Tessa Hadley Quotes

Once they had been equal in their separate freedoms. They had set out to have children as lightly as if they were playing house, and now her necessarily domestic life bored him, and she was bound to it in her body and imagination. This imbalance was fated, built into their biology. ~ Tessa Hadley

Other grown-ups, especially women, had learned somehow to live on the surfaces of their bodies, controlling them and presenting a prepared version of them to the world ~ Tessa Hadley

Andy was receptive, like a deep vessel into which life was poured. If this terrible particular thing hadn't been poured into her, she would have been happier
it goes without saying
but less of a person. She was filled out by her fate. I actually think that this is quite rare, the capacity to become the whole shape of the accidents that happen to you. ~ Tessa Hadley

It's painful and terrible that youth is over, and with it that whole game of looking and longing and vying for attention, hoping for something, for some absolute transformation of everything. But it's also a reprieve to be let off that hook and know that you're simply in your own hands at last ~ Tessa Hadley

We're wedged tight into the accident of our moment in history. ~ Tessa Hadley

But what if the novels were right? What if sentimentality was closer to the truth of life and cynicism was the evasion ~ Tessa Hadley

Part of the oddity of marriage, she thought, was in how unwise it was to attend too intently to the other person. In order for love to survive, you had to close yourself off to a certain extent. ~ Tessa Hadley

The past is closed up inside its own depressing little museum of faded styles and codes and anticipations; you can't re-enter it ~ Tessa Hadley

I probably reread novels more often than I read new ones. The novel form is made for rereading. Novels are by their nature too long, too baggy, too full of things – you can't hold them completely in your mind. This isn't a flaw – it's part of the novel's richness: its length, multiplicity of aspects, and shapelessness resemble the length and shapelessness of life itself. By the time you reach the end of the novel you will have forgotten the beginning and much of what happens in between: not the main outlines but the fine work, the detail and the music of the sentences – the particular words, through which the novel has its life. You think you know a novel so well that there must be nothing left in it to discover but the last time I reread Emma I found a little shepherd boy, brought into the parlour to sing for Harriet when she's staying with the Martin family. I'm sure he was never in the book before. ~ Tessa Hadley

What use was her grown-up knowledge
acquired through such initiations, at such risk
in this world of infants, who had to be kept safe? ~ Tessa Hadley

But she wasn't in love, though she had been ready to be. Love sank down gently from where it had been swollen in expectation
she imagined a red balloon deflating to a foolish remnant. (In the cave, 171) ~ Tessa Hadley

The gracious thing to do was to accept the beauty of the opportunity if it was given ~ Tessa Hadley

I hate to think of you stuck here all day every day, doing nothing with that brilliant brain of yours."
"It never was brilliant. Anyway, who keeps these books to see who's used themselves wisely and who's wasted? ~ Tessa Hadley

Ally wasn't disappointed in the writers: she hadn't expected anything from them in the first place; it hadn't occurred to her to be interested in writers as individuals beyond their work. To her relief no one whose books she'd read ever came to the centre, although sometimes she had to pretend to have read the writers who did. The writers could be fairly crazy, too; you had to be vigilant not to trip over their vanity or anxiety. Luckily, most of her favourites were dead. (She's the one, 151) ~ Tessa Hadley

But now everything was lost: all the scattered effect of a real person, complicated beyond counting. (Post production, 197) ~ Tessa Hadley

Because the same God who paints a rainbow across the sky after a rainstorm is the same One who can produce joy from our hardships. ~ Tessa Emily Hall

She is such a blade - -beautiful, powerful, and deadly to her enemies- - as well as her bond-mate due to her fatal flaw. The questions are - How deep is her flaw and can it be healed? After all, a mortal is not a mearcair blade to be discarded if forged improperly. (Kagan Donmall regarding Tessa Montgomery) ~ Jacqueline Patricks

