Tessa Quotes

It's easy to be a Christian when you're living the perfect life. It's easy to live a perfect life when God seems to be showering you with blessings. ~ Tessa Emily Hall

This isn't summer camp." Those hands clenched. Unclenched. "If you want to kiss me, you'll get everything. I'm not going to hold back. ~ Tessa Bailey

Hunger, after all, is a more potent seasoning than salt. ~ Tessa Dare

What happens if anger takes you over, Tessa? Who will you be then? What will be left of you? ~ Jenny Downham

There were a dozen reasons why she might refuse him. But they were all someone else's reasons. Her mother's, her peers', society's. She'd already left all those expectations behind. ~ Tessa Dare

If my joy hung in the balance of having everything I wanted, I would always wrestle with unhappiness. There ~ Tessa Afshar

It's fear. Not of the devil, but fear of change. Fear of doing anything different that might cause a ripple and bring it all down. Fear of a little boy in a dress, because he didn't fit into the structure of town, the rules. There was never anything wrong with Arthur. ~ Tessa Gratton

The Will I fell in love with, she almost said."And be Will," she finished instead. "Or I shall hit you with my umbrella. ~ Cassandra Clare

I wonder if only artists can feel peace like this - such a gentle, inconspicuous peace that an ordinary person might not even notice. ~ Tessa Emily Hall

At some point, while you were roaming the globe, making treaties and dividing the spoils of war, I quietly declared my own independence. I am the sovereign nation of Clio now. And there will be no terms of surrender. ~ Tessa Dare

I would make a new bribe every day if I thought staying her would make you happy. ~ Tessa Bailey

I shall see you on Blackfriars Bridge, Tessa. ~ Cassandra Clare

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

The Blushing Pansy," his cousin read aloud, in a tone of abject horror. "Tea shop and confectionery."
Bram swore. This was going to be ugly. ~ Tessa Dare

If you do not help me," Tessa said to Jem, "I swear, I will change into you, and I will lift him myself. And then everyone here will see what you look like in a dress." She fixed him with a look. "Do you understand? ~ Cassandra Clare

Then it dawned on Joshua that God was not on Israel's side. He beckoned Israel to be on His side. Joshua couldn't claim God for himself or for his own interests the way the people around them used their idols. Rather the Lord claimed Joshua and His chosen people for Himself. ~ Tessa Afshar

Charles had climbed on a bench and was calling out that he had something to say, creating a racket that quickly got the attention of the room. Everyone looked immensely surprised, including Tessa and Will. Sona frowned, clearly thinking Charles was very rude. She didn't know the half of it, Cordelia thought darkly.
"Let me be the first to raise a glass to the happy couple!" said Charles, doing just that. "To James Herondale and Cordelia Carstairs. I wish to add personally that James, my brother's parabatai, has always been like a younger brother to me."
"A younger brother he accused of vandalizing greenhouses across our fair nation," muttered Will.
"As for Cordelia Carstairs - how to describe her?" Charles went on.
"Especially when one has not bothered to get to know her at all," murmured James.
"She is both beautiful and fair," said Charles, leaving Cordelia to wonder what the difference was, "as well as being brave. I am sure she will make James as happy as my lovely Grace makes me." He smiled at Grace, who stood quietly near him, her face a mask. "That's right. I am formally announcing my intention to wed Grace Blackthorn. You will all be invited, of course."
Cordelia glanced over at Alastair; he was expressionless, but his hands, jammed into his pockets, were fists. James had narrowed his eyes.
Charles went on merrily. "And lastly, my thanks go out to the folk of the Enclave, who supported my actions as acting Consul through our recent t ~ Cassandra Clare

There are some things that don't change much. I find the smell of a dish, or the way a certain spice is crushed, or just a quick look at the way something has been put on a plate, can pull me back to another place and time. I love those memories that seem so far away, yet you can hold them and carry them with you, even forget them, and then, with a single taste or hint or a smell, be chaperoned back to a beautiful moment. ~ Tessa Kiros

Uh, yeah. Hello? Are you the contest winner?"
His Irish brogue is thick, punctuated by irritation. I pull my proverbial shit together and nod. "Yeah."
"About bloody time. Did you stop to sign autographs? ~ Tessa Bailey

