Pursuer Quotes

But I think the real tension lies in the relationship between what you might call the pursuer and his quarry, whether it's the writer or the spy. ~ John Le Carre

He was a devoted follower of the teachings of Epicurus - "that pleasure is the beginning and end of living happily" - although I hasten to add that he was an Epicurean not in the commonly misunderstood sense, as a seeker after luxury, but in the true meaning, as a pursuer of what the Greeks call ataraxia, or freedom from disturbance. He consequently avoided arguments and unpleasantness of any kind (needless to say, he was unmarried) and desired only to contemplate philosophy by day and dine by night with his cultured friends. He ~ Robert Harris

With most women he would use flattery and flirtation, appealing to both their vanity and their pleasure. But Grace was no ordinary woman. With her, he knew he would have to take a more subtle approach. Less than half a minute into their acquaintance, he'd sensed her reserve, as well as her insecurity. He surmised she wasn't used to being boldly pursued by men, so any sudden, overt interest on his part would only provoke her suspicions and put her on the alert.
Instead, his approach would require a deft touch and gentle, patient persuasion. A shy doe required proper coaxing, after all. The key was to figure out what kind of inducement she liked best and be there to offer it. ~ Tracy Anne Warren

He swore, raked his hands through his hair and tried to pinpoint the moment she'd so neatly turned the tables on him, when the pursued had become the pursuer. "I don't like forward women."
The sound she made was something between a snort and a giggle, and was girlish and full of fun. It made him want to grin. "Now that's a lie, and you don't do it well. I've noticed you're an honest sort of man, Brian. When you don't want to speak your mind, you say nothing-and that's not often. I like that about you,even if it did irritate me initially.I even like your slightly overwide streak of confidence. I admire your patience and dedication to the horses, your undertstanding and affection for them. I've never been involved with a man who's shared that interest with me."
"You've never been involved with a man at all."
"Exactly.That's just one reason why. And to continue, I appreciate the kindness you showed my mother when she was sad,and I appreciate the part of you that's struggling to back away right now instead of taking what I've never offered anyone before."
She laid a hand on his arm as he stared at her with baffled frustration. "If I didn't have that respect and that liking for you,Brian,we wouldn't be having this conversation no matter how attracted I might be to you."
"Sex complicates things, Keeley."
"I know."
"How would you know? You've never had any."
She gave his arm a quick squeeze. "Good point.So,you want to try the tack room?" When ~ Nora Roberts

Why were the flowers born so beautiful and yet so hapless? Insects can sting, and even the meekest of beasts will fight when brought to bay. The birds whose plumage is sought to deck some bonnet can fly from its pursuer, the furred animal whose coat you covet for your own may hide at your approach. Alas! The only flower known to have wings is the butterfly; all others stand helpless before the destroyer. If they shriek in their death agony their cry never reaches our hardened ears. We are ever brutal to those who love and serve us in silence, but the time may come when, for our cruelty, we shall be deserted by these best friends of ours. Have you not noticed that the wild flowers are becoming scarcer every year? It may be that their wise men have told them to depart till man becomes more human. Perhaps they have migrated to heaven. Much may be said in favor of him who ~ Okakura Kakuzo

They would allow no woman to be forced to marry against her will they told the newcomers, nor would they surrender any suppliant, no matter how feeble, and no matter how powerful the pursuer. ~ Edith Hamilton

There's a lesson in real-life stalking cases that young women can benefit from learning: persistence only proves persistence - it does not prove love. The fact that a romantic pursuer is relentless doesn't mean you are special - it means he is troubled. ~ Gavin De Becker

The path of the pursuer and the prey often run obscurely parallel. ~ Samuel Hopkins Adams

She couldn't tell him the truth - that she was here to wrangle a proposal out of him. How desperate would that make her look? Besides, no man wanted to think he was being manipulated into marriage. He wanted to be the pursuer, the one in control. She was simply creating opportunities in which that pursuit might occur. No, ~ Karen Witemeyer

Our lives are often a continuous betrayal and denial of what came before, we twist and distort everything as time passes, and yet we are still aware, however much we deceive ourselves, that we are the keepers of secrets and mysteries, however trivial. How tiring having always to move in the shadows or, even more difficult, in the half-light, which is never the same, always changing, every person has his light areas and his dark areas, they change according to what he knows and to what day it is and who he's talk to and what he wants ... Sometimes it is only the weariness brought on by the shadow that impels one to tell all the facts, the way someone hiding will suddenly reveal himself, either the pursuer or the pursued, simply in order to bring the game to an end and to step free from what has become a kind of enchantment. ~ Javier Marias

