Shemeka Escalera

“Blinking hard, she watched two Toltec nobles disembark from the aircraft and rush up the steps. One of them argued with the priest who had
proclaimed her death sentence. The taller of the two, wearing what she
dimly registered as the uniform of the Generals Council, demanded the
keys to her shackles.
Securing them, he walked behind the post. A curious mixture of anticipation and confusion filled Helen. Although she did not know him, a tenuous sense of hope stirred deep within her simply because he was there with her.
She turned her head from side to side, trying to watch him as he
worked to free her. “Who are you, my lord? Why are you here?”
“You sent me a lecture not long ago about your duty as a healer,
Lieutenant,” he replied, on one knee behind her to unlock the manacles
around her ankles. “I am your father.”
― Candace L. Talmadge, Stoneslayer: Book One Scandal

“Whether you are on day one of being a Christian or day fifteen thousand, you should always have a teachable heart before God.”
― Kathryn Krick, The Secret of the Anointing: Accessing the Power of God to Walk in Miracles

“A ray of sunlight poked through the mass of angry clouds.”
― Gabriel F.W. Koch, Steel Blood

“Their lips met in a slow, languid kiss. Salt from her tears mixed with her natural sweetness. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed closer. Her softness, her scent, she filled and overran his senses. He mouthed another kiss against her lips. Heat flared inside his abdomen when she opened her mouth, and kissed him back with firmer lips. 

He sank into her embrace, the heated connection she offered. A kinetic warmth surged through him, lighting, igniting dormant pieces inside—like someone returning home . . . A soft groan, hushed breaths. Their mouths parted and found each other again. He slid his hand behind her neck as he deepened the kiss.”
― J. Rose Black, Losing My Breath