Widdershins Quotes

“I will not surrender my profession simply because men throughout history have been unduly enamored of their penises!" - Dr. Christine Putnam”
― Jordan L. Hawk, Widdershins

“I craved him, like an opium addict craved the pipe: the sound of his voice, the touch of his hand, his mere presence in the same room.”
― Jordan L. Hawk, Widdershins

“I seldom ate out, both for reasons of economy and because I feared someone might try to speak to me.”
― Jordan L. Hawk, Widdershins

“Do you know when I knew we’d be friends?” I’d never seen her vulnerable before. “No. I don’t.” “It was the first day we met. You addressed me as ‘Dr. Putnam’ without having to be prompted. And when Bradley insisted on referring to me as ‘Miss Putnam,’ you…well, you corrected Bradley’s shoes, but I appreciated the gesture.”
― Jordan L. Hawk, Widdershins

“Whatever am I to do with you?” he murmured. The warmth of his breath feathered over my skin. Heat collected in my groin, my lips. My mouth was dry, my voice hoarse, and perhaps he was right and it was madness when I whispered, “Whatever you want.”
― Jordan L. Hawk, Widdershins

“He brushed a kiss across my lips, there and gone before I could gather myself to respond.
'Come now my dear. Let's have breakfast."

"Yes." There was a golden bubble in my chest, pushing out against my ribs.
"Thank you for being patient with me."

His smile turned the gloomy morning to pure sunshine. "You're worth it.”
― Jordan L. Hawk, Widdershins

“Why did he have to be kind? If only he’d mocked me, or sneered at me, or merely tolerated me, then I would have known how to deal with him. But he insisted on being kind, on pretending I had some worth. How was I to defend myself against that?”
― Jordan L. Hawk, Widdershins

“I grabbed Griffin’s arm. “Dear heavens, man! You’ve brought me to a house of ill-repute!”
― Jordan L. Hawk, Widdershins

“I just want to be myself,” I said at last. “But no one else wants just me, except for you.”
― Jordan L. Hawk, Widdershins

“Ival!" Griffin screamed, raw and broken, and if I'd ever doubted he loved me, I doubted it no longer.”
― Jordan L. Hawk, Widdershins

“I need you.” The skin of his neck was warm, just above the collar, and he shivered when my breath touched it. “You make me feel alive. Everything else is just a role, but this is real.”
― Jordan L. Hawk, Widdershins

“I had dedicated my life to words. But sometimes, words are not needed.”
― Jordan L. Hawk, Widdershins

“You blind me, my dear, with your fire. Carefully controlled, directed only into the outlets you allow, but otherwise left to boil beneath the surface. You're like a bottle of fine champagne, yearning to be opened. Year after year, the pressure building slowly, with no release. And ever since I met you, all I could think was what it would take to make... you... pop.”
― Jordan L. Hawk, Widdershins

“It wouldn’t seem at all odd if I were to take in a boarder.” I drew back in surprise. “Oh?” “Yes.” He still didn’t quite meet my gaze, as if half-afraid of rejection. “I’m very particular, though. This boarder will be tall, handsome, and speak precisely thirteen languages. But read more. He must be willing to put up with a roommate prone to nightmares, occasional fits of brooding, and a fondness for chess. Must love cats, keeping odd hours, and sword canes. Do you…do you know anyone who might fit the description?” I caught his chin gently, tilting his head back so he had to look at me. “You know,” I said, bending to kiss him, “I rather think I do.”
― Jordan L. Hawk, Widdershins

“The explosion was deafening; a huge cloud of fire rolled out the window after us, its immense heat brushing my face as we tumbled into the snow.

We hit the ground and rolled. Flaming debris from the house came down around us; Griffin shoved me flat on my back, covering us both with his heavy coat.

The echoes of the explosion reflected back across the river, then slowly dwindled away, like dying thunder. The leaping flames threw warm light onto the falling snow, turning it into a storm of sparks pouring down from the heavens.

Griffin started to push himself off of me, then stoped. His hands were braced on either side of my shoulders, his legs twined with mine. Mt heart pounded, my palms sweated, and I was suddenly, acutely aware of how close his face was to mine.

"You're a madman," he whispered. "An utter madman."

"Perhaps," I allowed. "But it worked."

The leaping light from the burning house painted his features in gold, highlighting his patrician nose and finding threads of brown and blue in his green eyes. His pupils widened, the irises contracting to silver. "Whatever am I going to do with you?" he murmured.

The warmth of his breath feathered over my skin. Heat collected in my groin, my lips. My mouth was dry, my voice hoarse, and perhaps he was right and it was madness when I whispered, "Whatever you want."

A shiver went through his body, perhaps because we were lying on the cold ground. But instead of getting up, he leaned closer, his overlong hair tumbling over his forehead. He paused, his mouth almost touching mine, his eyes seeming to ask a question.

