cupped QUOTES

41 " When you got captured, I didn't know..." He trailed off, had to chug whiskey before he could continue. " If it'd be like..." " What?" " Like it was with Clotile." " Oh, Jackson, no. I was okay. I'm unharmed." " Didn't know if I'd get there too late," he said with a shudder. Then he crossed over to me, until we stood toe-to-toe. " Evie, if you ever get taken from me again, you better know that I'll be coming for you." He cupped my face with a bloodstained hand. " So you stay the hell alive! You don't do like Clotile, you doan take that way out. You and me can get through anything, just give me a chance." --his voice broke lower " just give me a chance to get to you." He buried his face in my hair, inhaling deeply. " There is nothing that can happen to you that we can't get past." ..." When you say we...?" He pulled back, gazing down at me, his eyes blazing. " I'm goan to lay it all out there for you. Laugh in my face--I don't care. But I'm goan to get this off my chest." " I won't laugh. I'm listening." " Evie, I've wanted you from the first time I saw you. Even when I hated you, I wanted you." He raked his fingers through his hair. " I got it bad, me." My heart felt like it'd stopped--so that I could hear him better." For as long as you've been looking down your nose at me, I've been craving you, an envie like I've never known." " I don't look down at you! I'm too busy looking up to you." ..." The corners of his lips curled for an instant before he grew serious again. " You asked me if I had that phone with your pictures, if I'd looked at it. Damn right, I did! I saw you playing with a dog at the beach, and doing a crazy-ass flip off a high dive, and making faces for the camera. I learned about you" - his voice grew hoarse -" and I wanted more of you. To see you every day." With a humourless laugh, he admitted, " After the Flash, I was constantly sourcing ways to charge a goddamned phone--that would never make a call." I murmured, " I didn't know...I couldn't be sure." " It's you for me, peekon. "

42 " Sam came around the back of the car and stopped dead when he saw me. " Oh my God, what is that?" I used my thumb and middle finger to flick the multicoloured pom-pom on top of my head. " In my language, we call it a hat. It keeps my ears warm." " Oh my God," Sam said again, and closed the distance between us. He cupped my face in his hands and studied me. " It's horribly cute." He kissed me, looked at the hat, and then he kissed me again. "

43 " He let his guitar swing behind him and cupped my face with his hand. " I love you, Grace Taylor." It barely came out above a whisper from his lips but it echoed throught the microphone. And then he kissed me. In front of everyone, he kissed me. A slow, deep kiss that sent heat from my lips to every other surface of my skin, and completely an utterly set me on fire. "

44 " Ronan cupped her neck with his other hand and brushed his lips lightly over hers. " I want you, Maddy. I want you more than I've ever wanted any woman in my life. "

45 " He reached up and cupped her face in his hands. " Did it ever occur to you that I don't want to share you with anyone else? That maybe now that I've realized how much you mean to me, I want to show you as much as I can? Or maybe, because you're so damn sexy and my every freaking fantasy that I can't wait to get you alone, so I can touch you, kiss you, and love you from head to toe? "

46 " With her hands still fisted in his shirt, she gave a gentle tug until he bent enough that she could kiss him softly. And then not so softly.
“What was that for?” he asked when she pulled free, his voice sexy low and gruff now.
“For being the kind of guy who can admit he has emotions.”
He cupped her face. “We don’t have to tell anyone, right?”
She smiled. “It’ll be our secret.” But then her smile faded because she wasn’t good at secrets.
Or maybe she was too good at them . . . “I’m not helpless,” she said. “I want you to know that.”
“I do know it.” He paused, looking a little irritated again. “Mostly.”
“Good,” she said. “Now that’s settled, you should know, the caveman thing you just pulled . . . it turned me on a little bit.”
He slid her a look. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
Looking a little less like he was spoiling for a fight, his hands went to her hips and he pulled her in tighter.
What the hell was she doing? Clearly, she wasn’t equipped to stay strong, and who could? The guy was just too damn potent. Too visceral. Testosterone and pheromones leaked off of him. She dropped her head to his chest. “Ugh. You’re being . . . you.”
“Was that in English?”
“This is all your fault.”
“Nope. Definitely not English.”
“You’re being all hot and sexy, dammit,” she said. She banged her head on his chest a few times. “And I can’t seem to . . . not notice said hotness and sexiness.”
He smiled. “You want me again.”
Again. Still . . . She tossed up her hands. “You wear your stupid sexiness on your sleeve and you don’t even know it. "

