The Marriage Game Quotes

“Love doesn't always hit like a thunderbolt. Sometimes it can grow quietly in the background until one day you realize it is there.”
― Sara Desai, The Marriage Game

“Her breath hitched when he slid a thick finger into her wet heat. Slow. Firm. Agonizingly delicious.
"You're so wet," he murmured. "It really did turn you on."
"You turn me on." She arched against him, pleasure rippling through her core. Sam pushed another finger inside, angling to brush against her sweet spot.
"I thought you needed me, like right now," she panted as he palmed her breast through her clothes.
"I need to give you pleasure first." His heated gaze trapped her, made her insides tighten.
"So you're a gentleman sex beast." She wrapped her arms around his neck, ran her fingers through the softness of his hair. His shoulders were so broad, his neck corded with muscle. But unlike Harman's steroid-enhanced physique, Sam's perfect body was real.
"I don't feel like a gentleman." His voice was deeper than normal, thick and hoarse. He teased her nipple to a peak through her clothes. "The things I want to do to you right now are as far from gentlemanly as you can get.”
― Sara Desai, The Marriage Game

“I have a sweet tooth and I am not ashamed. That's all there is to it. No need to mention donuts at all."
"How about buns?"
She looked back over her shoulder and caught him staring at her ass. She was wearing a tight black skirt for no other reason than she'd had a strange urge to feel sexy after Hassan shredded her the other day.
She gave a little wiggle before she walked into the restaurant and was rewarded with the sound of his sharp intake of breath.
"Layla?"
"Yes?" She turned in the doorway, caught a cheeky smile.
"I like sweet things, too.”
― Sara Desai, The Marriage Game

“I love a man in uniform. And he's got a big hose. I'm getting hot just looking at it."
"I can hear you," Sam called out. "This is an office. Please keep the discussion to a PG level."
"How about you keep your dirty R-rated thoughts to yourself," Daisy retorted. "We're looking at a picture of a firefighter holding a hose on the street to cool people off on a hot summer day. In my innocence, I can't even imagine what you were thinking."
"I thought you were using a metaphor," Sam said. "But clearly I shouldn't assume..."
Layla glanced down at the picture. The firefighter was bare chested save for the suspenders holding up his fireman pants, which were unzipped in a way that suggested he wasn't on his way to a fire. "That's... some hose."
"I can still hear you."
"He's jealous," Daisy whispered. "He wishes he could have a big hose that makes women wet.”
― Sara Desai, The Marriage Game

“Don't tell me the babysitter is at home looking after our six kids for nothing."
"Six kids?" One of the bouncers reached over Layla and shook Sam's hand. "Respect, man. She doesn't look a day over twenty-eight."
"Twenty-eight?" Layla gave an affronted sniff. "I've only just turned twenty-six."
Married her at seventeen and didn't waste time." Sam patted her tummy. "Good thing I'm not a fan of 'roids. Tonight we're going for seven."
"Guess whose nuts are next if you don't get your hand off me?" Layla muttered under her breath.
The bouncer laughed. "I can't say I envy you going back to a house full of kids, but you're clearly having fun making them.”
― Sara Desai, The Marriage Game

“Your passion and fire would be wasted on me, Layla. You need to find your Qays."
"You want me to find a man I can drive to madness and death?"
Bob laughed, his gaze flicking to Sam. "I don't think you'll need to look too hard.”
― Sara Desai, The Marriage Game

“With one strong thrust he was inside her. She moaned, overwhelmed by the delicious fullness of him, the strength and power surrounding her.
Sam's shoulders tightened beneath her hands. "You feel so damn good."
Too good. When had it ever been like this? A connection that went beyond physical to something she could feel in her soul. She rocked her hips, drawing him deeper, holding him closer. As they lost themselves in a frantic rhythm, there was no office, no list of suitors, no game. Instead, there was Sam, raw and real, the need building up inside her, and the ache of longing in her pounding heart.
Sam slipped his hand between them, finding the spot that would drive her over, and taking her to the edge with a firm stroke of his fingers. Her head slammed against the door and she cried out as pleasure crashed over her in thunderous wave, his name a guttural moan on her lips.”
― Sara Desai, The Marriage Game

