Jill Shalvis

“You're not going to be bear bait," he promised, turning her so that she was behind him. "Not today anyway."She grabbed a fistful of the back of his uniform shirt and pressed up against his back. "How do you know?""Well, you're behind me, for one thing. So if anyone's going to be bear bait, it'll be me. And brown bears are extremely passive. If we take a step toward him, he'll take off."She let go of him, presumably so he could do just that, even giving him a little nudge that was actually more like a push. With a laugh, Matt obliged and stepped toward the bear, waving his arms. With a look of reproof, the bear lumbered to his feet and vanished into the bush.”

“Does he even see us?" she whispered.As she spoke, the bear slowly tipped his big, furry head back, lazily studying Amy and Matt from his upside down perch.Yeah, he saw them. Reacting instinctively, she turned and burrowed right into Matt. "If you laugh at me," she warned as his warm, strong arms closed around her. "I'll kill you."He didn't laugh or mock her. For once, he was unsmiling, his jaw dark with stubble, eyes hidden behind his reflective Oakleys. "No worries, Tough Girl," he said, his warm, strong arms closing around her. "And anyway, I'm hard to kill.”

“He turned her ninety degrees. "To get back to the ranger station and your car, you want to go southwest," he said.Right. She knew that, and she stalked off in the correct direction."Watch out for bears," Matt called after her."Yeah, okay," she muttered, "and I'll also keep an eye out for the Tooth Fairy.""Three o'clock."Amy craned her neck and froze. Oh sweet baby Jesus, there really was a bear at three o'clock. Enjoying the last of the sun, he was big, brown and shaggy, and big. He lay flat on his back, his huge paws in the air as he stretched, confident that he sat at the top of the food chain. "Holy shit," she whispered, every Discovery Channel bear mauling she'd ever seen flashing in her mind. She backed up a step, and then another, until she bumped into a brick wall and nearly screamed. "Just a brown bear," said the brick wall that was Matt.”

“From around the blind curve of the trail, the main appeared. He was tall, built, and armed and dangerous, though not to her physical well-being. Nope, nothing about the tough, sinewy, gorgeous forest ranger was a threat to her body. But Matt Bowers was lethal to her peace of mind.”

“I can't believe you lied about chocolate," Mallory said. "Lying about chocolate is...sanctimonious. Do you remember all those bad girl lessons you gave me?"Amy rubbed the spot between her eyes where a headache was starting. "You mean the lessons that landed you the sexy hunk you're currently sleeping with?""Well, yes. But my point is that maybe you need good girl lessons. And good girl lesson number one is never tease when it comes to chocolate."-Amy and Mallory”

“Everything's better with chocolate.”

“Men are like parking spots. All the good ones aretaken, and those that aren’t are inaccessible.”PHOEBE TRAEGER”

“Together they crawled through the attic space, looking for the source of a roof leak they’d discovered in the last bathroom. Jax was out in front,braving the spiderwebs. Maddie was behind him, working really hard at not looking at his butt.And failing spectacularly.So when he unexpectedly twisted around, holding out his hand for the clipboard she was now holding, he caught her staring at him.“I, um—You have a streak of dirt,” she said.“A streak of dirt.”Yes.” She pointed to his left perfectly muscled butt cheek. “There.”He was quiet for a single, stunned beat. She couldn’t blame him, given that they were both covered in dirt from the filthy attic. “Thanks,” he finallysaid. “It’s important to know where the dirt streaks are.”“It is,” she agreed, nodding like a bobble head. “Probably you should stain-stick it right away. I have some in my purse.”“Are you offering to rub it on my ass?”

“She closed her eyes. “Okay, here’s the thing. We have some chemistry,” she allowed.“Some? Or supernova?”“Supernova. But,” she said to his knowing grin. Good Lord, he needed to stop doing that. “I really did give up men.”“Forever?”“My gut says yes, but that might be PMS talking. Let’s just say I’m giving up men for a very long time.”“You going to try out women?”

“I’ve given up men.”At that, he arched a brow.Be strong. Be confident. Be… Neytiri from Avatar. Okay, so Neytiri was a mythical creature, not to mention animated, but still. She was strong andconfident, and that’s all that matters at the moment. “It’s true. At first, I was just going to give up attorneys, but that seemed immature—and far tooexclusive, so I’m playing it safe and giving up all the penis-carrying humans.” Because that was so much more mature.”

“No one dared agree with her. She was temperamental in the best of times, and pregnancy wasn't one of them. No one wanted to risk their neck, not when her apron said it all: K*SS MY *SS—Would you like to buy a vowel?”

“Unfortunately, he was a man through and through, and therefore had a penis, which meant that there'd be no reasoning with him.”

“I think you have a case of being a little girl. Maybe you should prescribe yourself a heavy dose of man-the-fuck-up.”

