Den of Vipers

“And from myself? I learned it’s okay to love yourself. Even the darkest parts of you. No matter the shape, size, or weirdness you came with. Embrace your scars and never be ashamed to be who you are, because there is only one of you.”

“Sometimes in life, you meet people worth dying for, and they are usually the same people who are also worth living for. But you can’t always have both.”

“Each person that comes into your life offers you a new world, a new place and feelings, not always good, and from each one we have the opportunity to learn. Whether we accept those lessons is on us.”

“Throw me to the wolves, and I will come back leading the pack.”

“He steps closer, and this time I don’t retreat. “I lied,” he croaks. “I will follow you always. I’ll hunt you across this world. Even if you hate me, us, for it. I will drag you back kicking and screaming. