Forced Proximity Quotes

“I want to tell her that she's luminous, she's so bright in my mind, sometimes I can't focus.”
― Ali Hazelwood, Love on the Brain

“Why was he following me?
He was terrifying. Tall, dark, ripped. He had the face of a fallen angel who had torched his halo for fun. Dangerous. Controlled. Deadly.”
― Evie James, Eyes on You

“She was Persephone.
Pure spring caught in the harsh reality of my dark domain.
And I?
I was Hades.
King of an underworld forged not of myth but of concrete and blood.
I knew, in the gut-wrenching way only a man like me could, that what I was about to do was wrong. I knew every fiber of her being would scream against the chains I hadn’t even yet forged—but I couldn’t stop the inevitable.
I would make her mine.
My craving consumed me—an overwhelming longing that defied logic, morality, and every rule I lived by. Everything about it screamed violation. But as I watched her, seeing the fragile strength beneath the pain, the absolute virginity of her soul laid bare…
A hunger I had never even known existed devoured me.
I couldn’t stop.
I wouldn’t.”
― Evie James, Eyes on You

“Her eyes fluttered down to her hands, and she bit her lip so hard I thought it would bleed. Fuck! My dick twitched, roaring to life. Any blood on her lip should be of my doing.
“Little lamb, you have no idea what your limits are. And baiting a man with few might get you more than you bargained for.”
Her gaze stayed fixed on her lap as her fingers worried the corner of the cushion.
“Look at me when I speak to you,” I demanded.
Her eyes shot up to mine, and those stormy irises were now hidden beneath black pools.
“If you were mine,” I said, “I’d strip you bare, tie your wrists behind your back with my belt, and bend you over that island.” I glanced toward the kitchen. “I’d have you spreading those sweet cheeks of yours apart. Holding them open for me while I drool over your little pink puckered hole as I pound my cock deep inside your cunt, knowing I’ll be fucking your ass next.”
Her eyes were enormous now. Her mouth dropped open. I’d made her pant with my words alone.”
― Evie James, Eyes on You

“My light in the darkness. I will guard you until the end.”
― Evie James, Eyes on You

“That was how I lived. No seat belt. No backup plan. Just heart, hustle, and a little bit of hellfire.”
― Evie James, Eyes on You

“We’re wolves of the night—the Volkovi Notchi.”
The words landed like thunder.
“We protect the lambs. But we feast on the shepherds.”
― Evie James, Eyes on You

“She was everything that shouldn’t survive in my world—and yet, here she was. Fragile but unbroken. Grieving but unashamed.
Lamb to my wolf.
Sunshine to my shadows.
Color to my gray.”
― Evie James, Eyes on You

“To the lass,” he said, raising his glass. “May her tongue stay sharp, her loyalty run deep, and her enemies die choking on her name.”
― Evie James, Eyes on You

“She was the perfect fit for me. My light in all this darkness.
Bending my head, I breathed her in and made the only vow I would ever keep without question.
From the moment I first saw you, I needed to know more. Not wanted—needed. You became my compulsion, my answer to questions I didn’t know I was asking. I’ve drawn you into the shadows of my world—not to cage you, but to make you mine in every way. I will guard you against every enemy, silence every threat, and claim every part of you while building you into everything you dream of being. No man will touch you without losing his hands. No enemy will breathe after speaking your name. I will tear this city apart if it means keeping you safe. And I will spend the rest of my life making certain you never want for anything except more of me.”
― Evie James, Eyes on You

“He studied me for a long, tense moment. “This is not a game, Lacey.”
“I understand exactly what it is,” I whispered. “It’s a blood oath disguised as a wedding vow.”
― Evie James, Eyes on You

“Don’t worry, little lamb,” he said, his voice a low rumble against my skin as he dragged his lips along my breast. “I’ll always catch you.”
Then his mouth curved into a smirk, and he growled something that was equal parts threat and vow: “Hate me all you want…you’re still mine.”
― Evie James, Eyes on You

“Her every move careful not to disturb my injured chest. Then there was the way she sighed my name, quietly. Sending a different shudder through my limbs.”
― Ashley Earley, Forbidden Captive

“And I found myself wondering … if I tasted him, would my tastebuds sting with the saltiness of sand? Breath rushed out of me at the thought.”
― Ashley Earley, Forbidden Captive

“Beginning anew was the only way to have a life at all, but to avoid my old life was to abandon.”
― Ashley Earley, Forbidden Captive

“By the time her eyes found me, she couldn’t speak. I watched how the light left her crystal-blue eyes. Still, when her eyes became lifeless to the world around us, it seemed so sudden.
I didn’t care if I was showing weakness.
I let fear swallow me whole. Agony suffocating my heart, I allowed my tears to fall.”
― Ashley Earley, Forbidden Captive

“I bit back a shout as my fresh burns burst with pain. The bars dug into my back—the only part of my body that remained unharmed. Despite that, she was not touching any of my wounds. She knew where all of them were, yet she wasn’t digging into them to get me to submit—like her red-cloaked companion surely would have if their places had been reversed.”
― Ashley Earley, Forbidden Captive

“When I had taken the whip to the Viking, my mind had clouded. Anger had corrupted my thoughts—claimed my body and mind. Losing myself to the harsh emotion had scared me. I felt like the bloodthirsty beast the Viking saw whenever he looked at me, and I never wanted to be that.”
― Ashley Earley, Forbidden Captive

“My mind was still reeling from having saved her. I was not entirely sure why I had acted so irrationally. Something had just … snapped. When it came down to it, I couldn’t let her die. I was unable to take her life, and I couldn’t walk away when another had tried.”
― Ashley Earley, Forbidden Captive

“I wanted to eliminate what remained of curses and judgment and the hatred we had been spat our whole lives. Because this—this was something I could not ignore. This was something bigger than I could explain. And I was more than confident I was not the only one who felt such an urge for the forbidden.”
― Ashley Earley, Forbidden Captive

“Closing in, I moved from behind to loop around the trees beside him, knowing once we reached the small clearing ahead, there would be nothing to separate us. Once he broke into the moonlight, there would be nowhere for him to hide.”
― Ashley Earley, Forbidden Captive

“I swallowed the repulsion of having her so close, my fingers eager for the ax lying just out of reach.”
― Ashley Earley, Forbidden Captive

“I needed to hear her, to know she was here. But I couldn’t reach her—couldn’t open my eyes to search for her. The aching pang had me trapped in the fog of my mind, keeping me from reaching her through the haze.”
― Ashley Earley, Forbidden Captive

“It had taken me a while to realize she was beautiful. But once I got up close to her, once I spent so much time around her, finding those sharp, green eyes watching me with a threat or the spark of something else—there was no going back. I had broken through her barriers and my own prejudices, and there was no undoing it.”
― Ashley Earley, Forbidden Captive

“They were best friends.
Then a kiss ruined everything.
Now they’re stepbrothers—
and one dare away from burning it all down again.”
― Raquel Riley, Double Dared: An Enemies To Lovers MM Stepbrother Romance

“I wear the memories in stitches, in pain that takes its time. The body remembers everything.”
― Delali Adjoa, The Free Verse Society

“My fingers memorize the way her limbs flow. How soft and careful she is. How sure she is in her quiet.”
― Delali Adjoa, The Free Verse Society

“”
― Delali Adjoa, The Free Verse Society

“Are you okay?
Jae. Her voice hovers in the silence as I drop the broken birds into the trash can. A glass splinter digs into my hand and leaves a small, swelling red mark when I pull it out.
Are you okay?
I look up at the ticking clock on the kitchen wall. I can’t be late for my two-hour shift at the diner.
Are you okay?
I rip off my jersey and jump into the shower and try not to think about her black eyes shining like glass. I try not to think about the dimples that appear like magic when she talks. I wonder if I could ever make her smile and how deep her dimples would get. I wonder what would happen if I touched her, or if I ever should.
Maybe she’d break like everything else.”
― Delali Adjoa, The Free Verse Society

“I decide that Derek Patel, however beautiful he might be under all that dust, is a hope a heart should not have, a flashing yellow light, a reflective caution sign in the dark. Detour. Dead end.”
― Delali Adjoa, The Free Verse Society