I’m sorry he won’t talk to you. And I’m sorry that he keeps hurting you. I really am. I don’t know how to fix things between you two, but I think a place to start would be for you to stop pointing out how flawed he is and start looking for the good in him.

— Melissa Cutler

It’s you and me, and all you have to do is breathe. I’m going to take care of everything else.

— Melissa Cutler

My mouth only does one thing well, and talking’s not it.

— Melissa Cutler

One more salt to try," Kellan said, reaching into the box. He brought a jar of black, flaky crystals up to the light. "Black diamond finishing salt. Extremely rare and too bold for those with meek palates. But, for a true connoisseur, the flavor is incomparable." He lowered her head and torso to the ground and pushed her sweater up to expose her stomach and ribs. "I want to sample it on your skin.

— Melissa Cutler

She dribbled water over his neck and back. The towel didn't quite soak up all of it, and drops raced down his back, trailing the curve of his spine. She loved that curve, framed on either side by ripple after ripple of muscle, and she especially loved the way it dipped in at his waist before flaring onto his perfect, rounded backside.

— Melissa Cutler

She had a hand on his belt, ready to show him exactly what she had in mind for the night, when he lowered to his knees between her legs, his hands spanning her ribs. Nervousness had vanished from his expression, replaced by eyes that simmered with tenderness and perhaps even a hint of joy.

— Melissa Cutler

She touched him everywhere she could reach. The rounded hardness of his biceps and chest, the ripped contours of his back, his thick, damp hair, until touching with his hands wasn't enough.

— Melissa Cutler

She wanted his strong, capable hands on her body and those soft lips locked with hers. She wanted to be held tight and kissed until she could forget-if only for a few precious minutes-that her life as she knew it had evaporated in a cloud of smoke and flame and violence.

— Melissa Cutler

She was partial to the tie. Not too long ago he did unspeakable things to her with that tie.

— Melissa Cutler

The ferocity of her passion was what he'd been waiting for night after torturous night. He wanted her to hunger the way he hungered. To need like he needed.

— Melissa Cutler