“If he thought this disgusting display of food porn was going to get her attention and maybe make her a little hot and bothered until she was putty in his hands . . . he was right.”

“Think about it. We are fed in the Eucharist, by our mothers when we are infants, by our parents as children, by friends at dinner parties, by a lover when we feast on one another’s bodies…and on occasion, on one another’s souls. Don’t you want me to feed you? You don’t want to feast on my body, but at least feast on my cake.”Gabriel chuckled. When Julia didn’t answer, he turned his full attention to his dessert. She scowled. If he thought this disgusting display of food porn was going to get her attention and maybe make her a little hot and bothered until she was putty in his hands……he was right.”

“As soon as the words presented themselves, Gabriel knew that they were perfect for him. Perfect for what he was contemplating doing to her. Perfect for his own self-justification.Tasting. Taking. Sucking. Sinning. Draining. Abandoning.She was pure. She was innocent. He wanted her.Facilis descensus Averni.But he would not be the one to make her bleed. He could not, would not, make another girl bleed for the rest of his life. All thoughts of seduction and mad, passionate f*cking on desks and chairs, against walls and bookshelves and windows, immediately gave way. He would not take her. He would not mark her and claim what he had no right to claim.”

“She’d made her choice when he asked for her hand and she’d offered it without question. Once he touched her, she knew she was his. Afterward, he had always been there in the shadows, like a ghost who would not leave. And now the ghost had decided that he wanted her.”

“He brushed his thumb against her naked flesh and gently transferred his attention to her swollen lower lip. "I did this to you. Does it hurt ?" he whispered. "It only aches in your absence.”

“She was bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh. She was his soul mate and his wife, and all he wanted was to bring her joy. He was consumed by his adoration of her.”

“He was like a lion, eager to feed but still stalking his prey. He didn't want to scare her off. But she was helpless in her own desire for him.”