Penelope And Gabriel Quotes

“What happened?"
"This happened." He shifted his arms to reveal a bundle of tiny, knobby joints and fluffy patches of black and white.
A newborn goat.
"Oh, my goodness." She knelt behind him, peering over his shoulder. "Surely not Marigold?"
"I told you so," he said irritably.
As if she'd be intimidated by gruff words from a man cradling a newborn goat in his arms. She'd always known he had a capacity for gentleness.
I told you so, too.
She reached to stroke the little goat's fur.
Gabriel's shoulder muscle flinched in annoyance. "My shirt was ruined, I'll have you know. Completely unsalvageable. And then this runtish little thing wouldn't stop shivering."
"Would it help if I told you that I've never found you so wildly attractive as I do in this moment?"
"No.”
― Tessa Dare, The Wallflower Wager

“Spare change. Can't imagine how it got there."
She tipped her head in reproach.
He exhaled, sounding resigned. "It's not what you think."
She turned her hand palm-up between them, letting the coin serve as its own accusation. "I think I know a shilling when I see one."
"Look again."
She looked down at the coin in her gloved palm, where its embossed face stood out in sharp relief against white satin. Light glinted off the surface, revealing the color to be not the expected dull silver, but a coppery hue instead.
Oh.
A sharp pang of surprise caught her heart. He'd been telling the truth. It wasn't a shilling after all.
It was a penny.
A bright, newly minted penny. One he'd been keeping tucked in his breast pocket. Right next to his heart.
She drew a shaky breath. "Gabriel."
His hands went to her shoulders- but it was his low, husky voice that reached out and drew her close. "You know the squalor I was born to. And you know I promised myself I'd never be that barefoot, starving boy again."
She nodded.
"I have every luxury a man could desire. Hundreds of thousands of pounds in my accounts. I worked like hell to build a fortune, and yet..." His thumb met her cheek with a reverent caress. "Now I'd sell my soul for a Penny.”
― Tessa Dare, The Wallflower Wager

“What's the latest beast in your collection, I wonder?"
"Me." Metal clanged as Gabriel flipped the helmet's visor. "I'm her latest beast."
The Irving sisters choked on their laughter, then swallowed it hard.
He took a clanking step forward, towering over them. "Let me tell you, Lady Penelope has her hands full. I'm vicious. Untamed. I won't come to heel." He leaned forward, lowering his voice to a growl. "And I bite."
He turned, and- confronted with the wall of hedges- stormed through it like the Ottomans breaching the walls of Tyre. Once he'd cleared a path with his armored body, he extended a gauntlet, inviting Penny to follow.
She put her gloved hand in his shining one.
Rather than leading her through, he pulled her to him, slid his hand to her backside, and lifted her off her feet, keeping her slippers free of the trampled shrubs.
Her beast in shining armor.
As he carried her through the hedge, she waved farewell to the bug-eyed Irving sisters. "It's been lovely seeing you.”
― Tessa Dare, The Wallflower Wager

“Every man has his weakness."
"I know they do." She lifted an eyebrow. "I'm still looking for yours."
Cheeky girl. She had to know she took his breath away.
God, she was lovely in the moonlight. She was lovely in sunlight, for that matter, and in the pouring rain. Gabe suspected that even in total darkness, she would be radiant. Because though her features were exquisite, and her lips the pinkish hue of rose petals, her most beautiful feature by far was her heart.”
― Tessa Dare, The Wallflower Wager

“Listen to me, you bastard."
"No," Gabriel said.
This simple response left Ash nonplussed. But fuming.
"I'm listening to exactly one person in this room," Gabriel said evenly. "It isn't you. The lady can speak for herself."
Oh. Penny's heart fluttered in her chest.
If by chance, he did mean to seduce her, repeating that sentence fifty times over might do the trick.”
― Tessa Dare, The Wallflower Wager

“Maybe I'm willing to take that risk."
"Well, I'm not." He slid one arm about her waist, tucked the other beneath her knees, and hauled her out of the water, into his arms. Like a damned mermaid. A sparkling, golden-haired, ruby-lipped mermaid. "I can't lose you."