Then we stay." Nodding her head at the statue, Ginger smiled. "Dolly said once that if you want the rainbow, you've got to put up with the rain." "How fucking appropriate. ~ Tessa Bailey

Let them know the real me. All my weaknesses. Yes, I'll make plans to do that. Right on the heels of your announcement that Izzy Goodnight isn't a girl anymore but a twenty-six-year-old woman who likes her nipples pinched. ~ Tessa Dare

Tessa could not remember a time when she had not loved the clockwork angel. ~ Cassandra Clare

If he could bottle her strength
and vitality, he would. He would take everything that
was Tessa and lock it into a corner of his heart, to take
out when the emptiness got too overwhelming. ~ Taryn Elliott

Thorne, I think I'm falling in love with you."

"Katie." He took her face in his hands. Roughly, and with a possessive power that thrilled her. A brooding divot formed between his eyebrows. "Katie, you're so - "

She wondered what delightfully misanthropic word he would choose this time. Wrongheaded? Foolish? Stubborn?

Kissable, apparently.

He gave up on words and claimed her mouth instead, kissing her with more passion and fire than she would have ever dared to hope. ~ Tessa Dare

Surely you know the feeling of infatuation. Everyone does. It's not merely physical admiration. Your mind fixes on a person, and it's as though you float through the days, singing a song that only has one word, thinking of nothing but the next time you'll see them again ~ Tessa Dare

His existence is a threat to my sanity. ~ Tessa Bailey

Think of it like running down a slope. If you attempt to slow down and choose your steps, you're bound to trip up and stumble. ~ Tessa Dare

I will push you, pull you, rattle you as I see fit. Because you've a sparkling wit lurking beneath that dull exterior. Because you can sing, but you don't. Because you've a fiery passion inside you, and it needs release. Because you can keep walking. You just need someone to push you over that next horizon."
Surely it was the effect of hunger and fatigue, not his rough, intimate voice. But she trembled, just a little.
"Those are rather ironic words," she said, turning to face him. "From a man who can't even ride in a coach. ~ Tessa Dare

The only beauty we'll give account for in eternity is our godliness. ~ Tessa Emily Hall

He'd imprisoned himself in this castle to rot. He'd cut off all contact with the outside world. And just when he thought he'd burned all his bridges, this woman - this impossible, sweet, foolish woman - arrived, determined to swim the moat. Breach his defenses. Make a home. Stay. ~ Tessa Dare

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

Mr. Rochester never courted Jane Eyre, Tessa pointed out.
No, he dressed up as a woman and terrified the poor girl out of her wits. Is that what you want? ~ Cassandra Clare

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

Every creature has a soft underbelly. I'm going to find yours."
"Search me if you like, Your Ladyship. I warn you, it's not softness you'll find. ~ Tessa Dare

Lady Penelope Campion- the aging, frazzled, unsightly spinster who...
Who wasn't any of those things. Not by a mile. As fortune would have it, Lady Penelope Campion turned out to be a fair-haired, blue-eyed beauty.
In his mind's eye, he could still see her sprawled across his bed in her dressing gown. Like an all-grown-up Goldilocks, having crept into his house uninvited to test the mattress. Too soft, too hard...?
He didn't know her opinion, but Gabe's reaction was the latter. His cock was in its usual morning prime, standing at full mast. ~ Tessa Dare

Are you still wearing those flimsy white panties?"

"Yes," Story breathed.

"Good. I need you to reach inside and pet your clit for me. Gently, like I do it. ~ Tessa Bailey

Listen to me, you bastard."
"No," Gabriel said.
This simple response left Ash nonplussed. But fuming.
"I'm listening to exactly one person in this room," Gabriel said evenly. "It isn't you. The lady can speak for herself."
Oh. Penny's heart fluttered in her chest.
If by chance, he did mean to seduce her, repeating that sentence fifty times over might do the trick. ~ Tessa Dare

A broad smile spread across Will's face. "Then we have no choice but to give our blessing too. Cordelia Carstairs," he said, "the Carstairs and the Herondales will be bonded even more closely now. If James could have chosen his wife from all the women in all the worlds that are or ever were, I would wish for no other."
Tessa laughed. "Will! You cannot compliment our new daughter only on the chance of her last name!"
Will was grinning like a boy. "Wait until I tell Jem - ~ Cassandra Clare

