The Wolf and the Wildflower Quotes

“This was where she wanted to be, inside the cage of his arms, feeling this inexplicable sense of comfort and belonging.”
― Stacy Reid, The Wolf and the Wildflower

“I will lay the world at your feet,” he vowed. “I only want the piece you stand upon, James.” “You’ll stand with me?” “Always.”
― Stacy Reid, The Wolf and the Wildflower

“Why would I want to live as a woman? A lady must see the man she loves as the great vast sky while she remains a speck on the fields below.” Jules opened her mouth to say more, but her voice caught in her throat, and she could not utter a single word. The only thing she felt was the harsh beat of her heart. It is so damn silly that I want you to be my sky, James. As if he knew what she thought, he said, “You would be the stars within any sky, Wildflower. Nothing less.”
― Stacy Reid, The Wolf and the Wildflower

“James,” she gasped softly, her green eyes widening. “You are standing too close.” He stepped back. “Follow me, Southby.” James turned around and walked toward the main house. She walked beside him, holding her curiosity in check. Once inside the house, he went down the hallway to the library. He opened the door, stepped back, and allowed her to precede him inside. He closed the door with a snick, and she faced him. “What is it that you…oh!” He snagged his hand around her waist and drew her against his body. He didn’t need to tell her of the need pummeling him. His Wildflower seemed to understand because she flowed against his body, wrapping her arms around his nape. Their mouths came together in a burning kiss. James became lost in her taste, scent, and the sounds of startled pleasure she made, as if with each kiss she uncovered something wonderful.”
― Stacy Reid, The Wolf and the Wildflower

“My father is not a part of my disguise.” Words momentarily eluded him. “You have been pretending to be a man your whole life, and your father is unaware of it?” “Yes.” “Accept my compliments. I believed it to be a deception by both of you so that you could freely study.” A tremulous smile curved her lips. “It was a deception by my mother only. I learned of it when…when…” A flush rose on her cheeks, and she looked away from him across the lawns. Ah, she learned of it when changes began within her body.”
― Stacy Reid, The Wolf and the Wildflower

“Mother and I speak about many things, Father,” she said drily. “Your need for a male heir was simply one of them.” For a moment her father appeared angry and uncertain before his expression smoothed. “I was a much younger man then, less learned, and less tolerant. I wanted a son very badly, and your mother understood her duty.” Jules narrowed her gaze on him. “What if I had been born a girl, Papa?” He blinked. “I cannot understand this line of questioning; it is rather nonsensical, as you are my son.” Jules’s heart beat so fast, her chest ached. “I gather Mama would have been forced to the marriage bed once again if I had been born a girl…despite the risk to her health. A very odd way to show your love and devotion to the lady that filled that emptiness in your heart.”
― Stacy Reid, The Wolf and the Wildflower

“What did it feel like, Papa, when you met Mama?” A faraway look entered her father’s eyes, and he sighed. “It felt like life suddenly made sense. That bit of life that always seemed empty even if one did not understand the reason for that emptiness was filled, and I knew your mother was the lady for me.” Unexpected anger wrenched through her chest, and she took a deep breath. “If Mama was so very precious to you, Papa, why was it so very important for you to have a male heir?” Papa jerked, before faltering into stillness. “What do you speak of?” he demanded gruffly, lowering the pencil and closing his notebook. “Why would your mother speak of this to you?”
― Stacy Reid, The Wolf and the Wildflower

“Do you truly believe there will be a time that James…that he will return to the lad we all knew and love?” Jules folded her hands behind her back. “No.” The countess snapped her regard to Jules, her eyes widening. “I beg your pardon?” “Harsh experiences have shaped your nephew, my lady. How can he be the same? Are you the same lady as you were ten years ago? I doubt it. Perhaps the family can learn to accept the changes presented and love him still for it,” she said gently.”
― Stacy Reid, The Wolf and the Wildflower

“might be rough and no longer refined but you’ll be safe and treasured in my arms. I vow it, Wildflower.” The shock of those words wrenched her heart in several directions. “Treasured for how long, Your Grace?” she whispered, sensing she was on the cusp of falling into something she did not understand. “For as long as I am able.”
― Stacy Reid, The Wolf and the Wildflower

