Her arms reached up to wrap around his neck, holding on as if she would never let go. She kissed him back with an ardor that astonished, gratified, and aroused him all at once, and for a moment, he lost himself in the kiss, and in the woman, thinking to himself, now this, this is magic.

Members of the court still talked in whispers of the lady-in-waiting who had accidentally worn mismatched stockings to an afternoon tea. They said she made a lovely rosebush, always festooned with stunning flowers in two slightly different colors of peach.
Beka didn't aspire to be a rosebush.

i want you so much I feel like I'm going to explode."
"I hear that Marines are good with explosions," Beka said.

Have you ever met a dragon that couldn't talk?

Donata Santori looked down at the dead body lying at her feet and thought, ‘Damn, that can’t be a good sign.

I want to know who killed my father,” Peter growled, shrugging off her fingers and pushing himself away from the wall to stand up straight. “If you think you can help me with that, then you are welcome to try.