“I am not in the least forbidden. You may sample me all you choose.”

“I am yours," he whispered. "I live to hold you, Risa. I breathe to touch you.”

“Am I horny enough to hump a bedpost?" Mica asked. "Not quite yet. Should I consult with you first, Doctor?" Sarcasm lay thick and heavy in her voice."I believe a consult would be a good idea." Ely nodded with mocking solemnity as Mica lifted herself onto the gurney. "You never know what you may end up hurting if the act isn't done properly.”

“What am I going to do with you?I have suggestions, but this might not be the place for them.”

“Running me off, are you? What about all this ‘me Breed, you mate’ crap you’re always spouting?”

“You’ve carried my heart, all this time. Hell, you owned my soul. Don’t ask me to stop dreaming of you, or to stop asking for tomorrow. Because for five years the hope that came with each tomorrow was all I had left. Remember that.”

“Don't worry about hurting me, Jordan." She brushed back her hair again as she turned from him and headed for the bedroom. "It was too late for that a long time ago."..."I've heard the lecture," she informed him as she glared back at him. "I've heard you tell your men how love is an illusion, and how they need to watch their backs before that illusion bites him on the ass, so many times it sickens me. Unless you have something original to add to it, then I don't want to hear it again, if you don't mind."..."You're fooling yourself." He had to force the words past his lips. "You're letting lust and pleasure betray you. Tehya. It tricks you. When it fades, all you have left is either friendship or enmity. It's the enmity that worries me, the knowledge of all the little ways you can destroy one another with the knowledge you've gained. I don't want us to go that route. I don't want you to hate me."..."Who ruined you before I ever had a chance at your heart?”