J.R. Ward

“Wrath dragged Beth into his arms and hugged her hard, talking in that other language again. When he pulled back, he ended the monologue with something like leelan.Beth: "Is that vampire talk for bitch?”

“Well . . . in the words of Vishous, want in one hand, shit in the other? See what you get most of.”

“He could feel V's eyes sharpen, the vampire's fierce intellect churning over the situation. Among the brothers, Vishous had the most raw brainpower, but he paid for the privilage.Man, Wrath sure had his own demons, and they were no walk in the park, but he wouldn't have wanted Vishous's cross to bear. Seeing what had yet to come was a terrible burden.-Wrath's thoughts”

“What you just had is nothing compared to what I want to do to you. I want my head between your legs so I can lick you until you scream my name. Then I want to mount you like an animal and look into your eyes as I come inside you. And after that? I want to take you every way there is. I want to do you from behind. I want to screw you standing up, against the wall. I want you to sit on my hips and ride me until I can't breath. - Rhage to Mary”

“It had been so good to see his enemy again. Positively heartwarming.Hallmark really needed to start up a line of revenge cards, the kind that let you reach out to those you were going to come after with a vengeance.- Lash”

“Look, you didn't fail me. Because you can't fail at the impossible."-Zsadist to Phury”

“It was hard to know what was worse: him being with her and all her sisters, or him being with none of them because his heart was held by another.-Cormia”

“Love was worth sacrificing for, he thought as he left his room. Even if it wasn't yours.-Phury's thoughts”

“And Vishous. . . V was the worst of them. He stood by the door, staring into space. Icy before, he was glacial now, a sinkhole in the room.-Phury's thoughts”

“After all, tragedy didn't discriminate, so everyone was subject to the same whims of fate.”

“On the chessboard of his godforsaken existence, the pieces were lined up, the play preordained. Man, so many times in life you didn't get to pick your path because the way you went was decided for you.Free will was such bullshit.-Vishous's thoughts”

“He swiveled his head towards Eddie. "Tell me how to get over to the Four Lads. Do I have to die again?"If he did, he had a Beretta on him and he knew what kicking the bucket from a gunshot was like. Snore."Don't bother." Adrian cracked his knuckles. "They're not going to tell you anything. They can't."What the fuck? "I thought I worked for them.""You work for both sides, and they've given you all the help they can."Jim looked back and forth between the two angels. Each of them had the tight expression of a guy with a shoestring noosing up his balls."Help?" he said. "Where's my goddamned help?""They gave you us, asshole," Adrian snapped. "And that's all they can do--I've already gone over and asked them who's supposed to be next. I figured it would help you, you ungrateful bastard.”

“Trust me, true?"V”

“Ah, now, don't get all mushy on me. We ain't dating."Butch”

“The staircase that was revealed was lit with a soft red glow.I feel like I'm walking down into a porn movie," V muttered as they took the steps with care.Wouldn't that require more black candles for you," Zsadist cracked.At the bottom of the landing, they looked left and right down a corridor carved out of stone, seeing row after row of...black candles with ruby color flames.I take that back," Z said, eyeing the display.We start hearing chick-a-wow-wow shit," V cut in, "can I start calling you Z-packed?"Not if you want to keep breathing.”

“Vishous's chest expanded. . . and his diamond stare slowly swung to Butch. There was a heartbeat of intensity. Then V reached out and repositioned the cross so it once again hung over Butch's heart. "You did well, cop. Congratulations, true?”

“That's you," Wrath said. You shall be called the Black Dagger warrior Dhestroyer, descended of Wrath son of Wrath.""But you'll always be Butch to us," Rhage cut in. "As well as hard-ass. Smart-ass. Royal pain in the ass. You know, whatever the situation calls for. I think as long as there's an ASS in there, it'll be accurate.""How about bASStard?" Z suggested."Nice. I feel that.”

“A cold blast hit him and he laughed at the sting as he stepped outside, surveyed the night sky, and drank deeply.Such a good liar he was. Such a good one.Everyone thought he was fine because he'd camo'd his little problems. He wore a Sox hat to hide the eye twitch. Set his wristwatch to go off every half hour to beat back the dream. Ate though he wasn't angry. Laughed though he found nothing funny.And he'd always smoked like a chimney.”

