Carina Axelsson > Quotes

“We finally pulled apart and stood gazing at each other – or rather, Sebastian gazed at me; I was too fidgety, and couldn’t hold his stare. The night was bright; the high moonlight overhead illuminated the houses and church on my street with a pale silver light as we stood in the shadows thrown by the rose bushes that grow like wild-haired sentries on either side of my gate.”
― Carina Axelsson, Deadly By Design

“Nothing appears on them by chance or simply because it looks pretty.”
― Carina Axelsson, Dressed to Kill

“And suddenly it was as if time and distance had never intervened. Sebastian reached out and pulled me to him.”
― Carina Axelsson, Deadly By Design

“This is the only place I know that is really safe. You need a key to get in and you have to live on the square to have one. Sorry about all this…” We sat on the first bench we came to.”
― Carina Axelsson, Deadly By Design

“In the dim light of the pizzeria I could see the corners of his blue eyes crinkle. He was leaning back in his chair and ruffling his thick brown hair in that way he had. I had a good idea of what he was going to say…and yet he looked so totally cute and irresistible sitting there in his leather jacket that I was caught between two desires: one to steer him off the course I was pretty sure he was about to set out on, the other to kiss him. As it was, neither of my desires became a reality. Sebastian moved in faster than I did.”
― Carina Axelsson, Dressed to Kill

“He leaned into me quickly and kissed me on the cheek.”
― Carina Axelsson, Deadly By Design

“You all right, Holmes?” he asked gently. “Yes I am, Watson – although I could have done without the bats.” I turned and caught his eye.”
― Carina Axelsson, Dressed to Kill

“In your mind or heart is there anyone else that ever comes between me and your mysteries?” I shook my head. “There’s no room.” “So your mysteries are my only competition?” “Yeah. Pretty much.” I watched him.”
― Carina Axelsson, Dressed to Kill

“Well, there is something quite romantic about being saved by a good-looking detective, at night, under the moonlight, don’t you think?” He stopped talking as he watched me aim the first thwack. “Of course, most romantic would be if you could just get me free without breaking my ankles.”
― Carina Axelsson, Deadly By Design

“In the end, we lingered for a long time on the rooftop. And for once my fear of heights didn’t rear its ugly head; it didn’t stand a chance against Sebastian’s warm, firm clasp of my hand. After winding our way to the highest point we found a quiet corner under the golden Madonna with a view over the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II.”
― Carina Axelsson, Dressed to Kill

“Of course I wasn’t immune to the way his grey-blue eyes crinkled at the corners as he smiled at me from across the table, or how his tousled light brown hair looked totally touchable…then again, a case is a case – and, romance aside, it was time to get cracking. “Actually, Watson, someone came to see me this morning…”
― Carina Axelsson, Deadly By Design

“And I’m sorry, Sebastian.” “Sorry for what?” He looked at me, his eyes wide. “For making you feel that maybe you don’t always come first.”
― Carina Axelsson, Dressed to Kill

“Kissing him felt amazing. He tasted good and smelled good and I could have kept kissing him for hours – and maybe would have”
― Carina Axelsson, A Crime of Fashion

“He smiled and ran his fingertip slowly from the top of my forehead down to my chin, tracing my profile. Despite being soaked and feeling shattered, his touch felt warm on my skin and for a second I forgot everything but him.”
― Carina Axelsson, Dressed to Kill

“At first it was a bit uncomfortable standing outside my house with him – saying goodbye in person and saying goodbye on Skype are two very different scenarios – and we were more used to Skype. But finally Sebastian stepped forward and gently ran his finger down the side of my face, cupped my chin in his hand, and gave me that look. I nearly melted under his touch. He slowly ran his hands down my sides until they settled around my waist, then leaned into me and kissed me hard. This, I thought as I felt his lips move over mine, is what it should be like to be with someone – so much better than lots of wishful thinking over a cold computer screen. Even though I really, really liked Sebastian, I didn’t like how little time we spent together, and how that made both of us upset. Have you ever spent three months apart from the person you like? And is it possible to stay together with someone when you know that you’ll only ever get to see them for a few days every couple of months at best? I got depressed just thinking about it.”
― Carina Axelsson, Deadly By Design

