Embattled Hearts Quotes

“Every soldier that has served overseas will carry some type of scar, either internally or externally. It’s our responsibility, as their support, to make sure that those scars are seen as marks of courage, not something to turn away from when you pass them on the street.”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Hearts

“Actually, she smelled like some kind of confection. It was a distinctive mix of sugar cookie and ocean.”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Hearts

“Friends with benefits, my ass. He’s mine.”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Hearts

“I know you have baggage, I know you're going to be a pain in my ass, but I love you more that I ever dreamed possible.”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Hearts

“What if he did make a move on her? And she laughed her ass off? What if he made a move on her, and she didn’t laugh her ass off? That was even scarier.”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Hearts

“John, be careful!” He glanced at her for a split second and grinned rakishly. “No problem, babe!”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Hearts

“The burly soldier looked up with a smirk from the monitors. “Personal protection, huh?”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Hearts

“What’s wrong?” Now that he was on the spot, John floundered for what to say. He wasn’t a bare-your-heart kind of guy. “I don’t like people.” She raised her delicate brows but didn’t say anything. “In general I have no tolerance for them. They piss me off and drive me to cuss. Most of them don’t have the sense to find their way out of a paper sack. None of this applies, of course, to other Marines.” One side of her mouth lifted in a smile. “And it doesn’t apply to you. You’re the first person I’ve ever been with who doesn’t make me want to shoot somebody out of boredom. You have spunk and heart and you’re sexy as hell, and you don’t mind my shit. And lady,” he said with a sigh, “I come with a lot of shit. I have a lot of baggage, and though I don’t mean to spew it on you, I know I will. I’ll tell you I’m sorry now and every day for the rest of my life.” He reached out and tugged her to lie across his lap. “But I’ll also tell you I love you every day, which I do. I do not fucking deserve you. I know that. I’ve not done anything in this life to be given a gift like you. But I will cherish you, and honor you, as much as I possibly can. You make me feel like a man, and I cannot tell you how much I need that.” Her pretty hazel eyes welled with tears then dripped down her cheeks. He felt his own throat tighten as he brushed her tears away with his rough thumbs. She cupped his jaw in her hand and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips. “Okay.” He pulled back in surprise. “Just ‘okay’?” She nodded. “You didn’t tell me anything I didn’t already know. I know you have baggage, I know you’re going to be a pain in my ass, but I love you more than I ever dreamed possible. You’re abrasive and harsh, but you cuddle a kitten like you were meant to do it. You cuddle me like you were meant to do it. And you’ll cuddle our kids the same way. You make my body sing and my heart race. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, too.” There was no way he couldn’t not kiss her then. As he cupped her head in his hand, he marveled that he’d been given this piece of heaven.”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Hearts

“What’s wrong?” Now that he was on the spot, John floundered for what to say. He wasn’t a bare-your-heart kind of guy. “I don’t like people.” She raised her delicate brows but didn’t say anything. “In general I have no tolerance for them. They piss me off and drive me to cuss. Most of them don’t have the sense to find their way out of a paper sack. None of this applies, of course, to other Marines.” One side of her mouth lifted in a smile. “And it doesn’t apply to you. You’re the first person I’ve ever been with who doesn’t make me want to shoot somebody out of boredom. You have spunk and heart and you’re sexy as hell, and you don’t mind my shit. And lady,” he said with a sigh, “I come with a lot of shit. I have a lot of baggage, and though I don’t mean to spew it on you, I know I will. I’ll tell you I’m sorry now and every day for the rest of my life.” He reached out and tugged her to lie across his lap. “But I’ll also tell you I love you every day, which I do. I do not fucking deserve you. I know that. I’ve not done anything in this life to be given a gift like you. But I will cherish you, and honor you, as much as I possibly can. You make me feel like a man, and I cannot tell you how much I need that.” Her”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Hearts

“I can’t promise you anything beyond this, Shannon. Hell, maybe nothing will happen. My body isn’t like it used to be. But I can make sure you’re taken care of.” She gave him the sweetest, sexiest smile and looped her arms up around his neck. “John, I’m sure you’ll take care of me. I have no doubt. And don’t worry about promises. I’m here, number one, because I am your friend. I want the best for you. If I can help you over this hurdle, so to speak, I will.” His throat tightened with emotion, and his eyes burned. He buried his face in her hair to keep her from seeing. He had to clear his throat several times before he could talk though. “Thank you, Shannon. We’re friends with benefits, now, huh?” She giggled beneath him, and nipped his neck. “I guess so.” He”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Hearts

