At this very moment with my girl in my arms, I feel like there’s nothing I can’t do for her, for us. — Duke

He smiled wickedly, and my body warmed. “Girls dig bad boys.””Unfortunately, that’s true.””Is there a message, Bridge?””In your dreams,” I replied with a roll of my eyes, but it was all an act because there...

I was falling back again and fast, or maybe I’d never stopped feeling something for him. And it was still hopeless, but at least, I could touch him a little bit.

It’s fine, but don’t ask me to strip again or I’m going to wonder what your intentions really are.

There’s only so much a man can survive and as fucking weak as it sounds, I reached my limits when Skye disappeared. —Duke

My mouth dropped open, because even if it wasn’t my best friend, I knew the guy who was presently rubbing the short stubble on his chin. The only new thing about him was the little...

No.” I pulled away just enough to lock my eyes with his. His crooked smile sent shivers down my spine. His eyes were a deep blue darkening more as the minutes passing between us were...

I closed my eyes and immediately I pictured Brooklyn’s full lips parted on a moan, her eyes glassy and her pupils dilated, her cheeks flushed and her body…her smoking body bared only for me.

Maybe I shouldn’t trust him after all, just like he doesn’t seem to trust me fully. Shit, is it always so hard to get close to someone?

What a fucking charade.Happy. That shit isn’t in our cards. — Duke

Art was my little private pleasure. Nobody had seen my art, not even my parents. Andy didn’t know about it. My dream was to become a publisher, not an artist lost in New York.

Believe me, I knew you enjoyed it without voicing it that way. It was like your body screamed for me to take you.”All too true, but I didn’t like it to be told aloud. I...

Nolan?

If you were ready to sleep with me we wouldn’t be in this bar, but in my room not wasting any more time.

At least, for once I was there for her. I didn’t fail her. She wasn’t alone. — Duke

He tilted my head up with his index finger. Tingles spread on my skin. “Pain, obstacles, betrayal and all shitty things that happen in life shape everyone, just as much as good things do. Don’t...

Don’t see me as a girl. See me as a buddy of yours or something.”He cast his eyes downward and didn’t look back up to my face. I looked down and groaned. Such a guy....

Quit it,’’ he whispered, his voice deep and dark.

I’m not the enemy. I’m not the kind of guy who would try to hurt you more when I know you’re already hurting, but I’m someone willing to hear you and understand you. I want...

Fucking is easy, dating is not. — Duke

He nibbled on my lower lip again and pulled away, his breathing loud and labored. I opened my eyes and met two blue orbs so dark with desire that it almost made me lose all...

I’m the guy who knows how you can hurt so much that your insides feel like they’re cut and bleeding.

Quietly, under my breath, I mumbled a name and it wasn’t the name of the girl waiting in the other room. In my mind I pictured Brooklyn’s sounds as she came and I jerked in...

Therapy can’t erase scars, it only makes it easier to live with them. — Duke

Talk to me. Say something, anything,” he pleaded quietly as if he was trying to tame a wild animal.”There’s nothing to say.”He looked up and lowered his eyebrows on his eyes. “Why did you kiss...

I love you, Skye. You’re in my heart, in my head, under my skin. You’re my present and my future.

He gently sucked on my lower lip, biting it carefully with his teeth. It sent tingles all over my body and I had to hold on to his strong shoulders, firm under my fingers. I...

I love you to insanity. I’m not even sure if it’s a good thing.” — Duke

Be myself. If only I remembered what it was like to be myself. I’m a fucking waitress in a crappy bar in a small town in the middle of nowhere. I was going nowhere. I...

Love doesn’t conquer all; it’s a powerful tool to overcome everything because it means you’re not alone.

You shouldn’t touch a man like that in the morning,’’ he rasped, his hand hiding his crotch.

It’s a matter of when I’ll stop fighting. — Duke

You ruined me.

Maybe Duke was just the kind of person you don’t keep in your life, but the kind of person that changes your life forever.

Take a table and I’ll join you in a second.’’When he walked away I did something I couldn’t be scolded for doing.I checked out his ass in his jeans and…that looked good.

It only wakes up the burning desire I always feel whenever I’m close to this man and the shadows of my fears back away. — Skye

I had never had a big opinion for myself. I had always thought I’d be a fuck up, that I’d be disappointed like always by life and people. But at this very moment, I knew...

With you and me, I don’t know what anything means. We’re pushing each other away and yet I don’t seem to be able to let you go.

The smoke burns slightly down my throat and to my lungs. I focus on this, and empty my head, empty the images of Skye’s beautiful face all bruised up. In the end, I can’t even...

You know she needs you. Think for a minute instead of playing the wounded ego card.’’ — Derek

All I could think about was the heat of his soft lips, the way they fitted so wonderfully as I was coaxing him to open them some more, just enough to let my tongue slip...

I want him and even if it’s frightening, even if I may not be completely ready for a relationship, I want him. Now… And tomorrow, and all the following days.

I listen closely to her breathing getting slower, deeper until her hand settles over my heart, only beating for her. — Duke

Will you be able to touch me again without thinking about Sean? I don’t want you to be disgusted by me.

Will you have any regrets once she’s dead? Brooklyn’s question and her voice echoed in my head as I watched her walking to her house, her hips swaying tantalizingly at every step. A heavy weight...

His grip on my shoulder tightens. His other hand behind my head caresses me softly and I sigh.”Touch me, Skye.”His voice is rough, almost sounding like a groan.