JosieEllis

“Jase had seen me, restless, walking, organizing supplies that were already ordered. Everyone else was asleep on their bedrolls. He came up behind me, his hands circling my waist. "I can't sleep either," he said. His lips grazed my neck, and he whispered, "Tell me a riddle, Kazi." We laid out a blanket on a bed of grass, the stars of Hetisha's Chariot, Eagle's Nest, and Thieves' Gold lighting our way, far from everyone else. I settled in next to him, laying my head in the crook of his shoulder, his arm wrapping around me, pulling me close.
"Listen carefully now, Jase Ballenger. I won't repeat myself."
"I'm a good listener."
I know you are. I've known that since our first night together. That's what makes you dangerous. You make me want to share everything with you. I cleared my throat, signaling I was ready to begin.

"If I were a color, I'd be red as a rose,
I make your blood rush, and tingle your toes,
I taste of honey and spring, and a good bit of trouble,
But I make the birds sing, and all the stars double.
I can be quick, a mere peck, or slow and divine,
And that is probably, the very best kind."

"Hmm..." he said, as if stumped. "Let me think for a minute..." He rolled up on one elbow, looking down at me, the stars dusting his cheekbones. "Honey?" He kissed my forehead. "Spring?" He kissed my chin. "You are a good bit of trouble, Kazi of Brightmist." "I try my best." "I may have to take this one slowly..." His hand traveled leisurely from my waist, across my ribs, to my neck, until he was cupping my cheek. My blood rushed; the stars blurred. "Very slowly...to figure it all out." And then his lips pressed, warm and demanding onto mine, and I hoped it would take him an eternity to solve the riddle.”
― Mary E. Pearson, Dance of Thieves

“Anything else up your sleeve I should know about?" "If I told you, it wouldn't be fun, would it?" "Should I be concerned?" "Probably.”
― Mary E. Pearson, Dance of Thieves

“Yes, I want to kiss you, Jase Ballenger. Not for show or to make the best of it. I want to kiss you because I want you, every part of you, even the parts that infuriate me beyond telling, because you've infected me with a poison that I don't want to flush out, because you're a mad viper twisting around my middle, cutting off my breath, yet I want you more than I want to breathe.”
― Mary E. Pearson, Dance of Thieves

“would have come for you. And if I couldn't walk, I'd crawl to you, and no matter how broken we were, we'd fight our way out together-knives drawn, pistols blazing. Because that's what we do. We never stop fighting.”
― Leigh Bardugo, Crooked Kingdom