“Shit. . . this was a bad idea. A pure-blooded, bonded male vampire about to watch his shellan feed someone else. Holy hell, when the Scribe Virgin had suggested Beth come down, V had assumed it was for ceremonial purposes, not so she could be a vein. But what was the choice? Butch was going to suck Marissa dry and not have enough and there wasn't another female in the house who could do the job: Mary was still human and Bella was pregnant.Besides, like dealing with Rhage or Z would be any easier? For the beast, they'd need a tranq gun the size of a cannon and Z. . . well, shit.”

“Butch nodded, finding as comfortable a bite as he could on the leather. He braced himself as V lifted an arm.Except when his roommate's palm landed on his bare chest all he felt was a warm weight. Butch frowned. This was it? This was fucking it? Scaring the shit out of Marissa for no good-He looked down, pissed off.Oh, wrong hand.”

“Butch repositioned the Sox cap, and as his wrist passed by his nose, he got another whiff of himself. "Ah, V. . . listen, there is something a little weird going down on me.""What?""I smell like men's cologne.""Good for you. Females dig that kind of thing.""Vishous, I smell like Obsession for Men, only I'm not WEARING any, you feel me?"There was silence on the line. Then, "Humans don't bond.""Oh, really. You want to tell that to my central nervous system and my sweat glands? They'd appreciate the news flash, I'm sure.”

“Beth wrapped her arms around Wrath's waist and leaned into her hellren's body. Their black hair mixed together, his straight, hers wavy. God, Wrath's was so damn long now. But word was that Beth liked the stuff so he'd grown it out for her.V wiped his mouth again. Weird, how males do shit like that.”

“The trainee knew he should leave, but he was unable to look away. He'd never seen anything snap out so fast or strike so hard as the male's fists. Obviously, the rumours about the instructor were all true. He was a flat-out killer.With a metal clank, a door opened at the other end of the gym, and the sound of a newborn's cries echoed up into the high ceiling. The warrior stopped in midpunch and wheeled around as a lovely female carrying young in a pink blanket came over to him. His face softened, positively melted.”

“I love you. And I'm going to keep loving you even after you don't know I exist.”

“You've got nothing to worry about. The righteous do not always right, but their souls remain pure. -Lassiter the Angel”

“When I want you to beg, I'll tell you.”

“Maybe I could do it."Darius shot him a dry look. "You want to try to get back into your house after the fact? Wellsie will stake you through the heart and leave you for the sun, my friend."Tohrment winced. "Good point.""And then she'll come looking for me." Both males shuddered.”

“I can smell the sex coming off you right now. I could take you down on this sidewalk and be up that skirt of yours in a heartbeat. And you wouldn't fight me, would you?""Now, we can be civilized and wait until we get home. Or we can get down to it right here. Either way, I'm dying to come inside of you again, and you're not going to say no." - Wrath to Beth”

“Go 'head." Those freaky-ass black eyes had stared at Butch with the intensity of a shark. "Crack open that door. Run your little heart out. Run fast, run smart, call for help. Just know that I'll come after you. Like a hearse." - Zsadist”

“if she thought she'd seen his eyes burn before, it was nothing compared to what they were doing now. Frost had never been so hot.”

“It was right then and there that she'd realized there was no quota on misery for people, no quantifiable threshold that once reached, got you miraculously taken out of the distress pool.”

“After a while Mary said, “Zsadist?”“Yeah?”“What are those markings?”His frowned and flicked his eyes over to her, thinking, as if she didn’t know? But then . . . well, she had been a human. Maybe she didn’t. “They’re slave bands. I was . . . a slave.”“Did it hurt when they were put on you?”“Yes.”“Did the same person who cut your face give them to you?”“No, my owner’s hellren did that. My owner . . . she put the bands on me. He was the one who cut my face.”“How long were you a slave?”“A hundred years.”“How did you get free?”“Phury. Phury got me out. That’s how he lost his leg.”“Were you hurt while you were a slave?”Z swallowed hard. “Yes.”“Do you still think about it?”“Yes.” He looked down at his hands, which suddenly were in pain for some reason. Oh, right. He’d made twofists and was squeezing them so tightly his fingers were about to snap off at the knuckles.“Does slavery still happen?”“No. Wrath outlawed it. As a mating gift to me and Bella.”“What kind of slave were you?”Zsadist shut his eyes. Ah, yes, the question he didn’t want to answer. For a while it was all he could do to force himself to stay in the chair. But then, in a falsely level voice, he said,“I was a blood slave. I was used by a female for blood.”The quiet after he spoke bore down on him, a tangible weight.“Zsadist? Can I put my hand on your back?”His head did something that was evidently a nod, because Mary’s gentle palm came down lightly on hisshoulder blade. She moved it in a slow, easy circle.“Those are the right answers,” she said. “All of them.”He had to blink fast as the fire in the furnace’s window became blurry. “You think?” he said hoarsely.“No. I know.”

