Quotes From "Branded By Fire" By Nalini Singh

Be gentle with him, Mercy. He's got a heart as big as Texas– he'll die for you without blinking. But he doesn't expect anyone to do the same for him. Nalini Singh

I don't need a mate, ” she muttered, staring up at the bright circle of the early autumn moon. “But can't you send me a nice, sexy, strongmale to dance with? Pretty please?” She hadn't had a lover for close to eight months now, and it was starting to hurt on every level. “He doesn't even have to be smart, just good between the sheets.” Good enough to unsnap the tension in her body, allow her to function again. Because sex wasn't simply about pleasure for a cat like her–it was about affection, about trust, about everything good. “Though right this second, I'd take plain old hot sex.” That was when Riley walked out of the shadows. “Got an itch, kitty?” Snapping to her feet, she narrowed her eyes, knowing he had to have deliberately stayed downwind in order to sneak up on her. “Spying?” “When you're talking loud enough to wake the dead?” She swore she could feel steam coming out her ears. . Nalini Singh

I have something for you.”“ Yeah? What? Is it shiny?” They both waited until Indigo had jogged away before resuming their conversation. “So, ” Riley asked, “what have you got for me?” Taking his hand, she placed it palm-down over her heart. It would hurt like a bitch, she thought, but he was hers to protect as much as she was his. “Me.” And she opened up her soul, laid herself bare. . Nalini Singh

Mercy laughed. “You have to excuse them–boys suffer from an incurable disability.” “What?” “Testosterone. Nalini Singh

You trying to make me crazy?” “Everyone needs a hobby. Nalini Singh

Don't pull any shit because you want to show off.” “Wait a second.” She looked down then back up. “Nope, I haven't grown a cock in the last few minutes. I have no need to prove whose is bigger. Nalini Singh

Sentinel meeting tonight, ” Ria told her. “At Lucas's place.” “Time?” ...“Seven. Sascha's doing dinner.” “God save us all.” Sascha had decided she liked cooking. Unfortunately, cooking didn't like her back. Nalini Singh

One thing I've always wondered–why did you enter that bikini contest when you were a teenager?” Her face flushed with a mixture of anger and embarrassment. “How far back did you trace me?” “Far enough.” A pause. “You didn't answer my question.” “And you didn't turn into a puff of smoke and disappear. The world is full of disappointments. Nalini Singh

Dorian’s going to love this.” She glared. “I swear to God, you tell him, and I’ll” – what the hell could you threaten an alpha with?–“ I’ll tell Hawke you want to go on daily bonding runs with him. Nalini Singh

You almost died.” “But you brought me back.” She cupped his face in her hands. “I always knew you were there. Death didn't have a chance against the Wall. Nalini Singh

Riley knelt down, clasping the fur at the back of her neck. “You’re fucking bruised all down your back. Why the hell didn’t you tell me it hur Nalini Singh

You said I could pet you as long as I liked.” “Didn't say I wouldn't try to fuck you in the middle of the petting.” Her eyes snapped up to meet his. “That's feline logic. You're a wolf.” “I'm learning from the best. Nalini Singh

A hand in her hair, wrenching back her head. "What's my name?" She scratched trails down his back. He didn't even wince. "My name, kitty. Say my name."" Mr. Mud Stick, Muddie for short, " she said, even as she rubbed herself against the hard thrust of his denim-covered erection, the roughness of the fabric an exquisite sensation. She would've liked naked skin even more, but he wasn't budging." Say it, or no cock for you today." Her mouth fell open. "Fuck you."" You'll be doing that shortly. Nalini Singh

Smiling, she went for his throat and almost had him, when–using a move that was all sorts of illegal–he flipped her again so her front pressed into the leaf-laden ground, her wrists still locked in his iron grip and pinned above her head. “Cheater.” “So says the woman who tried to kick my balls into my throat, ” he pointed out, even as he licked the salt off the skin of her neck in a lazy and highly provocative move. Nalini Singh

Once– and most of the night definitely counts as once–you can write off as a mistake. But you do this again and he's going to start thinking he has rights over you.” She knew predatory changeling men. They liked control. They particularly liked their women to submit. And Riley was one big giant hunk of testosterone-fueled Neanderthal wolf–he probably thought her submission was his right. She snorted. “Not in this lifetime. . Nalini Singh

So, you tumbled that wolf you were with?” Mercy was too much a pack animal to take offense at the personal question. She grinned. “How did you know it was me?” “Do I look senile to you?”..“ Yes, ” Mercy said. “And I'm not doing it again.” If she kept telling herself that, maybe her traitorous body would actually notice and shut up with its demands. The older woman gave her a sour look. “Damn shame. What, you like them prettier?” A snort. “In my day, we liked men who looked like men. Nalini Singh

Her eyes narrowed when no one bothered to introduce themselves. Even her father just gave a curt nod and kissed Mercy on the cheek before going to his mate. She looked at Bas. “Did you four gang up on Riley?”Absolute silence in the kitchen except for her mother ’s exasperated breath. “Michael T. Smith, I told you to leave the boy alone.” The “boy” held her tighter against him, obviously not the least bit worried. “I’m fine, Mrs. Smith. And I have a sister, too.” Lia turned her gaze on Riley. “Good God, Mercy. You brought another one into the family? . Nalini Singh

Her eyes narrowed when no one bothered to introduce themselves. Even her father just gave a curtnod and kissed Mercy on the cheek before going to his mate. She looked at Bas. “Did you four gangup on Riley?”Absolute silence in the kitchen except for her mother ’s exasperated breath. “Michael T. Smith, I toldyou to leave the boy alone.” The “boy” held her tighter against him, obviously not the least bit worried. “I’m fine, Mrs. Smith.And I have a sister, too.” Lia turned her gaze on Riley. “Good God, Mercy. You brought another one into the family?. Nalini Singh

--she walked into her bathroom, stripped, and entered the shower. The door opened a minute later to expose Riley standing there, beer in hand. Scraping damp strands of red off her face, she glared at him. "I don't remember giving you an invitation."" You said to amuse myself while you shower." A slow, slow, deliciously slow Nalini Singh

Can you two keep from tearing each other's throats out during however long it takes to find Nash?" Lucas's dry tone did nothing to hide the feline amusement in his eyes as he broke into her line of sight. "Or maybe I should be worrying about clothes instead? Nalini Singh