With a writhing hip wiggle, I gasped and let out another lustful moan. Alec surprised me by moaning himself and abruptly moving over to the side of the bed and standing up. I heard him growl in frustration before coming over and filling my glass again while half laughing, half reprimanding me, “You really need to stop doing that.”
“Me? What did I do?” I asked, completely flabbergasted. “You are the one spouting poetry and irresistibly whispering the most seductive things to me in the sexiest voice I have ever heard. Excuse me, Marquis de Sade, you are the lecher here, and I am nothing but your innocent prey.”
He guffawed at that before returning to his side of the bed to lie next to me, leaning up on his right elbow again. “You, Mistress Aphrodite, currently do not possess the sense of sight as I do. I see every expression that crosses that striking face of yours.”
I felt the barest touch of his fingertips across my lips when he whispered, “I see you open your mouth in a gasp of desire when I whisper in your ear how very much I want you. I can see how your eyes melt from a brilliant turquoise to a dark, smoldering blue when you feel my touch on your skin. And I can see how those irresistible full lips become even fuller, swollen from my kisses, beckoning out, asking for more. I see your body, the body of a temptress, with its alluring curves and lines, filled with secret places I have yet to explore, inviting me to trespass and linger there, to taste and savor every delicious morsel. And I see how that very body trembles with the smallest caress, quivering in heated passion, begging me without words to touch you in the most intimate of ways. Now, add all the same senses you possess, and I am completely enslaved by your very essence.”
(page 307, chapter 22)
Men basically have two driving forces for happiness: the stomach and the penis.
So ladies, if you see him without an erection, make him a sandwich.
(page 4, chapter 1)
“I have approximately three minutes to show a certain saucy little minx, just how truly masculine I am. For you, Madame Hellcat, in your mocking and taunting, have bloody demanded to be taught a lesson with your brazen little speech.”
(page 348, chapter 23)
“Take great care of that paragon of hope you hold, for if you do not, my ears will gladly hear your wails of agony long before they hear the blessed silence of your death. Beware, O guardian—-I am ever watchful, ever duty bound, and ever ready. You now know the true power I possess. Do not make me use it.”
(page 330, chapter 22)
My God! I am acting like a little virgin! Not knowing what else to do, I kissed him quickly before breathlessly squeaking out, “Sorry… I sort of… lost it there.”
In response, he gave me a manly chuckle. “Isn’t that the whole idea? My God, I utterly adore that you lost it,“ before roughly capturing my face between both of his hands to give me another mind-drugging open-mouthed kiss. Then he abruptly pulled a hair’s breadth away and whispered in a firm voice against my lips, “And don’t ever apologize for any pleasure I give you. I certainly never will.”
(page 264, chapter 18)
“I may be at a disadvantage right now, but I am not some spineless, mindless little derelict you seem to think you can control. So please understand this—not all of my business is your business, so unless you are a thong, stay out of my ass.”
(page 145, chapter 10)
“But make no mistake,, I am still dangerous. I may fight on the side of angels, but an angel I am not. You will hear things about me, from my past… that… will sicken you and disgust you, and… they will most likely will be true. And you need to know that and be prepared to hear it.”
(page 295, chapter 20)
“Are you listening? Can you not hear them? Can you not hear their tortured wails of agony, their anguished pleas for mercy, their desperate cries for salvation?
No, of course not. You choose not to listen. You choose to ignore. But worse—so much worse—you choose to be the knife that cuts the heart, the fire that scorches the flesh, and the brand that enslaves the soul.
Such love they had for thee, begging to worship and bow at your feet, only to suffer your betrayal.
They kissed your hand, and you chose to devour their strength. They offered their devotion, and you chose to eat of their flesh. They called upon your name, and you crucified them.
Can you not hear their bones? Can you not hear the woeful lament of those poor, wretched souls?
The very air around me is saturated with their groans. Their song echoes ceaselessly through me, causing every sinew and cell to burst with anger, for their pain has become an everlasting part of me.
I am as you created me, I am as they molded me.
I am the evolution.
They are the revolution."
