He was mine now. My stray.

The thought bit at me, sharp as a shepherd’s canine. My mother’s voice whispered from the past: “You can’t turn your back on someone in need, Dasha.” She’d always said that when bringing home another mangy dog or helping a stranger in trouble. Back then, I’d thought it was all just fun and games—the more furry friends, the better. Now, I understood all too well why she’d done it. She’d been a virtuous soul married to the Devil.

Except, this stray wasn’t a helpless puppy. He was a tall, strong, hot-as-hell paramedic with kind eyes. A man from a world entirely different than anything I’d ever known.

~Daria Melnichenko, Mission Shift

Whatever restraint he’d been holding onto fractured, and those eyes of the unholy turned murderous, setting my blood on fire with equal parts fear and hunger.

~Scarlett Hayes, Eyes of the Unholy

“It was only a simple kiss,” I said. “It’s not like you threw me against a wall and f***ed me until I didn’t know my name—not that I know my name, but you get my drift. Besides, I all but fell into your lap and begged you to kiss me. No need to be dramatic. It was no big deal.” I huffed.

~Anastasia Volkov, Day Shift

How could there be a God?

I wanted to believe. I needed to believe. But when the holy were the abusers, when the righteous sold their children, when the system protected predators—what kind of God allowed that?

The devil outside that door had never lied to me.

He was the type of man I should fear, should hate—but I couldn’t.

He never pretended to be anything he wasn’t.

~Scarlett Hayes, Eyes of the Unholy

When she hooked her thumbs into the waistband of her panties and slid them down those long legs of hers, I stopped breathing altogether. She rose to her full height, standing unabashedly naked in front of me, her head held high, her blue eyes daring me to look away. I didn’t.

All rational thought escaped me. My heart started pounding like a damn drum, and my throat became as dry as sand. She was perfect—every inch of her.

Daria must’ve noticed how enthralled I was, because her lips curled into a teasing grin. “What’s the matter, Boy Scout? Never seen a naked woman before?”

~Braxton Thorin, Mission Shift

Tonight I wanted to be wrecked, to be so consumed by someone that I couldn’t remember my name, much less all the screwed-up things life had thrown at me. Kol was the kind of man who could do that; I could tell just by the way he moved. I wanted him to worship every inch of me, to let him light up every one of my nerves like a Christmas tree.

~Noelle Nichols, Christmas Cancellation

She was Persephone.

Pure spring caught in the harsh reality of my dark domain.

And I?

I was Hades.

King of an underworld forged not of myth but of concrete and blood.

I knew, in the gut-wrenching way only a man like me could, that what I was about to do was wrong. I knew every fiber of her being would scream against the chains I hadn’t even yet forged—but I couldn’t stop the inevitable.

I would make her mine.

~Nikolai Volkov, Eyes on You

His voice resonated in the air between us, hitting me with an intensity that was both unnerving and exhilarating. It was as if every syllable he uttered was designed to unsettle me, to knock me off-kilter. His words left me both melted and aflutter, inciting a paradoxical blend of anxiety and comfort within me. Listening to his deep timbre was a guilty pleasure—a secret indulgence that made me squirm.

~Samantha Sheridan, Night Shift

I had never been with a man who reached for me simply because he wanted to. Not out of dominance, not to stake a claim, not as a prelude to sex. Just a touch, a connection, as natural as breathing.

Butterflies—actual butterflies—fluttered in my stomach, something light and unfamiliar stirring in my chest.

I’d always thought that was just some romantic notion, a dreamy fantasy only found in books.

~Daria Melnichenko, Mission Shift

The moment I’d turned and caught the fury radiating off him, dark and lethal. I’d known the universe had jolted then. I’d felt it. But never in my wildest dreams had I imagined Mr. Shadowman being that unhinged for me.

~Scarlett Hayes, Eyes of the Unholy