“If he took her into his arms, he would keep her. He wouldn't let her suffer the way the other mortals had when he'd left them. He would keep her, with his court's permission or without it. Irial wouldn't take her, and Keenan wouldn't stand between them.”

“He'd put his brand on her and had sealed both their fates. What they shared was rare and beautiful and one taste would never be enough for either of them. A lifetime of loving wouldn't be enough!Gold help him. He didn't want to hurt the woman he loved. There had to be some way he could keep her family out of jail and still complete his mission!”

“He always apologized, and sometimes he would even cry because of the bruises he'd made on her arms or legs or her back. He would say that he hated what he'd done, but in the next breath tell her she'd deserved it. That if she'd been more careful, it wouldn't have happened. That if she'd been paying attention or hadn't been so stupid, he wouldn't have lost his temper.”

“When they finally made love, he would accept no more than total surrender from her, just as he would surrender himself to her. There was nothing casual about what lay between them, and he wouldn't allow her to pretend otherwise.~Ethan”

“He'd pushed her. He'd scared her. He'd besieged her. He'd vowed he wouldn't, and he did.”

“They didn't understand that she held his heart, held it so utterly that there was nothing he wouldn't do, no line he wouldn't cross to keep her safe.”