No man deserves a woman like that. He mortgages his very soul to win her and spends his life paying off the debt. ~ Tessa Dare

The girl is an accident waiting to happen: vulnerable, impressionable, and foolish as the day is long. ~ Tessa Dawn

Baby, I don't need an excuse to cuff you. I just need the opportunity. ~ Tessa Bailey

I love you, too. I love you, too. I want to stay right here with you, I don't want to leave. ~ Tessa Bailey

I believe in good and evil," said Jem. "And I believe the soul is eternal. But I don't believe in the fiery pit, the pitchforks, or endless torment. I do not believe you can threaten people into goodness."
Tessa looked at will. "What about you? What do you believe?
"Pulvis et umbra sumus," said Will, not looking at her as he spoke. "I believe we are dust and shadows. What else is there? ~ Cassandra Clare

And to the devil with it if she is!" said the Consul. "One girl, who is not Nephilim, is not, cannot, be our priority."
"She is my priority!" Will shouted. ~ Cassandra Clare

I won't love anyone so much more than everything else that I lose it all if that person is lost. If it makes your world smaller, it isn't love. ~ Tessa Gratton

Let's strive to become as protective over our time with God as we are with our daily cup of brew. Let's become addicted to our "spiritual caffeine fix. ~ Tessa Emily Hall

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

I'll keep the girl out of trouble," Gray said, in what seemed to him a rather magnanimous gesture. "I'll watch out for her."
"Oh, I've no doubt you will. But who's going to watch out for you?"
Gray's nerves prickled. So, it wasn't the girl Joss was concerned about. No, he expected Gray to cock it all up.
"Right, Joss. I'm an unprincipled, lecherous bastard." He paused, waiting for his brother to argue otherwise.
He didn't.
Gray protested. "She's a governess, for the love of gold. Prim, proper, starched, dull." Soft, he thought in counterpoint. Delicate, sweet. Intriguing.
"Ah. So you'll dally with any chambermaid or serving wench who'll lift her skirts, but you'd draw the line at seducing a governess?"
"Yes. Have a look at me, man." Gray smoothed his brushed velvet lapel, then gestured upward at the banners trimming the freshly tarred rigging. "Look at this ship. I'm telling you, my libertine days are over. I've gone respectable."
"It's easy to change your coat. It's a great deal harder to change your ways. ~ Tessa Dare

Cecily turned toward the ominous snuffling noise. There, in the underbrush, lurked a boar.
She'd never seen a boar, but she knew this must be one - else it was the largest, hairiest, most foul-smelling and predatory pig she'd ever encountered.
"Denny?" she called. Then, louder: "Portia? Mr. Brooke?"
The malodorous thing shuffled closer. It was drooling. Slobbering and snorting.
The beast's rubbery lips quivered and curled, revealing a pair of sharp, menacing tusks to complement the smaller, hooked set bracketing his snout.
"Go away," she told it. "Shoo."
No response. ~ Tessa Dare

In answer, he bent his head toward hers.
"Wait." She ducked away from the kiss.
"What are you doing?"
"Nothing unless you want it. ~ Tessa Dare

I trust you."
"Good." There was a flash of a quick smile and then he was out of the Jeep.
I tracked him with my eyes, feeling a little dizzy. It was the truth. I did trust him and that was a big deal for me. I really hadn't trusted any guy since Jeremy, anyone except my brother. But I had trusted Jase from the moment I had met him. ~ J. Lynn

His grip firmed on her arms. "I'm here. You're not alone now."

Hardly poetry, those words. A simple statement of fact. They scarcely shared the same alphabet as kindness. If true comfort were a nourishing, wholemeal loaf, what he offered her were a few stale crumbs.

It didn't matter. It didn't matter. She was a starving girl, and she hadn't the dignity to refuse.

"I'm so sorry," she managed, choking back a sob. "You're not going to like this."