I can't lose you, he said.
I can't fell my elbows, Penny thought.
She couldn't help but give a long, swooning sigh.
This man was so dangerous. He had a habit of blurting out these growly, possessive statements, punctuated by intense gazes and capped by displays of sheer virility.”
― Tessa Dare, The Wallflower Wager

“A lady must attend her own engagement ball."
Penny sat up straight. "Gabriel Duke. I know you did not just propose to me in the mews, without so much as going down on one knee, while my hair is a bird's nest and we both smell like goat."
"I didn't propose to you." He swung his arms into his coat. Before disappearing, he gave her a slight, mischievous grin and a single syllable that had her heart cartwheeling in her chest.
"Yet.”
― Tessa Dare, The Wallflower Wager

“Every creature has a soft underbelly. I'm going to find yours."
"Search me if you like, Your Ladyship. I warn you, it's not softness you'll find.”
― Tessa Dare, The Wallflower Wager

“You're worth a thousand of any lady there."
"Let's leave, get you into some proper attire, and find ourselves some dinner." She stroked her fingertips over his brow. "I can tell from the pulsing vein in your forehead, you're hungry."
"I'm always hungry."
"My only regret is that we'll miss the fireworks."
"You want fireworks?" He cocked his eyebrow. "I can give you fireworks."
Well, then. Penny could scarcely wait.”
― Tessa Dare, The Wallflower Wager

“Gabriel nudged her with his shoulder. "Look."
The newborn goat was standing on his own wobbly legs, taking drunken steps. When he toppled sideways, he bleated indignantly.
Gabriel started to reach for him, but Penny held him back. "Wait."
Marigold roused herself and ambled over to her kid, licking him about the head until George lurched and swayed himself to his hooves, and when he nosed at her swollen underside, she allowed him to nurse.
"Oh. That's lovely." Penny snuggled under Gabriel's arm.
"Thank God she finally took to him," he said.
"How could she not? Look how adorable he is. Best little goat in the world.”
― Tessa Dare, The Wallflower Wager

“How irritating. Penny was still reeling and breathlessly from their kiss, and he... wasn't, apparently. Surely a considerate man would at least pretend to be a bit unmoored.
Then the door reopened, and he entered again. "Your Ladyship, I-"
After a lengthy pause, she prompted him. "You...?"
He frowned at the floor. "We."
We.
He said this as though it were a complete sentence, but even after several moments of contemplation, Penny could not make sense of it.
With an annoyed shake of his head, he wrenched open the door for the third time, stormed through it, and slammed it behind him with such derisive force that the portraits rattled on the wall.
Penny smiled to herself.
With that, she could be satisfied.”
― Tessa Dare, The Wallflower Wager

“That animal is not your possession. He doesn't exist for your amusement. He has needs, instincts. Urges."
The way he said that word, in that deep, earthy growl, had chills rippling over her skin.
She swallowed hard. "Urges?"
"Yes. Urges." He sauntered toward her- as much as a man could saunter in knee-deep water. "But what could a lady like you know about those?"
"Oh, I understand urges. Right now, I have the powerful urge to do this."
She shoved him hard in the chest, hoping to send him flailing backward into the river.
He didn't budge. Not a teeter. Not a totter.
Not even a blink.
Penny would not surrender. She took a step in reverse and then tried again, adding the weight of her body to the effort.
This time, he was ready for her. He caught her wrists in his hands, stopping her before she could even make contact.
"Now, now, Your Ladyship. This is most unbecoming behavior."
"I know that." She clenched her hands into fists. "You are so maddening. You have a way of provoking me, unlike anyone I've ever known. It's as though I become a different person when I'm around you, and I'm not certain I like her."
He pulled her to him. "I like her."
Penny expected he would shortly ruin that statement.
I like her- smoldering pause- potential to increase the return on my property investment.
Not this time.
Instead, he lowered his head until his mouth brushed hers.
Teased her lips apart, until his tongue brushed hers.
And then they tumbled together against the riverbank, and his everything brushed hers.”
― Tessa Dare, The Wallflower Wager

“You've been hiding yourself, and you're good at it. A master of camouflage."
She laughed. "Camouflage?"
"That's the only possible explanation. You've made a frock from the same silk covering the drawing room walls, trimmed it with cat hair and feathers. Then when gentlemen visit, you stand still and blend in."
"You have a surprisingly vivid imagination."
"What I have is experience." He stopped in the road and turned to face her. "I've built a fortune by spotting things that are undervalued, dusting them off, and selling them at the proper price. I know a hidden treasure when I see one.”
― Tessa Dare, The Wallflower Wager

