Damaris (GoodChoiceReading)

“Oh, we're playing nice now? Shall we have tea first? Brew up a nice pot of kiss-my-ass?”
― Julie Kagawa, The Iron King

“I licked my lips and whispered, "Is this where you say you'll kill me?"
One corner of his lips curled. "If you like," he murmured, a flicker of amusement finally crossing his face. "Though it's gotten far too interesting for that.”
― Julie Kagawa, The Iron King

“But wouldn’t she always wonder? She did not want to live a lifetime never knowing what it felt like to be kissed by someone who she actually wanted to kiss. Naime rose up on her knees and pressed her mouth softly to his, her breath held, slipping her hands to rest on his shoulders. She pulled immediately away, unsure. “I don’t know how.” Makram slid off the trunk, landing on his knees in front of her, wrapping his arm around her waist to draw her against him. “I know you don’t.” He brushed his mouth over the bridge of her nose, then her cheek, then her brow, burning her with the tenderness of it. “I know I shouldn’t touch you or let you touch me. I shouldn’t speak to you, I shouldn’t look at you.” “But I like all of those things,” she protested breathlessly, her mind fogged. “I can’t stop,” he said. “I am trying and failing.” “Then,” she began, tingles of anticipation and shyness arcing across her lips and down her throat, “teach me.”
― J.D. Evans, Reign & Ruin

“Then I made a stupid mistake and looked up at him. His eyes met mine, and for a moment, his face was open and vulnerable in the moonlight. I caught a hint of wonder there as we stared at each other. Slowly, he leaned forward. I caught my breath, a tiny gasp escaping. He stiffened, and his expression shuttered closed, eyes going hard and frosty.
[...]
'This is getting old,' he said in a voice that matched his eyes.”
― Julie Kagawa, The Iron King