And with that, Kate fell into his immense, rigid, unwilling embrace - and wept. ~ Tessa Dare

It's like this," he repeated in a low voice, just for her. "I'm not that sort of man. I don't wait for the things I want. ~ Tessa Dare

Julian," she said huskily, "you were right the other morning. You know me so well. I'm not made for illicit affaires, all that sneaking around to avoid discovery." In the dark, her hands crept up to his shoulders, then his face. Her finger teased through his hair. "Why should we hide at all? Let all London see us together. I don't care what anyone says or thinks. I love you, and I want the world to know."
He wanted to weep. For joy, for frustration. She was so brave, his beautiful Lily, and the situation was so damned unfair. It wasn't her fault that she made these heartrending declarations at a moment when their lives were probably in danger and he couldn't possibly reciprocate. That fault was his, for choosing to live the way he had and making the decisions he'd made. He didn't deserve her, didn't deserve her love. He most certainly didn't merit those warm brushes of her lips against his skin. But damned if he could bring himself to stop them.
"We're in love, Julian. Isn't it wonderful?"
"No," he murmured as she kissed him again. "It's not wonderful. It's a disaster."
Her lips grazed his jaw, then his throat. "I can feel you speaking, and I know you're probably making some valiant protest. But you know I can't hear those words. Your body is making an altogether different argument, and I'm listening to it." Her fingers crept inside his waistcoat, splaying over the thin lawn of his shirt. "Take your heart, for example."
Yes, take it. Take it and keep ~ Tessa Dare

We are as strong as the people who love us. ~ Tessa Gratton

Human wisdom won't win us these battles. It will be God alone, ~ Tessa Afshar

The tale begins well before my time. It's common knowledge, among the locals, that the woods stretching between Swinford and Corbinsdale are cursed." "Cursed," Brooke scoffed. "Ignorance and superstition are the true curses. Their remedy is education. Don't you sponsor a school on this estate, Denny?" "It's a story," Portia said. "Even schoolchildren know the difference. And they could teach you something about imagination. Your cynicism is not only tiresome, but pitiable." "You pity me? How amusing." "Pity won't get you on my list." "Really?" Brooke smirked. "It seems to have worked for Lord Merritt." Enough ~ Tessa Dare

It's a fine, warm day," Henry replied. "I thought a spot of fishing?"
"Just the thing!" said Felix. "Will you join us, Lucy?" Lucy felt Kitty and Sophia staring at her. Well-bred ladies, evidently, did not fish.
"Oh, no! I assure you, Mr. Crowley-Cumberbatch, I have given up those hoyden pursuits of my youth." She turned to Toby. "I haven't been fishing in ages. I can't remember the last time."
"Really, Luce?" Toby sounded incredulous. "Henry - is it true?"
Henry sawed away at a slice of ham. "If you count six days as ages, then I suppose it's true. But if you can't remember six days back, Lucy, and you've forgotten Felix's Christian name, I'm concerned for you. Perhaps you've been spending too much time with Aunt Matilda. ~ Tessa Dare

Jace Herondale plays the piano very well."
"And he knows it."
"That sounds like a Herondale." Tessa laughed. ~ Cassandra Clare

Stop!" she called out.
To a one, the crewmen froze. A dozen heads swiveled to face her.
Sophia swallowed and turned to Mr. Grayson. "What about me? I'm also a virgin voyager."
His lips quirked as his gaze swept her from head to toe and then back up partway. "Are you truly?"
"Yes. And I haven't a coin to my name. Do you plan to dunk and shave me, too?"
"Now there's an idea." His grin widened. "Perhaps. But first, you must submit to an interrogation."
A lump formed in Sophia's throat, impossible to speak around.
Mr. Grayson raised that sonorous baritone to a carrying pitch. "What's your name then, miss?" When Sophia merely firmed her chin and glared at him, he warned dramatically, "Truth or eels."
Bang.
Excited whispers crackled through the assembly of sailors. Davy was completely forgotten, dropped to the deck with a dull thud. Even the wind held its breath in anticipation, and Sophia gave a slight jump when a sail smacked limp against the mast.
Though her heart pounded an erratic rhythm of distress, she willed her voice to remain even. "I've no intention of submitting myself to any interrogation, by god or man." She lifted her chin and arched an eyebrow. "And I'm not impressed by your staff."
She paused several seconds, waiting for the crew's boisterous laughter to ebb.
Mr. Grayson pinned her with his bold, unyielding gaze. "You dare to speak to me that way? I'm Triton." With each word, he stepped closer. "King of th ~ 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