“I couldn't stop picturing you naked and wet."
"If you knew the things you've done in my imagination..."
"I touched myself while thinking of you."
He groaned against her lips. "Jesus Christ, that's one of them."
She whimpered in protest as his fingers withdrew from her body. He slid his hands to her bottom and lifted her off her feet, carrying her across the room, to where a floor-length mirror in a thick gilded frame stood propped against the wall. It must have been too heavy to move.
He spun her to face it, positioning himself behind her. Their gazes locked in the mirrored reflection. His eyes were dark, fierce, demanding.
"Show me." He yanked her skirts to her waist- frock, petticoat, chemise, and all- exposing her completely. "Show me how you touched yourself."
Penny's heartbeat stalled. The gruff command both scandalized and excited her.
With a rough flex of his arms, he hauled her to him. His erection throbbed against the small of her back.
"Show me."
Penny stared into the mirror. A bolder, naughtier version of herself gazed back. She placed a hand on her belly and eased it downward, until her fingertips disappeared into a thatch of amber curls. She hesitated, holding her breath.
"More," he demanded. "I want to see you."
His gruffness aroused her, but she wasn't intimidated. With him, she knew she was safe.
She raised her free arm above her head, clasping his neck for balance and resting her head against his chest. He wrapped his arm about her torso, holding her tight and pinning her lifted skirts at the waist. Her joints softened, and her thighs fell slightly apart.
"That's it. Spread yourself for me. Let me see."
The woman in the mirror did as she was told, sending her fingers downward to part the pink, swollen folds of her sex. A single fingertip settled over the sensitive bud at the crest, circling gently.
His ragged breath warmed her ear. "God, you're beautiful."
She stared at the reflection, transfixed by the eroticism of the image within. She felt like a woman in a boudoir painting, flushed with desire and unashamed of her body's curves and shadows. Aware of the power she held, even in her vulnerable, naked state.
As her excitement mounted, she strummed faster. She was panting, arching her back.”
― Tessa Dare, The Wallflower Wager

“Gabriel Duke. You are a complete hypocrite."
"A hypocrite? Me?"
"Yes, you. Mr. I-Know-a-Hidden-Tresaure-When-I-See-It. You said you know how to spot undervalued things. Undervalued people. And yet you persist in selling yourself short. If I'm the crown jewels in camouflage, you're a..." She churned the air with one hand. "... a diamond tiara."
He grimaced.
"Fine, you can be something manlier. A thick, knobby scepter. Will that suffice?"
"I suppose it's an improvement."
"For weeks, you've been insisting you haven't the slightest idea what it means to give a creature a loving home. 'I'm too ruthless, Penny. I'm only motivated by self-interest, Penny. I'm a bad, bad man, Penny.' And all this time, you've been running an orphanage? I could kick you."
"I'm not running an orphanage. I give the orphanage money. That's all."
"You gave them kittens."
"No, you gave them kittens."
"You sent them gifts at Christmas. Playthings and sweets and geese to be roasted for their dinner."
"It was the only business I could attend to on Christmas, and I don't like to waste the day. All the banks and offices are closed."
She skewered him with a look. "Really. You expect me to believe that?"
He pushed a hand through his hair. "What is your aim with this interrogation?"
"I want you to admit the truth. You are giving those children a home. A place of warmth and safety, and yes, even love. Meanwhile, you are stubbornly denying yourself all the same things."
"I can't be denying myself if it's something I don't want."
"Home isn't something a person wants. It's something every last one of us needs. And it's not too late for you, Gabriel." She gentled her voice. "You could have that for yourself.”
― Tessa Dare, The Wallflower Wager

“At her feet, a fold of the bed linens wriggled. A wet black nose appeared, followed by a whiskered snout.
"Bixby!" She reached for the dog and pulled him into her arms for cuddles and kisses. The pup was beside himself, turning in circles and licking her everywhere he could reach. "Oh, darling. Look at you. How did you end up here?"
Gabriel crossed the room to stand at the bedside. "I knew you needed an animal in your bed. And I didn't think it should be me tonight."
"There's room for another.”
― Tessa Dare, The Wallflower Wager

“I wanted to kiss you. I can't explain why. I have no excuses. At any rate, don't worry. It was clearly a mistake, and I promise it won't happen agai-"
Again.
He kissed her again.
Or rather, he kissed her for the first time- and he was so much better at it than she.
This kiss could not be mistaken for an accidental collision mouths. Oh, no. He kissed with purpose. His lips had ideas. His tongue had plans.
She closed her eyes and melted against him, flattening her hands on his muscled arms. He brushed his lips to hers in a series of chaste, yet masterful kisses. He swept a hand up her spine and into her hair, where he twisted and gathered the tangled locks in his fist. Then he tugged sharply, tipping her face to his and sending electric sensation over her every nerve.
When her mouth fell open in a gasp, he reclaimed her lips, sweeping his tongue between them. Her first instinct was to shy away, but Penny fought against it. She reached higher, lacing her arms about his neck and holding tight.
His tongue stroked hers, slow and insistent. He tasted of soot and salt and... and of apples, strangely. Tart, smoky, just a hint of sweet.
A lush, decadent pleasure unwound within her, snaking through her veins- as though it had lain coiled in anticipation for years. Waiting on this moment.
Waiting on this man.”
― Tessa Dare, The Wallflower Wager