(pages 332, chapter 22)
“My chest constricted in agonizing anticipation as he slowly brought his face to mine, softly touching his lips to mine. It was so very sweet, painfully beautiful, and amazingly poignant. His mouth asked for absolution, and I freely gave it, never feeling more adored and treasured for it. This wasn’t a kiss of passion, but a promise—an unspoken vow of devotion, reverence, and tenderness given from a lover to his beloved. As I tasted my tears on his lips, I became overcome with a radiant joy, knowing he had easily taken my heart and, somehow, knowing he would continue to hold it captive and protected always.”
(page 299, chapter 20)
“Now, speaking of EKG wires, let me give you a little advice, Dear Reader, especially if you have a penis and a matching pair of testicles. If you ever require the need for the monitoring of your heart rhythm in the hospital and have the same wires on your chest, remember that if you are brushing your teeth or doing anything in any kind of jerky motion… emphasis on JERKY here… you will have at least one hospital staff member, if not more, rush into your room to check on you. Therefore, for the love of God, please do not do anything you would otherwise do only in the privacy of your bedroom!
You see, either the heart monitor will have a lot of artifact on it, or it could actually look like a fatal heart arrhythmia, and it is our job to figure out which one it is and make sure you are not dying. Let me just say… way too many times… when I rushed into my male patient’s room, I saw him… ugh… playing… ugh… pocket ball with his pool stick… quite vigorously in fact… with excellent rhythm evidenced on the heart monitor screen… not something I wanted to see, and now I will never be able to erase it from my mind. It will be stuck forever in the dark recesses of my brain that involuntarily amasses sick and wrong unforgettable things like Eighth grade period pants and accidentally seeing your parents having sex. Ewww!
(page 16. chapter 2)
He recovered much quicker than I did as he cupped my face in both his hands and affectionately nuzzled his nose against mine before he asked in a flirtatious whisper, “Where did you learn to kiss like that? I think I am going to call you Madame Mata Hari from now on.”
With a smile and a wink, I could only come back with a bad Italian accent, “I was just about-ah to ask-ah you-ah the same thing-ah, Giamcomo Casanova. I wasn’t sure if you took a kissing course in good ol’ spy school or were simply a very experienced man-whore.” Quietly laughing, I whispered, “My excuse can only be that I had all my passions pent up for two long years.”
Alec sounded astounded when he said, “No… I cannot believe that no one has kissed you for two years. Inconceivable.” He ran his thumb across my lower lip, as if in contemplation, before asking, “Wait, are you actually serious?”
Laughing at his misplaced beliefs regarding my nonexistent love life, I teased with a wink, “Afraid the old vagina might be shriveled up and dead? But really, I am serious. It’s not really inconceivable if you think about it. My husband had recently died, leaving me with three children to raise by myself. As a single parent, my life only consisted of my family, a few close friends, church and my job. I really didn’t have the time nor the inclination to do much else.”
“I apparently just find it seriously hard to believe no one has touched you in two years. For have no doubt little one, you are the type of woman that should not only be kissed often, but be kissed well, by someone who most definitely knows how.”
(page 175, chapter 11)
Feeling both irked and silly at the position I was in, I somehow was able to grab his tie in my fist and give it a good yank to get his attention, while keeping a sarcastic wide grin on my face, “I fell off of the couch, not a cliff, oh annoying one. Are you going to allow me any time to answer one question before you ask another? Now quit, I am fine. Were those your big cloppers I heard running down the stairs?”
As he straightened out my hair, he answered, “Yes, they were, Madam Smartarse. Now Gracie needs you to go straight up so she may help you find whatever it is that you may need to get ready whilst I see to your breakfast. I was recently updated that we shall be having some rather special guests today. And… since you so obviously enjoy being swung up in the air…”
Before I knew it, he loosened my hand from his tie, bent over to place a strong arm around my thighs and swung me up over his shoulder—-in an extremely undignified manner, I might add, with my butt pointing straight up in the air.
