Amy Sandas > Quotes

“Lily Chadwick knew there was something different about the fiercely scowling gentleman the first moment she saw him.
She could feel it.
The instant their gazes met, caught, held, something skittered across her skin like a rain of white sparks. It entered her bloodstream, heating her from the inside until her breath became stilted and her knees went alarmingly weak.
He stared at her from beneath a brow drawn low in a forbidding expression. His eyes were so dark, even the light of the glittering ballroom could not be reflected there. The angles of his face were hard, his jaw sharply defined, and he held his mouth in a harsh line that attempted to harden the full curve of his lower lip but didn't quite manage it.
Lily tried to glance away demurely, but she couldn't seem to manage. She felt a flutter that became a tightening in her belly. Her heart stopped, skipped a few beats, then started up again in a frantic rhythm as he just kept watching her.
Despite his severe, aloof appearance, something about him reached out to her, touching her with an intrinsic sort of recognition. It left her feeling as though she stood in the heart of a firestorm. She sensed with a certainty beyond rational explanation that his unyielding manner was a facade, as if he were a hero in some gothic novel. There was passion in him. She felt it in every quickened, prey-like breath she took while frozen under his intent stare.
The silent interaction between them was becoming more inappropriate by the minute, yet she could not compel herself to break away. As though caught in an invisible trap, she stared back at him while her hands began to sweat and her stomach trembled.”
― Amy Sandas, The Untouchable Earl

“I love the quiet beauty of the night sky," she continued thoughtfully, "filled with mystery and starlight, but there is something magical about the dawn. It is strange, When the sky begins to lighten and soft colors first appear, the transition is so gentle you hardly notice it. But if you are aware enough to observe, if you take the time to really be a part of the transformation, it feels..."
Her explanation trailed off. She found it difficult to find the words to properly describe the wonder she felt as she experienced the very common daily occurrence.
"It feels like it possesses all the possibilities of life," Avenell offered quietly.
Lily turned in place. She slipped her arms around his naked torso and tipped her head back to look into his face. Her smile was so wide her cheeks ached, but she did not hold back. Her joy in the past few months had grown by leaps and bounds, and only because of how much she had seen her happiness reflected in the man she loved.
Love flowed freely between them as he lowered his head to take her mouth in a kiss that was slow and deep.”
― Amy Sandas, The Untouchable Earl

“Inside, on a bed of black velvet, lay an exquisite perfume bottle designed from rose-colored glass caged in a silver overlay that twined about the glass like living vines. In the very center of the oval shaped bottle, the silver was formed into the image of a lily in full bloom.
It was likely the most precious and expensive gift Lily had ever been given. She ran her fingertips over the delicate silver work before lifting the bottle from its velvet bed to allow the candlelight to shine through the rose-colored glass.
She noticed then a folded slip of paper still in the box. Setting the perfume bottle in the valley of her lap, she lifted the paper and broke the tiny wax seal.
In his precise, slanted script, Lord Harte had written:


I was unforgivably remiss in not having a gift for you the other night. I chose the elements for this blend myself. It made me think of you.


Lily brushed her thumb over the ink before setting the note back into the box. Then she shifted the bottle and removed the glass stopper. The scent wafting from the bottle was light, but heady. She noticed first the rich notes of clove and honey before her senses were claimed by the smooth, velvety scent of jasmine. Lily closed her eyes, allowing the aromatic infusion to settle into her awareness. There was another element hidden deep within the perfume. A layer of earthiness that warmed her blood. Sandalwood.
Lily was enthralled. It was a complex and lovely scent. Floral and exotic, light and dark. Impossibly sensual.
And it made him think of her.
Something deep and fundamental spread through her core, and she understood why young ladies were warned so often not to accept gifts from gentlemen. It was a personal and intimate thing to acknowledge how he had wanted her to have something he chose himself.”
― Amy Sandas, The Untouchable Earl

