Astrid - The Bookish Sweet Tooth > Books: favorites‎ (131)

“I’ve known you for ten years, Mia, and you still do crazy things to my heart.”

Mia and I—together—we deserve more than just one moment.  We deserve a lifetime. 

“I’m going to spend my entire existence proving that you have, are, and will always be perfect to me.”

And there it was, that moment, with happiness dancing in her aquamarine gaze and the air around her effervescent with her Power—that moment was what the dragon would do anything and kill anyone for. That moment was what he lived for. That one, and then the one after that, and the one after that, all grouped together in his mind like luminous pearls on a string. Each one came to him new, a perpetual gift of joyful surprise, and as rich as he was, and as many jewels as he’d acquired, those moments were the sum total of the dragon’s true treasure.

For him, love was a collection of moments like this. Strung together like luminous pearls on a string

As different as I’d thought we were, it felt a little bit like Gus and I were two aliens who’d stumbled into each other on Earth only to discover we shared a native language.

JANUARY, JANUARY, WHEREFORE ART THOU, JANUARY?
The message was ironic. The butterflies in my chest were not. I pushed the box onto the table and grabbed my notebook, scribbling in it. I held the note up.
New phone who dis

“I do, you know,” he said. It was almost a whisper, a tender, rugged thing like Gus himself. “Care about you.”

Maybe instead of wondering why we’re all connected, what’s important—the only thing that’s important—is to know that we are.

 Love isn’t supposed to hurt. But really, if you’re doing it right, love hurts all the time.

Mia’s sadness is his sadness and he’d carry it around with him like water in a bucket until the end of his days if it meant that she didn’t have to.

And in that moment, our eyes locked, I see my husband, and I remember all at once how much I love him. And I wonder how I could ever forget, even for a second.

It's him.
It's always been him.

“Because when I was ten years old, I met a boy. I hated him. But I needed him like my veins needed blood. He broke my leg. He broke my patience. And eventually he broke my heart. But there hasn’t been a minute that’s passed that I haven’t loved him with every single broken shard.”

I’m not giving up on you, Ramsey. I don’t care if you want me to. I don’t care if it means you ice me out for all of eternity. I don’t even care that you’ve already quit on me. I once promised that it was you and me forever. Do you remember that? You made me swear it.”

“I can’t do this without you.”
“Do what?”
He lifted one shoulder in a half shrug. “Breathe.”

"Sometimes you have to let go of the life you planned in order to live the one you’re given."

And then Ramsey kissed me, deep and frantic like a boy. Gentle and skilled like a man. All-consuming and claiming like my forever. And he did it all tasting like watermelon gum.

“Everything gets me aroused, Bee. The feel of the wind on my face gets me aroused. Bumping into a table gets me aroused.”

"What’s a boner between friends, right?”

A laugh tickles my throat. This girl is something else. She cracks me up. And she’s so fucking beautiful.

Gales of laughter shake my body. I love this guy. We have so much fun together, no matter the circumstances. We could be studying or sitting in a jail cell or lying naked in bed, and he’d never fail to crack me up.

We’re polar opposites in some ways. I’m too country, and he’s a whole lot of everything else. We shouldn’t fit, but we do, and our fit is nothing short of spectacular.

“She’s my favorite person in the world, and I can’t imagine not knowing her.

“What?”
“Your accent. You keep forgettin’ the G.”
“I’m well aware my accent is thick. Some people think it’s charmin’.”
“Like the toilet paper?”

I know that I could have my eyes closed this way and I’d still know Reid’s kiss anywhere, because Reid’s kiss is everything I like about Reid—firm and direct, with a sweetness you have to know to truly recognize.

“You’re the best part of this city,” he whispers...

It feels like floating, like being untethered. Like writing without letters. Like counting without numbers. It feels like love.

He said I was stingy with love, and he was right. I am really not sure that will ever change. But if there’s anyone in the world I could change for, it’s certainly him.

I’m just a guy, standing on a beach in nothing but his favorite pair of lobster shorts, waiting for the right man to love me.

