Tawny Quotes

“The prince opens his tawny fox eyes and looks around. When he sees me, he slumps back down, as though relieved that I am still here.”
― Holly Black, The Stolen Heir

“How will I choose?” she finally muttered.
“Pick something that doesn’t make you look like a slut. That’ll narrow it down,” Bailey said, now frowning at a headless mannequin wearing a tiny wedding dress with a long train. “Oh, and stay away from too much lace. Don’t want to look like someone’s grandma.”
A wide-eyed Farah looked at me as I took her hand. “This is fun. We’re going to look at them all and pick our favorites. Then, you’ll try them on and narrow them down. With so many to choose from, you’re sure to find the perfect dress.”
“I just don’t want to look like I’m trying too hard.”
“You’re an idiot,” Bailey snorted. “Trying too hard to what?”
“Look fancy.”
“You’re wearing a fucking wedding dress. You’re supposed to look fancy. It’s not like you’re ever getting married again. If things don’t work out with Coop, he’ll never let you go. Nope, you’ll be heading for a shallow grave.” While Farah rolled her eyes, I stared at Bailey who shrugged. “Too honest?
“Is that a real question?”
Bailey grinned. “What I meant to say was Farah and Cooper are so fucking perfect for each other that they’ll never get divorced, so she should wear the fanciest damn dress she can find. It’s what I would do if I was once dirt poor and now had money.”
“Great effort, but you lost a little bit of your fake niceness at the end.”
Bailey grinned. “Great effort is still something.”
“Yes, it is,” I said, taking Farah’s hand. “Let’s start narrowing things down. I’ll show you a dress and you decide if it’s too poofy or not poofy enough. We’ll eventually hit the right level of poofy.”
Farah laughed. “I want a good amount of poofy. It’s rare that a girl can be poofy without looking stupid.”
“Maddy will be poofy no matter what she wears,” Bailey said as Maddy entered with Jodi and Sawyer. “I don’t even know how she can get a bridesmaid dress if she’s going to swell up more before the wedding.” Everyone frowned at Bailey who glanced at me then back at Maddy and added, “You’re swelling with the gift of life.”
Maddy laughed. “Was that you being nice?”
“That was me trying, yes.”
― Bijou Hunter, Damaged and the Knight

“Lark wrapped an arm around me and started to speak until Bailey’s startled voice interrupted us. A huge football player had her pinned against the wall and she was yelling for him to back off. Instead, he crowded her more while playing with her blonde hair.
“Hey!” I yelled as Lark and I rushed over.
Six four and wide shouldered, the guy was wasted and angry at the interruption. “Fuck off, bitches,” he muttered.
Bailey clawed at his neck, but he had her pinned in a weird way, so she couldn’t get any leverage.
While I was ready to jump on him in a weak attempt to save my friend, someone shoved the football player off Bailey. I hadn’t even seen the guy appear, but he stood between Bailey and the pissed jerk.
“Fuck off, man,” the asshole said. “She’s mine.”
“Nick,” Bailey mumbled, looking ready to cry. “He humped my leg. Crush his skull, will ya?”
Nick frowned at Bailey who was leaning on him now.
The football player was an inch or two bigger than Nick and outweighed him by probably fifty pounds. Feeling the fight would be short, the asshole reached for Bailey’s arm and Nick nailed the guy in the face. To my shock, the giant asshole collapsed on the ground.
“My hero,” Bailey said, looking ready to puke. She caressed Nick’s biceps and asked, “Do you work out?”
Running his hands through his dark wavy hair, Nick laughed. “You’re so wasted.”
“And you’re like the Energizer Bunny,” she cooed. “My bro said you took a punch, yet kept on ticking.”
Nick started to speak then heard the asshole’s friends riled up.
I was too drunk to know if everything happened really quickly or if my brain just took awhile to catch up.
The guys rushed Nick who dodged most of them and hit another. The room emptied out except for Nick, the guys, and us. I grabbed a beer bottle and threw it at one of the guys shoving Nick.
When the bottle hit him in the back, the bastard glared at me. “You want to fight, bitch?”
“Leave her alone,” Nick said, kicking one guy into the jerk looking to hit me.
As impressive as Nick was against six guys, he was just one guy against six. A losing bet, he took a shot to the face then the gut. Lark grabbed a folding chair and went WWE on one guy. I was tossing beers in the roundabout direction of the other guys. Yet, Bailey was the one who ended the fight by pulling out a gun.
“Back the fuck off or I’ll burn this motherfucking house to the ground!” she screamed then fired at a lamp. Everyone stopped and stared at her. When she noticed me wide-eyed, Bailey frowned. “Too much?”
Grinning, I followed Lark to the door. Nick followed us while the assholes seemed ready to piss themselves. Well, except for an idiot who looked ready to go for Bailey’s gun.
"Dude,” Nick muttered, “that’s Bailey Fucking Johansson. Unless you want to end up in a shallow grave, back the fuck off.”
“What he said!” Bailey yelled, waving her gun around before I hurried her out of the door. The cold air sobered up Bailey enough for her to return the gun to her purse. She was still drunk enough to laugh hysterically as we reached the SUV.
“Did you see me kill that lamp?”
“You did good,” I said, groggy as my adrenaline shifted to nausea and the alcohol threatened to come back up on me.
Nick walked us to the SUV. “Next time, you might want to wave the gun around before you get drunk and dance.”
“Don’t tell me what to do,” Bailey growled, crawling into the backseat. Then, realizing he saved her, she crawled back to face him. “You were so brave. I should totally get you off as a thank you."
“Maybe another time,” he said, laughing as she batted her eyes at him. “Are you guys safe to drive?”
Lark nodded. “I’m sober enough to remember everything tomorrow. Trust me that there’ll be mocking.”
― Bijou Hunter, Damaged and the Knight

