Shannon McKenna

“Hell hath no fury like a woman deprived of her toiletries.”

“I have a counteroffer. I'll tell you the job description I really want."Raine's throat tightened in frustration. If he was going to keep it on this level, it was up to her to force them to the next one. As always.Seth looked down at his feet. She saw his Adam's apple bob, once. Twice. He met her eyes, with the look of a man who was facing the firing squad. "Full-time lover," he said hoarsely. "Father of your children. Companion in adventure, champion, guardian, protector, helpmeet, mate. Love of you life. Forever.”

“She was a fairy-tale princess out of his comic book fantasies. She glowed like a star. He hated it. It made his jaw clench [...]. It made him want to wreck something, punch walls, hurl plates. He wanted to drag her into a corner and rip off her glittering veil of illusions. Remind her that she was his beautiful wild animal, not this remote, perfect being. She was earth and sweat and blood and bone, she was hunger and need and howling at the moon. Just like him. Part of him.”

“Lovers do things together! They rent videos, they ride Ferris wheels, they go out for pizza, they play Scrabble. They . . . they talk!''Talk?' He lifted his head and frowned, his eyes puzzled. 'We talk all the time, Raine. I've never had such talkative sex.''That's just it!' She wiggled, flailed, but couldn't budge him. 'Two minutes alone with you, and I'm flat on my back. Every single time!'A slow, knowing grin spread over his face. 'Is this your way of telling me you want to be on top?”

“Anybody bugs you, anybody at all, I’ll rip off both his arms. You got me?”She tried to smile. “That’s sweet, Davy. Bloodthirsty, but sweet.”

“Welcome to Planet Female,” she said sweetly. “Enjoy your stay. The first stop on our tour will be Insignificant Issues. Please open your guidebooks to page 317.”

“I cannot believe it," Sean repeated. "It's hypocritical. After the shit she gives me for taking risks? And off she goes, running back to Endicott Falls, today? Like, what the fuck?""To be fair," Bruno pointed out. "You ran off to shoot people and blow shit up. She went home to go back to work at her bookstore.”

“Oh, shut the fuck up," Sean snapped. "I love you, man, OK? I missed you. Is that so hard to take? Does that scare you so damn bad?"Kev looked away. "No," he said quietly. "It doesn't scare me. I missed you, too. All of you. It was a really long eighteen year."Bruno looked at all four men in turn. Seconds passed. Nothing.His disbelief grew. That was it? That was all? Oh, for the love of Christ. These guys were emotional retards, every last one of them.”

“Come on. Let's go up to the kitchen, make some tea. We can try another one of Zia's cupcakes. She made some with chocolate frosting."Lily froze in her tracks. "I hate it," she burst out. "I'm here, sipping tea and nibbling cupcakes while Bruno's out there? What, should I maybe crochet a white lace doily while I'm at it?"Tam and Edie exchanged glances.Tam, spoke, her voice dry. "Shot of bourbon, then?”

“You saved me, you moron!" she yelled. "You're being deliberately stupid and dense about this! My God, you ask a lot of yourself!"He touched his forehead to hers. "I can't help it," he blurted. "I love you.”

“Yeah, ignore me." Aaro pawed through the bags until he found one with stenciled hearts on it. "By the way, you never did tell me your size. Hope nothing binds or pinches your tender pink places, babe."He let the bag fly. It landed on Lily's lap. She shrank back as if it were a venomous snake. Fuck-me-please panties spilled out. A tangle of satin, lace and silk. Red, black, peach, flesh-tone. Bruno growled expletives in a Calabrese dialect as he shoved underwear into the bag. It was his standard tension reliever. None of the people he insulted knew he was commenting on their grandmother's predilection for sex with sheep."I am not wearing that slutty, disgusting stuff." Lily's voice was haughty. "Certainly not after you're pawed it. Dog.""Arf, arf." Aaro's tone was more cheerful than it had been so far any time this morning. "I love it when she spits bile.”

“Aaro's mouth tightened. "I knew it," he said. "I knew, as soon as I saw who was calling, that this would be another massive goat-fuck with international implications. It always is, with you McClouds.""I'm not a McCloud. I share no genetic material with those freaks!”