“Shannon, I don’t want you to be…disappointed.” He could feel his face burn with humiliation, and was thankful it was fairly dark in the bedroom. “Things don’t always happen the way I expect them to, if they happen at all.” She sighed beside him, and propped herself up on her elbow. There was just enough illumination from the outside street light he could see the curve of her cheek as she smiled. “John, like I told you before, we can do as much or as little as you want. There’s no pressure, other than what you’re putting on yourself. I love being with you. If lying beside me is what you’re comfortable with, that’s what we’ll do.” Squeezing”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Hearts

“I don’t want to hold you back.” Shannon’s face scrunched up in confusion. “Why would you think you hold me back?” John clamped his jaw and looked away. “Ah,” she said softly. John hated that one small sound, and the wealth of meaning that went with it. Something popped in his jaw. “Let me tell you something, John.” She leaned back in the chair and took a deep breath. He didn’t dare look at her, but the breath stalled in his lungs as he waited. He kept his face deliberately turned to the window. “I want you to listen to what I say, and actually hear. Your disability is more of a hurdle to you than me, and I don’t mean physically. I’ve lived with a paraplegic, so I’m probably a little more cognizant of what you go through every day than anybody else here. As well as the kind of care you may eventually need.” He caught a glimpse of her hand in the air, and he assumed she had waved at the building. John had to admit, she was probably right. Other than Duncan, none of the other operatives were wheelchair-bound. Several had been in the chair during recovery, but only he and his partner had spent any length of time in one. She was silent, but she leaned toward him enough to catch his gaze with her own. John couldn’t look away from her gentle smile. “I like you. A lot. I wasn’t flirting with that cop because he didn’t do anything for me. You’re the one that makes my heart race.” Fear”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Hearts

“His disability had never frustrated him more than at that moment and he lifted himself into the seat and had to wait for Duncan to fold and pack away his chair.”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Hearts

“I want you to listen to what I say, and actually hear. Your disability is more of a hurdle to you than me, and I don’t mean physically. I’ve lived with a paraplegic, so I’m probably a little more cognizant of what you go through every day than anybody else here. As well as the kind of care you may eventually need.”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Hearts

“Iraq.” As much as twenty percent of returning veterans from Iraq had post-traumatic stress, some thought even more. Aiden’s anxiety was par for the course. Duncan wondered why he hadn’t gotten therapy at the VA.”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Hearts

“He waited impatiently for the hydraulic pad to level out, then rolled on. He pressed the button to lift himself inside and seal the door. He set the automatic clamps onto his wheels and twisted the key.”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Hearts

“Only half?” “Huh?” She blinked at him in a daze, not sure what he’d asked. “Why are you only half in love with me?” “Mm, I said I was half in love with you for months. But then you moved in here and I really got to know you. Now I’m completely in love with you.” He pulled back to stare down into her eyes, and she let him see the truth in her heart. He looked away. “I don’t know if I can reciprocate that. I mean, I’m nuts about you. I love having sex with you, obviously. But I don’t know what love is, you know? I don’t know if I’m feeling the same thing you are.” Shannon tried not to be hurt at his words. She pulled back and dropped one hand down to hold his on her lap. “And that’s fine. I won’t rush you into saying something you don’t feel. But I know in my heart that I love you, wheelchair and all, cussing and all. None of it makes me want to be away from you. You were the family I thought about when I fired that gun.” His dark eyes rested on hers for a long time, until he leaned forward to kiss her. “Okay, let’s give this some time to digest, okay? You may feel differently when things settle down and you realize you don’t have to depend upon us anymore.” She”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Hearts

“But I didn’t want any of the other guys here. I only wanted you.” He frowned at her and shook his head, as if that wasn’t what he wanted to hear. “I don’t know why. I’m a crippled, bitter, grumpy ass who swears too much.” “I know, but I’ve been half in love with you for months.” His eyes flared with heat before he looked down at his lap. “No, you’re not.” Shannon smacked him on the knee. “Don’t tell me I’m not in love with you.” “Ouch!”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Hearts