“You are not addled. You are lonely, perhaps feeling a hollowness that you do not understand. That empty feeling inside was born from being alone for so long without human touch or interaction…and because you had to use your will to conquer your fear of death and loss, you have exiled yourself from feeling. The more you share with me and your family the less alone you will feel, James. The more you allow touch…life will once again feel normal. I am here at Longbourn park to help you realize this, but I am here tonight in this tree cottage because I want to be with you.”
― Stacy Reid, The Wolf and the Wildflower

“James pulled his mouth from hers, breathing raggedly. Her chest rose and fell, her breathing a bit fractured. James dragged her into his lungs, dipping and sensually running his nose over the curve of her neck and down… Jules squeaked, her shock visceral when he went down to her navel and lower still to her quim. He pressed his nose to the space between her legs and inhaled. A fiery blush covered her entire body. “James!” “You are wet, Wildflower. And your scent…fuck!”
― Stacy Reid, The Wolf and the Wildflower

“I do not wish it to be you because you are convenient, Jules Southby. The desire cuts its way deep into me simply because of you.” The words shouldn’t have sent a thrill racing through her chest, but they did. “Do you understand what I am saying, Wildflower?” She was silent, still, for long seconds. “Yes.” The duke tugged her into his arms and pressed his mouth against hers. They stilled against each other, the awareness of his actions seemingly washing over them at the same instance.”
― Stacy Reid, The Wolf and the Wildflower

“I want to taste a woman…I want to take her mouth against mine, savor the feel of her lips, enjoy the glide of her tongue against mine, feel the vibration of her moan against my mouth.” “I am sure there are many ladies who will eagerly oblige,” she whispered, shocked that she hated the image of him kissing another. “You?” Jules’s heart thumped. “No, of course not!” “And if I want it to be you?”
― Stacy Reid, The Wolf and the Wildflower

“I should also inform you I am incapable of being swatted,” she drawled. The space between them crackled with challenge. Those brilliant eyes skipped over her face as if he searched for depths he was certain remained unsounded. The grimness left his mouth, and he smiled. She felt that small smile way down in her belly, an unanticipated curl of heat that blossomed outward and set her heart to racing. Five times since entering the woods, he smiled, Jules absurdly thought. “I’ll ensure I am gentle with you, Wildflower, so you do not break.” Her heart stuttered hard. “What do you mean?” “You’ll discover.” “You do not like explaining yourself to others, do you?” “I know it to be an existence unsuited to a man of my temperament.” She made a gesture with her hand. “What temperament is that?” The eyes looking down into hers were suddenly bored and a little cold. Jules couldn’t help feeling as if she prodded a wounded beast who had no notion it was indeed injured. She held his regard, knowing it was very important that she did not shy away from him or act scared in the face of his grim visage. How strange this dance between us is. “The stillness that I’ve lived with seems to have gone,” he murmured. “I liked that stillness.”
― Stacy Reid, The Wolf and the Wildflower

“Touching reaffirms safety and security. That you were deprived for so long was incredibly painful, James. You no longer believe in many things…and it is quite normal that you would only allow those whom you perhaps…trust with that privilege. I understand why you have dismissed Monsieur Gillespie and I want you to know the rage you possibly felt, the disgust…is also normal, because he violated your boundaries.”
― Stacy Reid, The Wolf and the Wildflower

“What are you thinking now, James?” “That I want my Wildflower to touch me and that perhaps I wish to touch her as well. Skin to skin, without any gloves on our hands.”
― Stacy Reid, The Wolf and the Wildflower

“Call me James.” A soft breath rushed out of her. “I cannot—” “I grow tired of this incessant ‘Your Grace’ business.” “Very well,” she said a trifle pertly. His gaze sharpened. “What is this?” “What?” “Your cheeks are rather flushed and your eyes suspiciously bright.” He leaned slowly, deliberately, almost leisurely toward her, and her heart kicked a furious rhythm. The duke ran his nose across her cheeks. “It is quite fascinating how your scent changes. Earlier you smelled like the forest itself, now you smell like caramel and lavender.” “You should really learn to keep your nose to yourself,”
― Stacy Reid, The Wolf and the Wildflower

“You must be careful that when you peer at the past, you do not look too long,” Jules said softly. “Those ghostly echoes will be with you for a lifetime, but the present is also here. A life that should once again become familiar if you allow it, Your Grace.”
― Stacy Reid, The Wolf and the Wildflower