― Jill Shalvis , Sweet Little Lies (Heartbreaker Bay, #1)

47 " She longed to find out if the sparks would still be there, if her body would still quiver at his touch.
When Rob arrived five o'clock sharp, Jordan had her answer.
He climbed out of the truck. Seeing her standing in the doorway, he walked very slowly toward her, like a predator stalking its prey. He was a man on a mission, and Jordan stood frozen to the spot. Rob stopped short in front of her and without any notice, cupped her face, and brought his mouth down on hers. "

― Samantha Chase , Jordan's Return

48 " Pethi mou, you are one special lady. Take care of yourself. If you ever need anything, you know where I am." Then he surprised her by placing a kiss on her cheek. She savored the feel of his lips as they feathered against her skin, the gentle caressing of his hands in her hair, and she couldn't help nuzzling against him.He inhaled sharply.He cupped her head, his fingers strong, yet gentle. He kissed her hungrily. "

49 " I want you to stay here ...with me." " All night?" " All night." Drew cupped her face with his hands giving her a gentle kiss. " In my arms. "

50 " I've been thinking about this all day," he said between kisses. " All. Day." Who was she kidding? She'd been harboring this fantasy for weeks. And then in a move that was becoming her 'thing', Alesha leaned back and pulled her sweater over her head and gave Reece a sexy smile. " Was this part of what you were thinking?" His hands came up and cupped her breasts, his breath ragged, but his eyes were on hers. " This is better. "

51 " I know I'm the one who put limits on this... this thing," she said, and bit her lower lip, suddenly nervous. " But I'm pretty sure we're not quite done with each other." He looked at her for what felt like a long time. " You want another night." Still unable to take her eyes off his mouth, she didn't muzzle herself. " I want as long as it takes." He cupped her jaw, lifting her head up so that she was looking into his eyes again. " Don't make promises you can't keep." " What makes you think I can't keep it?" " Because you seem to like things one night at a time," he said in that low, sexy voice. " But no way is one more night going to be enough. "

52 " She smoothed her fingertips down his cheeks and cupped his face in her hands. " I'm not sure it can get any better." He sucked in a ragged breath. " Oh, darlin'," he said, sliding his finger beneath one of the straps of her sundress and guiding it off of her shoulder. " I promise you it can." He kissed the spot where the strap had been and drew his fingers up her thighs with a light, feathery touch. " And I'm a man who keeps his promises. "

53 " I'm scared as hell to fall for you." He loosened his embrace, cupped her face in his hands, and kissed her tenderly. " But I'm more terrified to let you go. "

54 " You drive me crazy in all the damn good ways that keep me up at night,” he whispered. He cupped her jaw, his eyes going to her mouth. He could see her pulse racing at the base of her neck and she didn’t move away when he bent his head. “The best ways, Kate,” he said and then kissed her like he’d wanted to since the moment she’d ran into him that afternoon, since the moment she’d left him the other night. He kissed her, tasted her, wrapped her up in his arms, and tangled his hands in her hair until he couldn’t think. "

