clothing. Every shred of self-control fled. His mind consumed with the tantalizing woman before him. Somehow she was even more beautiful now that he'd remembered. The candlelight flickered amber across her skin. Chestnut tresses slid over her shoulder, framing two perfectly formed breasts, tipped by rose.
Sean licked his lips, those delectable rosebuds would be his second stop. In two strides, he wrapped her in his arms and crushed his body against hers. "For all that is holy, you have claimed my soul, my flesh and my mind. ~ Amy Jarecki

A woman on the verge of moral downfall ought to be well dressed. Claire's particular transgression was gartered to her thigh, a paper hidden by yards of silk. She walked through the empty alley, confident in one comforting truth: no one dared ask a lady what her skirts concealed... ~ Gina Conkle

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

Camhanach, it is a bargain as old as the world itself." He chuckled.
"Women want protection...men want a willing lass to warm their bed. ~ Shelly Thacker

Samantha imagined that in another life, she and Alison could have, indeed, been friends.
Had she not been about to rob the train. ~ Kerrigan Byrne

There were times when he felt as if he were being literally torn in two. Times when he raged at the injustice of what was happening to him, times when he was overwhelmed with guilt. There was no right and wrong anymore, which had been one of clear-cut lines for so long, was now so blurred that he was careening around like a compass struggling to find true north. ~ Marguerite Kaye

I should never have expected loyalty from a Douglas," he spat out. He turned his back on her and went to the window. ~ Margaret Mallory

For every woman, there is that one man who could get her to go anywhere he wanted her to go, do anything he wanted her to do - reach into her soul and turn her whole world on its ear - challenge everything she thought she believed.
Highlighted by 24 Kindle users ~ Lenore Wolfe

France is to me the heroine in the romance of all the nations of all time. This feeling was born in me years ago when I read how her noble sons had defended America in its cradle. Today I am proud that I am one of the millions who will come to save our heroine from the clutches of the villain from across the Rhine. ~ William Arthur Sirmon

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

I followed the curious intensity behind those dark blue eyes and the moment his eyes changed. Suddenly, my world felt terribly small, like I'd experienced merely a handful of what it had to offer. ~ Abigail Wilson

He hadn't landed on the battlefield to save Christina, at least not entirely. He'd landed there because it was meant to be – because his destiny lay with a bonny woman who would capture his heart and show him honor and respect on a uniquely deep level that had been lost in the twenty-first century. ~ Amy Jarecki

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

On this night of the Harvest Moon. They tossed bones into the "Bone Fire" and asked the yellow moon to shine its protection over them. (Today we call it a "Bonfire") ~ Nancy B. Brewer

I'll be fine. It's just hard to love somebody who doesn't love you back," Fallon answered. ~ Marcia Lynn McClure

Here, sleep with your back against me. I shall protect you better this way."
She nodded, shuffled closer, and leaned back against him. Her unique womanly scent washed over him, and he fortified his resolve, though having her so close on a bed of furs fired his blood. She dragged her fur up, and he draped his extra across, tucking it in around her shoulders and arms.
"I do not fancy having one of them lying next to you. Besides, I wish not for your pinkie to wander. ~ Angela Quarles

The love within them shone as brightly as the lighthouse beam on the darkest, stormiest night. It broke through her confusion and heartache and filled her with a warm glow. ~ Jody Hedlund

Writing fiction is a respectable way of fibbing for a living - and enjoying it!
-Anne George ~ Anne George

Life is for the living," her late husband had said more than once. "Laugh while you can. ~ Debra Holland

Ye should see my massive claymore."

"Oh, good heavens," Jane muttered from behind them.

"What now?" he asked. "A claymore's a fine weapon, long and heavy, and a wonder when ye ken how to use it correctly."

Abruptly Amelia-Rose didn't think they were talking about swords. "And you know how to use yours correctly?"

"Aye. I'm something of an artist, ye might say. I'd like to show it to ye, lass. ~ Suzanne Enoch

Masquerades are frivolous, scandalous - " "Scandalous?" "People in costume lose their minds completely. The 'ladies,' if there are any, have been known to be free with their favors and dampen their gowns to make them more transparent - " "I did bring a bowl of water, in case you wished to blend with the masses. ~ Erica Ridley

Ah, does my princess now want what I offer? ~ Sai Marie Johnson

You can't be perfect. No one is. That's why we need God. ~ Jody Hedlund

I should never have allowed you to kiss me."
"Saints, Shona." Could she not see that he cared for her? 'Twas not as if he merely wanted beneath her skirts. She had stolen his heart. ~ Vonda Sinclair

There was something more than a little satisfying about ripping the heart out of someone the moment before they expected to do the same to you. ~ Kerrigan Byrne

Surely it was the shock of all I'd learned, the danger his conclusions indicated, but as I returned his smile, a bit of warmth filled my cheeks. There was something awfully pleasant about his dark features and wild hair, which begged to be touched. ~ Abigail Wilson

Rule three? You mean there's more? ~ Shehanne Moore

He would punish him for his impertinence. He would cane him right away, the second they left the room, then spend the rest of the day rubbing his raw wounds to remind him of the gravity of his offenses. But come nighttime, he would hug him tight to his chest to make Dorian understand that he would never, ever let him go as long as he had the strength to draw breath. ~ Valentina C. Brin

You don't know how to cuddle," she said.
"No," Tom had admitted. "I'm not sure what it's for. ~ Lisa Kleypas

Lauren closed her eyes, remembering how desperate she had been this morn in Chartres, how she had prayed for divine intervention to stop her wedding.
She had never expected that intervention to be riding a black horse and wielding a sword. ~ Shelly Thacker

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

I particularly recommend," [Dain] went on, his eyes upon the female, "that you resist the temptation to count if you are contemplating a gift for your chère amie. Women deal in a higher mathematical realm than men, especially when it comes to gifts."


"That, Bertie, is a consequence of the feminine brain having reached a more advanced state of development," said the female without looking up. "She recognizes that the selection of a gift requires the balancing of a profoundly complicated moral, psychological, aesthetic, and sentimental equation. I should not recommend that a mere male attempt to involve himself in the delicate process of balancing it, especially by the primitive method of counting. ~ Loretta Chase

Dread that she would meet some other man and see in him all the joy of life that he lacked.
"I will see you home." The words came out all wrong, with gruff emphasis on the word will. One look at her, and he lost all chance at serenity. Because he had never in his life cared whether anyone liked him. He'd never thought about it. Until her. ~ Carolyn Jewel

I am not afraid of death." He pressed a kiss into her palm, the slow, sensual act weakening her knees. "I am afraid of losing you. ~ Juliette Cross

Daniel, I did not knowwhat I wanted when I was agirl. And then I was a fool in every sense of the word. And now that I am a woman grown, I know that I love you and I want this son of yours, and our children who will come. I have seen a woman break her heart for love: my Queen Mary. I have seen another break her soul to avoid it: my Princess Elizabeth. I don't want to be Mary or Elizabeth, I want to be me: Hannah Verde Carpenter."
"And we shall live somewhere that we can follow our belifs without danger," he insisted.
"Yes," I said, "in the England that Elizabeth will make. ~ Philippa Gregory