“Tell me something, Raphael?" He was already turning, heading to the door. "What is it you'd like to know, Guild Hunter?"She hid her smile at his slip. "What do I call you? Husband? Mate? Boyfriend?"Stopping with his hand on the doorknob, he shot her an inscrutable look. "You can call me 'Master'.”

“The only thing you can do to make me that angry is to lie with another man" ~ Raphael, Guild Hunter, Nalini Singh”

“Are you calling me your gift?" "Yes." She smiled. "How do you feel about that?" "Like it's my turn to be unwrapped." He nibbled at her mouth. "Do it slow.”

“What would you like to call me?"That made her pause. "Husband" was too human, "partner" factually wrong for a being as powerful as an archangel, "mate"...perhaps. But none of it was quite right. "Mine," she said at last.He blinked and when he raised his lashes again, the blue was liquid fire. Yes, that will do. "But for public consumption, you are my consort.""Consort," she murmured, tasting the word, feeling it's shape. "Yes, that fits.”

“Sometimes I remember that I can't always protect those I love." Under his fingers, her hair was soft and silky.She didn't try to tell him that he wasn't God, that he couldn't protect everyone. He knew that. But knowing and believing were two different things. What she did say succeeded in stopping his heart. "I wish you'd love me.""Why?""Because then maybe you could protect me, too." Haunting sorrow whispered through her tone.”

“I have something for you.”“Yeah? What? Is it shiny?”They both waited until Indigo had jogged away before resuming their conversation. “So,” Riley asked, “what have you got for me?” Taking his hand, she placed it palm-down over her heart. It would hurt like a bitch, she thought, but he was hers to protect as much as she was his. “Me.” And she opened up her soul, laid herself bare.”

“Oh, this is a special blend for you." Taking one of the fingers she hadn't licked, he rubbed it along her lips. "What we usually shed is apparently comparable to the most delicious of chocolates or the finest of wines. Decadent, rich, and very expensive."She told herself she wasn't going to lick the glitter off her lips. "And this blend?" The taste was inside her mouth without her having any knowledge of taking it in. And Raphael was incredibly close, his wings creating a white gold wall all around them his hands strong and warm on her hips. "What's so special about it?""This blend," he murmured, bending his head, "is about sex."She put her hands on his chest but it wasn't a protest. After the blood, the fear, she needed to touch him, to know this glorious creature existed. "Another form of mind control?"He shook his head, his mouth a hairbreadth from hers. "It's only fair.""Fair?" She flicked her tongue along his lower lip. It made his hands clench on her hips."If I licked you between your thighs, your taste would have the same aphrodisiac effect on me.”