“Stop.Stop time.Stop the world.Stop everything for the moment he crosses the room and pulls me into his arms and pins me against the wall and I'm spinning and standing and not even breathing but I'm alive so very very alive.”
―
Tahereh Mafi,
Ignite Me
“When are you putting me down?" he counters, no longer amused. "I mean, I've got an excellent view of your ass from here, but if you don't mind me staring -"I drop him without thinking."Goddammit, Juliette - what the hell -""How's the view from down there?" I stand over his splayed body, arms crossed over my chest."I hate you.” ― Tahereh Mafi, Ignite Me
“I’m sorry I ever asked you guys to be friends. You don’t have to be friends. You don’t even have to like each other. Forget I said anything.”Warner drops his crossed arms.Kenji raises his eyebrows.“I promise,” I say. “No more forced hangout sessions. No more spending time alone without me. Okay?”“You swear?” Kenji says.“I swear.”“Thank God,” Warner says.“Same, bro. Same.”And I roll my eyes, irritated. This is the first thing they’ve managed to agree on in over a week: their mutual hatred of my hopes for their friendship.” ― Tahereh Mafi, Restore Me
“No,” I hear myself say. “You’re not supposed to be here.”She’s sitting on my bed. She’s leaning back on her elbows, legs outstretched in front of her, crossed at the ankles. And while some part of me understands I must be dreaming, there’s another, overwhelmingly dominant part of me that refuses to accept this. Part of me wants to believe she’s really here, inches away from me, wearing this short, tight black dress that keeps slipping up her thighs. But everything about her looks different, oddly vibrant; the colors are all wrong. Her lips are a richer, deeper shade of pink; her eyes seem wider, darker. She’s wearing shoes I know she’d never wear. And strangest of all: she’s smiling at me.“Hi,” she whispers.It’s just one word, but my heart is already racing. I’m inching away from her, stumbling back and nearly slamming my skull against the headboard, when I realize my shoulder is no longer wounded. I look down at myself. My arms are both fully functional. I’m wearing nothing but a white T-shirt and my underwear.She shifts positions in an instant, propping herself up on her knees before crawling over to me. She climbs onto my lap. She’s now straddling my waist. I’m suddenly breathing too fast.Her lips are at my ear. Her words are so soft. “Kiss me,” she says.“Juliette—”“I came all the way here.” She’s still smiling at me. It’s a rare smile, the kind she’s never honored me with. But somehow, right now, she’s mine. She’s mine and she’s perfect and she wants me, and I’m not going to fight it.I don’t want to.Her hands are tugging at my shirt, pulling it up over my head. Tossing it to the floor. She leans forward and kisses my neck, just once, so slowly. My eyes fall closed.There aren’t enough words in this world to describe what I’m feeling.I feel her hands move down my chest, my stomach; her fingers run along the edge of my underwear. Her hair falls forward, grazing my skin, and I have to clench my fists to keep from pinning her to my bed.Every nerve ending in my body is awake. I’ve never felt so alive or so desperate in my life, and I’m sure if she could hear what I’m thinking right now, she’d run out the door and never come back.Because I want her.Now.Here.Everywhere.I want nothing between us.I want her clothes off and the lights on and I want to study her. I want to unzip her out of this dress and take my time with every inch of her. I can’t help my need to just stare; to know her and her features: the slope of her nose, the curve of her lips, the line of her jaw. I want to run my fingertips across the soft skin of her neck and trace it all the way down. I want to feel the weight of her pressed against me, wrapped around me.I can’t remember a reason why this can’t be right or real. I can’t focus on anything but the fact that she’s sitting on my lap, touching my chest, staring into my eyes like she might really love me.I wonder if I’ve actually died.But just as I lean in, she leans back, grinning before reaching behind her, never once breaking eye contact with me. “Don’t worry,” she whispers. “It’s almost over now.”Her words seem so strange, so familiar. “What do you mean?”“Just a little longer and I’ll leave.”“No.” I’m blinking fast, reaching for her. “No, don’t go—where are you going—”“You’ll be all right,” she says. “I promise.”“No—”But now she’s holding a gun.And pointing it at my heart.” ― Tahereh Mafi, Destroy Me
“I love you," I whisper. "I love you exactly as you are."Warner is looking at me like he might be going deaf and blind at the same time. "No," he gasps. One broken, broken word. Barely even a sound. He's shaking his head and he's looking away from me and his hand is caught in his hair, his body turned toward the table and he says "No. No, no-""Aaron-""No," he says, backing away. "No, you don't know what you're saying-""I love you," I tell him again. "I love you and I want you and I wanted you then," I say to him, "I wanted you so much and I still want you, I want you right now-"Stop.Stop time.Stop the world.Stop everything for the moment he crosses the room and pulls me into his arms and pins me against the wall and I'm spinning and standing and not even breathing but I'm alive so alive so very very aliveand he's kissing me.” ― Tahereh Mafi, Ignite Me