“She refused to feel guilty for not talking to Portia about the Earl of Harte. She couldn't discuss what she didn't understand, and she had no idea what to think of the man with the forbidding gaze.
Avenell Slade.
Lily snuggled deeper beneath her blankets.
She loved the way his name felt moving through her mind. It was sharp and smooth at the same time. Dark and light.
Lily knew she was no great beauty. She did not have Portia's dramatic dark hair or flashing eyes. Nor did she have Emma's commanding presence. She did her best to be content with her place among her exceptional sisters.
But now, after experiencing Lord Harte's painful slight, she found herself wishing she stood out more, that she was somehow more attractive, more striking.
She should forget him. Put him completely from her mind. He had made it infinitely clear he did not welcome her interest.
Yet, she wanted to know him. It was that simple and that impossible.
A hollowness spread from Lily's center. It was a sensation she had experienced more than once since she had begun her foray into the marriage market. It was the fear that what she sought might never be found- that the kind of deep passion she yearned for existed only in sordid novels.
As thoughts of Lord Harte continued to agitate her mind and created a growing restlessness in her body, Lily imagined an often-read scene from one of her favorite stories. It was frighteningly easy to cast the enigmatic Lord Harte in the role of dark seducer, but she struggled to envision herself as the intrepid heroine.
Lily did not possess a bold bone in her body. By nature, she had always been rather shy and had never been able to cultivate the kind of self-confidence her sisters possessed. Though she may crave the passionate experiences she read about, she did not possess the courage to explore such things beyond the privacy of her mind.”
― Amy Sandas, The Untouchable Earl

“Tell me you did not spend all those nights with her and never spread her thighs to claim your prize.”
A growl of fury rumbled from his chest at the crudity in her words, but the sound did not seem to bother Pendragon one bit.
She actually laughed at his response. “Of course you did, my lord, as I knew you would. It was the final barrier you had yet to cross in your search for pleasure.”
“It signifies nothing.”
Her green eyes glittered. “It means everything.”
The woman turned away from him and strode toward the chair he had recently vacated. With a swish of her skirts, she turned and lowered herself gracefully. Tipping her head, she looked at him with a superior little half smile.
“What did you feel when you took possession of your gentle maiden?”
Her words might have been mocking if not for her expression, which had settled into one of patient nonjudgemnet. It was the same way she had looked at him the first time he had gone to her.
“Think carefully. What did you feel?”

Avenell’s gut tensed as he involuntarily recalled the sensations of being burned within Lily’s warmth and softness. He relived in his mind the way their naked bodies moved together, heard her endless gasps and moans echo, felt the overwhelming heat, the pervading pleasure. Every time they came together it was intense and consuming, obliterating everything else in existence.
That was the problem. He always felt too much with her.
And despite that, he had never been able to shake his yearning for more.”
― Amy Sandas, The Untouchable Earl

“I hate it that you went through that. You must have been so frightened, so hurt by your father's actions... I wish I could take all the pain away."
He took her hand in his and brought her fingertips to his lips. "You do, Lily. With every smile and every touch, you sweep it out of existence. I am sorry it took me so long to see that. I am sorry I hurt you before I understood."
She shook her head to stop him and rose up to press her lips sweetly to his. He would have allowed the kiss to deepen, but he had not finished all he wished to say. Curling his fingers around the back of her neck, he urged her to lift her head.
As her lips hovered a breath above his and her smoky gaze looked deep into his soul, he murmured, "I love you, Lily. Promise to love me forever, and I swear I will devote myself to your happiness. Marry me, Lily."
She smiled. "This promise will be far easier than the others you asked of me. Nothing would make me happier than to be your wife.”
― Amy Sandas, The Untouchable Earl

“Of course," she muttered with a rough laugh that was far from humorous, "how foolish of me to consider such a thing when I have seen the evidence of your loathing myself."
"Loathing? Oh yes, I despise you." Avenell murmured darkly. The sarcasm dripping from his harsh words sent a shiver down her spine. He lowered his chin but did not break eye contact. "I would love to show you in a thousand ways just how much I loathe you, Miss Chadwick."
As he spoke, his expression slowly shifted. It felt as though he allowed his facade to fall away, giving her a glimpse of the truth beneath before he shuttered his features again. For a brief moment, she again detected that hunger she had first seen on the night they had collided outside the Mawbrys' town house.
It left her breathless. In a blast of heat and trembling awareness, she understood that what she had been seeing in him all along had never been anger or revulsion.
It was desire, possibly as deep and complex as her own.
The revelation stunned her.”
― Amy Sandas, The Untouchable Earl

“From the moment Lord Harte had entered the bedroom, she had begun to experience everything differently. Her thoughts, feelings, and reactions originated from a deeper source. Her fear and confusion had made way for other, more urgent sensations. The longer she sat under the earl's harsh and heady regard, the further she slipped into a state of expectancy.
She felt on the verge of something, but she had no idea what.
As the weakness in her mind and limbs continued to dissipate, she acknowledged that she could not blame her odd reactions on the aftereffects of the drug.
He was the cause of her heightened responses.
It was more than the wealth of secrets and mystery contained behind his midnight eyes. It was how he made her feel. Intrinsically. Viscerally. When he looked at her with his hooded gaze, she experienced something in the marrow of her bones, in the blood flowing through her veins, in the ether of her mind.”
― Amy Sandas, The Untouchable Earl

“Pendragon had been the first person to accept his condition without judgement, but Avenell wanted so much more than acceptance from Lily.
The feel of her body in his hands, her skin like warmed silk under his lips, had been intense. He had never experienced a woman's body the way he had Lily's, as though every bit of her was magic. Her softness and quiet strength had inspired him to a tenderness he had not known he possessed. The scent of the sweet jasmine and earthy sandalwood of his perfume mingled flawlessly on her body. On every inhale he had drawn her essence in with his breath, and his blood had heated dangerously.”
― Amy Sandas, The Untouchable Earl

“She took a long drink and then another before lowering the glass.
She thought she heard him give a sound of approval before he turned and claimed a seat in one of the chairs. Her courage strengthened, Lily lifted her chin to look at him only a few feet away and swallowed hard past the knot of doubt lodged in her throat.
Dressed in elegant evening wear, he sat with his back stiff and straight despite the plush cushion of the chair. His knees were spread and his feet braced squarely on the floor. His hands, with his long masculine fingers, splayed on the surface of strong thighs. He was the epitome of masculine sophistication and mystery.
Dark, enigmatic, handsome, and intense.”
― Amy Sandas, The Untouchable Earl

“You have chosen to give yourself to me, Miss Chadwick." The words were low and clear. "I do not take it lightly, this gift you've bestowed. But as I said, it will take far more than one night to make you mine."
Lily released her breath on a soft sigh.
Something flickered in his impenetrable stare, and he added in a murmur, "There will be no going back."
The sentiment echoed her own from earlier, and Lily experienced a sense of rightness in that moment that overcame any lingering question or concern. They would be lovers.
As they stood facing each other in silence, barely an inch separating them yet not touching at all, she wanted so badly to lift her hand and press it to the side of his face. She wanted to feel the hard angle of his jaw against her palm and the roughness of his skin where the shadowed start of a beard darkened his cheeks.
Something held her back.
She touched him with her studied gaze instead, observing the harsh lines of his face as a frown hardened his visage. She slid her attention briefly to the pulse beating at his temple, then across his oppressive eyebrows, down the slope of his strong nose. His mouth was pressed into a stern, unforgiving line, but it could not disguise the elegant upper arches or the generous lower curve of his bottom lip.
His mouth was beautiful, she thought.
Lifting her gaze again to meet his eyes, she was struck by the raw need she saw there.”
― Amy Sandas, The Untouchable Earl

“Her manner was unhurried, though he noted a trembling in her hands.
Her calm composure was as much a facade as his aloof demeanor.
He was discovering a complexity to her nature that had not been evident in their earliest interactions. She was far more than she appeared to be: reserved, yet fearless in a way he could not have anticipated. Modest and sensual at once. In possession of a quiet confidence that was layered within everything she did.”
― Amy Sandas, The Untouchable Earl

“The footman opened the door, and three women entered the room.
Two of them were dressed in diaphanous gowns in the pleasure house's Grecian theme, designed to tantalize and tease. The pastel silk draping their bodies only suggested modesty while revealing more than enough to incite the lust of the men avidly observing their movements. Between these sensual nymph-like creatures walked a third woman. Her slim arms were linked with the other two as they came forward to take their places before the fireplace.
This third woman was young and dressed in a modest gown of white with a pale-blue sash cinched beneath full breasts well covered by a pleated bodice. Whereas her two companions looked boldly out at the small crowd with flashing, inviting gazes and knowing smiles, the woman standing between them kept her chin lowered shyly. Her features were obscured by a curtain of brunette tresses falling in silken waves over her shoulders and down to her waist.
Avenell's blood ignited in a furious storm of awareness, and his stomach clenched violently. His fingers tightened around the brandy snifter as he studied the details of the third woman's appearance, uncertain if he could believe what his eyes were suggesting.
But there was no doubt. It was her.”
― Amy Sandas, The Untouchable Earl

“You should not have kissed me," she replied breathlessly.
"I do a lot of things I shouldn't. It does not mean I won't do them again.”
― Amy Sandas, Luck Is No Lady

“You amaze me." He spoke the words on a low, shuddering breath. Lily was certain she misunderstood. "Even now I can sense the peace within you- your quiet acceptance of whatever may come. Does nothing disturb you, Lily?"
"Only the thought that you might send me away."
Her answer drew a ragged sigh from his chest, and he bowed his head for a moment. "I could no more do that than I could stop my own breath.”
― Amy Sandas, The Untouchable Earl

“Tell me what you are thinking when you look at me like that."
There was iron and ice in his voice. Not even a hint of tenderness. For some reason, his harsh manner did not bother her. She sensed something beautiful and elusive existed behind his daunting facade. The possibility of discovering what it was filled her with delicate anticipation.
She looked into his eyes and answered truthfully. "I am thinking about how you make me feel."
The muscles along his jaw tensed, and his eyelids lowered just the barest fraction. He brought his hands around to clasp them behind his back.
To keep from reaching for her?
"How do I make you feel?"
Her skin tingled in reaction to the raw note in his voice. Lily took a moment as she thought about how to put it into words. It was a difficult thing to explain, and she wanted it to come out right.
"I feel..." she began, then hesitated. Her breath caught in her chest, and she had to force it out on a heavy sigh. "I feel strong and weak at the same time. When you look at me, I feel exposed, as if you can see my most private thoughts. And though it frightens me- you frighten me- it is such an exquisite sensation that I do not want it to end. Because I want you to know me, to see the deepest parts of me."
At first he did not respond beyond a fierce clenching of his teeth, and Lily wondered if he wanted to hear something else. Had she revealed too much of her inexperience? Should she have said something more provocative, more sophisticated?
"Do you desire me?" he asked finally.
The molten heat running through his words curled around her, heating her breath, her skin, her blood. She looked into his eyes and felt a swirling deep within. It tingled like white fire and spread to the most intimate places in her body.”
― Amy Sandas, The Untouchable Earl

“Lily collided full-on into Lord Harte.
With uncanny reflexes, he grasped her upper arms to keep them both from tumbling down the stairs.
And something incredible happened.
In one flashing fraction of a second, Lily felt the explosion of the white-hot awareness she had experienced the first time she had seen him, but this time, it was multiplied a hundredfold. Her arms where he gripped them felt inordinately hot from his touch, sparking a fierce reaction that spread throughout her limbs. The surface of her body where it pressed against him was branded with sensations she barely understood. It was as though she had been ignited in a conflagration of sudden life. Like a phoenix being birthed from flames.”
― Amy Sandas, The Untouchable Earl

“Avenell was immediately reminded of how young and inexperienced she was. For all of her quiet self-assurance, she was a maiden still.
The sense of possession that followed that thought added fuel to the steady blaze growing within him. She had chosen him.
He would do everything in his power to prove himself worthy.”
― Amy Sandas, The Untouchable Earl

“Lily, I..."
Her entire body jolted at the sound of her name in his rough tone. There was a deep plea in his voice.
Withe her emotions thick in her throat, she turned to look at him.
He had risen to his feet and stood there so strong and stern. The rhythm of his breath had slowed, and the strength of his body was undeniable. But it was his vulnerability of spirit that struck her in that moment.
He pressed his mouth into a hard line before he cleared his throat and began again. "Believe me, Lily, I want you to touch me."
His words were heavy with need. Yes. He desired her- she knew that much to be true.”
― Amy Sandas, The Untouchable Earl

“Entering the room, Lily was struck by the changes that had been wrought since she had last been there on the night of her abduction. Though his massive four-poster bed remained, the coverings were now a mixture of midnight blue and a mysterious smoky gray. In fact, various shades of gray had been added throughout the room. The two heavy leather chairs had been beautifully reupholstered in a dove-gray damask, a plush rug in a light and misty color was laid before the fireplace, and on a delicate table between them stood a large vase of lilies, infusing the room with their delicate scent.
"Do you see?" the earl asked from behind her.
Once they entered the bedroom, he had released her hand to close the door, ensconcing them together in the private space. Lily turned to watch him walk toward one of the new chairs. He ran his fingers over the fabric.
"The color of your eyes when you are quiet and content," he stated in a low voice, then he crossed to the bed where he smoothed his palm over a velvet coverlet. "This is the darker shade your eyes become when you are aroused- with emotion or desire."
He looked at her, and Lily's world expanded on a sudden breath at what she saw in the depth of his gaze.
They both seemed rooted in place, standing in the center of his bedroom, staring at each other with their breaths coming fast and their focus locked upon each other, as though they were equally afraid the other might disappear.
"You exist in everything. You have become a part of me," he murmured thickly. "I cannot breathe without you.”
― Amy Sandas, The Untouchable Earl

“Come here, Lily."

A waterfall of tingling sensations flowed Lily at his quiet command. It was a similar directive to the one he had given that first night in his bedroom.
This time he used her name. Hearing it in his deep voice made it sound erotic somehow, and sparks ignited deep inside her.”
― Amy Sandas, The Untouchable Earl

“She is better off without me.
Such is for the lady to decide, I would think.
Details of the woman herself began to penetrate his thoughts. The generosity in her smile. Her gentle, open gaze. The way she had told him her secrets with trust and honesty, her compassion, and her quiet, understated courage.
And before he so effectively and willfully crushed it, he recalled the glimmer of hope she had inspired in him. The hope he had stripped away before it could settle too deeply in his being.
So many times, he had sensed in her a desire to push their intimacy further. He had seen the yearning in her eyes and ignored it. He had witnessed the countless times she reached for him and then held back. He had been grateful for her restraint. He had been a coward.
He understood that she had known better all along. She had understood what was missing between them.
Rather than having the courage to explore those feelings- instead of trusting in her and her love- he had forced her away.
The truth was so clear.
From the very beginning, she had belonged to him, but not as a mistress belonged to her protector.
Lily was his as his soul was his. Just as he was hers.
She was a part of him. He was a part of her. He could not exist without her. And if he loved her, he had to trust that she had spoken the truth when she had said she wanted him, flaws and all.
He did. He did trust her.”
― Amy Sandas, The Untouchable Earl