“You are perceptive, Southby.” “Does that scare you?” “I am afraid of nothing,” he said with a touch of arrogance. “Lest a small thing like yourself that barely clears five feet. My thoughts alone can swat you away, Wildflower.” Wildflower? Jules’s heart shook, and she lowered her head to hide her expression. “Is this to be my new moniker, Your Grace?” “It suits.” Do not ask, it is unimportant. “Why does it suit?” she said, ignoring the voice of logic. “Wildflowers grows in places least expected. They are resilient, determined, some might even say unbreakable, their scent myriad and inexplicable.” Is that how you see me, Jules silently asked. She took in a breath, feeling absurdly shy. “Very well…Wolfe.”
― Stacy Reid, The Wolf and the Wildflower

“You are perceptive, Southby.” “Does that scare you?” “I am afraid of nothing,” he said with a touch of arrogance. “Lest a small thing like yourself that barely clears five feet. My thoughts alone can swat you away, Wildflower.” Wildflower? Jules’s heart shook, and she lowered her head to hide her expression. “Is this to be my new moniker, Your Grace?” “It suits.”
― Stacy Reid, The Wolf and the Wildflower

“You might need to procure another helper, Your Grace. A proper valet.” “Because a duke must have people to dress him, bathe him, make his bed, put on his shoes. It is a damn wonder I am even allowed to even clean my own arse.”
― Stacy Reid, The Wolf and the Wildflower

“It is beautiful,” she said softly, holding herself still underneath his bold appraisal. “It is peaceful.” “It is also lonely.” “Being alone does not mean one suffers from aloneness, Southby,” he drawled.”
― Stacy Reid, The Wolf and the Wildflower

“The scientist in my father cannot help being fascinated by your experiences, Your Grace. He is rather curious about you. I must admit I am, too.” An inexplicable expression briefly shifted in his eyes. “Are you?” “I am, Your Grace. I also respect your need for privacy, and I am sorry yours was violated.”
― Stacy Reid, The Wolf and the Wildflower

“The duke was standing before the open windows…stark naked. Her lips parted, but no sound emerged, and Jules could only stare as the silvery beam from the moonlight painted itself over his body. His thighs and calves were thick and powerful, stomach and buttocks lean and delineated with muscle. Though they stood several feet apart, she was all too aware of the breadth of his shoulders, his height, and the inherent power in his body. You are so beautifully formed, Your Grace. Alarmingly, her cheeks went hot, then her throat and belly. He was so compelling she stared helplessly, absurdly grateful for the darkened room. Jules drew a soft breath, trying to calm the wild pounding of her heart. The duke tilted his head, baring to her gaze the strong column of his throat. She refused to look lower than his shoulders, not wanting to feel that baffling heat stabbing her belly. He inhaled, and it came on a soft growl when he released his breath. She bit into her lower lip, hard, for that thumping heat low in her belly responded viscerally to that low growl. The corner of the duke’s mouth curled upward and seemed mocking and cynical. Still, she was struck by the incredible sensual beauty of that small smile. Unexpectedly he turned his head and stared directly at her. Jules froze, even her breathing suspended. Though she held herself astonishingly still, her heart jerked with more erratic force. Surely he could not see her. It is impossible. Yet she felt way down inside her, every nuance of his stare. Perilous tension coated the air, and she waited for him to move closer to her, but he turned away and padded over to the bed, the darkness hiding him from her entirely. Jules could not say how long she waited, listening for sounds that he slept. It could have been a few minutes or an hour. She heard nothing, and again she couldn’t escape the feeling the duke knew someone was in the room with him. But why did he not say or do something if he suspects it? She closed her eyes and drew strength for calm, allowing that she might be panicking in vain. There was no peril, and she only had to leave his chamber without being noticed. Jules waited a few more minutes before softly moving from behind the drapes. She paused, then lowered herself to her knees and crawled on her hands and knees to the door. She almost smiled at her absurdity but marshaled her reaction and ventured forward as fast as possible. At the door, she reached up and gently eased open the latch, grateful the hallway was also dark. Perhaps if the duke was awake, he might not notice the slight opening of his door. She crawled through the small space created, and once in the hallway, she lurched to her feet and hurried toward her door.”
― Stacy Reid, The Wolf and the Wildflower

