“If you kiss her mind, her body will follow.”

“I just do what I do. There's nothing to be admired or revered in it.”

“It was if he'd kissed her awake.”

“Live large!!! In your mind, not in your body.”

“Her body was rounded like earth. Stories. Breath. . . . Her eyes have been painted closed. I understand. To tell a story you must travel inward.”

“You are no ordinary angel, Helena,” he whispers as he leans in closer. Chills shoot through her spine and the hair on her neck, back, and arms tingle against her skin as her eyes widen.”

“He swept Raisa up into his arms and kissed her like it was his first, last, and only”