Christina Lauren

“Pity.""You're serious? You just met me.""And already I have a strong urge to devour you.”

“The way you seem nervousmakes me think you don’t know that I’m in love with you.”

“When my old life died, it didn’t go quietly. It detonated.”

“I could fucking consume you”

“If a woman wanted a man to think of her constantly, she should tell him he could only have her once a wee and bam - concentration blown.”

“Because the whole British thing you have going on makes me want to do very wicked things to your mouth.”

“I was convinced that being ripped in two by him would be the best pleasure I'd ever known.”

“Okay, when you smile at me like that, I want to climb. And God knows it's been forever since I've been properly manhandled.”

“But I didn't think I'd ever wanted her more than in that moment when I was witnessing her put herself back together.”

“Women don't always want to be treated like we're delicate, or rare, or somehow more precious. We want to be wanted. We want sex to be just as raw as you do.”

“I was ready to start over as a comet: refuel, reignite, and burn across the sky.”

“I was falling in love with her, and falling too fast and hard to easily find any footing.”

“Je suis à toi.”

“Je ne regrette rein.”

“Christ on a cracker, he's pretty.”

“I knew everything happened for a reason. I just wished the reason would hurry up and make itself known.”

“For some reason, the two of us arguing was like some sick form of foreplay.”

“I was terrified of what that meantbut as she took my hand in hers, kissing it softly before entwining our fingers, I realized it didn’t matter. I’d passed the point of no return and whether she wanted me or not, I was hers.“Je suis à toi.”

“For the first time in my life I was admitting defeat.”

“For tonight, until the sun came up and the suitcases were packed, he was mine.”

“Beauty is only skin-deep, and ugly goes straight to the bone.”

“The flirting is all well and good, but I mean it when I tell you, I can't have you leaving me again. It almost broke me.”

“Totally serious. I want to be the only guy who fucks you against windows, and also the first person you see in the morning-from where you lie, having stolen my pillow. I'd also like to be the person who gets you lime Popsicles when you've had bad sushi. We only have a few months left where it's potentially complicated.”

“I told you, I want more than this. I want to be with you. I want to be your lover." I swore, digging my hands into my hair. "I'm falling for you, Chloe.”

“But I'd be a silent panty ripper, which I think is a lot creepier than the angry-boss panty ripper.”

“I was thinking, 'Highly fuckable intern, twelve o'clock. Disengage, soldier. I repeat, disengage”

“Of course I remember that. You sounded like a frat boy and looked like a fucking model. What man could ever forget that?”

“I realize you think I'm just a filthy manwhore, but it does actually matter to me.”

“Caught you looking.”

“That is the best wake-up call I've ever gotten.”

“Give me all of you for one night, no holding back. Please, Chloe, I'll leave you alone after that but I haven't seen you in almost two weeks and...I just need tonight.”

“Will you quit running from me?”

“Chloe, are you in the bathroom fucking that nice slice of man cake?”

“You weren't kidding, Chloe. That is one beautiful bastard. I wouldn't kick him out of my bed. Or car. Or dressing room. Or elevator, or-”

“I want you to watch. And tomorrow when you're sore, I want you to remember who did it to you.”

“I'm two seconds away from castrating you with my heel.”

“I mean, I wanted to shove a pocket knife into each of his tires within the first fifteen minutes of meeting him.”

“I'm going to make you come so hard you forget that you're supposed to be the world's biggest asshole.”

“You better be ready to finish what you started.”

“You realize early in life that beauty is only skin-deep, and ugly goes straight to the bone.”

“I didn't know," he whispered. "I didn't know I could love you so much.”

“If only he would keep his mouth shut, he'd be perfect. A piece of duct tape would do the trick. I had some in my desk that I'd occasionally pull out and fondle, hoping someday I could put it to good use.”

“You have very Grace Kelly-like tendencies about you. I hear Grace Kelly had a filthy mouth too," he added. "You love my filthy mouth.""True. But I like it better when its full," he said, meaningful smirk in place. "You know, if you would shut up once in a while you'd be damn near perfect.""But I'd be a silent panty ripper, which I think is a lot creepier than the angry-boss panty ripper.”

“Wait, you remember that?""Of course I remember that. You sounded like a frat boy and looked like a fucking model. What man could ever forget that?""I would have given anything to know what you were thinking right then.""I was thinking, 'Highly fuckable intern, twelve o'clock. Disengage, soldier. I repeat, disengage.”

“This flirting is all well and good, but I mean it when I tell you, I cant have you leaving me again. It almost broke me."My ribs seemed to squeeze all of the air out of my lungs at the thought. "I don't think I could. I don't want to be away from you again either.""But you need to give me a chance to fix things when I screw up. You know I'm an ass sometimes.""Sometimes?"Growling, he whispered, "And I tear lingerie."I pushed a curl off his forehead, "And hoard it. Don't forget the creepy hoarding.”

“Promise me you'll take me to bed when we get back," she said."I promise.""Your bed.""Fuck yes, my bed. My bed is huge, with a headboard I can tie you to and spank you silly for being so ridiculous.”

“It was a weird kind of desperation. We knew frenzied fucking, and we knew covert quickies, but this was something else entirely.”

“I woke up when my pillow was yanked out from under my head and Chloe mumbled something incoherent about spinach and hot dogs. The woman was a sleep-talking, restless bed hog.”

“I wanted her in a way that made me feel like every second I was sated and starving.”

“I realized my room was just next to hers.It was a mirror image of her room, but completely different in all of the ways that couldn't be seen. This shower hadn't washed away our pretenses last night; we hadn't slept together, curled around each other in this bed. These walls hadn't been filled with the sounds of her coming apart beneath me. This desk wasn't broken from a late-morning quickie.”