There's something to be said for small victories when they're made out of chocolate. ~ Tessa Bailey

I settle on a lounge chair, all prepared to dive into Kristen Ashley's latest novel, Breathe. This woman makes me want to pack my bags and move to Colorado in order to find a bad-ass Alpha man. You know, if I ever plan on finding a man again. As I power up my Kindle, all ready to get to know Chace and Faye ~ Tessa Teevan

As the new day dawns, and my inkwell runs dry, I hereby make a vow. Not a vow to the man I once hoped to marry, but a promise to myself. From this morning forward, I will never shed another tear for him. There is no need. Because everything Lord Dashwood rejected when he so callously walked away - ­is mine to claim. Mine to use. My wit, my strength, and most of all - ­my heart. I will not put any of these on the shelf. ~ Tessa Dare

I mean to taste you, mo chridhe. Try not to kick me in the head this time."
Despite the warning, her hips still bucked when he laid his tongue to her most intimate place.
Oh, he was good.
Verra... verra... verra good. Within moments he had her writhing beneath him. He explored every fold and hollow with his tongue, circling her bud before sliding down to dip his tongue inside her.
"Logan, please. I'm too close to-"
He showed no signs of stopping. Or even acknowledging her pleas. To the contrary, he redoubled his efforts, nuzzling and licking her to a fierce, sudden climax. ~ Tessa Dare

Don't dump my stash. I hereby bequeath all manner of pleasure machines to you, my pasty, studious little friend. ~ Tessa Bailey

I have every intention of making her mine, but until I know she's ready, hell, until I'm sure that I'm even ready, I'll bid my time and continue to be her best friend... I know that in the end it'll be more than worth it. Waiting for her will be worth it. ~ Tessa Teevan

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

Even so, Miss Whitmore . . . We should have a signal." "A signal?" "A word to shout if you're in distress. Like 'Tangiers,' or . . . or perhaps 'muscadine.' " Clio gave her an amused look. "Is something wrong with the word 'help'?" "I . . . well, I suppose not." "Very ~ Tessa Dare

She set a tankard of grog before him, the moment before he became aware of his own thirst. Gray reached for it, shaking his head. A long swallow of watered-down rum added fuel to his resentment. He'd allowed himself to become so transparent to her, while she remained an enigma to him. Her talents fit no logical pattern-sketching, painting, deceit, seduction, thievery...now the ability to pound biscuit and salted meat into a fair-tasting chowder? It was enough to make him abandon all hope of ever comprehending her.
Perhaps he never would. But it was another thought that had him hurrying through his food, desperate to put some distance between them. He might never understand her, Gray realized, but he could get dangerously accustomed to this other feeling.
Being understood. ~ Tessa Dare

She was asleep. In my car.
I stood next to the passenger side for a minute, looking down at her. The sun made her skin seem translucent and bloodless. For a moment, it didn't matter why I was falling in love with her. Just that I was. ~ Tessa Gratton

He passed into the galley and was greeted by a cloud of fragrant steam. The exotic scent of spices mingled with the tang of roasting meat. Startled, Gabriel choked on a sip from a tankard. In the corner, Stubb quickly shoved something behind his back. The old men's eyes shone with more than holiday merriment.
"Happy Christmas, Gray." Gabriel extended the tankard to him. "Here. We poured you some wine."
Gray waved it off with a chuckle. "That my new Madeira you're sampling?"
Gabriel nodded as he downed another sip. "Thought I should taste it before you serve it to company. You know, to be certain it ain't poisoned." He drained the mug and set it down with a smile. "No, sir. Not poisoned."
"And the figs? The olives? The spices? I assume you checked them all, too? For caution's sake, of course."
"Of course," Stubb said, pulling his own mug from behind his back and taking a healthy swallow. "Everyone knows you can't trust a Portuguese trader."
Gray laughed. He plucked an olive from a dish on the table and popped it into his mouth. Rich oil coated his tongue. "Did you find the crate easily enough?" he asked Stubb, reaching for another olive.
The old steward nodded. "It's all laid out, just so. Candles, too."
"Feels like Christmas proper." Gabriel tilted his head. "Miss Turner even gave me a gift."
Gray followed the motion, squinting through the steam.
I'll be damned. ~ Tessa Dare

