“Resonably neat and clean?" Adrienne said incredulously. "that man is flawless from head to toe! He makes David and the Greek gods and Pan seem all out of proportion. He is raw sex in a bottle, uncorked. And somebody should cork it! He's -accck! Bah!" Adrienne spluttered and stuttered as she belatedly realised her words. Lydia was laughing so hard tears misted her eyes.”

“He is raw sex in a bottle, uncorked. And somebody needs to cork it!”

“[The maid] went on and on about how you and three casks of wine and three women spent the week before our wedding trying to...you know"--Adrienne muttered an unintelligible word--"your brains out.""To what my brains out?""You know." Adrienne rolled her eyes. "I'm afraid I don't. What was that word again?""Adrienne looked at him sharply. Was he teasing her? Were his eyes alight with mischief? That half-smile curving his beautiful mouth could absolutely melt the sheet she was clutching, not to mention her will. "Apparently one of them succeeded, because if you had any brains left you'd get out of my sight now," she snapped. "It wasn't three." Hawk swallowed a laugh."No?""It was five.""Adrienne's jaw clenched. She held her fingers up again. "Fourth--this will be a marriage in name only. Period.""Casks of wine, I meant.""You are not funny.”

“I think you’re my hero,' she said. Only half-kidding.He stared at her, the picture of incredulity. 'Most people,' he said, 'think I am a very bad man.'She studied his eyes to try to find out if that bothered him. He didn’t seem bothered by them. He seemed discomfited by her. 'Well,' she said at last, 'maybe you’re a very good dragon.”

“What are the tales?" Adrienne asked wryly."His exploits are legendary!""His conquests are legion. 'Tis rumored he's traveled the world accompanied by only the most beautiful lasses.""'Tis said there isna a comely lass in all of Scotia he hasna tumbled""in England, too!""and he canna recall any of their names.""He is said to have godlike beauty, and a practiced hand in the fine art of seduction.""He is fabulously wealthy and rumors say his castle is luxurious beyond compare."Adrienne blinked. "Wonderful. A materialistic, unfaithfill, beautiful playboy of a self-indulged, inconsiderate man with a bad memory. And he's all mine. Dear sweet God, what have I done to deserve this?" she wondered aloud. Twice, she brooded privately.”

“A real man does not hold back. When he makes love he opens up to all his rawness and all his tenderness and he gives his woman everything he has got. He does not shy away from intimacy. He can penetrate his woman so hard and deeply that she can feel that he is entering her soul. He aims for her heart. He makes her feel like a princess and a porn star simultaneously.”