“Mi Corazon. Mi alma. Son tuyos." My heart. My soul. They are yours, he whispered against the generous curve of her breast as a million sensations, all of them hot, all of them rich, all of them straddling the razor-sharp edge of pain, ripped through his loins like a flash fire and stripped him of everything but consciousness."Tuyo. Todo que tengo es tuyo." Yours. Everything I have is yours.”

“With only those soft, secret night sounds as witness, he moved over her, kissed her deeply, then slid home.And news sounds filled the dark.Sharp breaths of stunning urgency.Long sighs of immeasurable pleasure.Humming beats of awareness of an unbreakable bond being forged.¸In the heat of the night, without a single word spoken, she felt everything change between them. Until this moment, they'd only played at love, danced cautiously around the prospect of commitment. But as he sank in and out of her body, immersing them in sensation and a profound stream of consciousness, he sough her gaze in the dark. What she saw in his eyes brought tears to hers as it became achingly, wonderfully clear. The biggest player of them all wasn't playing anymore.”

“Because they're probably long gone. Are you hurt?" Gabe asked with enough urgency that she realized he must have felt shiver in delayed reaction to the hole in the door."No. No, I'm okay. What a about you? Are you hurt?""Only if you count the fact that you damned near ripped off my plumbing groping around for my phone."She made a sound of exasperation. "Now? You pick now to become a comedian?""It's all about timing," he whispered back.”

“When he reached her, he touched a hand to her face. Smiled. "Important. That's one word. Everything. That's another. Loved," he said, adding the most important word of all. "God, Darcy, you are so loved.”

“Nose to nose with her, he gave her his best bad dog snarl. "You've forgotten who and what you're dealing with here, princess. So let me jar your memory. I'm not on your father's short list of men you can bring home to dinner. I'm not a nice man. So if all you're looking for is sex...just keep this up and you're liable to get it. And don't expect some polite little in-and-out and 'oh darling, that was lovely.' You come to my bed, I'm going to fuck you, and there won't be anything polite about it.”

“Which is your bad shoulder?"His brows knit together. "The left," he said carefully.She slugged him in the right.He staggered. Steadied himself. Grinned. "Is that like some weird Wyoming mating ritual thing I should know about?""Damn you," she cried, flying into his arms. Finally. "Damn you, damn you, damn you!"He wrapped his arms around her, held her tight. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I was such a coward.”

“Without illusions. I love you because you arefallible and because your poor misguided testosterone-corrupted brain has you doing cartwheelstrying not to be. I love you because of all you are and because of all you're not. And because, nomatter what, you are all the man I'll ever need.”