Quotes from Patricia Rice

I don't want to hurt the child. Tell me what I must do to protect it, he demanded. That simple request opened Lily's heart to him more surely than anything else he could have said. She spread her fingers across the rough squareness of his jaw and met the intensity of his gaze with tenderness. The child grows well above where even you can reach. Just be gentle with the child's mother. His

Are we staying here like this all day? Lily could feel the lower part of him stirring again. She didn't think she had the strength to repeat their performances. Cade swung her back against the rug and leaned over her. All day and all night for as long as we can. You have made me wait forever. Lily

Of course, Travis hadn't known Jim. Maybe he would think she always fell for tall, dark, curly-haired men with gray eyes. That thought sent Lily's glance back to Cade. She had outdone herself on tall and dark this time, but the thick, straight hair brushing Cade's collar didn't have a lick of curl and his eyes were far from gray. What in hell was she going to do? Well

Don't, Lily. I will not be able to stop myself. I forced the burden of bearing a child on you once before. I will never do so again. There must be time for you to grow strong. We do not need to have more children. I would not see you suffer through that pain again. Lily glared at him. I am strong, Cade. I am strong and I am not afraid of bearing your children. And I need you in the same way that you need me and you will drive us both mad if you deny it. She

I'm trying to move ahead, Cade, she whispered to the window. I didn't want to marry again. I didn't want another man taking away my choices. But it's happening all over again, and I don't like it. Can you understand that, Cade? Can you understand how I feel? His hands captured her shoulders and pulled her around. His face loomed over hers as he spoke. Give us time, Lily. We can make it work. Living without anyone else is an awful lonely business. He

Before they slept, Lily felt Cade's hand slide to her side and test her growing roundness. Sleepily, she murmured, He is larger than Roy at this stage, I think. I am getting fat already. You'll never be fat. You are beautiful. I want to hold both of you. Cade adjusted her so she lay contentedly against his side. He had called her beautiful. No one had ever called her that before. Smiling, Lily finally drifted off to sleep. Cade

As Lily called farewell to her newfound friends and neighbors, Cade worked at reining in his lusts. It was lust in the plural, he knew. He didn't want just her body, although that would go a long way toward easing some of the ache. He wanted everything about this woman. He wanted her joy, her home, her family, all the things he'd never known—and would never know. Scowling

They sat in silence until the howl of a distant coyote made her shiver. He sings for his mate, Cade reassured her. Does he think the sound of his loneliness will attract her? Lily asked wryly. I'm sure it is the beauty of his song. His voice contained almost a hint of a chuckle. I'm sure that's what he thinks. Her scoffing hid an undertone of bitterness, and Cade was silent for a while. Men often hide their fears with actions, he finally said. By

Instead of teaching the kids to be weapons, we should be teaching them how to help people with their gifts. Or just how to survive without looking like freaks. But we have no instruction books.

Houston's army would be slaughtered in the same manner if they did not fight to win. Cade understood that. But he wished he was home with Lily. He had spent thirty-two years surviving. He wanted to live for a change. Lily was the first person to offer him that opportunity, and instead of building a life with her, he was here, prepared to destroy the lives of others. It didn't make sense, but Cade knew he had to do it. He

Damn you, you Indian bastard! You're not leaving me to tell Lily of your death. You're going to get up and walk out of here if it's the last thing I do. But

If he could fully believe in the pearly gates of the priests or the spirits of his father, he might welcome death, but all Cade could think of was Lily. It was odd that he had spent twenty years of his life simply surviving, only to spend his dying minutes dreaming of a woman who hated him. Closing his eyes, Cade felt the warmth of her body close to his. She didn't hate him completely. Her body was too warm and alive to his touch to hate him entirely. Had there been time... Damn

The implacable Indian had turned out to be one hell of a cantankerous patient. Besides

They'd had their minds snatched, their souls snared, their peckers hung with golden chains attached to the women in their lives.

Which side are you on, Cade? she asked quietly. Unwilling to answer the implications in that question, Cade gave the simple truth. Mine. His

Professors are very great men. They shape the minds of our future.

He'll be fine with us. You can't worry about him all the time. Cade rode up behind Lily, catching her expression and partially interpreting it correctly. He's so young. Lily turned her head up to meet his gaze. He's all I've got, Cade. I've got a right to worry. I'll take care of him as well as you take care of Serena. No man can say better than that. I know that. Sighing, she turned and waved Roy off as he cantered after Abraham.

When Cade entered a while later, he found her sitting stiffly in the rocking chair, a sleepy Serena on her lap cuddling her doll. Lily's eyes were blank and full of pain as they met his, and Cade seemed to feel her anguish spilling into him. He was an outsider, a man who never got close to anyone, but somehow this woman had got inside of him. He didn't like the feeling, but there wasn't anything he could do about it now. Jack's

She was doing it again. She was crawling down his collar and the back of his shirt and getting under his skin. Nobody else ever got close enough to disturb his equilibrium. Only Lily had the unmitigated gall to assume they were equals. I'm

Lily was nearly asleep when a large shadow filled the space between the fire's light and her bedroll. She gasped and sat up before she recognized Cade's silhouette in the darkness. What are you doing here? Are we going home? After I sleep with my wife. And with that extraordinary statement, Cade sat down, put his arms around Lily, and pulled her to the ground as his mouth found and ravished hers.

Travis grinned and gave her an admiring look. I wish I'd been there to see you grow that big with Roy. A woman never looks better than when she's carrying a man's child. That

Should I wake him? Damned if I'd try. Even with that shoulder he's likely to come up out of that bed with murder in mind if we startle him. There were times when he was fevered that I thought he'd throttle me. For a man who likes children and animals, he's got a lot of violence in him. I daresay he has his reasons.

She didn't want a husband. She certainly didn't want a husband who never spoke to her, much less consulted her wishes. She didn't want any man who would take over her life and tell her what she could or could not do and expect more from her than she was prepared to give. She'd had enough of that. But

You've been spending money again, Lily murmured as she felt Cade's arms tighten around her. I spent a lifetime saving that money until I had someone to spend it on. I think I've found what I was looking for. Lily