“I'm telling you now. Without knowing for sure if you sent them, or why, I was left to my own discretion. If you want me to bother you with every little detail that comes up, just say so." He shrugged. "But I was under the impression that you wanted me to handle shit." Murray's face reddened with bluster. "I do, damn it.""They were shit," Trace explained. "They've been handled.”

“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”

“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.”

“Trace asked Jackson, “Why the hell are you even here?”Jackson looked far too uneasy for Trace’s peace of mind. “I know you didn’t want me here. I got the message loud and clear when you cut the call. Thing is, your little lady was damned insistent that I do something.”“Like get stunned and tied up?”“You try planning with a hellcat breathing fire in your ear, making demands, prodding you-““Priss?”“She’s a terror. That name doesn’t suit her at all.”

“Let me leave you my number. Anything comes up, or if anyone bothers you-""You're bothering me.”

“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.”

“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”