“Their mouths crashed together. Tongues tangled. He kissed her as if he wanted to consume her, devour her alive. Fierce kisses, hard kisses, desperate, wanting kisses. He tasted like chocolate and smelled like sin.
"Sam..." She pulled away. "I can't breathe."
"Neither can I." Her wrapped his arms around her and drew her in for another hungry kiss. Hot, hard, and wet, melting her to the side of the Jeep. His tongue worked past her lips to plunge into her mouth, every stroke tugging at things low and deep in her belly.
Her hands moved to his chest, sliding over his pecs and the ripple of abs beneath his shirt. Harman was perfect but Sam was real, his body hard from his fight training, muscles thick from use. He hissed out a breath when her fingers grazed the top of his belt, his infamous self-control giving way to her curious hands.
"What are we doing?" he murmured as he drew her earlobe into his mouth, his five-o'clock shadow rough against her sensitive skin.
"I don't know, but don't stop."
"No chance of that." He shifted against her, his arousal as evident from his ragged breaths as the growing hardness pressed against her hips.
When he thrust a thick thigh between her legs, she rocked against him, reckless and wanton in her need for release. She was dying, burning, her body on fire. She'd never felt anything like the toxic combination of anger and lust that pounded through her veins. It made her head spin, drove logic away.”
― Sara Desai, The Marriage Game

“You are beautiful, Layla."
Layla gave a tiny shake of her head. "I didn't feel beautiful when I saw the women Jonas had brought to our bed. Don't get me wrong. I have no desire to be that thin. I like my curves. But it was like he was saying there was something wrong with me, and it made me even angrier because he was right." She attacked the burger like it was a Scooby Snack. Did she really not see her own beauty? Evan had been falling all over himself to get her into bed, and the dudes with the mason jars weren't the only ones who'd been checking her out in the bar.”
― Sara Desai, The Marriage Game

“She wiggled beneath Sam but his hard, heavy body was impossible to move, and the more she squirmed, the harder a certain part of it seemed to get.
"I thought you said no missionary," he whispered.
"Oh my God," she raged, keeping her voice low. "Are you getting off on this?"
"I'm a man. You're rubbing yourself all over me. What did you think was going to happen?"
"I thought you were all about self-control." Something she seemed to be lacking at the moment. Fire licked between her thighs. And the heat... She felt like molten lava was running through her veins.
"Not around you.”
― Sara Desai, The Marriage Game

“It's a guy thing. We like euphemisms. He could just as easily have said doing the nasty, shagging, banging, screwing, humping, baking the potato, boning, boom-boom, four-legged foxtrot, glazing the donut, hitting a home run, launching the meat missile, makin' bacon, opening the gates of Mordor, pelvic pinochle, planting the parsnip, releasing the kraken, rolling in the hay, stuffin' the muffin, or two-ball in the middle pocket..." He trailed off when he noticed their shocked expressions. "Or sex," he added. "He could have just said that."
"No wonder you don't have a girlfriend." Layla gave him a withering look. "I can't imagine a woman who would stick around after you took her for a nice dinner and then said, Hey babe, let's go launch the meat missile , or my personal favorite, release the kraken."
"I didn't say I used them." Sam loosened his collar. Why was the restaurant so damn hot?
"You know them. That's bad enough."
Dilip tipped his head to the side. "What's a kraken?"
"That's what I'm going to do to Sam's head in about three seconds," Layla said.
Sam smirked. "A kraken is an enormous mythical sea monster."
"Are we in middle school?" Layla looked around the bare room in mock confusion. "Because I could swear you were just talking about the size of your-”
― Sara Desai, The Marriage Game

“He needs to respect me and treat me as an equal. He has to support my desire to run my own business and not expect me to take on traditional roles."
Sam twisted his lips to the side as if deep in thought. "So, no missionary."
"Were you born like this or did you take courses on how to be a dick?"
A tiny grin hitched his mouth. "Missionary is the traditional position."
"If you're not going to take this seriously..."
His gaze fell to her mouth. "I'm taking it as seriously as you are licking that donut. I don't think there is even a speck of icing left. We should let Dilip know you are wicked talented with your tongue.”
― Sara Desai, The Marriage Game

