“This isn't a game we're playing between ourselves," he continued. "Don't pretend that it is.""Isn't it?" A challenge flared in her eyes, like fire inside the purest emerald. "Don't lie to me, John. Don't pretend it's any more than it really is. It's a job. One we're both determined to complete, nothing more." "Like hell.”

“It's instinct," he said then. "For centuries, it's been our job to protect our home, our women, and our children. We're emotional cowards. We don't talk about our feelings, we're not comfortable putting our soul into words. So we give of ourselves the only way we know how. We protect. We smother those we love in protection, fight for ways to keep them always safe, even from what we deem as a threat from themselves. It's in our genes, Kira. Right or wrong. Emotions are harder for a man to voice, strength is much easier for us to show. It's not an insult, it's the way men show their emotions for those they love. You can't change it.""I can protect myself.”

“Don't wake up," he whispered as he felt her shudder against him once more. "Dream with me, Belle. Sweet Belle, just dream with me."-from Travis/Black Jack”

“It was that surrender he needed. That complete feminine submission to every stroke, every caress, ever naughty act. Only in that submission would the subconscious trust, the bond he needed between them, come. He wanted her to trust, to know, to instinctively understand that he was more than just her lover; he was her other half. The one she told her secrets to. The one, she made secrets with.”

“I didn't promise I wouldn't break your tender heart, Mica. Protect it from me. Don't let me touch that part of you. Don't let me destroy both of us that way.”

“He gave to Paige that last part of himself. The part of a male that became more than a lover, more than a heart mate. He gave her that primitive, possessive core that most men hold back. He gave her his being and he felt the momemt she gave to him. And they became more than just one.”

“You amaze me," he said then, reaching out to lay the toy on her pillow. That wasn't where he had gotten it from. "You bring a toy to do a man's job, knowing the man is more than willing to provide the service. Where does that make sense, Chay?”