She would allow him to comfort her. And perhaps, someday, she would listen patiently if a dark, dreary night found him well in his cups and he drunkenly confessed to still feeling scores of wounds that weren't his own, but those of men under his command. ~ Tessa Dare

If she ever decided to stop pretending they didn't set each other on fire, she'd seriously have to woo his ass. And no, he didn't care if that made him sound like a chick. ~ Tessa Bailey

I'll tell you what's most important of all. It's this." He flexed those barrel-like biceps, drawing her body flush against a solid wall of muscle and heat. "Not women, not men, but what lies between two people who want each other more than air. You can argue with me all you want, but you can't fight this. I know you feel it."
-Bram to Susanna ~ Tessa Dare

I'm going to build that house with my own hands, from the foundation to the roof. I'm going to do it for us, and I'm going to do it right, so it lasts forever. Can't go raising walls on a shaky foundation. Can't go slapping thatch over rafters so thin, they'll topple with the first winter storm. Do you know?"
She nodded. "I know."
He reached for her hand. "It's the same with us. I mean to build something with you. Something that will last. Much as I want you, I don't want to rush and bollocks it up. ~ Tessa Dare

Alex let out a sigh, pushing down a swell of jealousy. He didn't want Michael to like Tessa so much. His brother's affection would only complicate matters when Alex finally swept Tessa off her feet. ~ Jody Hedlund

The question is, Miss Finch ... what are you doing in this village?"
"I've been trying to explain it to you. We have a community of ladies here in Spindle Cove, and we support one another with friendship, intellectual stimulation, and healthful living."
"No, no. I can see how this might appeal to a mousy, awkward chit with no prospects for something better. But what are you doing here?"
Perplexed, she turned her gloved hands palms-up. "Living happily."
"Really," he said, giving her a skeptical look. Even his horse snorted in seeming disbelief. "A woman like you."
She bristled. Just what kind of woman did he think she was?
"If you think yourself content with no man in your life, Miss Finch, that only proves one thing." In a swift motion, he pulled himself into the saddle. His next words were spoken down at her, making her feel small and patronized. "You've been meeting all the wrong men. ~ Tessa Dare

Yes, she doesn't really look like either of us, does she? Perhaps she's a girl who's fallen madly in love with me and persists in following me wherever I go."
"My talent is shape-shifting, Will, not acting," said Tessa, and at that Jem laughed out loud. ~ Cassandra Clare

It's like a lizard's foot," she said. "With a footprint that size, that deep? That would have to be one bloody large lizard. ~ Tessa Dare

You've been hiding yourself, and you're good at it. A master of camouflage."
She laughed. "Camouflage?"
"That's the only possible explanation. You've made a frock from the same silk covering the drawing room walls, trimmed it with cat hair and feathers. Then when gentlemen visit, you stand still and blend in."
"You have a surprisingly vivid imagination."
"What I have is experience." He stopped in the road and turned to face her. "I've built a fortune by spotting things that are undervalued, dusting them off, and selling them at the proper price. I know a hidden treasure when I see one. ~ Tessa Dare

He couldn't be -

Oh, Lord. He was. He was going to kiss her.

"Wait." Panicked, Maddie put both hands on his chest, holding him off.

"Your men, my servants … they could be watching us."

"I'm certain they're watching us. That's why we're going to kiss."

"But I don't know how. You know I don't know how."

His lips quirked. "I know how."

Those three little words, spoken in that low, devastating Scottish burr, did absolutely nothing to ease Maddie's concerns.

Thankfully, she had a reprieve. He pulled back and peered at her hair. He looked like a boy marveling at clockwork, wondering how it all worked. After a few moments, she felt him grasp the pencil holding her chignon.
With one long, slow tug, he eased it loose and cast it aside.

It landed in the loch with a splash.

His fingers sifted through her hair, teasing the locks free of their haphazard knot and arranging them about her shoulders. Tenderly. Like she'd always imagined a lover would. Sparks of sensation danced from her scalp to her toes.

"That was my best drawing pencil," she said.

