“Before she could finish that thought, Dare kissed her on the top of the head. "You're more fragile than you realize, Molly Alexander." He caught her chin, turning her face toward him. "Don't push yourself. I want you - that's not going to change. I can't say I won't kiss you, but how far and how fast we go is up to you.”

“If you'll just settle down and listen, I'll explain." Cautiously, he turned her around so she faced him. Then, before she could protest, he looked at her mouth, appeared drawn there and he started kissing her again, light, teasing kisses. "I swear, Frannie, you have the sexiest mouth." "In about two seconds, I'm going to unman you with my knee." He released her and stepped back so quickly, she almost smiled. "Now, if you insist, you can explain while you help me move my stuff."-Booker and Frannie”

“Sounding hoarse, Dare whispered, "Tell me what you want."The feel of his broad, strong hand against her left her quaking inside - in a good way. The tremble sounded in her tone as she tried to explain. "I want to be whole again. I want to be me, the person I was before I was taken to Tijuana."Dare said nothing. Molly felt his hesitation, his indecision. God love the man, he didn't want to take advantage of her."I know what I want, Dare." She covered his hand with her own, pressed him closer. "I want to replace the bad memories with new ones. Better ones."His hand curved around her, but he said nothing.Watching his face, Molly whispered, "I want to do that now, with you.”

“I want to make a bet with you.”Her interest perked up. “You do? About what?”Already knowing it wouldn’t go over well, Spencer braced himself. “I bet you can’t go a month without cursing.”Her chin tucked in, and her brows came down. “What does that have to do with anything?”He had no idea, except that it annoying him to hear her be so coarse. “Go a month without cursing.” He hated himself, but he said, “Every time you slip, you owe me a kiss.”

“Tyler caught her wrist. "You can't walk home now. It's raining.""Believe me, it won't bother me a bit.""Now, Carlie, don't be obstinate.""Tyler, I'm dangerously close to laying you low." She had to get away from him. Now. "Violence? My, my, your cold is making you surly."She tugged, but he didn't release her. "Tyler, what did you intend to do today, before you came here and decided to harass me?""I was going to harass Brenda, but you'll do better.”

“His jaw locked. "You don't know shit about me."She put her hands at either side of his face and smiled with too much emotion. "You want to know what I think?"For some reason, tension pulled at him. "Probably some idiotic romanticized nonsense." When her confidence didn't falter, he made a sound of disgust. "All right, go ahead and tell me.""I think you're the one who doesn't know shit about you”

“And so you were in here, chatting with God?" Bruce stared at her face, studying her features in minute detail. His voice dropped to a soft, velvety whisper. "I wanted to thank Him for my many blessings."The burning of her eyes increased. She would not cry like some ninny just because Bruce was happy. He was a devout and wonderful person who always looked to the bright side. Knowing that prompted her to say, "You're such a good man, Bruce." "I'm a fortunate man, in many, many ways." He made a grand gesture toward the glass blocks. "It's a beautiful, sunny day, and my very own church is almost complete." "It is shaping up. Everyone will like it." His thumb moved to her bottom lip with a teasing, gentle touch. "Good friends surround me, and I enjoy good health." "All things you deserve."He smiled. "And I've been given the greatest gift of all." "What's that?" He laughed, tweaked her chin. "You." "Me?" He slowly nodded. "God's given me a lot. But best of all, He's given me you." He took her mouth in a long, toe-curling, stomach-tightening kiss, and in a husky rumble: "I'll be thinking Him every day for the rest of my life." -Bruce and Cyn”