“Shannon woke to a light stroke on her cheek. John sat in front of her. The light from the dying fire highlighted his frowning face. “I’m sorry I snapped at you earlier.” She yawned hugely and stretched on the couch. “And I’m sorry I handed you your underwear. That was my mistake. It’ll never happen again.” He glared at her, but she could see his dark eyes dancing with humor. “Smart-ass.” “Hard-ass.” He barked out a laugh and grinned at her. She sat up on the edge of the couch and pushed her hair away from her face. John reached out and tugged at a curl, as if he couldn’t help himself. “Why did you snap at me like that? It hurt.” He dropped his hand to his lap and winced. “I feel like I let you down, with everything. I guess I’m feeling defensive. Useless, to be blunt.” Shannon”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Hearts

“His throat ached with the need to cry out at the unfairness of it all. He’d finally found his somebody, his person that he could connect to more than anybody else, and she’d been snatched away. When”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Hearts

“John reached out, and as naturally as breathing brought her down onto his lap. She pressed her lips to his, and wrapped her arms around him. She had to be the sweetest weight he’d ever carried.”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Hearts

“John motioned her up from her office chair and guided her into his lap. She cuddled into him and inhaled the scent of his skin. This was her new favorite place in the world. He wrapped his arms around her, and she relaxed into him gratefully. Nothing could go wrong when John held her like this. He”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Hearts

“He’d be incredibly lucky if she would take a chance on him. He couldn’t help but worry that he wouldn’t be enough for her, though.”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Hearts

“John looked up the length of her body, mouth glistening with her release, and gave her the sexiest, most self-satisfied, manly grin she ever seen on his face.”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Hearts

“In spite of the situation they were in, he felt very light inside, like a weight had been lifted. The feeling made him uncomfortable, because he wasn’t normally that way. He wanted to go in and wake Shannon up, and look at her, and touch her. Some imaginary barrier had been broken inside him, some reserve, and he wanted intimacy. He wanted to be with her. Snatching”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Hearts

“Let’s just leave him alone, okay? Don’t try to butter him up with your cooking or anything.” He dropped his head when he said the last, and she had to strain to hear. Shannon laughed. “Oh, please. He doesn’t look like the German chocolate cake type.” John raised a dark eyebrow. “That’s my cake. You better not make him that.” Shannon knew he was trying to tease her out of the funk she was in, but she wasn’t sure if she was ready for that. “I won’t make that cake for anybody but you,” she promised. The”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Hearts

“John froze for a moment, stunned that she would even care. He folded her hand into his own and tugged, and she wrapped her arms around his neck. Slipping one arm under her knees, he swung her into his lap. She curled into him as if she belonged there. He fought to maintain some kind of emotional distance. There was a bad guy out there messing with her, and he needed to keep his cool. The problem was, he’d never meant anything to anybody. He’d been a buddy and friend to the guys, but he’d never been involved with a woman the same way. As she tightened her arms around his neck, emotion clutched at his throat. “I”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Hearts

“Unable to help himself, John cupped her head in his hands and brought his mouth to hers.”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Hearts

“John’s somber dark eyes regarded her quietly. “Good morning,” he rumbled. Damn, Shannon thought, his voice was even sexier with that rasp in it. She tried to summon up a smile. “Good morning. Uh, how did I get here?” “You fell asleep, and rather than let you crumple on the floor, I brought you up here with me.” Blood crept into her cheeks. “Oh. Sorry ’bout that.” Shannon started to peel back the blanket to sit up, but John tugged her back down. “Don’t leave just yet. You’re very warm. And don’t be sorry. I enjoyed every minute of it. I actually slept very good with you, which is surprising.” Shannon eased back down onto his shoulder and pulled the blanket up to her chin. A heavy hand resettled at her waist. “You don’t normally sleep well?” “No. Dreams wake me up a lot, like last night.” “Oh,” she said, inanely.”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Hearts

“She felt a tug on her scalp, and looked back to find John running a thick curl through his fingertips. “Can I ask you a question?” “You can,” she told him with a smile, “but I may not answer it.” John grinned at her as she parroted back to him. “Is this your natural color?” “Muddy brown, you mean? Yes, it is.” “It’s not muddy,” he told her firmly. “In the firelight it looks about ten different colors. None of them mud-colored.” “Thank you,” she said finally. He tugged the loose curl out straight and let it fall, then pulled it out again. Finally, he tunneled his fingers in against her scalp, and Shannon could not help but groan. Nerve endings on her head leapt to attention. “That feels really good,” she told him, and tipped her head to rest completely against the couch. For several long minutes, he ran his fingers over and under and through her hair. “I have to warn you,” she told him finally, “that if you don’t quit, I’ll be asleep in no time.”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Hearts