LobsterShorts: I’m fresh out of lobster sex facts atm. BUT…lemme tell you about sea slugs.
SinnerThree: Omg yes. I can’t wait for this. Hold on. Let me undo my pants.
This time I snort out loud. I know he’s kidding, and I play along. Actually, I’ll do that, too. Having both our dicks out for this fun fact is so fitting.
SinnerThree: Dick’s out. All right. Slug sex. Now, baby.
LobsterShorts: OK—you ready for this?
SinnerThree: Hit me. Blow my mind.
LobsterShorts: Sea slugs have penis fights.
Dead air follows my revelation. I see the three dots appear to indicate he’s typing. Then they disappear. Reappear. Disappear. Finally, a message pops up.
SinnerThree: I don’t even know what to say to that. I guess… Why?? How?? Why???

Something tore inside his chest, something vital, and briefly, he wondered if a man could die from it. The pain all but took his breath away. What a way to find out he did have a heart.

He does have a heart, you see, a restrained, honorable heart, but it bruises just like yours and mine, and I wager it is a hundred times more steadfast. He is a rare man, not because he is wealthy, or powerful, but because he says what he means and does what he says.

She belonged here, right here wrapped in these strong, nonjudgmental, protective arms, and she wasn’t sure where to begin again without him.

“Darling,” he said, “I have only just begun to love you.”

“Is it something about me? Or do you feel as though you can treat all men as though what we feel is of no consequence?"

Being in a room that contained her was better than being in a room that did not contain her.

“I should like it if we could be friends, Lord Bolt.”
She sounded appallingly sincere. A silence spread like a stain.
“Friends?” he managed finally, on something like a croak, as though she’d extended a silver platter upon which rested his own testicles.

TOP FAVORITE

“You were never alone, Brooke, never. You just chose to shut us out.”

Once upon a time he’d loved her so much it’d been painful. And now . . . now he had nothing in his heart for her. Or so he’d been telling himself. But the truth was, he’d merely bricked and mortared around the poor beleaguered organ. If she blasted her way through those walls he’d built in self-protection, he had no idea how he’d survive Hurricane Brooke II.

“Look at yourself now,” he said firmly . “Not only are you still here, you’re stronger than you’ve ever been. You’re not just conquering your demons, Bee, you’re stomping all over them.”

She stared back at me, her eyes filling with tears. A million words hung in the air between us.
Apologies.
Accusation.
Blame.
Guilt.
Love.

"I don’t believe there is a reason for anything that happens. There are only actions, consequences, and unorchestrated coincidence. But every now and then, after the pain and heartache settle, beauty can be found in the consequences."

A wise woman had once told me that we aren’t given a hundred years all at once. Time was doled out one very manageable second at a time. If all you focus on is the big picture and worry about tomorrow, you lose the happiness that can be found in the seconds.

Could she be real? Did he hold in his arms the rarest of creatures? A woman of substance. Of integrity? One who tended more carefully to the capacity of her heart than to her coiffure? One who thrived on intellect and honor and genuine interaction rather than the empty endorsements of her peers?

“I sometimes forget…” he murmured as though to himself. Alexandra swallowed layers of nerves before she could speak.
“Forget what?”
“How beautiful you are.” He undid his cravat as he traveled the length of the sitting room. “Then I see you and realize that memory cannot compare to reality. I’m left as breathless as the first time we met.”

“I—I don’t know how to please you,” she confessed, suddenly daunted. He gazed up at her with a patience so tender, so genuine, it released a swell of emotion inside her.
"Don’t you know by now, Alexandra, that everything you do pleases me? To look at you pleases me. To touch and kiss you pleases me. The scent and taste and shape of you is the greatest pleasure I’ve ever known. Anything you do beyond that…”

He knew, then and there, that he’d walk through hell for her. He’d slay dragons and face entire armies. He’d circumnavigate the globe to lay her foes at her feet.

"Life is made up of little moments that don’t seem that important at the time, but in retrospect they’re what get you to where you are.”

Before coming to the lake, I hadn’t known what to expect from this place. I sure as hell wasn’t planning to feel so at peace here. It had crossed my mind that I could live this simple life forever.

She walked to me and fell into my arms. I held her tightly. For the first time, I let myself breathe her in, hold her the way I wanted to without resisting.
I was a goner.

"In the end, all we have are memories. I don’t have nearly enough memories with you. I want to make some."

"Underneath all the tough exterior was a man with a giant, soft heart. "

"I didn’t see you coming, Texas. Didn’t see you coming."

