Always before he had come to the act of lovemaking with a sense of gratitude, a feeling that he was the recipient of a largesse for which he was more than willing to demonstrate his appreciation. This was not a gift. It was a prize. He did not offer his body for her pleasure, but thought in giving her pleasure to find his own, and more, in the physical act secure the talisman of her heart. Her love.
“I will give you the world,” he whispered, stroking the hair off her forehead. “I will protect you, I swear. I‘ll never let you hurt again, I promise. Just come back, Lena. Come back and let me love you.”
"You asked me once if I would still love you when your lips were puckered with age and your eyes were
faded. I can assure you that I will still love you when I have only the strength (and the scant teeth) left to
gum those puckered lips. I shall love you when your bones are sharp enough to pierce my fragile flesh. I
shall love you when the light in my own eyes fades for good and yours is the last sweet face I see.
Because I am and ever shall be…"
"She‘s my strength. If I hadn‘t found her, my lungs would‘ve taken on water years ago, but she saved me."
"But I thought distance between us would be better than having you close.” His mouth twists into a humorless smile. “It‘s not. I‘d rather have you torturing me than not talking to me at all.”
What was it about her that caught at his soul, when he no longer had one? What was it that fascinated him, weakened him, made him start believing in things that didn't exist? She was just a girl. A woman of courage, determination, and astonishing sangfroid, who could skewer a man without fainting, who could stand up to Killoran himself- who had terrified far braver creatures.
She was just a girl.
And he wanted her.
“You‘re okay?” “I want to go home.” He can‘t seem to compute this. His gaze sweeps the area again, searching for the enemy, but they‘re gone. He has to return his gaze to me, and when he does, he moans and gathers me closer, tucks my face against his chest. “Please, baby,” he begs in his soft, raspy voice. “Tell me they didn‘t hurt you.”
"I couldn‘t live without her. She reminded me that I was human, that I wasn‘t fully broken. She calmed the storm that raged inside my mind on the best of days, the panic that filled me on the worst."
"Please,” he urges gruffly against my lips. “Stop.” “Stop what?” “I don‘t know. Everything. No matter what you‘re doing, it gets to me. When you‘re pissed or laughing or hurt or not even with me, I get torn up over it.” “That‘s them. Those are the words,” I whisper, shaken, chest twisting." ?
There it was, the fire she had
sensed behind the ice, smoldering at a thousand degrees hotter than leaping flames. Oh, they had it Wrong, the people who called him cool and aloof. He was a man who did not do things by halves, and he knew. So he leashed himself. Untether him, and he would burn as hotly as he was cold, and the dark force of her own passion would crash against his like a wave against a rock rather than pull him under.
He is my match.
This series is book crack similar to Ice Planet Barbarians. Barbarian aliens who fall hard, fated mates, kidnapping, enemies to lovers and forced proximity...they are delightfully trope-y and a fun throwback to old school romance 👽🛸*ignore the book tagged. This book isn't an option for some reason 😑
"I was going to have to leave you anyway. Because I loved you too much to drag you down with me." My hand crept up to caress the rigid line of his jaw. "Why'd you change your mind?" I whispered. "After I calmed down a little and had a chance to think, I figured . . . I love you enough to try and deserve you. I would do anything, be anything, for you."
