Becca Fitzpatrick

“He sucked some of the rain from my bottom lip, and I felt his mouth smile against mine. He swept my hair aside and kissed me just above the collarbone. He nibbled at my ear, then sank his teeth into my shoulder. I hung my fingertips on his waistband, tugging him closer. Patch buried his face in the curve of my shoulder, his hands flexing over my back. He gave a low groan. “I love you,” he murmured into my hair. “I’m happier right now than I ever remember being.”

“Put the damn measuring tape away," Vee ordered. "I already know my size. I don't need reminding.”

“Part of me wanted to run away from him screaming, Fire! A more reckless part was tempted to see how close I could get without... combusting.”

“You should go," I breathed. "You should definitely go.""Go here?" His mouth was on my shoulder. "Or here?" It moved up my neck.”

“Patch reached for my hand and pushed my dad's ring off the tip of his finger and into my palm, curling my fingers around it. He kissed my knuckles. "I was going to give this back earlier, but it wasn't finished."I opened my palm and held the ring up. The same heart was engraved on the underside, but now there were two names carved on either side of it: NORA and JEV.I looked up. "Jev? That's your real name?""Nobody's called me that in a long time.”

“If I missed out on some really big action, I’m going to be royally pissed off!”

“The only thing a boyfriend was good for was a shattered heart.”

“He's got the whole bad-boy-in-need-of-redemption thing going on, but the catch is, most bad boys don't want redemption. They like being bad. They like the power they get from striking fear and panic into the hearts of mothers everywhere”

“He felt warm and familiar. He felt solid and safe. I wanted to cling to his shirt, bury my face into the warm curve of his neck, and never let go.”

“Being with you never felt wrong. It's the one thing I did right. You're the one thing I did right.”

“It was a smile that spelled trouble. With a promise.”

“Citizen's arrest," he said. "Well, that, and Patch told me to.”

“I hung my fingertips on his waistband, tugging him closer.Patch buried his face in the curve of my shoulder, his hands flexing over my back. He gave a low groan."I love you," he murmured into my hair. "I'm happier right now than I ever remember being.”

“I don't go out with strangers," I said."Good thing I do. I'll pick you up at five.”

“You're mine, Angel," he murmured, brushing the words across my jawbone as I arched my neck higher, inviting him to kiss everywhere. "You have me forever.”

“If I'd wanted you dead five minutes ago, you'd have died five minutes ago.”

“Patch's eyes were slate black, darker than a million secrets stacked on top of each other. He dropped his gaze to the ring in his hand, turning it over slowly. "Swear you'll never stop loving me," I whispered.Ever so slightly, he nodded.”

“It isn't about love," Vee said. "It's about fun.”

“Coach: "All right, Patch. let's say you're at a party. the room is full of girls of all shapes and sizes. You see blondes, brunettes, redheads, a few girl with black hair. Some are talkive, while other appear shy. You've one girl who fits your profile - attractive, intelligent and vulnerable. Dow do you let her know you're interested?"Patch: "Single her out. Talk to her."Coach: "Good. Now for the big question - how do you know if she's game or if she wants you to move on?"Patch: "I study her. I figure out what she's thinking and feeling. She's not gonig to come right out and tell me, which is why i have to pay attention. Does she turn her body toward mine? Does she hold me eyes, then look away? Does she bite her lip and play with her hair, the way Nora is doing right now?”

“You're going to have to drive off the road and park behind thoses bushes," I instructed Vee.Vee leaned forward, peering into the darkness. "Is that a ditch between me and the bushes ?""It's not very deep. Trust me, we'll clear it.""Looks deep to me. This is a Neon we're talking about, not a Hummer.”

“Everything had come into sharp focus: his smooth words, his black, glinting eyes, his broad experience with lies, seduction, women. I'd fallen in love with the devil.”

“If you can't feel, why did you kiss me?"Patch traced a finger along my collarbone, then headed south stopping at my heart. I felt it pounding through my skin. "Because I feel it here, in my heart," he said quietly.”