“Funny thing about fear. When you cling to it, the fear grows exponentially, a monster morphing into a suffocating mass. But when you face it head-on, conquering the beast before it swallows you whole, you find there was nothing there to fear at all. The chains break, and the whole world feels lighter than ever before.” ― Juliette Cross, Waking the Dragon
“You want to be possessed, but not controlled. You want to be protected, but not smothered. You want to be dominated, but only in one way.” ― Juliette Cross, Waking the Dragon
“What do you think, Vi?"She smiled wide with a lascivious look. "You had me at werewolf wet t-shirt contest.” ― Juliette Cross, Always Practice Safe Hex
“Every kindness and every abuse makes a mark upon the soul.’’ My voice trembled. “The soul remembers” ― Juliette Cross, Darkest Heart
“What kind of man is he?""Super dark and broody, And delicious."She had no idea.” ― Juliette Cross, Always Practice Safe Hex
“A dragon was ten times more capable of swooping in and stealing the maiden away than that prissy fuckstick, prince charming.” ― Juliette Cross, Darkest Heart
“She might look like sex and candy, but there was no doubt she was untouchable. And didn’t that just make me want to touch? Everywhere” ― Juliette Cross, Darkest Heart
“I'm not really what you'd call a damsel in distress.""I hate fucking damsels. Always in such distress. Who wants a high-maintenance girl like that?” ― Juliette Cross, Darkest Heart
“You want the monster," he grated, a foreign wildness in his voice. "You're going to get him.” ― Juliette Cross, Always Practice Safe Hex
“To thine own self be fucking true” ― Juliette Cross, Darkest Heart
“I want you in my arms. I want you in my bed. I want to bury myself deep inside you and feel you shatter beneath me, again and again. I want you daily, nightly, repeatedly, constantly, forever. And when I know it’s safe to take you, you’d best be ready. If you’re not, you’d better run and hide, because it will take a legion of angels and demons to keep me off of you.” ― Juliette Cross, Forged in Fire
“What's this?" I raised our laced hands.His onyx eyes flickered to me and held. "You can let go if you want."After a few seconds, I whispered, "I don't want to.” ― Juliette Cross, Always Practice Safe Hex
“I love the smell of sex and brimstone in the morning” ― Juliette Cross, Darkest Heart
“My spirit balanced on the razor’s edge of light and dark, freedom and slavery, life and death.” ― Juliette Cross, Darkest Heart
“When are you putting me down?" he counters, no longer amused. "I mean, I've got an excellent view of your ass from here, but if you don't mind me staring -"I drop him without thinking."Goddammit, Juliette - what the hell -""How's the view from down there?" I stand over his splayed body, arms crossed over my chest."I hate you.” ― Tahereh Mafi, Ignite Me
“I’m sorry I ever asked you guys to be friends. You don’t have to be friends. You don’t even have to like each other. Forget I said anything.”Warner drops his crossed arms.Kenji raises his eyebrows.“I promise,” I say. “No more forced hangout sessions. No more spending time alone without me. Okay?”“You swear?” Kenji says.“I swear.”“Thank God,” Warner says.“Same, bro. Same.”And I roll my eyes, irritated. This is the first thing they’ve managed to agree on in over a week: their mutual hatred of my hopes for their friendship.” ― Tahereh Mafi, Restore Me
“No,” I hear myself say. “You’re not supposed to be here.”She’s sitting on my bed. She’s leaning back on her elbows, legs outstretched in front of her, crossed at the ankles. And while some part of me understands I must be dreaming, there’s another, overwhelmingly dominant part of me that refuses to accept this. Part of me wants to believe she’s really here, inches away from me, wearing this short, tight black dress that keeps slipping up her thighs. But everything about her looks different, oddly vibrant; the colors are all wrong. Her lips are a richer, deeper shade of pink; her eyes seem wider, darker. She’s wearing shoes I know she’d never wear. And strangest of all: she’s smiling at me.“Hi,” she whispers.It’s just one word, but my heart is already racing. I’m inching away from her, stumbling back and nearly slamming my skull against the headboard, when I realize my shoulder is no longer wounded. I look down at myself. My arms are both fully functional. I’m wearing nothing but a white T-shirt and my underwear.She shifts positions in an instant, propping herself up on her knees before crawling over to me. She climbs onto my lap. She’s now straddling my waist. I’m suddenly breathing too fast.Her lips are at my ear. Her words are so soft. “Kiss me,” she says.