“After slipping the condom on, he rolled on top of her, shoved her hair out of her face and held it while he got lost in those sea green eyes that, in a darkened room, shined bright.He wanted her. And it wasn’t just the sex. He wanted the whole nutty package.”

“Peter heard the lock tumble. She must have turned it with her free hand, because the door opened and the inside light she’d left on washed over them.Izzy threw her arms around his neck, pressed against him and slammed her tongue into his mouth. Demanding and hot. His breath caught and he couldn’t release it. Thank you, Jesus. He’d never known anything better than this kiss.”

“(Isabelle) “You can do whatever you’d like at my house.”He raised his eyebrows and grinned.“Within reason,” she added. “If I find you in my bed with a woman, you’re a dead man.”He grinned bigger.Her stomach knotted. “Did I say that?”He continued to grin.She had said it. Must be the fatigue. Three hours of sleep didn’t cut it.He stepped closer. Oh, boy.“Izzy, the only woman I want in that bed is you.”

“Even though he was afraid to admit it, when he was with her it seemed it was worth doing all those normal things that normal people do.”

“Do you really like studying?"Mattia nodded."Why?""It's the only thing I know how to do," he said shortly. He wanted to tell her that he liked studying because you can do it alone, because all the things you study are already dead, cold, and chewed over. He wanted to tell her that the pages of the schoolbooks were all the same temperature, that they left you time to choose, that they never hurt you and you couldn't hurt them either. But he said nothing.”

“One of her arms was around his waist as her eyes fluttered open. He found himself lost in limpid blue green. She wasn’t his. Not legally. He could as yet lay no claim to her heart. He wanted the ceremony that would make her indisputably his. He wanted Sophie to be the mother of his children. He wanted Sophie. He wouldn’t ever be whole without her. If he rushed her, he stood to lose everything.”

“She tried to open the bottle, but the top slipped through her fingers without moving.He took the bottle from her hand and opened it using only his thumb and index finger. Alice thought there was nothing special in the gesture, that she could have done it herself, like anyone else, if only her hands hadn't been so sweaty. And yet she found it strangely fascinating, like a small heroic feat performed specially for her.”