55 " His smile, a little mischievous around the edges, had her melting into the sand. Then his lips brushed hers, and the stars collided. She cupped his face in her hands and shut her eyes.Kissing had always ranked high on her list of favorite things to do, but Bryce took it to a whole new level. Forget about his mouth on her fingertips, this linked to all her happy zones and more.He'd literally swept her off her feet and his kiss quickened the beat of her heart. His lips were soft and warm and hungry. His kiss moved through her like warm honey, filling all the places inside her that had been cold for so long. He slid his tongue along the seam of her lips, licking her before he pressed further. She willingly opened to him, stroked his tongue, kissed him harder. He groaned. He tasted like champagne and everything good as he delved deeper and committed a full-on assault inside her mouth. His hand gripped her waist. They sank further into the sand.She clutched his shoulders, smoothed her palms down his back. He pulled gruffly away, nipped at her ear. " You have no idea how much I want you," he said. "

56 " Hey," I said softly and cupped his cheek." Yeah?" “What about your dream?”His face went dimples. “I’m lookin’ at it, darlin’.”Oh. Crap. My heart felt near bursting. I was absolutely done for. This man owned me, body and soul, and everything in between. "

57 " Without direction, the respiratory technician goes to the head of the bed. She takes the tubing, attaches it to the oxygen, and turns it on as high as it will go. She provides a seal with her hand cupped over the plastic mask, over the nose and mouth of the toddler, and methodically provides oxygenated air. Doyle’s tiny chest rises and falls while I listen with my stethoscope. I am reaching for another breathing tube.
“Fib!” Dr. Pedras feels for a pulse while another places gelled pads on her chest. "

― Ruth McLeod-Kearns , Love, Loss, Trauma (A Compilation of Stories)

58 " And,” I continued, “I’m probably going to be a bitch most of the time. I guarantee I’ll find a reason to yell at you almost every day, and don’t be surprised if a few drinks get dumped on you from time to time. That’s just me, and you’re going to have to deal with it. Because I’m not changing for you or anyone else. And I-”
Wesley slid off his bar stool and pressed his lips against mine before the words could get out. My heart pounded as every thought vacated my mind. One of his arms encircled my waist, pulling me as close to him as possible, and his free hand cupped my face, his thumb tracing my cheekbone. He kissed me so passionately I thought we would catch on fire.
It wasn’t until after he pulled away, both of us in need of some air, that I could think straight again.
“You jerk!” I yelled, pushing him away from me. “Kissing me to make me shut up? God, you’re so obnoxious. I could just throw something at you right now.”
Wesley hopped onto his bar stool with a big grin, and I suddenly remembered him telling me that I was sexy when I was mad at him. Go figure. “Excuse me, Joe,” he called to the bartender. “I think Bianca wants a Cherry Coke.”
Despite my best efforts, I smiled. He wasn’t perfect, or even remotely close, for that matter, but, hey, neither was I. We were both pretty fucked up. Somehow, though, that made everything more exciting. Yeah, it was sick and twisted, but that’s reality, right? Escape is impossible, so why not embrace it?
Wesley took my hand and laced his fingers with mine. “You look beautiful tonight, Bianca. "

― Kody Keplinger , The DUFF: Designated Ugly Fat Friend (Hamilton High, #1)

59 " How stupid, I thought dreamily, to have ever thought I could give this up. Not just the kissing, although, as Archer’s hands cupped my face, I had to
admit that part was pretty awesome. But all of it: joking with him and working beside him. Being with a guy who was my friend and could stil make
me feel like this. "

― Rachel Hawkins , Demonglass (Hex Hall, #2)

60 " Unscrewing the cap, Gabriel squeezed a bit of clear jelly onto his fingers and understood. Covering Joey’s body with his own, Gabriel kissed his lips. “But you said – something we haven’t tried …” “We haven’t.” Reaching up, Joey cupped Gabriel’s cheek. “What happened before was one stranger attacking another. What happens now is between you and me.” “Joey.” Gabriel kissed the other man’s earlobe, his jawline, the hollow of his throat. “I can’t hurt you again. I’ll kill myself first. "

― S.A. Reid , Protection