“Because if she had to be off-track and a little lost, then she was going to have fun while she was at it, dammit.”

“Chloe?""Yeah?""I'd be worth the inhaler," he said, then forced himself to walk away.”

“You really do have some pretty fancy words lately.""Yeah." He put the mistletoe in his pocket and pulled her in closer. "And here's three more.....I love you.”

“I remember that look," she said. "It's the one you once gave Carlos right before you threatened to kick his ass.""I can still kick ass," he said with absolute steel. "I just wanted you to know that.”

“You're a Daniels and a Walker. That means you're 99% fine stubbornness, tenacity and resilience combined", Tara said."And the other 1%?" Mia asked as they sat at the tiny galley table.Ford wrapped an arm around her neck and pulled her in close. "Perfection.”

“You went from worrying about being weak to wanting a fence with me?""I don't give a flying fuck about being weak. You're the only thing I care about. You make me whole. You make me feel. You make me..." He searched for the word. "Everything." He pulled her tighter to him. "It's always been you, Holly. And it always will be. Say yes.""Yes," she said instantly. "To everything.”

“I'm not too chicken," she said. "I know exactly what I want. I honestly thought I could do this with you, the whole friends-with-benefits thing." She slowly shook her head, her eyes suspiciously shiny. "But as it turns out, I can't. Now with you, Adam. With you, I want it all."(...)"It's not that simple for me," he heard himself say."Of course it is. Life is as simple as you make it, Adam. You're born. You live. You die. I don't plan on dying without doing the living part, though.”

“What? Get tired of the way he looks at me as if I'm his entire life? Get over the fact that for the first time ever, someone wants me for me? That the man somehow actually enjoys making me happy?"Jade stared at her. "The ice cream...""I'll buy a lifetime supply of ice cream. Hell, I'll even pretend he's right some of the time... it's worth it. He's worth it. And you know what? So am I.”

“He handed her the other half of his candy bar. She stared at it like it was a brick of gold. "I'm on a diet." But she took it. "A see-food diet, apparently. I see food and I eat it.”

“She was like a drug. The most addicting kind, and he had a problem—he was pretty sure that she was developing feelings for him. He had no idea what to do with that, or with is own feelings, which were definitely getting in his way. This whole "no emotional attachment" thing had gone straight to shit. Because Mallory Quinn was emotionally attached to every person she ever met, and she had a way of making that contagious. He craved contact with her in a way that he wasn't experienced with.”

“Men are like roses. You have to watch out for the pricks.”

“She ran her gaze over his chest with frank appreciation. Then he shivered, realizing he hadn't really considered the weather. It was forty-five degrees max, but Chloe was giving him a go-on gesture with her hand."All I have left is my pants," he said."Yes, please.""It's cold, Chloe."She tilted her head. "Are you worried about shrinkage?"Well, he was now.-Chloe and Sawyer”

“He didn't say a word about the fact that her Vespa was nowhere in sight. "You know what this means, right?" he asked. "You're at my mercy." He grinned and she sighed. One hundred thousand sperm and he'd been the fastest. -Chloe about Todd”

“I love you, Mallory," he said very quietly, very seriously. "So damn much."Warmth and affection and need and so much more rushed her. "I know.""You know?""Yes.""Well, hell," he said with a small smile and a shake of his head. "You might have told me and saved me a lot of time.""How about I tell you something else?" she said. "I love you, too.”

“Mallory," he said, sounding raw and staggered and touched beyond words. "God, I was so stupid. So slow. I didn't know what to do with you. I tried to keep my distance but my world doesn't work without you in it."-Ty to Mallory”

“Did you give the HSC ten thousand dollars?"Ah, there it was, he thought, swallowing. He'd been hoping she wouldn't find out, but he supposed that was unrealistic in a town like Lucky Harbor. Taking his time, he ate cookie number two, then reached for a third.She held the plate out of his reach. "Did you?" she asked.He eyed her for a long moment. "Which answer will get me the rest of the cookies?""Oh, Ty," she breathed, looking worried as she lowered the plate. Worried for him, he realized.-Mallory and Ty”

“The sign on the front door explaining what kind of meeting:NA-NARCOTICS ANONYMOUSSomeone had attached a sticky note that said: EMPHASIS ON THE A, PEOPLE!Ty didn't know wheather to be amused that only in Lucky Harbor would the extra note be necessary, or appalled that the town was trusted with the anonymous at all.”

