The Devil's Own Duke Quotes

“I never thought I could be this happy, Hetty. I thought that love would tear me apart, and it has.” He pressed his cheek to hers. “I’ve been ripped apart and remade as a better man, one who will never stop loving you. Never.”
― Lenora Bell, The Devil's Own Duke

“How did this happen?” she asked. “I rescued you from the wall and took you for a spin around a ballroom.” “I think I rescued you from a life devoid of love. And devoid of quiet evenings reading books by the fire. I’m looking forward to many of those, you know.”
― Lenora Bell, The Devil's Own Duke

“I know that my love for you holds risk, but it also holds action. I choose to give you this love, Ash, whether you accept it or not. I give it, gift it, freely, because I know you to be worthy of owning my heart.”
― Lenora Bell, The Devil's Own Duke

“I’m not a goddess on a pedestal. I’m just a woman with a head full of fairy tales who dreams of moonlit kisses.”
― Lenora Bell, The Devil's Own Duke

“Hetty, you’ve not only reformed me, but I’ve also been transformed. I’m something completely new, and it scares me. I don’t know how to be this new man. Vulnerable. Aching for you.”
― Lenora Bell, The Devil's Own Duke

“He loved it when she paced. He liked watching the way her hips swayed so forcefully.”
― Lenora Bell, The Devil's Own Duke

“Will you come back to bed so we can have a nice conversation with you in my arms?” “I will not. It’s dangerous in that bed. There’s entirely too much naked Ash in that bed. It’s too much for my heart.”
― Lenora Bell, The Devil's Own Duke

“You were supposed to be dastardly, cold, heartless. You were supposed to only care about your own interests. You were supposed to be a fortune-hunter and a scoundrel.” “I’m . . . sorry?” “You should be.”
― Lenora Bell, The Devil's Own Duke

“Woman. You’re torturing me. Please.” “Are you begging for my touch, Ash?” “You win, Hetty. You won a long time ago. I’m not ashamed to beg.”
― Lenora Bell, The Devil's Own Duke

“Jax burst out laughing. “What? What’s so hilarious?” “Can you hear yourself? Hetty this, and Hetty that. You’ve fallen in love with her.” “I haven’t. I admire her. I want to help.” “Uh-huh.”
― Lenora Bell, The Devil's Own Duke

“She was doing her very best to maintain her distance, and then he described her wine with poetic perfection, or encouraged a vulnerable child to keep reading, which was custom-designed to seduce both her mind and heart.”
― Lenora Bell, The Devil's Own Duke

“He made a noise in the back of his throat, a strangled sound. “Bloody hell, Hetty. Are you trying to kill me?” “No, I’m trying to seduce you. You can’t corrupt me if I’m the one who seduces you.” “Oh, is that how it works?” “I just added it to my schedule for the day. Item number nine: seduce Ash.”
― Lenora Bell, The Devil's Own Duke

“Do you know, Mr. Scourge, I used to be bullied by the other boys for reading books. There’s no shame in loving to read. Devouring all the books you can find will make you a clever boy, and you’ll have a very bright future. That’s the sweetest revenge on those dimwitted boys who bothered you.”
― Lenora Bell, The Devil's Own Duke

“She made him thirst for more than wealth, more than the power to change the world. Holding her made his life before he met her seem hollow and cold, like an empty wine glass. She was everything effervescent and tart-sweet, everything intoxicating.”
― Lenora Bell, The Devil's Own Duke

“Your years in the factory gave you a hard casing, Ash, as though you’re encased in solid oak and you never let anyone see inside to the real you.”
― Lenora Bell, The Devil's Own Duke

“Precisely as you described. A glowering, good-looking, arrogant devil of a man. You’ll definitely have your hands full with that one.” Having her hands full of Ash had been foremost on her mind all morning, try as she might to suppress it.”
― Lenora Bell, The Devil's Own Duke

“A maid began to scrape the bottom of his feet with a rough stone. Could it be possible that the arch of one’s foot was an erotic area?”
― Lenora Bell, The Devil's Own Duke

“Enough,” Ash roared. “I’ll never become a respectable duke’s heir, reading by the fire of an evening in a velvet dressing gown, wearing fur-lined slippers. Dull. Unthinking. And I’ll never be weak enough to fall in love. I’ve seen what it does to a man. Flays you, exposes your innards to the vultures. Makes you lose your edge.”
― Lenora Bell, The Devil's Own Duke

“Women should not be forced to make those choices,” said Della. “But this is the world we live in,” said Hetty. “We seek to better the lot of women, but we must work within the system. We must create change from the inside out.”
― Lenora Bell, The Devil's Own Duke

“You could offer to smooth his entrée into society and, in exchange, he would agree to allow you the time to attempt to make your vineyards profitable.” Isobel tapped her pen against the paper. “A bargain is a means of regaining your footing.”
― Lenora Bell, The Devil's Own Duke

“Hetty had the indecorous thought that a man so breathtakingly handsome should never hide himself away, but parade around naked all the day long, causing traffic accidents and inspiring the female poets of London to feverish heights.”
― Lenora Bell, The Devil's Own Duke

“Your compulsion for orderliness in all things overrode your ability to be devious. Please don’t attempt a career at thievery.”
― Lenora Bell, The Devil's Own Duke

“Where does your owner hide his legal documents?” she asked the cat.”
― Lenora Bell, The Devil's Own Duke

“He didn’t want her jewels. He wanted the title, and the power it gave. The power to change England’s labor laws.”
― Lenora Bell, The Devil's Own Duke

“Are you listening to me, Mr. Ellis?” she asked with a puff of breath that lifted a brunette curl from her cheek. “No. I was admiring you.” “You,” she sputtered. “You make me want to scream.” “It’s not very English of you, Lady Henrietta,” he replied with a smile. “All of this public displaying of emotion.”
― Lenora Bell, The Devil's Own Duke

“He was hard-edged. Cast in bronze. He was danger. She felt it like an icy wind at her back.”
― Lenora Bell, The Devil's Own Duke

“I don’t like the way those men at the bar are leering at us as though they’re perusing a menu at a chophouse and have decided to order the Young Lady Special.”
― Lenora Bell, The Devil's Own Duke

“The garden path disappeared from beneath her feet and was replaced by the gaping maw of hell.”
― Lenora Bell, The Devil's Own Duke

“He backed her against the wall, covering her with his powerful body, cupping her face in his warm, strong hands. He gazed into her eyes. “That, my lady, was only the precursor to a kiss. You can’t cross anything off your list yet. This is a kiss.”
― Lenora Bell, The Devil's Own Duke

“Wait! Don’t drink it like that. Savor it slowly.” This time he took his time about it, the tip of his tongue rimming the edge of the glass, catching a stray drop, before he took a sip. Hetty had the decidedly inappropriate thought that she wanted to be the glass he held, the wine he drank.”
― Lenora Bell, The Devil's Own Duke