“Sorry to bother you,” Bella said over the wailing. “But she wants her daddy.”

“Hey, what are you doing, little one? You want more? You are just too much . . . you . . . oh, no . . . not the quivering lip . . . oh, no.” Nalla let out a giggle. “Outrageous! You want more, and you know you’re going to get what you want because of The Lip. Jeez, you’ve got your father wrapped around your little finger, don’t you.”

“Destiny was a machine built over time, each choice that you made in life adding another gear, another conveyor belt, another assemblyman. Where you ended up was the product that was spit out at the end—and there was no going back for a redo. You couldn‟t take a peek at what you‟d manufactured and decide, Oh, wait, I wanted to make sewing machines instead of machine guns; let me go back to the beginning and start again. One shot. That was all you got.”

“he(Quinn)put his hand out to his friend. “I’ll lay my life down for you.With or Without that piece of paper”

“She is more beautiful than I have words for. And last night, I was blessed beyond measure to serve her.”

“Those eerie diamond eyes shifted over to her and she stilled, as if he's willed her to do so.There was a moment of silence. And then in a rough voice the man whose life she saved spoke four words that changed everything...changed her life, changed her destiny: "She. Comes. With. Me.”

“Tore up from the floor up. Followed by a big outtie.John Mathew”

“I could take you down on this sidewalk and be up that skirt of yours in a heartbeat. And you wouldn't fight me, would you? No, she probably wouldn't.Wrath and Beth”

“What happened to you?" she asked."I got hit in the side.""With what?""A knife.”

“Life is such a glorious trauma, is it not?”

“You know,” he said, “this is why I love you so much.”Her tone was heartbreakingly warm. “What do you mean?”You don’t ask me to go inside because it’s cold. You just want to make it easier for me to be where I want to stand.”

“As the Brotherhood got down to business, he found himself putting his hand on the dog’s big head and stroking the soft fur…playing with an ear…dipping down and finding the long waves that flowed from the animal’s broad, strong chest.Not that any of that meant he was keeping the the animal, of course.It just felt nice, was all.”

“Terrific. A bisexual dominant vampire with kidnapping expertise.”

“Tell you what, you let me go, and I’ll ask you plenty of questions about your race. Until then, I’m slightly distracted with how this little vacation on the good ship Holy Sh*t is going to pan out for me.”

“V shook his head. “Remember what you saw in that clearing, cop? How’d you like that anywhere near a female you loved?”Butch put down the Bud without drinking from it. His eyes traveled over Rhage’s body.“We’re going to need a shitload of steel,” the human muttered.”

“Whoa. Fangs. She had fangs.She leaned in, prodded them a little. Eating with those puppies was going to take some getting used to, she thought.On impulse, she brought up her hands, turned her fingers into claws. Hissed.Cool.”

“No matter what you wear... to me, you will always have diamonds on the soles of your shoes.”

“Oh, man there's a marathon of Beaches running tomorrow night. Can we go after ten so I can see it once all the way through?"Everyone in the room turned to the blond-and-black haired guy, who was propped in the corner, massive arms over his chest.What," he said. "Look, it's not Mary Tyler Moore, 'kay? So you can 't give me shit."Vishous, the one with the black glove on his hand, glared across the room. "It's worse than Mary Tyler Moore. And to call you and idiot would be an insult to half-wits around the world."Are you kidding me? Bette Midler rocks. And I love the ocean. Sue me."Vishous glanced at the king. "You told me I could beat him. You promised."As soon as you come home," Wrath said as he got to his feet, "we'll hang him up by his armpits in the gym and you can use him as a punching bag."Thank you, baby Jesus."Blond-and-Black shook his head. "I swear, one of these days I'm going to leave."As one, the Brothers all pointed to the open door and let silence speak for itself.You guys suck.”