Emma Locke

“I'll kiss you when I want to kiss you, not when it's convenient for you. Not because you're lonely and I'm the only hot-blooded man your brother allows you to see. Never because it's safe. I know you don't love me now, but I aim to change that. I can't fix your way of thinking if you put me in a little box like a trinket you take out when the mood suits you."
She stared agape at him. "I never—"
"Yes, you did. That's what you want, isn't it? That's what an arrangement means. It's clean for you. A tidy way for you to have your cake and eat your cake, and a ghastly misuse of some damned fine cake.”
― Emma Locke, The Art of Ruining a Rake

“Well, my lord," she started to answer, then was surprised to find herself tongue-tied. With Trestin watching, she was free to enjoy Roman's company without worry she might lose her head, and that presented something of an unforeseen problem. What did one say to a rake? "I've come to London—"
A flaxen brow rose. He slid a glance at her. "You've come to London? Why, I must be deep in your confidence to have merited so intimate a revelation as that. Pray, what other secrets can you share? Are you by chance out of doors? Is it Tuesday?”
― Emma Locke, The Art of Ruining a Rake