“I have a feeling if you don't leave, he's just going to stand there and drain precious air from my room-'

'While looking exceptionally handsome, ' he added. 'You forgot to add that.”
― Jennifer L. Armentrout, From Blood and Ash

“I'd rather be standing here with you than out there without you.”
― Jennifer L. Armentrout, From Blood and Ash

“Laughing, Bailey still put on a little frown. “I want a man to cuddle.”
Tucker stopped kissing Maddy long enough to look at Bailey. “Everyone needs love. Even the dipshit. I’ll find someone for you.” Tucker looked around. “How high are your standards?”
Bailey opened her mouth and I knew a tirade of profanity was coming.
Before she got started, I hugged her to me. “Tuck wants to help you. It’s his asshole way of showing his love. Tell him thank you and we’ll train him to be less of a jerk.”
Bailey took a deep breath and nodded. “Thank you, Tucker.”
A sober Tucker might have teased his sister, but the drunken version hugged her and told her that he would find someone great. Hot, big dick, money, good hair, the whole package.
Cooper frowned at both me and Farah. “You two are having an adverse influence on the family. Fucking Sawyer said thank you earlier today. What’s next? Will she say please?”
Grinning, Farah cuddled up to Cooper.”
― Bijou Hunter, Damaged and the Knight

“Farah looked freaked out until Tawny hugged her and the tension faded from her face. A minute later, the table cloth lifted and Bailey appeared with beer bottles in her hands. “I figured you’d need booze to deal with the boredom of hiding.”
“I can’t drink,” Farah said. “I’m off the pill and trying to get knocked up.”
“I am knocked up. I also don’t like that brand of beer.”
Handing the beers to Tawny, Bailey nodded. “Be back in a sec.” A minute later, Bailey returned with two cans of Coke for Farah and me.
“So what are we talking about?” Bailey asked.
“Men needing to protect their women,” I explained.
“Lame. Talk about something I can join in on. What’s your sister like? Is she hotter than me?”
“Yes.”
“I hate her and you should tell her to watch out. If I see her, that pretty face is dead meat.”
Grinning, I cuddled up with her as the table shook from fighting bodies knocking against it.
“You’re having a baby?” she asked, wrapping her arms around me. “Everyone is getting married or having babies.”
“Raven isn’t,” I said as Farah peeked out from under the table cloth to check on Cooper. She smiled and returned to her spot. “Judd and Aaron have stripped Mac down and are shoving him out the door.”
Tawny laughed. “Judd finally got to punish Mac for letting me touch his arm months ago. Good for him.”
Laughing, I leaned my head against Bailey. “Raven has bad taste in men. Going out with her will be great for you. If Raven likes someone, you’ll know he’s a loser. So she’ll distract all the shitty guys from you.”
“Huh. And she’s hot, so she’ll draw guys to us. I think she might be my new best friend,” Bailey said, taking a swig. ‘Don’t be jealous. I just need a man because all of the kissing and fucking and marrying and baby making you guys keep doing. I can’t be the only one alone and Vaughn doesn’t count because he’ll be dead in a few months and shouldn’t be dating anyway.”
We all frowned at Bailey who shrugged. “Those Devils fuck are going to kill him or he’ll try to kill them and get killed. Why do you think they call him Dead Man Walking?”
“You’re bumming me out,” I told her while finishing my soda. “I wish Aaron was here.”
“As you wish,” Aaron said, leaning down. “Look at you pretty girls hiding under here.”
“We’re not hiding,” I said, crawling out. “We’re planning our attack. You know, just in case you couldn’t handle things.”
When Aaron grinned, I noticed blood on his lip. “You’re hurt.”
“You should see the other guys.”
Glancing around, I noticed Mac’s friend was propped up on the pool table and the other guys were throwing pretzels and peanuts at him. In the corner, Kirk and Jodi sat as if on their porch drinking lemonade and admiring the sunset.
“My hero,” I said, caressing the cobra.
“Are you talking to me or the tattoo?”
“Both, baby. Always both.”
― Bijou Hunter, Damaged and the Cobra