“If you're worried about my reputation, don't. No one pays much attention to me."
The injustice in that statement confounded him. How could no one be paying attention to her? Over the past few days, he'd been unable to concentrate on anyone but her.
"We're adults," she said. "Surely we can behave ourselves. I promise not to kiss you again."
"It's not a mere kiss that should worry you."
"What else are you worried could happen?"
Good Lord. What wasn't he worried could happen. He'd been up half the night inventing possibilities.
"Look at your goat," he said. "You weren't paying attention to her, and now she's breeding."
"Marigold is not pregnant."
"See? You're too trusting. That's why this is dangerous. If we're spending all that time together unchaperoned, there's too much chance of-"
"Too much chance of what?"
He moved closer, letting the tension build between their bodies. "Of this."
Her golden eyelashes kissed her flushed cheeks. "You're worried for nothing. My animals are incompatible with attraction, courtship, romance, or marriage. I've been reminded of that regularly for years. They're exceptionally talented in discouraging gentlemen."
"I'm not a gentleman. And if I could be discouraged, I'd never have amassed the fortune I have now. When I set my mind on something, a herd of elephants won't stand in my way."
A beam of sunlight caught the swirling dust motes and turned them into a glittering halo about her head. Those sparks invaded his body, coursing through his veins until every inch of him was sharply aware of her beauty.”
― Tessa Dare, The Wallflower Wager

“Do you know why I always keep a shilling in my pocket? Because everything I am today, everything I've earned- it all started there. I was once worth a single shilling. Now I'm worth hundreds of thousands of pounds."
"No, you aren't."
"Shall I produce the bank ledgers to prove it?"
"Ledgers are meaningless. I have a sum placed on me, you know. A dowry of forty thousand. And yet if I were to lose my virtue, some would deem me worthless."
"You could never be worthless."
"I could certainly drive down the price of your house. You never miss a chance to remind me."
He shook his head. "That's not the point."
"Here is the point." She stepped into his path, forcing him to meet her eyes. Man-eating sharks and all. "No one can be reduced to numbers in a ledger, or a stack of banknotes, or a single silver coin. We are humans, with souls and hearts and passion and love. Every last one of us is priceless. Even you."
She set her frustration aside and took his face in her hands.
He needed to hear this. Everyone needed to hear it, including her. Perhaps that was why she spoke the words so often, to so many creatures. Simply to hear them echo back.
"Gabriel Duke. You are priceless.”
― Tessa Dare, The Wallflower Wager

“He growled, moaned, winced, and cursed. Yet despite all these sounds of seeming displeasure, he made no effort to discourage her. He made his body hers to explore, just as she'd been longing to do ever since he'd come upon her that first night, draped in a towel and dripping wet.
With one finger, she drew a teasing line down the center of his chest, all the way down to his navel.
He bucked his hips. His erection grazed her sex, and she gasped at the sudden contact. Their bodies were separated by the fine lawn of his shirt and the wool of his trousers, but she could feel him- his length, his heat, his hardness.
His desire.
She'd felt triumphant in tackling him to the bed, but that was nothing compared to the surge of power rushing through her now. The thick, hot column of arousal wedged between her thighs- it was for her. All for her. Excitement rocketed through her body and came to settle in her sex, melting onto a soft, throbbing ache.
Desperate to soothe that ache, she rocked against him. The friction sent a pulse of bliss through her body. Judging by his tortured groan, he felt it, too.
His head fell back against the mattress. "God. Yes. Again.”
― Tessa Dare, The Wallflower Wager