“Moving closer to the duke would allow also her a greater chance to observe him and understand who he was. It was also necessary to gain more privacy for herself to maintain her secret. Thankfully her menses had ended before she traveled down with her father and would not likely return before her departure. I shall be able to protect my secret from the servants and the duke’s family hidden in the west wing.”
― Stacy Reid, The Wolf and the Wildflower

“My future wife might find me a bit difficult,” he said. “Your task here is to help me assure her comfort within limits. I do not wish to hurt her.” Her heart tapped against her breastbone, and Jules recognized the duke was not a gentleman who would easily allow his personal space to be invaded. He would naturally be more aggressive because of the survival mode he had lived with for so long. From his perspective, innocent behavior might be perceived as a threat and his reactions could be unpredictable. His lady wife might very well find him too savage. What would he be like in an intimate relationship? He would not be talkative. Very stoic. Possibly inherent to his nature from a child but his experience would have deepened that stoicism as he learned only to rely on himself to live.”
― Stacy Reid, The Wolf and the Wildflower

“A considering look touched in his eyes and he held her regard for several moments. “I will speak only with you, Southby. That I will allow.” Her heart jolted. “Your Grace! My father—” “Only you.” She shook her head sharply. “Why?” “You have something to hide, Southby. Hence you will tread with utmost caution when you peer beyond the veil into my life and in what you share with others. Won’t you?”
― Stacy Reid, The Wolf and the Wildflower

“The duke had indeed existed alone for ten long years. That shattering knowledge brought a harsh ache to the back of Jules’s throat and calmed the odd sense of fright that had filled her at his intensity. There were so many times she had felt an aloneness that ravaged her, for she truly felt like she did not belong. Despite being surrounded by friends and family, Jules had not been able to confide her uncertainty and hopes to anyone. As she grew older she had kept a careful distance from her sister and acquaintances lest they discovered the truth. Eschewing deep bonds and friendship had bred a sense of aloneness that had eaten at her, and more than one night she had buried her face in her pillows and wept. How had it been for the duke? Everyone needed a measure of contact, and he had been deprived of it for years. How had he endured without the comfort of a hug or a lover’s embrace? To touch others and be touched was an imperative biological need and necessity. It was a language without words that he might hunger for without knowing it, for touch was far more powerful and stronger than verbal or emotional contact. There had been no gentle touch, a kiss against the brow…a lover’s touch, the reassuring slap of a friend across his shoulders.”
― Stacy Reid, The Wolf and the Wildflower

“It is a most remarkable disguise,” he said, keeping his tone low and careful. The odd creature opened the notebook, pencil poised to write. “In what way, Your Grace?” Unflappable. Those bright green eyes met his unflinchingly. Audacious. The mouth smiled as if in challenge. Or was it a taunt? Daring. Those brows arched in a challenge. Foolish. A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, surprising James. “Why are you dressed as a gentleman?” “Why do you stand so close when you must know it is socially scandalous?” Southby asked, eyes gleaming with decided mystery and cunning. That look of calculation had James staring at Southby intently. “No denial?” Those lips quirked. “Have you considered I might be an extraordinarily attractive gentleman?” “You have a very complicated neckcloth knotted at your throat.”
― Stacy Reid, The Wolf and the Wildflower

“May I have more of his description?” A fond smile crossed her lips. “His eyes are a perfect replica of his father’s…an arctic color of such unusual beauty, more gray than blue. They no longer gleam with laughter or gentleness. They are unfathomable except for those moments where I see the savagery behind the veil. He spends most of his time outdoors deep inside the forest of his land, but I cannot imagine what he does out there. I love my son, but I find his manners barbaric and unacceptable.” Savagery. Jules didn’t understand the odd manner in which her heart jerked or the shakiness of her fingers. The picture drawn by the duchess…it did not repel her senses; in truth she was compelled…fascinated. And an odd part of her wasn’t sure if it was the budding scientist inside her or the hidden woman. She recoiled from the thought, lurching to stand, almost stumbling to the mantle and the decanter of brandy. Why would I even dare to think such a ridiculous thing? Any sort of relationship for Jules was unthinkable. Her entire life was an elaborate deception with unimaginable consequences should it ever be uncovered.”
― Stacy Reid, The Wolf and the Wildflower