“Searing with intelligence, they showed her a soul that was tainted by betrayal. One completely devoid of trust. And in that one single moment, she felt his sorrow inside her own heart. He wanted to trust someone. He wanted to reach out. But he'd forgotten how. Alone and cold, he was pain personified.”

“The betrayal meant he couldn't trust her anymore, and his heart told him he couldn't forgive her.”

“and in that single moment she felt as though she had seen into his soul and the very heart of the the love he bore for her and their children”

“It was that surrender he needed. That complete feminine submission to every stroke, every caress, ever naughty act. Only in that submission would the subconscious trust, the bond he needed between them, come. He wanted her to trust, to know, to instinctively understand that he was more than just her lover; he was her other half. The one she told her secrets to. The one, she made secrets with.”

“Black would trust her with his secrets. He would protect hers. But did she trust him with her heart? Could she?She thought of Wendell, and no longer felt any remorse for her feelings. She did not love him. Her heart had been taken two years ago, by a stranger she thought she had conjured up in the atmosphere of her imagination.He had asked her to trust him—and there was only one way she knew how. She reached into the wardrobe and pulled out the crimson gown.No regrets. No seduction. No scandal. Only love.”

“Care for her. He was unworthy of such a gift. Unworthy of her blind trust and her sparkling, slightly crooked smiles, let alone her heart. But he wanted her, selfish fool he was and had always been. Care for her? Ah, God, she consumed him.”