“I can't be anything but what I am, Elle. If you want a man who is going to treat you like a broken doll, you sure as hell come to the wrong place. And if you expect me to step aside and let you make decisions that are ultimately going to harm you, then baby, you definitely have the wrong man because I protect my woman. Right or wrong, politically correct or not, I stand in front of her when there's need.”

“Do you think anything else can go wrong tonight?"Kaden turned to look at Nicholas coming up behind her and nodded. "Yes ma'am. I'd say all kinds of things could go wrong.”

“I don’t like you in danger. When a man finds the only personof worth to him, that one person who matters more than anything and makeseverything he’s ever seen or done or gone through worthwhile, believe me,Rikki, the urge to protect her is overwhelming. If that bothers you, then I’msorry, because it’s going to be happening over and over throughout our yearstogether.”

“I need you right now, Shea. My body is going up in flames, and I hurt like hell. We have to be alone soon or I might die.”Her laughter muffled against his chest. “No one has ever died because they wanted to make love.” But she wasn’t sure. Her own body was burning and begging for the connection to his.Gregori suddenly materialized, made a soft, sighing noise, and sent them a clear frown. Like guilty children they broke apart.”

“I am not a woman who would be practical in your life, Sam. You need a home and family...""I'm a soldier, Azami. That's who I am. What I am. My woman will be my home----my family...”

“I'm not going to say I can at least collect DNA samples," he muttered, "because every time I open my mouth, the evidence disappears."With a little sigh, he watched te droplets of blood absorb into the wood and the window reform. "I have to tell you, I've seen some freaky shit around you girls, but nothing like this. I have just one question. Have you told your fiancées about this? Because quiet frankly it scares the hell out of me.""You never have to be afraid, Jonas," Hannah assured. "The house judges intent.""Hannah. Honey. Half the time my intent is to strangle you. And I don't doubt whoever ends up with Joley or Elle will want to do worse than that.”

“You're my life, Elle. When we have our children, they'll be included in that circle and I'm not a man to lose everything. I want you as safe as possible.""So you don't think three protection dogs, a room filled with weapons, a panic room and house that eats people isn't just a little overkill?”