In the Wake of the Wicked (The Veridian Empire, #1)

by V.B. Lacey

Was he like me, with a hard exterior simply begging to be cracked, our deepest desires and fears simmering beneath a surface of quick-witted remarks and a proud mask?

“Secrets are for the bedroom or the grave, darling,”

“You have to decide if your happiness is worth the risk, or if you’re going to let fear of the unknown get in the way.”

This kiss was my annihilation. The tearing down of everything I’d known before.

This kiss was my destruction. My downfall. But if this was falling, I never wanted to stop.

“All my life, I’ve been driven by a singular purpose. Steady, unyielding resolve. But you…you have consumed me, Rose. My every thought, my every breath.” I brought her hand up to gently kiss her palm, then her wrist. “I’ve placed all of myself into your hands, and that’s a beautiful, terrifying thing.”

“I’ve already chosen to love you, Rose Wolff. Beyond sense, beyond reason. There is no part of you I do not choose.”