“They have twenty-four one-hour sittings every day with only one table per sitting."
Sam groaned as he closed his laptop. "I'd better grab some sandwiches on the way. It sounds like the kind of place you only get two peas and a sliver of asparagus on a piece of butter lettuce that was grown on the highest mountain peak of Nepal and watered with the tears of angels."
"Not a fan of haute cuisine?" She followed him down the stairs and out into the bright sunshine.
"I like food. Lots of it." He stopped at the nearest café and ordered three Reuben sandwiches, two Cobb salads, and three bottles of water.
"Would you like anything?" he asked after he placed his order.
Layla looked longingly as the server handed over his feast. "I don't want to ruin my appetite." She pointed to the baked-goods counter. "You forgot dessert."
"I don't eat sugar."
"Then the meal is wasted." She held open her handbag to reveal her secret stash. "I keep emergency desserts with me at all times- gummy bears, salted caramel chocolate, jelly beans, chocolate-glazed donuts- at least I think that's what they were, and this morning I managed to grab a small container of besan laddu and some gulab jamun.”
― Sara Desai, The Marriage Game

“You wouldn't believe how many languages I had to learn to get my software engineering degree."
Sam's gaze drifted over Daisy's Riot Grrrl T-shirt. "I see English wasn't one of them.”
― Sara Desai, The Marriage Game

“Maybe I could pay you another way..."
His heart skipped a beat, and for a moment he thought his fantasy of her in those boots on his desk just might come true. "I'm all ears, sweetheart. And a whole lot of something else.”
― Sara Desai, The Marriage Game

“I felt more comfortable when you were cursing like a sailor and calling me filthy names."
"Are you conceding defeat?" She tried to keep the hopeful tone from her voice when he tucked his laptop into his leather briefcase.
"Of course not." His dark eyes flashed with mirth. "I have a business meeting in half an hour which I had hoped to conduct here, but I'm too much of a gentleman to intrude on your privacy while you crush the hearts of ten sad and lonely men. I look forward to battling with you tomorrow, Miss Patel. May the best man win."
After the door closed behind him, she sat back in her chair surrounded by his warmth and the intoxicating scent of his cologne. She knew his type. Hated it. Arrogant. Cocky. Egotistical. Ultra-competitive. Fully aware of how devastatingly handsome he was. A total player. She would have swiped left if his profile had popped up on desi Tinder.
So why couldn't she stop smiling?”
― Sara Desai, The Marriage Game

“Layla jumped up and lunged for the paper. Sam held it higher and she collided with him, losing her balance. He circled an arm around her waist to keep her steady, securing her soft body against his chest. Electricity arced between them, warming his blood as he felt the pounding of her unaccommodating heart.
"Bastard." She broke the spell, jumping to get the paper. Her body rubbed up and down against his. Too late, he realized the danger.
"Is this a sales technique?" he whispered in her ear. "A little demonstration for Hassan about what he can expect in bed? Or is it just for me? Because, sweetheart, if he doesn't marry you after this, I will."
Her nostrils flared, and she pulled away. "I wouldn't marry you even if you got down on your knees and begged."
"When I'm with a woman, it's not me doing the begging.”
― Sara Desai, The Marriage Game

“Don't bother unpacking the rest," she said, tearing the lease in half. "I'm kicking you out now."
She was almost as strong willed and stubborn as he was. But he had much better taste in furniture.
He snorted a laugh. "I'd like to see you try."
"I'm sure you would," she snapped. "It's probably the only way you can get a woman near you with that giant ego in the way."
"I am hardly lacking for female companionship."
Layla rolled her eyes in an overly dramatic fashion. "I'm not interested in hearing about your visits to the nail bar. I just want you gone."
"It's not going to happen, sweetheart. I have the document in digital form, and the law on my side."
"Family trumps the law." She folded her arms under her generous breasts. Sweat trickled down his back. Karen had nothing on this woman, even with her creative use of a toy blood pressure cuff.
"Not in the real world. My attorney works upstairs. If you need further proof, I can ask him to join us and confirm that the lease is valid.”
― Sara Desai, The Marriage Game

“You can’t fix anything until you fix yourself.”
― Sara Desai, The Marriage Game

“You can’t be in everyone’s head, guessing what they are going to do. The real measure of a man comes not when things go right, but what he does when things go wrong.”
― Sara Desai, The Marriage Game

“I’ll imagine it.” She twirled around in front of the gaping maw of a concrete tube. “Do you know the song ‘Dard-e-Disco’ from Om Shanti Om?” “Am I brown?” Om Shanti Om was one of the classic Bollywood films. He’d been forced to watch it countless times. His mother never cooked without a Bollywood film playing on the TV in her kitchen, and the songs from each one were burned into his brain.”
― Sara Desai, The Marriage Game