“It amazes me that you can read those torrid novels yet still take issue with a few crude words."
Lily blushed. Portia was the only person in the world who knew of her secret obsession with the kind of novels no pure, innocent young lady should ever get her hands on. She lowered her gaze even as she defended her private little hobby.
"Any... explicit language in my novels is set in a grander context, not simply blurted out for shock and effect. If you would deign to read one, you might understand that."
"No, thank you. I prefer to live my adventures out here in the real world rather than between the pages of a book you can only read beneath the privacy of your bedcovers."
So would I, Lily thought ruefully.”
― Amy Sandas, The Untouchable Earl

“Eve's heart swelled with gratitude for her friend's staunch loyalty, but it was important to her that they fully understand... I think he wanted to allow me the freedom to decide my own path...He's showing me that he understands that how important it is for me to have my family & friends again. By leaving, he's honoring the possibility that I might choose not to return to the valley. When I join him, it will be because it's solely my desire to do so.”
― amy sandas, The Outlaw's Heart

“He had done all he could to avoid her over the last couple of weeks, though the effort was more challenging than he had expected, especially when thoughts of her never left his consciousness. Then came the night they collided outside the Mawbry's town house. For a brief and painful moment, he had held her warm body against him, and the elemental shift she had caused in his core had spread like a shock wave through his system.
Now, here she was, dressed again in modest white, her brunette hair falling in loose waves, the red glow of the fire behind her casting her figure into a decadent display of shadow and light.
As his hungry gaze soaked up every detail of the woman who had been haunting his thoughts, he noticed something odd in her manner.
Her lovely gray eyes were lowered, and with her hair shielding much of her face, she presented a perfect example of shy modesty. The posture struck Avenell as wrong. Despite Miss Chadwick's innocence and quiet manner, she was not one to avert her gaze. He had observed her enough in the preceding weeks to know she had an unnerving tendency to view her surroundings with direct, consuming attention.”
― Amy Sandas, The Untouchable Earl

“But she noticed something interesting.
His hands.
They stretched tensely then curled into tight fists before extending again, the pattern repeating over and over as he walked away. After he climbed into the darkness of the vehicle and waited for the footman to close the door behind him, he looked up at her from the deep shadows.
The angles of his face were hard and forbidding, his mouth set in a firm line, but his eyes... They focused in on her, consuming her despite the distance between them.
Lily's lips parted to draw a swift breath. The flame inside her fanned to a full blaze. She could swear she saw a sort of hunger in his eyes.”
― Amy Sandas, The Untouchable Earl

“It is not as though you are being forced to abstain from all contact," she added cheekily. "I am simply not ready to share our relationship with the world."
He chuckled, and the sound warmed her heart. "Sweetheart, the world is well aware of my pursuit of you. How can they not be when I dance with you and only you at every ball and visit your great-aunt's house several times a week?”
― Amy Sandas, The Untouchable Earl

“The gossips are saying you have melted the ice of my heart," he said.
His voice was smooth and rich as he patiently worked the buttons on the back of her gown. She bit her lip to hold back the unexpected rush of desire through her system.
She shook her head. "Your heart was never frozen. In fact, it was the fire inside you that lured me." She smiled. "Like a moth to your flame.”
― Amy Sandas, The Untouchable Earl

“Lily paused on a ragged breath, admiring the sight of his bared chest and rippled abdomen. He was so strong, so tightly contained. Muscle and bone formed a rigid structure- a beautiful design of masculinity. It was hard to imagine the pain and vulnerability that had resided beneath such strength for so long.”
― Amy Sandas, The Untouchable Earl

“The truth is that I have long been... curious about the more passionate aspects of human existence. I do not want to live my entire life huddled beneath my bedcovers, imagining what desire must feel like. I want to experience it. I do experience it with you."
Her words stole his breath.
"From the first moment I saw you, my lord, I felt something ignite inside me. Something powerful. It is important to me that you know I would never have considered becoming the mistress of anyone but you."
Avenell's heart stopped.”
― Amy Sandas, The Untouchable Earl