“Bailey sat on the edge of the couch and fed Maddy grapes. The very swollen mommy-to-be initially complained about being fed like a pet. Eventually, she gave in and enjoyed the attention. Not to be outdone, Sawyer turned a fan towards Maddy and was painting her nails. I watched them baby her and wondered about when I would be that big and uncomfortable.
“I’m in no hurry to have a baby,” Tawny said, maybe for the tenth time since arriving. “Not in any hurry at all.”
Farah grinned from where she was cutting carrots into little perfect sticks for dipping. “Coop is obsessed with getting me pregnant. First, his little brother is about to have a baby then his best friend. I swear whenever we’re alone, he’s inside me,” she said then her smile grew. “It’s awesome.”
“Huh,” Tawny muttered. “Judd is in me all the time too and not because he’s trying to plant his flag or lay his seed or whatever.”
“Jealous?” Farah asked and Tawny fake glared at her.
“Sometimes, my sister irritates me too,” I said and they both laughed.
“I’m going to brush the baby’s hair,” Bailey announced to no one in particular. “When she’s old enough, I’m going to put those little barrettes in her hair and make her wear headbands and turn her into a doll. Then when she cries, I’m giving her back to Maddy.”
“Yeah for me,” Maddy whispered with her eyes closed.
“Are you suffering?” Bailey asked. “Like should I do more for you to ease away the horror of how huge you’ve become?”
Opening her eyes a crack, Maddy muttered, “Stop charming me.”
Bailey grinned. “Seriously, you look pretty miserable today.”
“I’ve been having those Braxton Hicks contractions since yesterday.”
“Is that bad?” Sawyer asked, looking up from her meticulous work on Maddy’s toes. “Is it like hemorrhoids?”
When we laughed, Sawyer beamed, even though she likely had no idea what was funny.
“They’re like practice contractions,” Maddy explained. “They don’t hurt much, but they’re uncomfortable.”
Bailey frowned. “How do you know all this stuff?”
“I read a book.”
“Yeah, I did that once. Not a fan.”
“You guys don’t have to hang out here,” Maddy said. “The guys are out having fun and you’re pampering me. You could go to the movies if you want.”
“No,” Bailey said quickly. “I need to be super nice because I had a dream that being nice will lead to a handsome awesome guy who is the fucker. I want that guy. He belongs to me and I’m sick of waiting, so shut up and let me be nice to you.”
“Sure,” Maddy said, sighing. “This is nice, but I’m going to have to pee soon.”
“Do you need me to carry you?” Bailey asked.
“Maybe. Ask me in a few minutes.”
― Bijou Hunter, Damaged and the Cobra

“Your goal is to take years off people's lives, but not like this.”
― Richelle Mead, Succubus Dreams

“...sleeping requires a certain amount of idleness, which is something I excel at.'

I laughed. 'We all have to be good at something.”
― Jennifer L. Armentrout, From Blood and Ash

“Your hormones must be clouding your rational thoughts.'

'My hormones are always clouding my rational thoughts, thank you very much.”
― Jennifer L. Armentrout, From Blood and Ash

“So, he was just making sure you're still alive and-'

'Breathing?' Hawke suggested, startling both of us. He stood a mere foot from where we sat, having moved with the stealth of a trained guard and the quiet of a ghost. 'Since I am responsible for keeping her alive, making sure she's breathing would be a priority.'

My shoulders stiffened. How much had he overheard?

Tawny made a poor attempt to smother her giggle with a napkin. 'I'm relieved to hear that.'

'If not, I'd be remiss in my duty, would I not?'

'Ah, yes, your duty.' She lowered her napkin. 'Between protecting Poppy with your life and limb and gathering spilled crystals, you're pretty busy.'