“You kind of ruined me for Baboo- multiple times."
Sam gave a growl of satisfaction, puffing out his chest with masculine pride like he was solely responsible for the fact that she wasn't a virgin.”
― Sara Desai, The Marriage Game

“They walked quickly through the kitchen. A woman in a blue salwar kameez skewered bright orange pieces of chicken to go into the tandoor. An older woman was peeling and slicing a bag of onions. Two cooks in white aprons stirred pots full of spicy potatoes, braised lamb, and chunks of paneer swimming in creamy spinach. At the back of the kitchen, the cook who had glared at him when he had come to talk to Nasir used a giant paddle to stir a vat of what appeared to be goat curry.
Sam breathed in the sweet mixed aroma of cardamom, turmeric, garam masala, and fresh chilies as Daisy led him past the stainless steel counters. It was the smell of his mother's kitchen last night when they'd had dinner together. The scent of home.”
― Sara Desai, The Marriage Game

“Layla skimmed the legal opinion. The one-page document stated in no uncertain terms that Sam had the full legal right of occupancy to the office and that her claims had no merit. John had signed and dated it at the bottom. Instantly, she understood why Royce had let her read it.
"This is dated the day after Sam and I met."
"Fancy that."
Her heart skipped a beat. "He always knew I had no right to be here. He could have kicked me out at any time."
"If it had been me, you and your purple couch would have been out on the street on day one, but then I'm coldhearted that way."
Layla sat heavily on the nearest chair. "Then why did he play the game?"
Royce shrugged. "Maybe he didn't want you to marry a douche."
"Or someone like Ranjeet," she said, considering. "He was trying to protect me. But if I didn't find someone, would he have honored the rules and walked away?"
"He does have that character flaw." Royce leaned back in his chair, folding his arms behind his head. "That's why we made a good team. I have no scruples and he has too many."
"Would you give him a message from me?" An idea started to form in her mind. "I deleted his contact details from my phone."
"Do I look like a receptionist?"
"You look like a guy who pretends not to care, but whose colorful clothes hide a warm heart."
His lips curved. "What does that make me in this tragedy? The comic relief?"
"It's not a tragedy." Layla wrote a quick note on the back of the legal opinion. "It's a romance. Except in this version, Buttercup saves herself.”
― Sara Desai, The Marriage Game

“If you're worried that her wheelchair is an issue," John said, "I'll just remind you that your personality handicap hasn't stopped us from being friends."
Puzzled, Sam frowned. "What personality handicap?"
"Your inability to see things that are staring you in the face.”
― Sara Desai, The Marriage Game

“We're going to give them one hell of a good time."
"This isn't my idea of a good time." Meeting Layla's crazy family, eating masala dosas, and going public with his feelings for the woman who had accepted him despite his failings was his idea of a good time. Holding her in his arms while the warm afternoon sunshine slid lazy fingers through the cracks in his curtains was his idea of a good time. Looking up from his desk to see her chewing on the end of her pencil, deep in thought, while a pile of donuts lay untouched beside her, was his idea of a good time.”
― Sara Desai, The Marriage Game

“His stomach rumbled. He hadn't eaten since breakfast, and the aromas drifting up from the kitchen below reminded him of his mother's masala box, filled with all the spices she used to make their meals- zesty cumin, sweet cinnamon, fragrant bay leaves, savory mustard seeds, rich peppercorn, pungent garam masala, and spicy chilies- they were all tied up in a sense of home.”
― Sara Desai, The Marriage Game

“Layla poured the batter into the pan, drawing circles with the back of a tumbler to create a large crepe. "I've made coconut chutney, green chutney, and red chutney to go with it, as well as sambar." She pointed to the souplike side dish that was one of her favorite accompaniments to masala dosas. The journey through the dips with their hints of salt, heat, sour, and spice were what made masala dosas special.”
― Sara Desai, The Marriage Game

“Everyone had what they called a coffee bar name. Instead of Nooput, the girl is Natalie. Instead of Tarick, the boy is Ricky. And Hardik wants to be called Harry because he says Americans think his name means he is in the dirty movies.”
― Sara Desai, The Marriage Game

“Stay in the closet and I promise to tell you the fantasy that I had about you and me and the Eagerson desk."
Sam ducked behind her father's spare shirts. "Does it involve handcuffs?"
"No handcuffs."
"Rope?"
"No."
"Chains?"
"It wasn't Fifty Shades of Brown, so don't get excited.”
― Sara Desai, The Marriage Game