She sketched songbirds when she was supposed to be minding her lessons, and she sketched church mice when she was meant to be at prayer. When she had time to ramble out of doors, anything in Nature was fair game- from the shoots of clover between her toes to any cloud that meandered overhead. ~ 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

Though he would be struggling to keep his meal ~ Tessa Dare

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

Somewhere in Hayden's town house, her panties were still smoking. ~ Tessa Bailey

I don't know what to do," Will said. "Mortmain has taken Tessa, and I believe now I know where she might be. There is a part of me that wants nothing more than to go after her. But I cannot leave Jem. I swore an oath. And what if he wakes in the night and finds I am not here?" He looked as lost as a child. "He will think I left him willingly, not caring that he was dying. He will not know. And yet if he could speak, would he not tell me to go after Tessa? Is that not what he would want?" Will dropped his face into his hands. "I cannot say, and it is tearing me in half. ~ Cassandra Clare

Doubt not my love," he repeated, with a chorus of knights to bolster him. "If men would seek to part us, death itself would be a veil too thin. For lo, though I wander the earth for my king, you remain - now and ever - queen of my heart. ~ Tessa Dare

Perhaps I won't tire of her," Gray protested, just to be contrary. Because, apparently, that was how brothers behaved.
"Perhaps a dolphin will fly out of your arse. And here's an argument even you can't refuse. Grayson Shipping doesn't need a reputation for delivering damaged goods. You want me to hand George Waltham an impregnated governess?"
"I wouldn't get her with child. Give me that much credit, at least."
"I give you credit for nothing. Let's try this one last time, shall we? You made me this ship's captain. If I'm the captain, what I say goes. And I say you don't touch her. If you can't abide by my orders, take command of the ship yourself and let me go home."
"Go home and do what? Squander your fortune and talent on dirt farming?"
"Go home and take care of my own family. Go home and do what I damn well please, for once."
Cursing, Gray leaned against the wall. He knew Joss would make good on that threat, too. It hadn't been easy, coaxing his brother out of mourning. Gray had resorted to outright bullying just to convince him to take command of the Aphrodite, threatening to cut off his income unless he reported to London as agreed. But he needed Joss, if this shipping concern was to stay afloat. He'd worked too hard, sacrificed too much to see it fail.
And if Joss didn't become a willing partner, it all would have been in vain.
"Stay away from the girl, Gray."
Gray sighed. "We're on the same ship. I can't help but be near her ~ Tessa Dare

What happened?"
"This happened." He shifted his arms to reveal a bundle of tiny, knobby joints and fluffy patches of black and white.
A newborn goat.
"Oh, my goodness." She knelt behind him, peering over his shoulder. "Surely not Marigold?"
"I told you so," he said irritably.
As if she'd be intimidated by gruff words from a man cradling a newborn goat in his arms. She'd always known he had a capacity for gentleness.
I told you so, too.
She reached to stroke the little goat's fur.
Gabriel's shoulder muscle flinched in annoyance. "My shirt was ruined, I'll have you know. Completely unsalvageable. And then this runtish little thing wouldn't stop shivering."
"Would it help if I told you that I've never found you so wildly attractive as I do in this moment?"
"No. ~ 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

Love was nothing but a lie people told themselves.
But lust?
Lust was real, and he was feeling it. Feeling it to his core. As he held her to him, his blood pounded with the fiercest, most primal kind of need. One that spoke of possession and claiming and mine.
She made him wild.
Surely it was simply because he'd gone so long without female company. Madeline wasn't even his usual sort. Given his choice, he would have said he favored a bonny Scots lass with fiery hair and a knowing gleam in her eye. Not a shy, proper English gentlewoman just learning the taste of her first kiss.
But beneath the shyness and reserve, she possessed a natural, earthy sensuality. He couldn't help but think of what that might mean in bed- when all the rules and corsets were shed, and the dark freed her from propriety. ~ Tessa Dare

I'm half italian"
"Which half" asked Tessa
"From the waist down ~ Pamela Clare

Bosh, she told her heart. Stop twisting and aching.
He's a wealthy, powerful marquess, not a lost whelp in the rain. ~ Tessa Dare