“She had a big, beautiful man at her mercy, and she wasn't going to relinquish control. Oh, she was under no illusions that she had him physically overpowered. He could have flipped their places at any instant.
She hadn't taken the reins. He'd given her the reins. And that made it all the better.
She decided how to begin, when to stop. Whether to tease them both with grazing friction or grind her hips. She set the pace. It was hers to grant or deny him mercy when he pleaded in a whisper. "Faster."
With every motion- slow or quick, form or gentle- her pleasure spiraled higher. Her breathing grew uneven, and she flushed with heat.
She fell forward to kiss him, searching his mouth. Exploring. As their tongues tangled, his whiskers scraped her lips and chin. Her nipples puckered to knots, exquisitely sensitive. With every movement, they kissed the hard planes of his chest.
Bliss rushed at her from all sides, propelling her toward that distant promise of satisfaction. Her rhythm lost all elegance. Her hips jerked and bounced as her urgency grew.
"Yes." His voice was strained. "Hold nothing back. I want to feel you come against me. I want to hear the sounds you make."
His words of encouragement had the opposite effect. For the first time, she felt a moment's trepidation. She'd never climaxed with another person. It had taken her years to feel comfortable with herself, let alone a man. When the pleasure broke, she would be bared to him. More naked than naked.”
― Tessa Dare, The Wallflower Wager

“He ran his hand up her calf, over her knee, and up the sensitive slope of her thigh, until he cupped her mound in his palm. She gasped at the shock of pleasure. His fingers caressed her gently, stroking up and down the seam of her sex, teasing her with light passes until she was breathless.
She reached between their bodies, feeling for his trouser buttons and tugging at them with eager, inexpert fingers. At last, his placket fell open, and his erection sprang into her hand. Hot, hard, and heavy. She explored him the same way he touched her- skating her fingertips up and down his length, marveling at the silky softness of his skin and tracing the intriguing, yet entirely unfamiliar contours.
"Let me see you," she whispered.
He rose up on his knees, and his male organ jutted toward her.
The dark hair on his chest arrowed straight toward it, like a signpost indicating a point of natural interest:THIS WAY TO THE MANHOOD.
As if it could be missed.
Rude, large, framed by dark hair, and impressively male. No surprises, really. It simply looked like a part of him. An intimidatingly large part of him, considering what was about to occur and where she hoped he could put it. But it wasn't foreign or frightening. As was the case with all the other parts of his body, she found it bold, strong, unabashed in its nature, and arousing in the extreme.”
― Tessa Dare, The Wallflower Wager

“He ducked his head, and his whiskers scraped against her inner thighs as he settled between them. His broad shoulders pushed her knees apart, and he worked both hands beneath her hips and lifted, tilting her to the most favorable angle to receive his kiss.
For a moment, the intimacy was too much, too uncertain. But when she heard his deep moan of satisfaction, her hesitancy disappeared.
His tongue glided up the seam of her sex.
Oh. Oh, God.
She gripped the pillows on either side of her hips, sinking her fingers into the tasseled brocade.
The fireworks overhead were nothing to the sensations exploding through her with every pass of his tongue. He parted her with his thumbs, opening her to his explorations.
He centered his attention on the bundle of nerves at the apex of her cleft and worked it with his nimble, flickering tongue.
Penny's head rolled back, and she closed her eyes, surrendering to his erotic talent and the delicious, mounting pleasure. She twisted her hand in his hair and arched against him, seeking more contact, more joy. Climbing higher and higher, until she was dizzied and wary of looking down.”
― Tessa Dare, The Wallflower Wager

“Maybe I'm willing to take that risk."
"Well, I'm not." He slid one arm about her waist, tucked the other beneath her knees, and hauled her out of the water, into his arms. Like a damned mermaid. A sparkling, golden-haired, ruby-lipped mermaid. "I can't lose you."

I can't lose you, he said.
I can't feel my elbows, Penny thought.
She couldn't help but give a long, swooning sigh.
This man was so dangerous. He had a habit of blurting out these growly, possessive statements, punctuated by intense gazes and capped by displays of sheer virility.”
― Tessa Dare, The Wallflower Wager

“Parting the clinging fabric from her skin, he reached beneath to encircle her bare ankle with his hand.
As he swept his touch up her calf, she jerked in surprise. Her hand caught his, trapping it just below her knee. He paused at once.
"Ticklish?" He could scarcely scrape the word from his throat.
She shook her head.
"What is it?"
"I..." Her kiss-flushed lips curved in a coy little smile. "I think it's the urges."
He couldn't help but grin in response.
These teasing hints of her naughty side were driving him mad with curiosity. He wanted to pry her open at the delicate pink seams and explore the sensual woman within.”
― Tessa Dare, The Wallflower Wager