“Keep in mind that people change, but the past doesn't.”

“Patch wasn't the kind of guy mothers smiled on. He was the kind of guy they changed the house locks for.”

“You admit you're doing this on purpose?""This?""This - provoking me.""Say 'provoking' again. Your mouth looks provocative when you do.”

“He hung up on me.I stared at the phone in disbelief, then ripped a clean sheet of paper from my notebook. I scribbled Jerk on the first line. One the line beneath it, I added, Smokes cigars. Will die of lung cancer. Hopefully soon. Excellent physical shape.I immediately scribbled over the last observation until it was illegible.”

“Call me Patch. I mean it. Call me.”

“I nibbled my lower lip. "If you could see into my past just by touching my back, you'd have a hard time resisting the temptation too.""I have a hard time keeping my hands off you without that added bonus.”

“I watched him pitch the ball at a table neatly lined with six bowling pins, my stomach giving a little flutter when his T-shirt crept up in the back, revealing a stripe of skin. I knew from experience that every inch of him was hard, defined muscle. His back was smooth and perfect too, the scars from when he’d fallen once again replaced with wings—wings I, and every other human, couldn’t see.“Five dollars says you can’t do it again,” I said, coming up behind him.Patch looked back and grinned. “I don’t want your money, Angel.”“Hey now, kids, let’s keep this discussion PG-rated,” Rixon said.“All three remaining pins,” I challenged Patch.“What kind of prize are we talking about?” he asked.“Bloody hell,” Rixon said. “Can’t this wait until you’re alone?”Patch gave me a secret smile, then shifted his weight back, cradling the ball into his chest. He dropped his right shoulder, brought his arm around, and sent the ball flying forward as hard as he could. There was a loud crack! and the remaining three pins scattered off the table.“Aye, now you’re in trouble, lass,” Rixon shouted at me over the commotion caused by a pocket of onlookers, who were clapping and whistling for Patch. Patch leaned back against the booth and arched his eyebrows at me. The gesture said it all: Pay up.“You got lucky,” I said.“I’m about to get lucky.”

“Cheshvan starts tonight," Rixon said, "What are you doing arsing around in a graveyard?""Thinking.""Thinking?""A process by which I use my brain to make a rational decision.”

“What good is a body if I can't have you?”

“I’m going to grab a cheeseburger,” I told Patch. “Want anything?”“Nothing on the menu.”I smiled. “Why, Patch, are you flirting with me?”

“She cleans a toilet inside and out under a minute. More like terrifying”

“I shouldn't have been looking at lingerie. It naturally made me think about sexy things. Like kissing. Like Patch.”

“I trailed off. Patch leaned lazily against the counter. Dark hair flipped out from under his ball cap. A smile tugged at his mouth. My thoughts dissolved and just like that, a new thought broke the surface of my mind.I wanted to kiss him. Right now.”

“You're a guardian angel now." I was still too much in awe to wrap my mind around it, but at the same time I felt amazement, curiosity...happiness."I'm your guardian angel," he said."I get my very own guardian angel? What, exactly, is your job description?""Guard your body." His smile tipped higher. "I take my job seriously, which means I'm going to need to get acquainted with the subject matter on a personal level.”

“You possess other people's...bodies."He accepted that statement with a nod."Do you want to possess my body?""I want to do a lot of things to your body, but that's not one of them.”

“Killer skirt, deadly legs.”

“The more time I spent with him, the more I knew the feelings weren't going away.”

“She'll kill me if she finds you in here. Can you climb trees? Tell me you can climb a tree!"Patch grinned, "I can fly.”

“All this time I've hated myself for it. I thought I'd given it up for nothing. But if I hadn't fallen, I wouldn't have met you.”

“Are you gloating inside? That's what this is about, isn't it? Getting me to trust you so you could blow it up in my face!" [...]"I get that you're angry—," said Patch."I am ripped apart!" I shouted.”

“Hang on, did you just call me Angel?" I asked."If I did?""I don't like it."He grinned. "It stays, Angel.”