"Thank you for loving me even when I hated myself.”

I want something that is in direct conflict with what the love of my life wants.

Somehow… still, after all these years, this guy can make me feel special just by the way he looks at me.

More than anything, I want to live. This life, with this girl— it’s my passion. I’m nothing without her, and everything when I’m wherever she is.

The setbacks.
The milestones. 
The ride. The motherfucking ride. 
This life, it’s hard on a marriage. It’s hard on the mind and the soul. You have to be something rare just to survive it and I did. We did.

Lightning on my skin
Thunder in my soul
Heavy on my heart
You were my perfect storm

And she was mine.

“You are my mirror. And through your eyes, I see the me I wish I was.”

Home wasn’t a place on the map. Not anymore. Home was lavender-scented linen and blue eyes and promise. And joy. So much joy.

Every dynasty has a beginning. Every legend starts with a story. This is ours.

He’s become my rock and my fun skipping stone. The someone I’d been missing my whole life. My friend.

I was made for this . . . for her. To cherish her, protect her and challenge her, to guide her and follow her— to be the man she needs, so she can be the woman, the queen, she was always meant to be.

She’s ethereal— a heavenly creature and a sin-tempting spirit all in one— and she takes my breath away.

My wife, my love, my Queen . . . my life.

“You’re lucky you’re a great fuck.” I grinned.
“And got great hair,” he went on. I grinned bigger.
“And fantastic legs.” My grin got seriously toothy.
“And beautiful cheekbones.” That surprised me.
“Beautiful cheekbones?” Another sigh.
“Baby, you pretty much got beautiful everything, which means I’m fucked.”

“You’re a good son. You’re a good man,” his dad whispered. “I have no idea how, through all the shit you had to wade through that was not in my power to protect you from, you turned into the man you are.
But you did and I’m damned proud, Rush. You’re the man I wanted to be. You’ll have the Club I wanted to make. And I did more. I made Tabby. I had a hand in makin’ Ride and Cut. I earned the love of your stepmother. I debate it every day, what makes me the proudest. And I gotta tell you, son, havin’ that to debate is the best place a man can be.”

“I’m keeping you,” he said against my lips. He was keeping me. I was going to belong to somebody. And that somebody was Rush Allen.

I'm putting this deliberately in spoiler tags because it's a long quote, the quote itself isn't a spoiler! It's worth it to read!
(view spoiler)[“Accidentally, I was a cock blocker!” Essence exclaimed.
“Did that hippie granny just say she was a cock blocker?” Joker whispered.
“I’m so sorry, Rush, I didn’t mean to be a cock blocker!” Essence cried.
“Essence, it’s okay,” Rush murmured.
“Cock blocking is never okay,” Shy muttered.
“You two can shut up or I’m gonna knock your skulls together,” Hound growled.
Joker grinned at his boots. Shy put his hands to his hips and pressed his lips together.
Boz sneezed. Everyone looked at him. “What?” he asked. “I’m allergic to macramé.”
“He’s allergic to hippies,” High murmured.
“She’s a sweet old lady,” Snapper said.
“She’s a cock blocker, nothin’ sweet about that,” Hop put in.
“Are you men really fuckin’ jokin’ at a time like this?” Tack growled.
“It’s okay, really, Mega Rush,” Essence declared. “It breaks the tension.”
“Mega Rush?” Dog asked.
“I’m Tack, Rush’s father,” Tack introduced himself . . . again.
“Yes.” She looked him up and down. “Mega Rush,” Essence replied.
“I think I love this woman,” Brick stated. (hide spoiler)]

Tacked grinned at the open stretch of tarmac in front of him, glinting in the sun. And Chaos rode.

Trying to be cool about banging your best friend is a lot harder than I would have anticipated.

I’m lonely. I’m lonely because I don’t tell people what I need or what I want, and then get hurt when they don’t figure it out on their own.

The way he smiles up at me is the same way he always looks at me: like there is nowhere else he’d rather be. There’s no awkwardness or tentative touches. It’s just us.

“I love you, too.” He punctuates each small phrase with a kiss lower on my throat. “All of you. The silly, the quiet, the argumentative, the sarcastic, and even this side.” He kisses my shoulder. “The softer side.”

