Michael Lawler Quotes

“While awake, he was all angles and tension- the muscles of his jaw were strung tight as a bow, as though he were in a perpetual state of holding himself back. But now, in slumber, in the glow of the fire, he was...
Beautiful.
The angles were still there, sharp and perfect, as though a master sculptor had had a hand in creating him- the tilt of his jaw, the cleft of his chin, his long, straight nose, the perfect curve of his brows, and those eyelashes, just as they were when he was a boy, unbelievably long and lush, a black, sooty caress against his cheeks.
And his lips. Not pressed in a firm, grim line at the moment, instead lovely and full. They had once been so quick to smile, but... they had become dangerous and tempting in a way they'd never been when he was a boy. She traced the peak and valleys of his upper lip with her gaze, wondering how many women had kissed him. Wondering what his mouth would feel like- soft or firm, light or dark.
She exhaled, temptation making the breath long and heavy.
She wanted to touch him.”
― Sarah MacLean, A Rogue by Any Other Name

“He wasn't going to ruin you, Tommy. He stopped it."
Tommy shook his head. "You stopped it. You loved him enough to show him that there was more to life than revenge. You changed him. You've given him another chance to be the Michael we knew instead of the cold, hard Bourne he became. You've moved the mountain.”
― Sarah MacLean, A Rogue by Any Other Name

“For nine years, I thought it was vengeance that would save me, and it took you- my strong, beautiful wife- to prove that I was wrong and that love was my salvation. You are my redemption," he whispered. "You are my benediction.”
― Sarah MacLean, A Rogue by Any Other Name

“He did not look like a pirate.
He looked... familiar.
There was something there, in the handsome angles and deep, wicked shadows, the hollows of his cheeks, the straight line of his lips, the sharp line of his jaw- in need of a shave.
Yes, there was something there- a whisper of recognition.
He wore a pin-striped cap dusted with snow, the brim of which cast his eyes into darkness. They were a missing piece.
She would never know from where the instinct came- perhaps from a desire to discover the identity of the man who would end her days- but she could not stop herself from reaching up and pushing the hat back from his face to see his eyes.
Only later it would occur to her that he did not try to stop her.
His eyes were hazel, a mosaic of browns and greens and greys, framed by long, dark lashes, spiked with snow. She would have known them anywhere, even if they were far more serious now than she'd ever seen them before.
Shock coursed through her, followed by a thick current of happiness.
He was not a pirate.
"Michael?" He stiffened at the sound of his name, but she did not take the time to wonder why.
She flattened her palm against his cold cheek- an action at which she would later marvel- and laughed, the sound muffled by the snow falling around them. "It is you, isn't it?"
He reached up, pulling her hand from his face. He wasn't wearing gloves, and still, he was so warm.
And not at all clammy.”
― Sarah MacLean, A Rogue by Any Other Name

“She lifted her lantern high, and he allowed her to free him from the shadows, casting his face in warm, golden light. He had aged marvelously, grown into his long limbs and angled face. Penelope had always imagined that he'd become handsome, but he was more than handsome now... he was nearly beautiful.
If not for the darkness that lingered despite the glow of the lantern- something dangerous in the set of his jaw, in the tightness of his brow, in eyes that seemed to have forgotten joy, in lips that seemed to have lost their ability to smile.
He'd had a dimple as a child, one that showed itself often and was almost always the precursor to adventure. She searched his left cheek, looking for that telltale indentation. Did not find it.
Indeed, as much as Penelope searched this new, hard face, she could not seem to find the boy she'd once known. If not for the eyes, she would not have believed it was him at all.
"How sad," she whispered to herself.
He heard it. "What?"
She shook her head, meeting his gaze, the only thing familiar about him. "He's gone."
"Who?"
"My friend."
She hadn't thought it possible, but his features hardened even more, growing more stark, more dangerous, in the shadows. For one fleeting moment, she thought perhaps she had pushed him too far. He remained still, watching her with that dark gaze that seemed to see everything.”
― Sarah MacLean, A Rogue by Any Other Name