“Juliette—”“I came all the way here.” She’s still smiling at me. It’s a rare smile, the kind she’s never honored me with. But somehow, right now, she’s mine. She’s mine and she’s perfect and she wants me, and I’m not going to fight it.I don’t want to.Her hands are tugging at my shirt, pulling it up over my head. Tossing it to the floor. She leans forward and kisses my neck, just once, so slowly. My eyes fall closed.There aren’t enough words in this world to describe what I’m feeling.I feel her hands move down my chest, my stomach; her fingers run along the edge of my underwear. Her hair falls forward, grazing my skin, and I have to clench my fists to keep from pinning her to my bed.Every nerve ending in my body is awake. I’ve never felt so alive or so desperate in my life, and I’m sure if she could hear what I’m thinking right now, she’d run out the door and never come back.Because I want her.Now.Here.Everywhere.I want nothing between us.I want her clothes off and the lights on and I want to study her. I want to unzip her out of this dress and take my time with every inch of her. I can’t help my need to just stare; to know her and her features: the slope of her nose, the curve of her lips, the line of her jaw. I want to run my fingertips across the soft skin of her neck and trace it all the way down. I want to feel the weight of her pressed against me, wrapped around me.I can’t remember a reason why this can’t be right or real. I can’t focus on anything but the fact that she’s sitting on my lap, touching my chest, staring into my eyes like she might really love me.I wonder if I’ve actually died.But just as I lean in, she leans back, grinning before reaching behind her, never once breaking eye contact with me. “Don’t worry,” she whispers. “It’s almost over now.”Her words seem so strange, so familiar. “What do you mean?”“Just a little longer and I’ll leave.”“No.” I’m blinking fast, reaching for her. “No, don’t go—where are you going—”“You’ll be all right,” she says. “I promise.”“No—”But now she’s holding a gun.And pointing it at my heart.” ― Tahereh Mafi, Destroy Me
“I love you," I whisper. "I love you exactly as you are."Warner is looking at me like he might be going deaf and blind at the same time. "No," he gasps. One broken, broken word. Barely even a sound. He's shaking his head and he's looking away from me and his hand is caught in his hair, his body turned toward the table and he says "No. No, no-""Aaron-""No," he says, backing away. "No, you don't know what you're saying-""I love you," I tell him again. "I love you and I want you and I wanted you then," I say to him, "I wanted you so much and I still want you, I want you right now-"Stop.Stop time.Stop the world.Stop everything for the moment he crosses the room and pulls me into his arms and pins me against the wall and I'm spinning and standing and not even breathing but I'm alive so alive so very very aliveand he's kissing me.” ― Tahereh Mafi, Ignite Me
“Funny thing about fear. When you cling to it, the fear grows exponentially, a monster morphing into a suffocating mass. But when you face it head-on, conquering the beast before it swallows you whole, you find there was nothing there to fear at all. The chains break, and the whole world feels lighter than ever before.” ― Juliette Cross, Waking the Dragon
“You want to be possessed, but not controlled. You want to be protected, but not smothered. You want to be dominated, but only in one way.” ― Juliette Cross, Waking the Dragon
“What do you think, Vi?"She smiled wide with a lascivious look. "You had me at werewolf wet t-shirt contest.” ― Juliette Cross, Always Practice Safe Hex
“Every kindness and every abuse makes a mark upon the soul.’’ My voice trembled. “The soul remembers” ― Juliette Cross, Darkest Heart
“What kind of man is he?""Super dark and broody, And delicious."She had no idea.” ― Juliette Cross, Always Practice Safe Hex
“A dragon was ten times more capable of swooping in and stealing the maiden away than that prissy fuckstick, prince charming.” ― Juliette Cross, Darkest Heart
“She might look like sex and candy, but there was no doubt she was untouchable. And didn’t that just make me want to touch? Everywhere” ― Juliette Cross, Darkest Heart
“I'm not really what you'd call a damsel in distress.""I hate fucking damsels. Always in such distress. Who wants a high-maintenance girl like that?” ― Juliette Cross, Darkest Heart
“You want the monster," he grated, a foreign wildness in his voice. "You're going to get him.” ― Juliette Cross, Always Practice Safe Hex
“To thine own self be fucking true” ― Juliette Cross, Darkest Heart
“I want you in my arms. I want you in my bed. I want to bury myself deep inside you and feel you shatter beneath me, again and again. I want you daily, nightly, repeatedly, constantly, forever. And when I know it’s safe to take you, you’d best be ready. If you’re not, you’d better run and hide, because it will take a legion of angels and demons to keep me off of you.” ― Juliette Cross, Forged in Fire
“What's this?" I raised our laced hands.His onyx eyes flickered to me and held. "You can let go if you want."After a few seconds, I whispered, "I don't want to.” ― Juliette Cross, Always Practice Safe Hex
“I love the smell of sex and brimstone in the morning” ― Juliette Cross, Darkest Heart
“My spirit balanced on the razor’s edge of light and dark, freedom and slavery, life and death.” ― Juliette Cross, Darkest Heart
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