'Don't forget assisting weak Ladies in Wait to the nearest chair before they faint,' he suggested. Those strange, mesmerising eyes glinted with a hint of mischief, and I was... as transfixed with him as I'd been with the Ladies in Wait. This was the Hawke I'd met in the Red Pearl. A well of pain hidden behind a teasing and charming personality. 'I am a man of many talents.'

'I'm sure you are,' Tawny replied with a grin while I fought the urge to reach out with my senses.

His gaze flicked to her, and the dimple in his right cheek appeared. 'Your faith in me warms my heart,' ...”
― Jennifer L. Armentrout, From Blood and Ash

“I'm sure it was one of the most important things to have happened to you in a long time.'

My eyes narrowed. 'You have an over-inflated sense of involvement in my life if you really think that.'

'I think I have a good grasp on just how much of a role I play in your life.'

'Doubtful,' I parroted back.

'I do wonder if you actually believe half the lies you tell.'

Tawny's gaze snapped back and forth between us.

'I am not lying, thank you very much.'

He smiled, showing off the dimple in his right cheek. 'Whatever you need to tell yourself, Princess.'

'Don't call me that!' I stomped my foot.

Hawke lifted an eyebrow. 'Did that make you feel good?'

'Yes! Because the only other option is to kick you.'

'So violent,' he chuckled.”
― Jennifer L. Armentrout, From Blood and Ash

“Penellaphe and I do not to speak,' he said, his gaze never leaving mine. 'I can assure you that she is safe with me, and I'm sure that whatever I'm about to discuss with her, she'll tell you all about it later.'

Tawny crossed her arms. 'Yes, she will, but that's not nearly as entertaining as witnessing it.”
― Jennifer L. Armentrout, From Blood and Ash

“If you need me, knock.' She paused. 'Princess.'

I groaned.

Hawke chuckled. 'I really do like her.'

'I'm sure she'd love to hear that.'

'Would you love to hear that I really like you?' he asked.

My heart skipped a beat, but I ignored the stupid organ. 'Would you be sad if I said no?'

'I'd be devastated.'

I snorted. 'I'm sure.”
― Jennifer L. Armentrout, From Blood and Ash

“I hate this.'

'Hate what?' I asked, confused.

Hawke didn't respond immediately. 'I hate talking to the veil.'

'Oh.' Understanding rippled through me as I reached up and touched the length that hid my hair. 'I imagine most people don't enjoy it.'

'I can't imagine you do.'

'I don't.' I admitted and then glanced around the room as if I expected Priestess Analia to be hiding somewhere. 'I mean, I'd prefer if people were able to see me.'

He tilted his head to the side. 'What does it feel like?'

Air hitched in my throat. No one... no one had ever asked me that before, and while I had a lot of thoughts and feelings about the veil, I wasn't sure how to put them into words even though I trusted Hawke.

Some things, once spoken, were given a life of their own.
...
'It feels suffocating.'

Hawke drew closer. 'Then why do you wear it?'

'I didn't realise I had a choice.' I looked up at him.

'You have a choice now.' He knelt in front of me. 'It's just you and me, walls, and a pathetically inadequate supply of furniture.'

My lips twitched.

'Do you wear your veil when you're with Tawny?' he asked.

I shook my head no.

'Then why are you wearing it now?'

'Because... I'm allowed to be without my veil with her.'

'I was told that you were supposed to be veiled at all times, even with those approved to see you.'

He was, of course, correct.

Hawke arched a brow.

I sighed. 'I don't wear my veil when I'm in my room, and I don't expect anyone to come in other than Tawny. And I don't wear it then because I feel... more in control. I can make-'

'The choice not to wear it?' he finished for me.

Nodding, I was more than a little stunned that he'd nailed it.

'You have a choice now.'

'I do.' But it was hard to explain that the veil also served as a barrier. With it, I remembered what I was, and the importance of that. Without it, well, it was easy to want... to simply want.”
― Jennifer L. Armentrout, From Blood and Ash

“You look... lovely,' he said, and my stomach dipped in the most pleasant way possible. He turned to Tawny. 'As do you.'

Tawny smiled. 'Thank you.'

He glanced at Vikter. 'You, as well.'

Vikter snorted, and I smiled, while Tawny giggled. 'You do look exceptionally handsome tonight, ' she said, an I swore Vikter's cheeks deepened in colour as I turned back to the dais.”
― Jennifer L. Armentrout, From Blood and Ash