“They'll even marry an aging spinster to get it."
She hated him then. Hated the words, the way he spoke them with such simple cruelty. Tears threatened.”
― Sarah MacLean, A Rogue by Any Other Name

“Before she could think of what to say, he grasped the axe and turned toward her, his face a mass of angles in the lanternlight. "Step back."
This was a man who expected to be heeded. He did not wait to see if she followed his direction before he lifted the axe high above his head. She pressed herself into the corner of the dark room as he attacked the furniture with a vengeance, her surprise making her unable to resist watching him.
He was built beautifully.
Like a glorious Roman statue, all strong, lean muscles outlined by the crisp linen of his shirtsleeves when he lifted the tool overhead, his hands sliding purposefully along the haft, fingers grasping tightly as he brought the steel blade down into the age-old oak with a mighty thwack, sending a splinter of oak flying across the kitchen, landing atop the long-unused stove.
He splayed one long-fingered hand flat on the table, gripping the axe once more to work the blade out of the wood. He turned his head as he stood back, making sure she was out of the way of any potential projectiles- a movement she could not help but find comforting- before confronting the furniture and taking his next swing with a mighty heave.
The blade sliced into the oak, but the table held.
He shook his head and yanked the axe out once more, this time aiming for one of the remaining table legs.
Thwack!
Penelope's eyes went wide as the lanternlight caught the way his wool trousers wrapped tightly around his massive thighs. She should not notice... should not be paying attention to such obvious... maleness.
But she'd never seen legs like his.
Thwack!
Never imagined they could be so... compelling.
Thwack!
Could not help it.
Thwack!”
― Sarah MacLean, A Rogue by Any Other Name

“Why didn't you return it to Michael?"
Needham sighed, throwing down his napkin and rising from the table, through with the conversation. "He was careless with it in the first place," he said simply before quitting the room, Lady Needham fast on his heels.
It might have been sixteen years since she'd seen him last, but a part of her still considered Michael Lawler, Marquess of Bourne, a dear friend, and she did not like the way her father spoke of him, as though he were of little value and less import.
But then, she really didn't know Michael- not the man. When she allowed herself to think of him, more often than she'd like to admit, he was not a twenty-one-year-old who had lost everything in a silly game of chance.
No, in her thoughts, Michael remained her childhood friend- the first she'd ever made- twelve years old, leading her across the muddy landscape on one adventure or another, laughing at inopportune moments until she could not resist laughing with him, muddying his knees in the damp fields that stretched between their houses and throwing pebbles at her window on summer mornings before he headed off to fish in the lake that straddled Needham and Bourne lands.
She supposed the lake was part of her dowry, now.
Michael would have to ask permission to fish there.
He would have to ask her husband permission to fish there.
The idea would be laughable if it weren't so... wrong.
And no one seemed to notice.”
― Sarah MacLean, A Rogue by Any Other Name

“She watched as he rolled his shoulders into the exceptionally well made clothing, underscoring the perfect fit- a fit she no longer took for granted now that she had seen hints of the Vitruvian Man beneath.
No.
She shook her head. She would not think of him as a Leonardo. He was already far too intimidating a character.”
― Sarah MacLean, A Rogue by Any Other Name

“I will say, Penelope, that while it is unnecessary for you to be afraid of the dark, you are quite correct to be afraid of the things that thrive in it."
Penelope squinted into the darkness, trying to make out the room beyond, nervousness coiling deep within. She hovered on the threshold, her breath coming fast and shallow. Things that thrived in the dark... like him.”
― Sarah MacLean, A Rogue by Any Other Name

“Not that we expect anything less of Lord Bourne- husband or not, he remains a rogue! And that which we call a rogue, by any other name would scandalize as sweet!"
"Oh, for heaven's sake." Penelope did roll her eyes at that, looking to Michael, who looked... pleased. "You're complimented?"
He turned innocent eyes on her. "Should I not be?"
"Well," Philippa added thoughtfully, "anything Shakespearean must be at least a vague compliment."
"Precisely," Michael said, gifting Pippa with a smile that made Penelope more than a little envious of her younger sister.”
― Sarah MacLean, A Rogue by Any Other Name