Locked in our gaze, everything else disappears. I see the pain and fear leave her eyes. They’re replaced with trust, with a connection so powerful it steals my breath. We’re no longer in this bunker. There’s no pain. No torture. We’ve drifted off to a place that’s ours alone.

She’s all that matters. As long as she makes it back to her little boy in one piece, and as long as I can see her smile again, I can live with whatever hand I’m dealt.

She’s finally home, and I’m still living in the headspace we were in when she left. Not only are we not on the same page anymore, we’re reading completely different books.

Together, we breathe the ultimate sigh of relief, and as our climax ripples between us, our eyes never part. Ocean blue meets amber sunset. And it’s beautiful.
It’s healing.
It’s life-altering.
It’s inevitable

Thank you to all the soldiers in the world for their service so that we can live free and in peace. 

Like the rest of him, his heart was strong, defiant, loyal. Capable of lasting love. He might revel in denying it, but she knew the truth. If he ever permitted himself to love, he would love fiercely and without reserve. Only the most stubborn of women would be able to bear it.

It was trust at first sight. I felt safe with you. All those firsts that I believed had been stolen from me . . . With you, I got them all back. I took them back, on my own terms. I only wish I could go back and help recover all the firsts you missed, too.”

“I don’t know why this so difficult. It’s not as though I can change the contents by waiting. What’s printed is printed. I am either a scandal or a spinster already, depending on what’s inside.”
“Actually,”Nicola mused, “while the paper remains closed, you’re both.”
“Both?”
“Right now, you’re both a scandal and a spinster.”
“I’m so sorry. I’m afraid I don’t follow you.”Penny frequently had difficulty following the twists and turns of Nicola’s mind. Everyone did. Nicola’s eyes went unfocused, as though she were staring at distant horizon. One that only she could see.
“Imagine you took a cat,”she said slowly, “and sealed it in a box.”
“Seal a cat inside a box?”Penny was horrified. “I’d never do such a thing.”
“Of course you wouldn’t actually do it. I’m only trying to illustrate a philosophical conundrum.”

If I’m supposed to be the Great Royal Hope for my country, we’re all well and truly fucked.

“Corrupting the good ones is my favorite pastime.”
Oh yes, definitely a Willoughby. I hug my book to my chest. “I’m not corruptible.”
His smile broadens. “Good. I like a challenge.”

I would give up a crown for her. I would give up my name, my title- I would trade my country, forfeit my birthright, lie, kill, cheat and steal for this. For her.

I’ve never had someone who was just mine, body and soul—mine to protect and hold and love. And that’s what Sarah is . . . she belongs to me now. We belong to each other.

I was a character in the play of my life. A life that was nothing more than an endless string of days pretending, lying, burying truths and feelings until I was more stone and steel than hot, beating blood.

"I spent a lot of years lying to myself about who I was. When I got clean, I made a No Bullshit policy. I don’t dish it out and I don’t take it from anyone, including myself. Especially myself.”

"Choose me, Silas. I’ll love you for who you are, and we’ll have a shot at happy.”

A hundred black nights of ice and shock, fear and shame, followed by hundreds more of self-denial and starvation, all washed away under the perfection of this moment with him.

[image]

They say you can’t go home again... but they’re wrong.
I did.
I came home and found the love I never really lost.

My memories of loving Garrett are pale and flimsy compared to this. This is real and solid . . . and us. How did I breathe without this?

She was the love of my life, before I had any fucking idea what love was... and then, still, even after I did.

”Don’t go near the water, love.
Stay away from strand or sea.
You cannot walk on water, love;
The lough will take you far from me.”

“I fell so fast, so hard, and so completely. Not because love is blind, but because . . . it’s not. Love isn’t blind, it’s blinding. Glaring. I looked at you, and from the very first day, I knew you. Your faith and your friendship, your goodness and your devotion. I saw it all, and I fell so hard."

His lips were so soft and shy, they slipped away without letting me greet them. I followed, frantic to call them back, and he hesitated, forehead pressed to mine, hands on my shoulders, letting my bated breath extend an invitation before he accepted it and returned. His hands slid around to my back as his mouth lowered and stayed, letting me feel the warmth and the press of his kiss, so real, so present, so impossible.