Janet Romano

“Troy rose from the bed and walked to his chest of drawers. He pulled a pair of black boxer briefs from the top drawer and handed them to her, watching her warily for some type of reaction to what they had just done, before turning his back. She shimmied out of her underwear and slipped on his, glad for the warmth they provided. After a minute, he climbed into bed and pulled her back against his chest to plant a kiss on her shoulder. Ruby automatically stiffened at the tender gesture. He laughed under his breath. “Now you’re shy? What happened to the girl who walked out of my bathroom naked?” When Ruby didn’t answer, Troy sighed. “Sleep now, hustler. You can go back to being your difficult self in the morning. I’ll even let you run your mouth as much as you need to. All day long. But when the time comes where I take you to bed, that’s when I put a stop to it. Can you live with that?” “I’ll tell you in the morning,” she whispered, grateful for the darkness. “Fine. Good night, Ruby.” “’Night.”
― Tessa Bailey, His Risk to Take

“Because when you love someone,” she met my gaze in the mirror and said without a flicker in her confidence, “their world interests you more than your own. So much so that you disappear into them, and the only choice you have is to merge your life with theirs. Because otherwise, you cease to exist at all.”
― Laurelin Paige, Hudson

“Oh, and Jack said to tell you something…what was it? Ah…he said, ‘If the Mets get anywhere near home base, it’ll be the last game they ever play.’” She laughed. “I don’t know a lot about baseball. Did that make sense?” Daniel gulped. “Perfect sense.” In other words, touch my daughter and die, asshole. “See you tomorrow, Daniel.” “Bye, sunshine.” Daniel hung up the phone and stared off into space. Obviously Jack was trying to kill him. Take my beautiful daughter out, sit next to her for hours on end, and bring her home untouched. The prom date from hell. Matt and Brent came up behind him. “How’d it go?” Matt asked. “Oh, you know…perfect.” He turned to Brent. “I’m taking her to the game tomorrow night.” Brent’s mouth dropped open. “What the hell? I thought you were taking me?” “Tough shit. She smells better than you.”
― Tessa Bailey, Officer Off Limits

“For eighty thousand dollars there had to be more he expected. Since he wouldn’t spell it out, I tiptoed around the topic myself. “This pretend relationship—to what extent would I be expected to perform?” “Don’t pussy foot about it. You’re asking about sex.” His eyes darkened again. “I never pay for sex, Alayna. When I fuck you, it will be for free.”
― Laurelin Paige, The Fixed Trilogy