The Aphrodite's yours, Joss. Take care of her for me."
"Aye, I will." A knowing look passed between them. "I'll look after the ship, too. ~ Tessa Dare

I don't suppose there are eggs? If I do say it myself, I make a very good pancake." Oh, no. This just grew worse and worse. I make a very good pancake. ~ Tessa Dare

There are some consequences so unacceptable we have to fight against them every day. ~ Tessa Gratton

I decided when, where, and with whom my first time happened. No one made that decision for me. And I don't regret it. I'm sorry if you do. Won't let it happen again."
"Don't put words in my mouth. I don't regret it. I'll never regret it. I just wish you would have told me." He brushed the hair off her shoulder, his fingers lingering against her skin. "I could have hurt you, baby. ~ Tessa Bailey

You see, a man's... ahem... is shaped differently from a woman's..." Mama fluttered her hand. "... whatsit. And in the marital bed, he will wish to place his..." More hand fluttering. "... inside yours."
"His ahem goes in my whatsit."
"In so many words. Yes. ~ Tessa Dare

He would look so young. They were both so young. Tessa knew it was unusual to marry at seventeen and eighteen, but they were racing a clock.
The clock of Jem's life, before it wound down. ~ Cassandra Clare

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

The next time you find yourself ashamed of your reflection, put on your new lens. Not the lens of the world, but the lens of the Word. The only lens that will reveal your true reflection. ~ Tessa Emily Hall

You're not beneath me. I'd never think that."

Yes, you are beneath her, he reminded himself, bracing against the forbidden bliss coursing through his veins. And don't dare imagine you'll ever be atop her. Or curled behind her. Or buried deep inside her while she -

Bloody hell. The fact that he could even think such a thing. He was crude, disgusting. So undeserving of even this slight caress. Her gesture was made out of guilt, offered in apology. If he took advantage, he would be a devil.

He knew all this.

But he flexed his arms anyway, drawing her close.

"You're worried you've hurt my feelings," he murmured.

She nodded, just a little.

"I don't have those."

"I forgot."

Amazing. He marveled at her foolishness. After all he'd said to her, she would worry about him? Within this small, slight woman lived so much untapped affection, she couldn't help but squander it on music pupils and mongrel dogs and undeserving brutes. What was it like, he wondered, to live with that bright, glowing star in her chest? How did she survive it?

If he kissed her deeply enough and held her tight - would some of its warmth transfer to him? ~ Tessa Dare

Go back to your berth."
The lightning had ceased, but her eyes sparked with a fire all their own. "But I-"
"You're not safe here." He wrenched open the door to the ladies' cabin and waved her through it. "Go to bed, Miss Turner."
Yes, go to bed, he thought, as she wordlessly swept through the door and he drew it shut behind her. Go to your bed, before I sweep you off to mine. ~ Tessa Dare

A better man wouldn't play this 'sweethearts' game with her when he knew very well it couldn't lead to more.

But he wasn't a better man. He was Colin Sandhurst, reckless, incorrigible rogue - and damn it, he couldn't resist. He wanted to amuse her, spoil her, feed her sweets and delicacies. Steal a kiss or two, when she wasn't expecting it. He wanted to be a besotted young buck squiring his girl around the fair.

In other words, he wanted to live honestly. Just for the day. ~ Tessa Dare

Tessa was only half way down the corridor when they caught up to her -Will and Jem, walking on either side of her. "you didn't really think we weren't going to come along, did you?" Will asked, raising his hand and letting his witchlight fare up between his fingers, lighting the corridor to daylight brightness. Charlotte, hurrying along ahead of them, turned and frowned, but said nothing.
"I know you can't leave anything well alone," Tessa replied, looking straight ahead. "But I though better of Jem."
"Where Will goes, I go," Jem said good-naturedly. "And besides, I'm as curious as he is. ~ Cassandra Clare

Dude, we gotta work on your material. Hell, all you need is a little black moustache to twirl and go 'Muahahahaha' while you're at it. ~ Tessa McFionn

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

We don't have to wait for the sunshine of spring to splash color into our days when our relationship with Jesus illuminates brightness to every day. ~ Tessa Emily Hall