Nalini Singh

“Why are you sad, Dorian?"He couldn't lie to her. "The leopard wants you to see it.”

“How can I be angry with the other half of my soul?" he asked, his tone so tender it tore little pieces out of her heart. "I have a temper, baby, and I know I fucking brood. But even if I act pissed, even if I snarl, it doesn't mean I love you any less. Your soul shines, Tally, and I'm so damn glad it shines for me.”

“But it was the dark hunger in his tone that got to her. Damn kinky vampire had actually liked the knife.Shit.”

“She was his and he was hers. They had under-the-skin privileges.”

“I'm crazy about you, Archangel. You scare the shit out of me at times, but I want to dance with you anyway.”

“There was a very slight chance she might actually kill him that way, and if she did, she’d be brought up on charges. Unless, of course, she could prove harmful intent. She could see it now.See, Your Honor, he was going to f*ck me silly, make me like it.”

“I can smell blood, Elena,” Dmitri drawled, walking back into the room. “Are you trying to flirt?”

“Sometimes I remember that I can't always protect those I love." Under his fingers, her hair was soft and silky.She didn't try to tell him that he wasn't God, that he couldn't protect everyone. He knew that. But knowing and believing were two different things. What she did say succeeded in stopping his heart. "I wish you'd love me.""Why?""Because then maybe you could protect me, too." Haunting sorrow whispered through her tone.”

“Dropping her hand, she turned in his arms. Then, rising up on tiptoe, she cupped his face in her palms and drew him down. Her kiss was innocent, vulnerable, a caress so gentle that it made him her slave between one breath and the next.”

“Tell me something, Raphael?" He was already turning, heading to the door. "What is it you'd like to know, Guild Hunter?"She hid her smile at his slip. "What do I call you? Husband? Mate? Boyfriend?"Stopping with his hand on the doorknob, he shot her an inscrutable look. "You can call me 'Master'.”

“She was more than willing to let him walk off his temper. And the man had one, even if he wasn't willing to admit it.”

“Lifting her head, she joined in as the others in the group began to howl in response to Brace's triumph. The sound was . . . It touched the soul, the music haunting, starkly pure and yet so very earthy.”

“We die...... We die together. That's the deal.”

“A queen keeps a court that is spoken about. A goddess keeps a court that is never forgotten.”

“We're all as susceptible to the lure of power.”

“...his lips were pure temptation, soft, bitable, sensual in a way only a man's mouth could be.”

“I've never heard a man's cock described as a fang before....""Fang, cock.... It's all sexual to a vampire.""But not to an angel. My cock serves a highly specific purpose.”

“Do you have no sense of self-preservation?”

“Am I too early?""No. He's waiting for you." The smile faded, to be replaced by a slightly disappointed expression. "I thought you'd be . . . scarier.”

“I'm the best," Elena muttered to herself the next morning s she got out of the taxi in front of the magnificient creation that was Archangel Tower."Hey, lady, you gonna pay me or just talk to yourself?""What? Oh.... Keep the change."... "...you got a big hunt coming on?"Elena didn't ask how he'd pegged her for a hunter. "No. But I do have a high chance of meeting a horrible death within the next few hours. Might as well do something good as up my shot at getting into heaven.”

“Sara had named her daughter Zoe Elena. Damn if Elena hadn't sniffled like a baby herself when she found out.”

“Ransom thought her girly tendencies the funniest thing ever, constantly teased her over them, but the last time he'd opened his big mouth, she'd gotten her own back by pointing out that his long black hair sure did look well conditioned.”

“They didn't understand that she held his heart, held it so utterly that there was nothing he wouldn't do, no line he wouldn't cross to keep her safe.”

“Elena: "I guess a dying woman can be stupid if she wants. I'm crazy about you, Archangel. You scare the shit out of me at times, but I want to dance with you anyway.”

“Should've thought of that before you told my ex-girlfriend I eat live kittens for breakfast." A tiny twinge of guilt. Then the cat wondered what Riley would think of her last successful "shoo-away." "Who knew she'd believe me?" [Mercy responded.]"Oh no? When you 'accidentally' opened the cupboard to expose my 'kitten cage' full of the poor, sad kitties I was going to snack on?" A raised eyebrow. "Wasn't the cage next to my special 'kitten defurring' tools?""They were obviously fake." Bas just stared at her.”

“We'll build our own home."The promise curled around her heart, a vivid ray of sunlight. "In Manhattan?""Of course." A slow, slow smile. "What kind of mansion would you like?"Damn, but the archangel was playing with her again. The sunshine grew, filled her veins."Actually, I kind of like yours." She slid her arms around his neck. "Can I have it? Oh, and can I have Jeeves, too? I've always wanted a butler.""Yes."She blinked. "Just like that?""It's only a place.""We'll make it more," she promised, her mouth to his. "We'll make it ours.”

“He wanted to give me a blade? What's wrong with that?”“Blades,” he whispered, “and sheaths go together. And your sheath will only ever hold my blade.”

“No one has ever been able to pinpoint the trigger.""But?""But it is legend that ambrosia only rises when-"She held her breath."- an archangel loves true.”

“For a hunter, her shields were surprisingly weak, as if she somehow still saw innocence in the world.Then she will kill you. She will make you mortal.Was it not worth the loss of a little immortality to have that strange mix of innocence and strength close to him?”

“Some things were worth the dance with danger.”

“Oh, this is a special blend for you." Taking one of the fingers she hadn't licked, he rubbed it along her lips. "What we usually shed is apparently comparable to the most delicious of chocolates or the finest of wines. Decadent, rich, and very expensive."She told herself she wasn't going to lick the glitter off her lips. "And this blend?" The taste was inside her mouth without her having any knowledge of taking it in. And Raphael was incredibly close, his wings creating a white gold wall all around them his hands strong and warm on her hips. "What's so special about it?""This blend," he murmured, bending his head, "is about sex."She put her hands on his chest but it wasn't a protest. After the blood, the fear, she needed to touch him, to know this glorious creature existed. "Another form of mind control?"He shook his head, his mouth a hairbreadth from hers. "It's only fair.""Fair?" She flicked her tongue along his lower lip. It made his hands clench on her hips."If I licked you between your thighs, your taste would have the same aphrodisiac effect on me.”

“He was trying to make me his bed buddy. I declined. He gave chase."[...]"How, exactly, did you 'decline' his offer?""By slitting his throat."The silence in the garage was broken only by the sound of water drip-dripping somewhere in the distance. Sara just stared. So did Ransom. Then the idiot male started laughing hysterically. He laughed so hard he fell off the bike and onto the scarred concrete of the garage floor. Even that didn't stop him.Elena would've kicked him, except he'd probably use the chance to pull her down with him. "Shut up before I do the same to you."He tried to stop laughing. Failed. "Jesus, Ellie. You are awesome!”

“A naked blade sheathed in velvet, that was Raphael's voice.”

“This was the kind of job that made legends out of hunters. Of course, to be a legend, you generally had to be dead.”

“You don't fear me," he said now.She wasn't stupid enough to lie. "I'm petrified. But I figure you didn't make me come all this way just so you could push me off the roof.”

“The bastard kissed her. She was so mad, she bit him hard enough to draw blood. Raphael pulled back, lip already beginning to swell. “We are no longer even, Elena. You’re now in debt.”“You can deduct it from my slow and painful death.”