Embattled Minds Quotes

“Ember looked up when he walked in, and when he saw her face, he felt like he’d been gut shot. Heavy bruising discolored the right side up to her eye, and she seemed to be in pain. Her mouth was pinched and her eyes squinted. When she realized he wasn’t one of the wait staff, she immediately turned away. “No customers allowed back here,” she called. She moved down the cook line and motioned to a Hispanic man she was working with to take her place at the grill. Zeke prowled down the parallel aisle until he was right behind her. “L-look at me.” She shook her head stubbornly. “You can’t be back here, Zeke.” “Look at me, please.” After a long pause, she turned her body toward him, but kept her face turned away. Bending his knees enough to peer into her eyes, he waited until she looked at him. Fury rolled through him as he realized he could see finger marks within the bruise. “Who d-did this to you?” She shook her head and refused to answer. Tears glinted in her eyes. “It’s no big deal, okay? Accidents happen. I was just in the wrong place at the right time. It happens when you own a bar.” Her eyes slid away and he thought there was something she wasn’t telling him, but he had a feeling if he called her on it she’d clam up completely. He reached out to touch a length of her dark hair that had escaped from her braid. Her eyes flickered and a single tear rolled down her cheek. He groaned. “D-d-don’t cry. I didn’t come in here to…up-upset you. Just had to check on you.” *****”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Minds

“I do love you.” Her face eased and relaxed into a smile. “I love you, too.” “I want you and Drew to marry me.” The nurse lifted the mask completely from him, sniffed and tactfully left the room. Ember’s brown eyes were wide and luminous with tears. One slipped down her cheek. “And I can speak for Drew when I say we want to marry you too. He already told me you needed a family. Our family.” Emotion tightened his throat and made his eyes burn. “I never e-e-expected to find somebody willing to take all of me, like this.” She shook her head and stepped between his knees, reaching for his hands. “I’ve told you before and I’ll tell you a million times more. Your scars don’t bother me. I love them, because they tell me exactly the kind of man you are, willing to fight for your country and your brothers. If you never have another surgery, I’ll be fine with it. The outside isn’t the important part to me. It’s this right here.” She laid her hand over his pounding heart. His damn eyes. He wiped the tears away and pulled her into his arms. “I’ll love you forever,” he vowed.”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Minds

“I would walk over g-glass for you, in a damn hospital gown with my ass h-hanging out. And your son is brilliant. I look forward to playing Legos with him again.” He dared to reach out and tuck some hair behind her ear. “And I love you because you’re the only one that sees me, not the scars or the h-history, just me. You scare the hell out of me with how much you see.” She”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Minds

“Dude, you are so whipped.” He frowned. “N-no, I’m not.” “You look at her as if she hung the moon.” Zeke shrugged uncomfortably, not so sure that she hadn’t. “I’m enjoying b-b-being with her. A l-lot, actually.” Chad had his head cocked to the side and a funny look on his face. “Do you love her?” For a long moment, he couldn’t answer, because his heart clutched in his chest. “Yeah, I think I do.” “What”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Minds

“Zeke drifted over to her father’s guitar in the corner of the office. He stared at it for a few long moments, before glancing at her over his shoulder. “Mind?” She shook her head, curious what he would do with the old acoustic. It had seen better days and Dad kept it more for sentimental reasons than practical. Zeke picked it up and dust swirled away. He fitted it under his arm, running through chords to check to see if it was in tune. It wasn’t off by much, but his broad fingers tweaked and tightened until it was at perfect pitch. Seamlessly, he strummed the opening chords to “Home” by Michael Buble. Ember knew her mouth had to be hanging open, but she didn’t care. As if he couldn’t not, his deep voice fell into accompaniment. She stepped away to sink down into a chair, entranced by the broken man singing, eyes shut. Tendrils of need and longing crept into her heart, and it was one of the most beautiful things she’d ever seen. Tears filled her eyes. Almost halfway through the song, his fingers fumbled a note and he stopped singing. When she lifted her eyes to look at him, he stared at her as if he’d forgotten she were there. Jaw tight, emotion brimming in his eyes, he set the guitar back on the stand and walked out of the room. Ember could have wept. She didn’t know why he’d quit, but she wanted him to come right back in and finish the song. Her mind knew what melody was supposed to come next, but it couldn’t create the same type of emotion he had while singing. She thought back to the absolute absorption on his face as he sang, and realized he hadn’t stuttered or hesitated once through the entire performance.”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Minds

“She’s got him so pussy-whipped.” A half-full bottle of water hit Chad high on his back, jolting him off stride. Only natural athleticism kept him from landing in a heap at the bottom of the treadmill. He slapped the red button on the console and looked around. “Fuck you, Lowell.” Chad laughed when he saw Gunny Palmer sitting in his sport chair a few feet away, dressed in workout clothes. “Well, you are. Did I see you carrying her fabulous, bejewelled purple purse the other day?” Palmer clamped his heavy jaw, dark eyes narrowing. “Yes, you did. I’ll carry the damn thing everywhere she goes if she wants me to. You know why?” “Why?” Chad asked, laughing. “Because I get to go home and crawl into bed with her at the end of the day. And if she’s fucking happy, so am I.” Duncan punched Chad on the shoulder. “I think he’s got a point.” Chad”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Minds

“I told you flat out that I loved you. I think I loved you when you kicked those college kids out after they grabbed my ass. I know I loved you that day in my office when you held me in your arms as if you couldn’t let me go and let me cry out my frustration. I love your looks, even though,” she glared at him, “you went and changed them without telling me.” She shook her head and looked at the floor for a minute, before lifting tear-drenched eyes to his. “But your looks aren’t why I love you. You’re strong and resilient and have a heart of absolute gold, and I can tell when you touch me that you would walk over glass for me. Most especially, I love the way you treat my child, with respect and encouragement.” Zeke”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Minds

