“I think there are certain unimpeded passages, that this is registering in my brain somewhere where the drugs and the bugs don’t reach. There’s a core of myself I can feel, a hidden center of my identity that won’t be sedated or confused or overcome.”

“I’m staring into chocolate eyes. although my brain is cloudedand I’m dizzy, I know enough to register that chocolate is theopposite of blue. I don’t want blue. Blue confuses me too much.Chocolate is straight-forward, easier to deal with.”

“Whoa, this isn’t the Training Center, you know,” I tell him. “There’s a certain level of clothing etiquette in this house, and you’re currently violating it.”He reaches for his jacket. “I believe you’re the one who tore my clothes off in the first place, and now you’re complaining?” “Trust me, there was no tearing involved. You’ll have to get that fantasy fulfilled somewhere else.”

“For the first time in longer than I can remember, I feel peaceful. Not happy. Not sad. Not anxious. Not horny. Just all the higher parts of my brain closing up shop. The cerebral cortex. The cerebellum. That's where my problem is. I'm now simplifying myself. Somewhere balanced in the perfect middle between happiness and sadness. Because sponges never have a bad day.”

“Regardless of my feelings on the issue with Taryn, I know it won’t bode well for me if I let Cash train me. I just don’t trust myself around him. Not completely anyway.”

“There’s no way a woman could possibly resist your charm”Dominic smiled. “Or my dick. Don’t worry, I won’t get it out. I don’t want you all to get intimidated. and in the interest of health and safety, I think it’s better that he’s not unleashed.”