“In its own way the kiss had been an act of murder.”

“If I thought being kissed by Tyr had been what kissing was all about, I had been wrong. This kiss trampled Tyr's kiss, threw it to the ground, and danced on its grave.”

“You're rich, spoiled and used to getting your own way." "Not true. If I had my own way you would have kissed me and ridden me like a cowboy while screaming 'yeehaw'.”

“The kissed surprised him because it had been so long since he'd kissed anyone but Elspeth. It surprised Valentina because she had hardly ever kissed anyone that way - to her, kissing had always been more theoretical than physical. Afterwards she stood with her eyes closed, lips parted, face tilted. Robert thought, She's going to break my heart and I'm going to let her.”

“I love men, the restlessness of their corrupted souls, the way they hide their heavy, murderous hearts, their sudden delicacies and small shocking acts of tenderness.”

“And could it even really be called a kiss? It had been very, veryshort. And did it mean anything if the kisser (him) had been feelingterribly grateful to the kissee (her) and possibly even indebted, inthe most elemental of ways?She’d saved his life, after all. A kiss was not entirely out oforder.Plus, he had said, “Forgive me.” Did it count as a kiss if thekisser had asked for forgiveness?Honoria thought not.”