|
81980b9
|
"No, you've got it all wrong, John." Reading his emotions, she shook her head. "You're not half the male you could be because of what was done to you. You're twice what anyone else is because you survived."
|
|
lover-mine
xhex
jr-ward
|
J.R. Ward |
|
c46a7b8
|
I would hold you up. I will ever hold you up and hold you dear, lover mine.
|
|
xhex
|
J.R. Ward |
|
379910e
|
...the only thing that had tethered her to the earth had been him and it was strange, but she felt welded to him on some core level now. He had seen her at her absolute worst, at her weakest and most insane, and he hadn't looked away. He hadn't judged and he hadn't been burned. It was as if in the heat of her meltdown they had melted together. This was more than emotion. It was a matter of soul.
|
|
lover-mine
john-matthew
xhex
|
J.R. Ward |
|
e2f1ea8
|
"I want you to know...that you can trust me." John locked eyes with her and was instantly transported to a different plane of existence. Mighta been heaven again. Who the fuck knew or cared. All he knew was that there was only her and him together, the rest of the world drifting away into fog. Was it possible to fall in love with someone twice, he wondered dimly."
|
|
lover-mine
xhex
jr-ward
|
J.R. Ward |
|
89ca363
|
She wanted to say something smart and kind, put together some combination of words to reach him where he'd reached her with his. But the thing was, there was more courage in these revelations of his than she had ever shown anyone, and in a world that was full of taking and cruelty, he was fucking breaking her heart with what he was giving her.
|
|
lover-mine
xhex
jr-ward
|
J.R. Ward |
|
b746c6e
|
As his ears rang and his heart broke for her, he stayed strong against the gale force she let loose. After all, there was a reason why and were seperated by so little and sounded one like the other. Bearing witness to her, he heard her and was there for her because that was all you could do during a fall apart. But God, it pained him to see how she suffered.
|
|
lover-mine
john-matthew
xhex
john
|
J.R. Ward |
|
3df61b2
|
He nodded and curled over his paper, writing quickly. As his words took form on the white page, she got to watch him...and realized she never wanted him to go. She wanted him here beside her forever.
|
|
lover-mine
john-matthew
xhex
john
|
J.R. Ward |
|
b2fcc92
|
He was having an illicit affair... with his own mate.
|
|
xhex
lover-reborn
|
J.R. Ward |
|
591d126
|
And bottom line, without John by her side, everything seemed to be just a big, resounding meh.
|
|
meh
ward
xhex
lover-reborn
john
|
J.R. Ward |
|
6077b5a
|
Up ahead about two blocks, a massive figure stepped out into her path. She halted. Took a deep breath. Felt a prickling in her eyes. On the breeze drifting down to her, John's unmistakable bonding scent was a dark spice that wiped out the stink of the city and the wretched sting of her unhappiness. She started walking toward him. Fast. Faster... Now she was running. He met her halfway, falling into a jog as soon as he saw her pick up the pace, and they slammed into each other. Hard to know whose mouth found whose, or whose arms were cinched tighter, or who was the desperate one. But then, in this they were equals.
|
|
xhex
|
J.R. Ward |
|
3ba6fed
|
"Tohr: "Doesn't have to be easy to be right." John: "In that case, we're meant for each other."
|
|
lover-mine
xhex
tohr
tohrment
|
J.R. Ward |
|
362acd0
|
People going in the wrong direction will get like that. Round pegs just don't fit in square holes.
|
|
xhex
|
J.R. Ward |
|
e8c0dbe
|
She did nothing to try to control the shakes that rattled her body,and didn't attempt to stop herself from crying. Tears left both of her eyes at the far corners,slipping out and flowing over her temples.Some landed in her ears. Some eased down her neck and were absorbed by the pillow.Others clouded her vision,as if they didn't want to leave home.
|
|
xhex
black-dagger-brotherhood
lover-avenged
john
|
J.R. Ward |
|
d2e2d0d
|
Amazing, John thought as he stood behind Xhex. If you looked down at your cock and balls and told them that if they behaved badly you would slice them up and bury them in the back yard, they actually listened to you.
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lover-mine
xhex
|
J.R. Ward |
|
39e9c62
|
"Rehv swooped down with his long arms and gathered her up against him, tucking her with vital care to his chest. Ducking his head to hers, his voice was deep and grave. "I never thought I would see you again." As he shuddered, she lifted her hands up to his torso. After holding herself back for a moment...she embraced him as fully as he did her. "You smell the same," she said rought, putting her nose right into the collar of his fine silk shirt. "Oh...God, you smell the same."
|
|
xhex
|
J.R. Ward |
|
8402e7e
|
"With a sudden flash of anger, she blurted, "Lash wasn't impotent, all right? He wasn't ... impotent-" The temperature in the room plummeted so fast and so far, her breath came out in clouds. And what she saw in the mirror made her swing around and take a step back from John: His blue eyes glowed with an unholy light and his upper lip curled up to reveal fangs that were sharp and so long they looked like daggers. Objects all around the room began to vibrate: the lamps on the bed stands, the clothes on their hangers, the mirror on the wall. The collective rattling crescendoed to a dull roar and she had to steady herself on the bureau or run the risk of being knocked on her ass. The air was alive. Supercharged. Electric. Dangerous. And John was the center of the raging energy, his hands cranking into fists so tight his forearms trembled, his thighs grabbing onto his bones as he sank down into fighting stance. John's mouth stretched wide as his head shot forward on his spine... and he let out a war cry- Sound exploded all around her, so loud she had to cover her ears, so powerful she felt the blast against her face. For a moment, she thought he'd found his voice- except it wasn't vocal cords making that bellowing noise. The glass in the sliders blew out behind him, the sheets shattering into thousands of shards that blasted free of the house, the fragments bouncing on the slate and catching the light like raindrops... Or like tears."
|
|
xhex
|
J.R. Ward |
|
9c7feb2
|
It was hard to explain. But what was between them went further than a mating ceremony or a back carving or a witnessed exchange of commitment. He couldn't put his finger on the why of it...but she was his missing puzzle piece, the twelfth in his dozen, the first and last pages of his book.
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|
lover-mine
xhex
|
J.R.Ward |
|
a1d87fa
|
"She shook her head. "I'm not leaving him. And I'm out here waiting only because I was making him crazy. The sight of me... isn't good for his mental health at this moment. I'm hoping that's no longer true after he breaks this second treadmill." "Second?" "I'm pretty damn sure that flapping and the smell of smoke about fifteen minutes ago meant he ran one of them into the ground." "Damn." "Yup."
|
|
xhex
john
|
J.R. Ward |
|
574758f
|
A few minutes later, John got up, put his clothes back on, palmed his liquor bottle, and left. As the door clicked shut, Xhex pulled the duvet over herself. She did nothing to try to control the shakes that rattled her body, and didn't attempt to stop herself from crying. Tears left both of her eyes at the far corners, slipping out and flowing over her temples. Some landed in her ears. Some eased down her neck and were absorbed by the pillow. Others clouded her vision, as if they didn't want to leave home. Feeling ridiculous, she put her hands to her face and captured them as best she could, wiping them on the duvet. She cried for hours. Alone.
|
|
xhex
|
J.R. Ward |