One should remember that where nobody flees, there is no pursuer: that where there are no little fish, there can be no big ones. Why does the girl not require her lover a noble and honoured name, a manly heart to protect her weakness, and a resolute spirit which will not be satisfied with engendering slaves? Let her discard all fear, behave nobly and yield not her youth to the weak and faint-hearted. ~ Jose Rizal

The Mennonites have Dirk Willems, who was arrested for his religious beliefs in the sixteenth century and held in a prison tower. With the aid of a rope made of knotted rags, he let himself down from the window and escaped across the castle's ice-covered moat. A guard gave chase. Willems made it safely to the other side. The guard did not, falling through the ice into the freezing water, and Willems stopped, went back, and pulled his pursuer to safety. For his act of compassion, he was taken back to prison, tortured, and then burned slowly at the stake as he repeated "Oh, my Lord, my God" seventy times over.8 ~ Malcolm Gladwell

It was much less frustrating being the pursued rather than the pursuer. ~ Lorraine Heath

Every mental pursuit takes its reality and worth from the ardour of the pursuer. ~ John Keats

Phoebe knew West couldn't see beyond his own fears of being unworthy, of someday causing her unhappiness. But this high degree of concern was precisely what inclined her to trust him. One thing was clear: if she wanted him, she would have to be the pursuer.
West lounged on the floor between her two sons, a heavy forelock of dark hair falling over his forehead. "What does a chicken say?" he asked Stephen, holding up a wooden figure.
The toddler took it from him and answered, "Rowwr!"
West blinked in surprise and began to chuckle along with Justin. "By God, that is a fierce chicken."
Delighted by his effect on West, Stephen held up the chicken. "Rowwr," he growled again, and this time West and Justin collapsed in laughter. Quickly West reached out to the toddler's blond head, pulled him closer and crushed a brief kiss among the soft curls.
Had there been any doubts lingering in Phoebe's mind, they were demolished in that moment.
Oh, yes... I want this man. ~ Lisa Kleypas

There is in most passions a shrinking away from ourselves. The passionate pursuer has all the earmarks of a fugitive. ~ Eric Hoffer

Only the virtuous can count on life, the pursuer of evil can only ever count on death. ~ Travis Berketa

Another one from the immortals and again i cant remember what book.
Haven to Ever
In every relationship there is always someone who loves more, my point is no matter how it looks from the outside the truth is, its never really equal, that's just not the way it works,there is always the pursued and the pursuer, the cat and the mouse. ~ Alyson Noel

Glancing into his rearview, Liam's gaze was drawn past Nadia's angry face to the long shadow that crept down and expanded out from somewhere on the bridge above them, unseen by Alessandra and Nadia as they waited for his response. Liam pressed his lips together to contain his fear as he shifted the car into reverse and stepped on the gas.
The sound they heard on impact with their pursuer was loud enough to rattle the windows - half-screech, half-roar and wholly terrifying, like no sound they'd ever heard. ~ Cerece Rennie Murphy

The second [argument about motion] is the so-called Achilles, and it amounts to this, that in a race the quickest runner can never overtake the slowest, since the pursuer must first reach the point whence the pursued started, so that the slower must always hold a lead.
Statement of the Achilles and the Tortoise paradox in the relation of the discrete to the continuous.; perhaps the earliest example of the reductio ad absurdum method of proof. ~ Zeno Of Elea

'Men die of the diseases which they have studied most,' remarked the surgeon, snipping off the end of a cigar with all his professional neatness and finish. 'It's as if the morbid condition was an evil creature which, when it found itself closely hunted, flew at the throat of its pursuer. If you worry the microbes too much they may worry you. I've seen cases of it, and not necessarily in microbic diseases either. There was, of course, the well-known instance of Liston and the aneurism; and a dozen others that I could mention.' ~ Arthur Conan Doyle

Even a King wishes to be loved for Himself, not for the gifts He bestows." He smiled at me. "If you do not enjoy being with Me now, why do you believe you will enjoy My company for eternity?" He smiled at me. "The pursuer wants to be pursued also."
Jesus ~ Anna Rountree

But when you're a celebrity, you discover that you're no longer the pursuer, but the one being pursued. That's one of the disappointments I have had since becoming a single man. ~ Hugh Grant

Her body was pushed to its limits as she propelled herself forward by nothing more than sheer willpower. It's her greatest strength. The cool grass felt soothing beneath her abraded feet, but the terrain quickly changed. The soft grass became taller, whipping its slashing sharp blades against the flesh of her thighs, as she tore through the peaceful meadow. The high plains offered little hope for water, and even less for a place to hide. Increasing the distance between her and her pursuer was her only hope.

Toile was hunted."

Fire and Flame, coming March 2020
Samantha A. Cole's Suspenseful Seduction World. ~ Lisette Kristensen