“Ember felt cherished. And feminine. Protected. He was so obviously male, layered with muscle, and he felt like her champion, her hero. When”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Minds

“He hadn’t had a lot of relationship experience. Some of the guys he’d served with had girls, wives even, at home waiting for them, but it just hadn’t happened for him. Nobody had seriously pinged his radar. Ember didn’t just ping his radar, she damn near crashed his plane. The woman appealed to him in every way she could. Hell, she stood in front of him now with no bra, no make-up, her hair a mess, but she drew him to her like a drug. As he cradled her in his arms, he couldn’t imagine being anywhere else on Earth. Drew”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Minds

“Interestingly, Zeke seemed just as fascinated with Drew. When they disappeared after dinner, she wandered through the apartment looking for them and followed the rumble of voices to her son’s room. They were both sprawled on their bellies playing Legos, dark head tucked trustingly in next to the dirty blond. Zeke shifted his booted feet as Drew patted him on the shoulder for something, and she was struck by how involved they were. She stepped into the room to draw their attention and motioned to the clock on his dresser. “You need to get ready for bed, buddy.” His little face puckered up to argue but Zeke bumped him in the shoulder with his fist. “Good playing with you, buddy.” Drew’s”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Minds

“She was tying him in knots. And he loved it.”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Minds

“You n-n-need to be sure, Ember. And you need to be aware, this is n-not a one night thing. If you l-l-l-l-let me in now, I’m going to be here a w-while.” She”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Minds

“I appreciate the sacrifices you made for your men and our country, but if you ever lay a hand on Ember again, accident or otherwise, I think I’ll have to teach you some manners.” Rather”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Minds

“Now wait a minute. You’ve been with me all day. I’m not blind and I’m definitely not cruel. You know that. I actually do think you’re good-looking. Hell, you’re built like a damn underwear model and have the prettiest ice-blue eyes I’ve ever seen. Yes, you have scars, but they certainly don’t bother me, or turn me off. If anything, they turn me on, because they tell me exactly the kind of man you are.”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Minds

“Wait, he’s missing a leg? Are you serious?” He nodded. “His left. That’s why he was sh-showing me his b-b-boots earlier today. He just had them…f-fitted for the prosthetic.” She thought he’d just been showing off his cowboy boots. Dipshit. She thought of all the boxes he had carried and all the trips he had made for smaller things. He’d never mentioned anything of the sort, and she’d not even noticed a hitch in his gait. “Damn, I feel even worse that he helped me now.” Zeke frowned at her. “Why? Just b-because he’s missing a leg it doesn’t mean he’s any less of a man. He doesn’t want to be kn-known by his injuries. None of us do.” Ember”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Minds

“What happened to your face?” Her own face burning in humiliation at her son’s rude question, she pulled Drew around to face her. “You need to apologize to Zeke. That was not nice at all.” Zeke chuckled and knelt down beside them. “It’s okay. I much prefer the actual cu-curiosity of a child.” He looked the boy in the eye. “Hi Drew. I’m Zeke. My face got hu-hurt when I was a Marine and trying to help some people. Did your mom ever tell you the Humpty D-d-dumpty story?” he waited for the child to nod. “Well, I’m kind of like Humpty, only the wall fell on me, and broke me.” Drew’s dark eyes widened dramatically, and he looked at Zeke with new respect. “Really?” The big man nodded. “It did. Then they c-couldn’t put me back together j-j-just right.” Her”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Minds

“I can’t believe how much I’m trusting you right now. I hardly know you.” He grinned at her, and the scar that looped down from his bottom lip pulled his smile off-kilter. “I’m a Marine. I’m a…good guy. Even though I don’t look it.” Against”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Minds

“When the big Marine pressed a gentle kiss to the top of her head, she leaned into him and curled her hands beneath her chin, desperate for some kind of anchor in the catastrophe her life had become. His massive arms wrapped around her and she broke into sobs, unable to tamp them down any longer. She heard rumbling beneath her good cheek, but couldn’t understand the words. When he swung her up into his arms, she didn’t even care, as long as he continued to hold her. She heard the squeak as her office door slammed shut, then the world tilted as he sank onto the old couch pushed against the wall. Time stopped as she sobbed into his shirt and he gently rubbed her back. He was so solid and strong beneath her fists. It felt like the world could be falling down around them and he would still hold her safely above everything. A warrior battling back the nightmares. She lost track of time as she cuddled into him, but her tears eventually began to dwindle away.”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Minds

“Hi guys. What can I get you?” Chad knew to lead off, because it gave Zeke time. Diego unclenched his jaw enough to order his cola, and Terrell ordered a house beer. Then, she turned her big, dark chocolate colored eyes to him. He took a breath, thought about the words and spit them out. Her fine dark brows furrowed and she cocked her head. “Uh, what?” Fighting not to flinch from her look, he replayed the words in his head. Oh, no. He hadn’t said dark chocolate eyes, had he? He glanced at the guys and they were all grinning at him, and he knew he had. Fuck! “House beer,” he snapped. With a curious look, she turned away. “Did I…a-actually say d-dark chocolate eyes?” Chad laughed out loud and clapped him on the shoulder. “I knew you liked the girl, but I didn’t expect you to hit on her like that.” Zeke shook his head, totally disgusted and completely mortified. As if it weren’t bad enough he couldn’t talk like a normal human being, now his brain had to pick up words he had no intention of uttering? It had tricked him before, but never so brilliantly. For”
― J.M. Madden, Embattled Minds