“And now we're going for a shopping spree at the mall, at my expense. Shall we get a latte and a ginger scone at the coffee bar? An acupuncture treatment? A massage?"Bruno stared at the guy. "I can't drag her up to Tony's cabin in a miniskirt and heels. There might be snow up there.""Bruno, he's right. Stopping for clothes would be silly," Lily said. "Let's just save that for when we- ""You're spattered in blood!" he yelled. "You're coat is canvas, with no lining! You don't even have any goddamn underwear!" Lily jerked loose of his encircling arm. "You bastard!" she hissed. "I do, too!”

“Pull over here," Bruno said. "At the mall." "Here?" Alex Aaro scowled over his shoulder at them. "You're being pursued by hit men, and you want an Egg McMuffin?”

“Come here."She shrank back. "I'm alright.""No you're not. You look like an extra out of a splatter film." He jerked her toward him and started to swipe at her face with the rag.Huh. It actually felt kind of good to be groomed like a kitten.”

“He went to the light switch by the door and flicked it off. When he turned, she glowed in the golden light from the space heater, and the shadow over her shoulders on the wall seemed a looming, black-cloaked figure. An ancient, mythical harbinger of doom and destruction.He blinked. It turned into a pattern of blocked light again.Jesus, what the hell was that about? He was rattled, jittery, scared half to death. But he could no more say no to this girl than he could stop breathing.”

“Is there something I can do?""About what?" she snapped. "About your problem," he persisted. "Does anybody's ass need kicking? I can take care of that for you. I kick good ass." Her laughter rang out, sweet and bright and gorgeous. "Wow," she said. "You'd do that for me? After, what has it been now, a fifteen-minute acquaintance? Twenty, maybe, tops?"He considered that, and opened his mouth, and the raw, uncut, uncensored truth just plopped right out. "Yeah," he said. "I would.”

“He gestured toward the rice pudding. "I put cinnamon on it. Cancels out the cholesterol. Read about it on the Men's Health Web site."Her lips twitched. "That's bullshit." She eyed the banana cream pie. "What cheap pop-science justification have you got for that one?"He contemplated the pie. "Well, bananas are good for you. Lots of potassium, which helps you shed water weight, right? And there's no trans fats in the pie crust. I can promise you that.""Yeah?" Her lips pursed, suppressing a smile. "So what is in it?"He grinned wickedly. "Lard," he announced. "Artery clogging, cholesterol-laden pig fat. Hope you're not a vegetarian.”

“I'm an excellent pastry chef. My pie crust is better than my Zia Rosa's. Come on back to the kitchen. I'll make a chocolate cream pie before your very eyes. I'll feed a piece of it to you by hand. And by the time I'm done, you're not going to be asking me if I'm gay anymore."She cleared her throat, gaze darting down. "Is that so.""It is," he said. "On your feet. Come on back to the kitchen. I mean it. I'm dead serious. It's pie time. And I am so ready for you.”

“Do the hard thing”

“But since a person's deepest fantasies were formed by their more or less screwed up childhoods, it made sense that anything based on them would end up in betrayal.”

“Hope and fear are two sides of the same coin... She didn't want to give up hope, so she was just going to have to live with the fear.”

“If she had learned anything in the past weeks it was that there was enough to be ashamed of in the course of a messy human life without being ashamed of loving someone. ”

“The first step toward power is to accept reality”

“You Shape Your Own Reality Every Day”

“Your luck is about to change, Abby.' His voice was low and velvety. 'I know a lot about you. I know how to get into your apartment. How to turn your cat into a noodle. The magnets on your fridge, the view from your window. Your perfume. I could find you blindfolded in a room full of strangers.' His fingers penetrated the veil of her hair, his forefinger stroking the back of her neck with controlled gentleness. 'And I learn fast. Give me ten minutes, and I'd know lots more.”

“He probably ate girls like her for breakfast. They all did. They all had. She had no intention of being eaten for breakfast, ever again.Her naughty brain took that thought, twirled it around and had a party with it.”

“Oh, yeah. If there's one thing I'm good for, it's comic relief.”

“You are out of your freaking skull!Maybe, but is that relevant?”

“He was a rock that she would break herself on.”

“You use your tits the way a ninja assassin uses nunchuks.”

“Don't be stupid, privacy is an illusion in today's electronic world. And i always investigate the people who interest me”