I grabbed the back of the belt on his pants for support and mockingly said, “Thank you, Rachel and Thomas, for your help! Oh, and Thomas, I certainly like the ride you gave me soooo much better than this Neanderthal’s.” That got me a frisky little smack on my behind, so I squealed, “Much, much better Thomas!”
(page 181, chapter 12)
Alec leaned over and whispered teasingly in my ear, “Be wary, Madam Hussy, lest I change my mind and show you just how ardently brazen my manly attentions can be.” This caused me to blush even deeper with a quiet giggle. He surprised me with a chaste goodbye kiss to the cheek before standing up to leave and then I heard him give his sister a brotherly kiss as well.
(page 189, chapter 12)
Again, he softened his tone, but still spoke in a voice that forbade any resistance when he turned back to me, “And you, Madam Obstinate, will head directly to the casualty room. You need to have your eyes checked out as well as your skull. Dr. Singh was quite adamant about no more head injuries.”
I rolled my eyes, knowing he was right, and groaned while I conceded, “Oh all right, you win. Please take these damn electrodes off of me, and let’s get it over with.” Of course, I could not help but add in an annoyingly sweet voice, “And, Agent Turner, could you please tie your little bitch up so I don’t have to kick her out of my way?”
I heard Chris softly chuckle by the door as Alec snarled, “She bloody well will stay out of the way, or I will do more than kick her.”
Alec gently replaced the ice to my forehead, and removed all my connections to the polygraph, before taking my hand to lead me out the door. However, before I could take a single step, I heard the sudden cracking of plaster and wood above my head a mere second before what looked like the body of a man come crashing down upon us.
(page 221, chapter 14)
“Well Madam Pissed Off, I think the first thing you need to do is take your own advice and hit something. And I just happen to have two very sturdy arms, some rather broad shoulders, and perhaps some decent pecs that could easily handle a few punches.”
After both crossing and rolling my eyes, I glared at him, “Are you insane? I don’t want to hit you. You haven’t hurt me… yet.”
Before I could finish, Alec took the peas out of my hand, rolled off the bed to come over to my side,, pulled me up, and placed the glass back into my hand. “Dani, you need to exert some of this angry energy before we can move on. Now drink down that glass of wine and come with me. If you won’t use me as a punching bag, then I suppose you could use a real one.”
I gave a great big frustrated sigh before I mumbled, “Really, Alec, it isn’t necessary. I already feel foolish enough.”
He wasn’t going to just let me sit there and mope, as he firmly said, “Humor me. Now drink up. It will help you relax and I promise you will feel better in no time.”
Not wanting to to argue, I just decided to give in, “Fine, I give up, Commander Merrickson.”
(page 258, chapter 17)
After sliding my god-awful eye shields off I rubbed my face, realizing too late that there was drool all over my left cheek. Ugh… yuck! Damn sparkling wine! Drinking and drooling were a gross combination.
I wiped my face off with my bed sheet and checked to see how badly I had drooled on my pillowcase. Son of a… Alec’s arm was there! When did he get into bed with me? At least his arm wasn’t covered in drool, but some of the pillow was. Being as careful and motionless as possible, I slowly pulled the pillow out, away form his arm, and cautiously flipped it over, trying not to wake him.
“Dani, what exactly are you doing?” Alec asked curiously, sounding very much awake while he startled the crummies out of me, making me gasp. Well isn’t that just lovely? The British bastard was awake!
“Uh… nothing… just flipping the pillow to the cool side.” I was almost afraid to turn around and look at him.
Of course, I should have known that he wouldn’t leave it alone. I felt his arm squeeze my waist. At the same time, I heard Alec ask in a voice that knew I was hiding something, “Dani, what is going on over there?”
I crossed by eyes. I might as well get it over with and find out if I have any green dye on my face. Mr. Howie N. Vestigates would probably only pester me until I told him anyway. So, I rolled over to face Alec and turned my cheek to his face, “Is there anything green on my left cheek?”
I heard his deep, low laugh. “No… should there be something green on your left cheek?”
