“I just think that particular brand of sexy isn't a woman's best weapon, and it's definitely not her only one. If you reduce yourself to that, then that's what people will see. They won't notice anything else about you.”

“Don't look backwards. That never does any good. Think about the future instead.”

“Falling into her was like falling into a star, the heat so intense he was consumed in the blink of an eye.”

“What's truly sexy about a woman isn't what she wears. It isn't how much time and attention she spends on her hair. It's no that her bra matches her panties. It's the way she thinks, moves, speaks. That's what's sexy about a woman.”

“The way black women say "girl" can be magical. Frankly, I have no solid beliefs about the survival of consciousness after physical death. But if it's going to happen I know what I want to see after my trek toward the light. I want to see a black woman who will smile and say, "Girl....”

“I swear to you, Zane. I thought what I was doing was right. I searched for you after I left New York. You were out of my reach. When Burns read me in, the only thing I could think of was that it was the only way of getting back to you. Being partnered with you full-time, being able . . . being able to see you every day, to have you in my life. When he said you might need protecting, it was the only thing I heard. I swear to you. All I wanted from the day I left you in that hospital was you. To be back there with you.”

“Do you know what it is to be a man violently in love? To live for a woman's smiles and laughter, to hunger for her touch until life itself seems impossible without it, to desire her as you desire to breathe?”