“She was certain it had nothing to do with being close to such an attractive, masculine man and everything to do with her recent ordeal with the vampire. No mere man could make her weak in the knees.Aidan settled beside her on the couch, as Stefan had acquired the leather recliner since she had abandoned it. Aidan’s thigh brushed hers, sending a tremor rushing through her. His breath warmed her ear. “Fortunately, I am no mere man.”“Stop reading my mind, you . . . you nightmare from a Thomas Ivan game.” It was the worst insult she could think of, but he only laughed softly. The sound in her mind, not in her ear.”

“This is so embarrassing," Melantha murmured as he stopped beside her bed and leaned down to settle her on the mattress.His lips, she thought, brushed her temple. "You frightened me out of ten years of my life when you tumbled off the couch," he muttered near her ear. "You are not allowed to faint unless it is from my kisses.”

“She wanted never again to have to fill another man's bed, telling falsehoods with her body until her mind could no longer track her own desires. She wanted to rid herself of the murk and the mire that had filled her. This life had bound her as effectively as if she were a falcon tied by a leather shackle, and she wanted to be free.”

“But now she could not bear the way she sounded. She was not a person anyone could love....And thus fled to her room. There she wept, bitterly, an ugly sound punctuated by great gulps. She could not stop herself. She could hear his footsteps in the passage outside. He walked up and down, up and down.'Come in,' she prayed. 'Oh dearest, do come in.'But he did not come in. He would not come in. This was the man she had practically contracted to give away her fortune to. He offered to marry her as a favour and then he would not even come into her room.Later, she could smell him make himself a sweet pancake for his lunch. She thought this a childish thing to eat, and selfish, too. If he were a gentleman he would now come to her room and save her from the prison her foolishness had made for her. He did not come. She heard him pacing in his room.”

“For every woman, there is that one man who could get her to go anywhere he wanted her to go, do anything he wanted her to do—reach into her soul and turn her whole world on its ear—challenge everything she thought she believed. Highlighted by 24 Kindle users”

“I know you are afraid, mon amour," he whispered softly, his hands sliding up her rib cage to her breasts. "But I am no longer a beast. You leashed the demon. There is only me, a man who very much wants to make love to his lifemate." She felt his breath against her nipple. "Let me show you how it is supposed to be. Beautiful. Such pleasure.I can bring you so much pleasure,ma petite." His mouth closed over her breast, hot and moist. The sound of his voice was memerizing, enticing. She could get caught up forever in the mere sound of it. There was no thought in his mind for his own burning body, his own urgent demands; he wanted to show her the beauty and pleasure of true mating.Flames raced through her blood and licked down her skin at the intensity of the eroticism, the craving his mouth at her breast created. She moaned, low and soft, the note brushing at his soul like the flutter of butterfly wings. Her hands slid over his back, tracing each defined muscle with her fingertips, commiting him to memory. Tears filled her eyes. How could a man be so sensual, so perfect? He was stealing her will as easily as he was stealing her body."Want me, Savannah," he whispered softly. "Want me the way I want you.”