“I believe being a ‘gentleman’ goes well beyond holding the door for a girl and letting her go before you. It’s about being vulnerable for her. I think that when it comes to the way we treat women, it’s a good idea to look to the way Jesus treated women. He laid His life down for His bride,He sacrificed for her,He lowered Himself for her,He was vulnerable for her.We must love women vulnerably in the same way that Jesus loved His bride vulnerably. Being a gentleman is far more than being caring and thoughtful, it’s about possessing sacrificial and vulnerable Christ-like characteristics. I don’t know if it’s possible to be a gentleman without knowing and representing the character of Jesus.”

“He reassures her, but he feels her soft laughter travel through their joined hands — how did that happen? — as they make their way downstairs.And he understands. He understands why people hold hands: he’d always thought it was about possessiveness, saying This is mine. But it’s about maintaining contact. It is about speaking without words. It is about I want you with me and don’t go.He wants her in his bedroom. And not in that way — no girl has ever been in his bedroom that way. It is his private space, his sanctuary. But he wants Clary there. He wants her to see him, the reality of him, not the image he shows the world. He wants to lie down on the bed with her and have her curl into him. He wants to hold her as she breathes softly through the night; to see her as no one else sees her: vulnerable and asleep. To see her and to be seen.”

“When he watched her sleeping, he often thought, My heart lies vulnerable outside my chest.”

“And women don't usually like to be looked at. They feel vulnerable, exposed. They are self-conscious about their perceived flaws. What they don't understand is that men don't see them the same way they see themselves. We see curves and we love those curves. Confidence is sexy as hell, Alli Cat. It's the sexiest possible think that you can wear.”

“Start being honest with her. Aidan always let her know what he was thinking. And he fairly much treated her like a queen.”Lothaire sneered, “That’s the worst bloody advice I’ve ever heard!”Brandr bowed his chest. “And why’s that, leech? She cared for Aidan once—she will again.”“Precisely. She cared for Aidan,” Lothaire said. “I knew of Aidan the Fierce—no mortal could kill that many of the Horde without my hearing about it. And I know that he was a bold, blond Viking who was like a god among men. Women wanted him and men wanted to be him.” He sighed.“Reminded me of myself.”

“I'm not a man easily moved to displays of emotion, but tonight I am weak, I am vulnerable. It must be from being inside her, so close to her, breathing in her pain, and love, and light, and blossoming vulnerable beauty”

“‘If you want to know if a gentleman loves you,’ her mother said, ‘there is only one true way to be sure.’”Lady Danbury leaned forward. Even Hyacinth leaned forward, and she was holding the book.“‘It’s in his kiss,’ her mother whispered. ‘It’s all there, in his kiss.’”