It was madness; it was folly; it was sheer selfishness. I was delusional, misguided, wrong, out of control. I needed to pull back, to say something sane, to re-establish mastery over myself. I could not do this. I could not take the risk.

Later tonight, I'd relive this moment in my lonely bed and wonder if I'd done the right thing. But at least that would be familiar, would be something I knew how to cope with.

And yet the very thought felt like dying.

I surged forward, crossing the final, tiny gap and pressing my lips to his. It was awkward and desperate and frantic, but the feel of his mouth against mine sent a bolt of electricity straight down my spine. Just a moment, just this one kiss, surely that would be enough...

Then he kissed me back, and it would never be enough, a thousand years of this would not be enough. His mouth was hungry and insistent, his tongue probing my lips, asking for greater intimacy. I granted it, tongues swirling together, mine followed his when it retreated and tasting him in return.

There came the clanging of bells in the distance, the fire company alerted to the explosion. Griffin drew back a fraction. His breath was as raged as mine, which left me dazed with wonder.

"My dear," he whispered against my lips. Then he swallowed convulsively. "We should leave, before the fire companies come."

"Y-Yes." It was amazing I managed that much coherence.

He closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against mine, our breaths mingling. "Will you come home with me?"

Was he asking...? "Yes." Oh, God, yes.

His lips curved into a smile.”
― Jordan L. Hawk, Widdershins

“Don’t be absurd. They’d only do murder in the grand foyer, where they’d be sure of an audience.”
― Jordan L. Hawk, Widdershins

“The monsters are real, but they aren’t here now. You’re safe.”
― Jordan L. Hawk, Widdershins

“I’d never cared what anyone thought of me before. Everyone already considered me odd, but I’d accepted my fate even before I reached adulthood. I wasn’t athletic enough, or competitive enough, or manly enough; I was too bookish, too quiet, too awkward.”
― Jordan L. Hawk, Widdershins

“God, no wonder I’d fallen in love with Leander. He was an Apollo to my Hades: a being of golden light and life, while I was something growing among the shadows of the dead.”
― Jordan L. Hawk, Widdershins

“Christine seems more the type to shoot you in the chest than stab you in the back.”
― Jordan L. Hawk, Widdershins

“No,” he repeated in between kisses. “I can’t stand the thought of anyone else’s hands on you.”
― Jordan L. Hawk, Widdershins

“Before Griffin had come along, I’d been living inside a photograph: just a facsimile of life, without either color or depth.”
― Jordan L. Hawk, Widdershins

“Good morning," he said with a warm smile. "I was just going down to make breakfast. Would you like something? I have eggs and cold cereal."

We'd just spent the night together: was I supposed to acknowledge it at all? Pretend it never happened? Kiss him?

"Breakfast sounds wonderful," I said.

He took his hand away from my leg, and his expression grew more guarded. "Is everything alright?"

I'd given away my anxiety. "Er, yes, at least I think it is. I haven't looked out the window, but I suppose the world continues apace? And you seem to be in good health, and reasonably cheerful, so... perhaps?"

He starred at me for a moment, before tossing his head back and laughing. "My dear Whyborne, every time I think I know what's going on in that head of yours, you manage to utterly confound me.”
― Jordan L. Hawk, Widdershins

“Strange, how much harder it was to expose my heart than it had been my body.”
― Jordan L. Hawk, Widdershins

“Bullies like him were only strong while assured of victory; when faced with anyone more powerful, they turned into fawning sycophants, desperate to prove themselves.”
― Jordan L. Hawk, Widdershins

“Perhaps he simply couldn’t imagine anyone would stay with a man who wasn’t entirely whole. Who had been broken, and hadn’t managed to put all the pieces back together.”
― Jordan L. Hawk, Widdershins

“I will not surrender my profession simply because men throughout history have been unduly enamored of their penises!”
― Jordan L. Hawk, Widdershins

“He was a man’s man, despite his vocation; after all, he studied American history. A litany of red-blooded patriots, fighting savages and redcoats alike, taming the wilderness, proving their worth with bulging sinews and roaring guns.”
― Jordan L. Hawk, Widdershins

“Dinner with Leander and Uncle Addy had been different. We’d eaten in a smaller room, full of light and warmth, laughing together. God, no wonder I’d fallen in love with Leander. He was an Apollo to my Hades: a being of golden light and life, while I was something growing among the shadows of the dead.”
― Jordan L. Hawk, Widdershins

“I’m glad,” she said with sudden fierceness, and her raptor gaze unexpectedly pierced me. “Even if nothing lurks beneath the surface of the world but madness, I’m glad to know there is something more. That this isn’t everything.”
― Jordan L. Hawk, Widdershins