"It's just a pencil."

"It came from London. I have a limited supply."

His thumb caressed her cheek. "It almost put out my eye. I've a limited supply of those, too. And it's better this way."

"But - " Her breath caught. "Oh."

He bracketed her cheeks with his hands, til ~ Tessa Dare

Tessa is gone, and every moment she is gone is a knife ripping me apart from the inside. ~ Cassandra Clare

Never loved the taste of someone before baby, but with you, I would willingly drown in it. I'm going to devour you Tessa, from the inside out, and you're going to come so many times that you'll forget there even was anyone before. Focus on us babe. You and me together is all that will ever matter. ~ Ella Fox

This is absurd," Colin grumbled. "At this rate, we'll arrive next Tuesday."
"Stop talking. Start moving." Bram nudged a sheep with his boot, wincing as he did. With his leg already killing him, the last thing he needed was a pain in the arse, but that's exactly what he'd inherited, along with all his father's accounts and possessions: responsibility for his wastrel cousin, Colin Sandhurst, Lord Payne.
He swatted at another sheep's flank, earning himself an indignant bleat and a few inches more.
"I have an idea," Colin said.
Bram grunted, unsurprised. As men, he and Colin were little more than strangers. But during the few years they'd overlapped at Eton, he recalled his younger cousin as being just full of ideas. Ideas that had landed him shin-deep in excrement. Literally, on at least one occasion.
Colin looked from Bram to Thorne and back again, eyes keen. "I ask you, gentlemen. Are we, or are we not, in possession of a great quantity of black powder? ~ Tessa Dare

Trust me, I know how it stings when someone tells you the truth about yourself. It's like catching a glimpse of your reflection in a looking glass when you're not prepared. Intolerable. I was furious when I read your pamphlet - ­but only because I knew it was the truth. I'd known it for some time. The reality set in somewhere around the Tropic of Capricorn. When I left you behind at Greenwillow Hall . . . I'd missed out. ~ Tessa Dare

Oh, dear." She let her head fall back to the pillow. "There it went. I've fallen in love with you now."
"Just now?" Chuckling, he came to a sitting position, resting his forearm on one bent knee. "Well, thank God for belated blessings." He ran a hand
through his hair. "It's been coming on rather longer than that for me."
"What?" She sat bolt upright. "What can you mean? Since when?"
"From the first, Amelia. From the very first. ~ Tessa Dare

We stand on the shores of a Mystery, carried by the beauty of the horizon into fantasy that gives birth to our reality.
So live like each moment is filled with gold. ~ Tessa Taylar

Parting the clinging fabric from her skin, he reached beneath to encircle her bare ankle with his hand.
As he swept his touch up her calf, she jerked in surprise. Her hand caught his, trapping it just below her knee. He paused at once.
"Ticklish?" He could scarcely scrape the word from his throat.
She shook her head.
"What is it?"
"I..." Her kiss-flushed lips curved in a coy little smile. "I think it's the urges."
He couldn't help but grin in response.
These teasing hints of her naughty side were driving him mad with curiosity. He wanted to pry her open at the delicate pink seams and explore the sensual woman within. ~ Tessa Dare

I've got an hour before I need to be back at the station. I'll have fucked you three different ways by then. ~ Tessa Bailey

You can begin by dropping that childish nickname and addressing me in the proper fashion. ~ Tessa Dare

So wet," he murmured.
The words shocked her. She wanted to hear more.
He stilled, resting his temple against hers. His breath stirred her hair as he traced her intimate flesh in slow, tantalizing strokes.
"For me?" he whispered. The vulnerable rasp in his voice undid her.
She kissed his jaw. "For you. Only you. ~ Tessa Dare

When I arrived at the graveyard, Silla and her brother were sitting together snacking on cookies. They both wore jeans and sweaters and had blood on their foreheads. Like a gruesome splotch jerking you out of an otherwise pastoral scene. That happened to be a cemetery. Okay, it was all pretty gruesome. ~ Tessa Gratton