“You, er..." He hesitated. "Not that I mind, but you may want to fix your frock."
She glanced downward. Seeing her exposed breast, she quickly tucked it back in her stays. "See what I mean? Heaps of humiliations. Heaps."
Gabe wondered if the past quarter hour went into her heaps of humiliations, or whether she regarded it as something else.
He wondered, but he wasn't going to ask.
On his part, he wouldn't be filing this memory under the heading of "Humiliations." Oh, no. It was going straight into the stash of "Fantasies" that every man kept under his mattress, figuratively if not literally.
He was never going to forget the taste of her, pure and sweet. The way her skin moved liked satin under his hands, warming to his touch.
And the way she'd responded to him? That was already etched on his brain.
I think it's the urges, she'd said.
The worrisome part of it was, their urges had gone unsatisfied.
They would remain so, he told himself. This afternoon had been a mistake. An enjoyable mistake, but a mistake nonetheless. Time to revive his judgement. Gabe could survive deprivation of all sorts, including this one.
He would not put his hands on Lady Penelope Campion again.
Absolutely not.
Definitely not.
Probably not.
Damn.”
― Tessa Dare, The Wallflower Wager

“A masquerade is supposed to be a chance to put on a different face, isn't it? An opportunity to be someone else for a few hours. Yet I can't seem to manage it. I'm still me, beneath the mask."
"I know what you mean." Gabe was still himself beneath the armor, too. An interloper among the aristocrats. Unwelcome. Inadequate. "We are who we are, I suppose."
"We are who we are," she agreed.
Gabe despised the defeated note in her voice. He liked who she was, beneath the mask. And when he was in her company, he almost liked who he was, too. The idea that anyone would overlook her made him vaguely furious.”
― Tessa Dare, The Wallflower Wager

“Lean over," he growled. "Hands on the frame."
The brusque command thrilled her. She did as he asked, bending forward at the waist and bracing her hands on either side of the mirror's gilt frame.
He lifted her by the hips and pushed deep, claiming her in one powerful motion. As he took her in pounding thrusts, his flanks met her backside with sharp, rhythmic smacks. They echoed through the room, obscene and arousing. Soon these sounds were joined by low, primal grunts of satisfaction.
She watched him, captivated by the display of raw, unfettered male desire. Sweat broke out on his brow. His jaw clenched tightly, the tendons on his neck went rigid. He stared at the mirror, watching her breasts jiggle and sway with each thrust.”
― Tessa Dare, The Wallflower Wager

“The two of us... We're from different breeds. Different species, even. I can't pretend to fathom what you're doing with all these animals. However, I doubt you approve of the way I live my life, either."
That was fair to say, she supposed.
"There is, however, one thing we have in common. I'm stubborn as hell, and I'd formed the impression that you don't surrender easily, either. Or was I mistaken?"
"You weren't mistaken."
"It's settled, then." His gaze held her captive. "I'm not giving up, and neither are you.”
― Tessa Dare, The Wallflower Wager

“Gabriel Duke. You are a complete hypocrite."
"A hypocrite? Me?"
"Yes, you. Mr. I-Know-a-Hidden-Tresaure-When-I-See-It. You said you know how to spot undervalued things. Undervalued people. And yet you persist in selling yourself short. If I'm the crown jewels in camouflage, you're a..." She churned the air with one hand. "... a diamond tiara."
He grimaced.
"Fine, you can be something manlier. A thick, knobby scepter. Will that suffice?"
"I suppose it's an improvement."
"For weeks, you've been insisting you haven't the slightest idea what it means to give a creature a loving home. 'I'm too ruthless, Penny. I'm only motivated by self-interest, Penny. I'm a bad, bad man, Penny.' And all this time, you've been running an orphanage? I could kick you."
"I'm not running an orphanage. I give the orphanage money. That's all."
"You gave them kittens."
"No, you gave them kittens."
"You sent them gifts at Christmas. Playthings and sweets and geese to be roasted for their dinner."
"It was the only business I could attend to on Christmas, and I don't like to waste the day. All the banks and offices are closed."
She skewered him with a look. "Really. You expect me to believe that?"
He pushed a hand through his hair. "What is your aim with this interrogation?"
"I want you to admit the truth. You are giving those children a home. A place of warmth and safety, and yes, even love. Meanwhile, you are stubbornly denying yourself all the same things."
"I can't be denying myself if it's something I don't want."
"Home isn't something a person wants. It's something every last one of us needs. And it's not too late for you, Gabriel." She gentled her voice. "You could have that for yourself.”
― Tessa Dare, The Wallflower Wager