“Her entire body quivered. "What is it about me that you're attracted to?""For starters, the sexy underwear you put on beneath your clothes.""You've only seen my underwear once.""Twice," he said. "I looked down your top at the pier.""You did not.""Pink-and-white polka-dot bra.""Oh my God.""That's what I was thinking."-Mallory and Ty”

“I can't do this," she whispered.He nodded. "I know.""I want to but I--""It's okay." He brushed a kiss over her jaw and then was gone, proving for the second time now that he was, after all, her perfect Mr. All Wrong.-Mallory and Ty”

“Silence reigned. Well, except for Mallory's thundering heartbeat. She was in an attic loft, flat beneath her Mr. Wrong. Her common sense was screaming flee! But her secret inner bad girl was screaming oh please can't we have him? Just once?-Mallory”

“I'm keeping a list of Mr. Wrongs going for you. This one might not make it to the weekend's auction.""Stop," said another woman."I'm just kidding.""I still vote we strip him down." This was a third woman.Wait. Three women? Had he died and gone to orgy heaven? Awake now, Ty took stock. He wasn't dead. And he had no idea who the fuck Mr. Wrong was, but he was very much "going to make it." He was stuffed in the back of a car, a small car, his bad leg cramping like a son-of-a-bitch. His head was pillowed on...he shifted to try to figure it out, and pain lanced straight through his eyeballs. He licked dry lips and tried to focus. "I'm okay.""Good," one of them repeated with humor. "He's fine, he's okay. He's also bleeding like a stuck pig. Men are ridiculous."-Ty and the Chocoholics ladies”

“Residents tended to consider it a God-given right to gossip and nose into people’s business, and no one was exempt.-Lucky Harbor”

“She had time to make room for him in her closet. The cat had time to get used to him. They had all the time they needed, because he'd told her he was hers, and he was a man of his word. "I've got all I need," she told him.He leaned down and kissed her again, then stroked a finger over her temple, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "I want you to know," he said. "That you're the best choice I ever made.""No regrets?""No regrets.”

“Mallory, I lo—""Wait!" This was from Amy, and she looked at Mallory. "I'm sorry, but don't you think you should tell him about the car before he finishes that sentence?""No," Mallory said, giving Amy the evil eye. She wanted the rest of Ty's sentence, dammit!Ty frowned. "What's wrong with the Shelby?""Nothing," Mallory said quickly."Nothing," Amy agreed. "Except for the dinged door where she parked too close to the mailbox.""Oh my God," Mallory said to her. "What are you, the car police?""The classic car police," Amy said smugly."You parked the Shelby on the street?" Ty asked Mallory incredulously.She went brows-up."Okay," he said, lifting his hands. "It's okay. Never mind about the car.”

“You still trying to save me, Mallory?" Ty asked quietly.Her heart was hammering so loud she couldn't hear herself talk. "I can't seem to help myself.""I don't need saving."No. No, he sure didn't. He was strong and capable, and more than able to take care of himself. "What do you need?""You," he said simply. "Only you.”

“Strength is the ability to break up a solid piece of chocolate—and then eat just one of the pieces.”

“He shouldn't be inclined. Mallory Quinn was sweet, warm, and caring. She was a white picket fence and two-point-four kids. She was a diamond ring.She was someone's keeper.Not his. Never his. He didn't do keepers.And yet in that beat, with her mouth close to his, a smile in her eyes, he... ached. He ached and yearned for something. Someone. He wanted to wrap his arms around a woman, this woman, and lose himself in her.”

“So I guess that the next time I make a date with a concussed guy, I should pin a note to his collar so he doesn't forget.""Good plan." His hand was next to hers on the table. He let his thumb glide over her fingers, a small, almost casual touch that sent a shudder through her. "I'm sorry I forgot our date.”

“Try asking sometime. Not all women will stand for that 50 Shades crap, you know.”

“We weren't always here for her," Ford said quietly. "So we're a little overprotective. I won't apologize for that. But she's everything to me, and I'm not a complete idiot. I can see that you're everything to her. All I want is for her to be someone's everything.""Done," Nick said without hesitation.”

“When you don't know what you're doing, fake it.”

“Obeying the rules might be smart, but it's not as nearly as much fun.”

“Don't take life too seriously. After all none of us are getting out alive anyway.”

“I've given up men. It's true. At first, I was just going to give up attorneys, but that seemed immature - and far too exclusive, so I'm playing it safe and giving up all the penis-carrying humans.”

“He felt his heart roll, exposing its underbelly. Nothing he could do about that. He was equipped to eliminate threats, protect and serve.Not to love.Never to love.”

“He knew he had no right to touch her, crave her like air, but he did both. And when he put his mouth on hers, he recognized the taste of her, like she'd been made just for him.”

“Mallory dropped her head to the steering wheel. "Look, I'm mad at you, okay? This isn't about me. I know my painful memories are relative. My life is good. I'm lucky. This isn't about how poor little Mallory has had it so hard. I'm not falling apart or anything."He stroked a hand down her back. "Of course you're not. You're just holding the steering wheel up with your head for a minute, that's all.”