Unable to keep from rolling my eyes, blushing I said, in obvious embarrassment, “No… since to my surprise this morning, I apparently had a little too much to drink last night. Hmmm… must have been that last glass that put me over the edge. Anyway, I may have drooled just a tiny bit on my pillow and was afraid that some of the dye from the pillowcase may have stained my cheek a bit. Let us just say that once, a friend of mine had drooled all over her coverlet and had a blue face for a few days.”
He laughed deeper and louder. “You call what you did a bit? Sweetheart, you drooled a lake all over my arm. I had to change my shirt about an hour ago.”
I am sure my eyes were as big as dinner plates and my face turned beet red at my shock and utter humility. “Oh my God! Seriously? You seriously had to change your shirt?”
Alec was still laughing. “No, I am just joking, but you seriously did have enough drool over there to fill a lake.”
I smacked him in the chest. “Oh, you British ass! You were the one plying me with wine last night. I just did realized how much I drank.”
“Dani, you drank over half a bottle, though some might still call you a lightweight.”
“Really? Huh… I didn’t even realize it. And, to the shame of my German heritage, I am definitely a lightweight. Now tell me, good sir, when did I come back to my room? The last thing I remember is snuggling down with Anne in your bed.”
He just kept laughing, though quieter now. “That, Madame Amnesiac, is because when I tried to wake you, you were practically comatose. So I carried you here. You obviously needed the sleep, regardless of the wine.”
“Oh! You carried me? I am such a disgrace! But, come to think about it, you’ve been a rather wicked naughty boy. When did you crawl in here last night, Mr. Angelic?” I quipped back.
“After you asked me to.”
Ugh! he was acting like the devil this morning and, to my annoyance, did not elaborate any further. “I … uh… specifically asked you… to crawl into bed with me?”
“Well, not exactly. I believe your exact words were, ‘Get your hot little ass in here right now, so I can rip your clothes off,’ Hmm… Yep, that was it.”
I felt my face get hot with mortification. The sad truth is that I probably would say something like that. “Holy humiliation! I seriously said that?”
All I got back from him was a simple, “Mmmhmm.”
Still embarrassed, I swallowed and even more meekly asked, “Did… uh… anything else happen that I don’t remember?”
“What exactly do you mean by anything? All I did was come in to check on you a few hours after I brought you to bed and kiss the bruise on your forehead. Next thing I knew, you were opening the buttons on my shirt.”
I slapped his chest again, laughing ridiculously. “Oh, you smartass, you know I cannot remember a thing. Stop goofing around and tell me what happened, please!”
“Okay, okay. Actually, everything I told you so far is true, but if you are wondering if we did the horizontal mamba, or shagged like rabbits or—-”
He received another slap on the chest for that. “Oh stop it. Just tell me.”
He stopped laughing and then replied a little more seriously, “The answer is no, we did not. I do have certain prerequisites before I make mad passionate love to a woman. And, the number one prerequisite would be… consciousness.”
“I passed out? Again?”
I heard him laugh again. “Yes, yes you did. As soon as I started to put my arms around you… you started to snore like Genghis Khan.”
Impossibly, I was even more embarrassed than I was before. I shoved my face into my pillow, muttering, “Oh… My… God.”
“Embarrassed, love? I will say I am a little hurt and embarrassed myself. Did you actually believe that we could spend a night making love and you wouldn’t know if anything had happened?”
Was he teasing me here or seriously a little hurt? Good Lord, I knew men could have easily bruised egos sometimes, but I didn’t think Alec was one of them. I immediately decided to make him feel a little better. “I’m sorry, I really have no memory of last night, and I’m not used to sleeping with another man and—-”
Alec’s laugh stopped me in my tracks. “I am completely teasing you, sweetheart. Though I will say—-” He suddenly grabbed my face for an over-too-quickly hot kiss before continuing to say in a whisper dripping with raw sexual male dominance, “When we do make love, there will be no question the next morning of if. There will be no doubt whatsoever in your mind or in your body. I plan to make love to you so thoroughly and deeply you will find it difficult to walk in the morning and the true meaning of intimacy will forever be changed in your mind.”
“Oh. My. God.”
(page 320, chapter 22)
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