“I miss you.”
― Carina Axelsson, Dressed to Kill

“Taking my chin in his hand, he turned my face back to his and leaned in. I began to hyperventilate. This hadn’t been part of my plan, this had nothing to do with anything, this was just… Hmmm…this wasn’t so bad. Cautiously, once my body had told my brain to stuff it, I leaned forward and kissed Sebastian back. Everything slipped from my mind: the La Lunes, the cockroaches, my sore shoulder – even my mum. All I was aware of was the feel of his lips, his smell, his hands on my waist and back. Every caress, every nuance in his movements shot through me till I was dizzy, until all that mattered was him. His hands slowly moved up my back to my neck. If he hadn’t been holding me, I think I’d have fallen into the river. And then my phone rang. And rang. And rang. WHY NOW? And who was it?”
― Carina Axelsson, A Crime of Fashion

“I needed to connect the two strands of this case. There were the tarot cards and the gems, and then there was the killer. They all met up at some point, but where and how? And why?”
― Carina Axelsson, Dressed to Kill

“Very funny. Does swallowing sewage water always have this effect on you?” “No. Just you have this effect on me,” he answered. How was I supposed to take that?”
― Carina Axelsson, A Crime of Fashion

“I miss you too. À demain, Holmes. À demain, Watson.”
― Carina Axelsson, Dressed to Kill

“We sat quietly for a while, and as I gazed out over the terracotta-coloured buildings of Milan, images of Elisabetta flitted through my mind. And although I couldn’t help but think of her with sadness, the feeling was now tinged with a sense of relief – and, yes, happiness even – that I’d finally managed to get justice for her. And as a bonus I’d also cleared Ugo’s name and Falco’s legacy. Justice felt good, I thought.”
― Carina Axelsson, Dressed to Kill

“He stood at the top of our steps, just as tall, broad-shouldered, and biker-boy cute as I remembered, hair tousled, leather jacket on, smiling at me. And although there was a bit of shuffling around and eyeing each other as I invited him in (FYI: seeing the person you fancy like mad for the first time after months apart is weird), soon enough, we were standing face-to-face, close enough that I could smell him.”
― Carina Axelsson, Deadly By Design

“Didn’t I tell you he was like a character out of a fairy tale?”
― Carina Axelsson, Dressed to Kill

“You look cute when you’re being tough.”
― Carina Axelsson, Dressed to Kill

“Mesdames et Messieurs, dans quelques instants, nous arriverons à Paris…”
― Carina Axelsson, A Crime of Fashion

“Okay. I was seriously panicking now. Questions raced through my mind: what did he want? What did I want? Did I want to kiss him? Why was I so sure that he wanted to kiss me? Don’t think so much, Axelle, I could hear Jenny saying, just go with the flow. Yeah, easy for her to say! His hand was coming towards me…gently he swept back the hair from my right cheek and pushed it behind my ear.”
― Carina Axelsson, A Crime of Fashion

“I watched as he slowly slipped his jacket back on. And, can I just say, he looked gorgeous. Standing in front of me, torso bare and bathed in moonlight, I couldn’t take my eyes off him.”
― Carina Axelsson, Deadly By Design

“He looked totally gorgeous sitting there with the whole of Milan spread out behind him, glittering in the sunshine. His sandy-brown hair was backlit by the soft, warm light and looking into his eyes, I could see he really was sorry. I appreciated the apology…but I had one of my own to make, too.”
― Carina Axelsson, Dressed to Kill

“Dear Elisabetta, I cannot write well any more, so I’m asking one of the nurses to help me with this last note to you. This is my final goodbye. I will have moved to another place by the time you read this. You have been my true family – your friendship has meant more to me than you can ever know. Remember the message in the cards, and use it to help yourself. With all my love, Falco”
― Carina Axelsson, Dressed to Kill

“He had that kind of effect on me. After a long hug, he pulled back and gently pushed my hair behind my ears as he smiled at me in that slow, tender way he has. “I’ve missed you, Holmes,” he said. But I didn’t get a chance to answer him back because his hand suddenly dropped from my face as if it was a hot coal and his eyes darted to something behind me. “Why, Sebastian! How lovely to see you!” Of course. It was my mum.”
― Carina Axelsson, Deadly By Design