I knew right then you were the only one for me." He pulled her hand from his face, kissed her palm, then pressed it flat against his chest. "Beatings, battles, fights. No matter how bleak the circumstance, no matter how my soul despaired ... this heart never once gave up." His voice deepened, went thick with emotion. "I've a theory as to why. Do you want to hear it?" She nodded. "This heart is yours. It's yours," he said. "It always will be.
Tessa DareItโs all right,โ she said. โYouโre through.โ โJesus,โ he finally managed, pushing water off his face. โJesus Christ and John the Baptist. For that matter, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John.โ Still not enough. He needed to reach back to the Old Testament for this. โObadiah. Nebuchadnezzar. Methuselah and Job.โ โBe calm,โ she said, taking him by the shoulders. โBe calm. And there are women in the Bible, you know.โ โYes. As I recall it, they were trouble, every last one.
Tessa DareI was afraid. Of getting hurt in other ways. To be truthful, I still am." His thumb stroked her cheek. "I would never hurt you." "I don't think you can promise me that." She squeezed his bruised fingers. "But it makes things a bit more equal, to know that I can hurt you, too." His gaze fell to her lips. He said simply, without any trace of irony, "You are killing me.
Tessa DareYou are a sweet man." -"God, there it is." He flopped back on the bed, as if shot through the heart. "Repeat that to anyone, and I will have you brought up on charges of slander." "I wouldn't dream of telling a soul.
Tessa DareCleverness is like rouge - liberal application makes a woman look common and desperate. Wit is knowing how to apply it.
Tessa Dare