Ah, sweetheart, I don't fuck around with virgins." His head dipped, teeth closing around her ear and tugging. "But I'll get down on my knees and eat that untouched pussy like a motherfucker. ~ Tessa Bailey

Because this woman . . . she was a revelation. ~ Tessa Dare

That girl loves you, Gray. We're going to get out of this, and when we do-I'd bet a hundred sovereigns to one, Sophia will be there waiting for you."
"Sophia?" Gray blinked. "Her name is Sophia?"
Joss chuckled. "I was right. You didn't know."
"But-" Gray scratched the back of his neck. "But how did you? Since when have you known her name?"
Joss shrugged, his expression composed. "Since sometime yesterday." He laughed at Gray's befuddled silence. "When you dropped your trousers to take a piss. It's painted on your arse. ~ Tessa Dare

What happened?" I asked. "What did you say?"
Roger put the key in the ignition and looked over at me. "I told her good-bye," he said. Then he started the car and put in in gear, and we headed out. ~ Morgan Matson

Somehow she'd ended up in bed with the man mothers warn their daughters to stay away from. The kind of man fathers go after with a shotgun, their sobbing daughters trailing behind them in a wedding dress. She should have stayed away, because now that she knew what all the fuss was about, she would never be satisfied with anything less. He'd blindsided her, ruined her, and addicted her in one single evening. ~ Tessa Bailey

Of course one kiss changes things. If it's done right, a kiss changes everything. ~ Tessa Dare

But it is your turn to live now. Your turn to love. Your turn to receive. ~ Tessa Dawn

Will sat down beside his wife and pulled her into his lap. "I am going to kiss your mother now," he announced. "Flee if you will, children. If not, we could play Ludo when the romance is over."
"The romance is never over," said James glumly.
Tessa laughed and put up her face to be kissed. ~ Cassandra Clare

Tessa touched her hand to his cheek. "You're strong, brave, protective -"
"So is a Doberman. ~ Pamela Clare

Her chin lifted. "Very well. Here is my best offer. Half of my nakedness for all of yours."
He pretended to think on it. " It's a bargain. ~ Tessa Dare

He shut the door behind him and came to lean against one of the bedposts, watching her at the vainity table. He had shrugged off his jacket and undone his tie. His dark hair was mussed and in the slighlty blurred mirror, he looked no different to Tessa than he had when he was seventeen. ~ Cassandra Clare

I came to see that I could not bring someone home when they were already there. ~ Cassandra Clare

Gray's teeth ground like millstones. At this rate, they wouldn't need a hanging. The effort required to hold his tongue in the face of these scurrilous falsehoods-it was likely to kill him. ~ Tessa Dare

Madeline stood before him in a gown of rich, emerald-green silk. The low-cut bodice did miraculous things for her bosom, and the vibrant color made a striking contrast with her pale skin and dark hair. And her lips... something about the green brought out their richness. They looked like two lush slices of a ripened plum.
His mouth watered. ~ Tessa Dare

Listen to me. I admire you. Adore you. Hell, I've spent four years constructing some twisted, blasphemous religion around you.
-Luke ~ Tessa Dare

In a military operation, the command and control elements are a legitimate target. ~ Stephen Hadley

I'm male. You rubbed your ... femaleness all over me. I didn't think. I reacted. ~ Tessa Dare

And like that, our destinies snap together. ~ Tessa Gratton

Simon had only had a few encounters with Jem Carstairs, who was apparently as old as his wife, Tessa Gray. They both looked amazingly fit for 150 years. Tessa even looked pretty hot. (Maybe Jem looked hot too? As Simon had thought once before, he probably wasn't the greatest judge of male attractiveness.) Was it weird to think people who were twice as old as your grandparents were good-looking? ~ Cassandra Clare

I've loved you up one side of forever. Now I'm going to love you back down the other. ~ Tessa Bailey