These Vile Secrets (Enclave, #1)

by C.E. Ricci

And to those of you still looking for that person: Find someone who can melt you, set you ablaze, and then cool the scorching flames. You deserve nothing less.

"Perhaps one did not want to be loved so much as to be understood." - George Orwell, 1984

It only gets darker from here.

"You're so fucking beautiful when you lose control. I wish you'd let yourself do it more."

I’ve never felt this all-consuming need and desire with anyone. The possibility of sheer and total destruction at another person’s hand. Not from a kiss alone.

"I want you against me," I whisper. "I want to touch you. Always. Constantly. I want your skin on mine, my lips glued to yours. And I don't give a shit what I'd have to give up to make that happen."

I've never begged for a damn thing in my life. I've never even come close. But right now, I will. For Roman, I fucking will.

"You’re everything, Hale. Because you're good and fair and kind, even when you don't think you are. Because when I look at you? I see the kind of person worthy of my time and attention, knowing you would never bother to accept it unless you thought it was earned."

Everyone else only ever wants something from me. The money, the power, the connections. The status. No one ever wants me. Until you."

“It’s okay,” I say again in a breath against his lips. “Because I love you too. Only you.”

"Loving you will never be easy. But I’m a fan of complications."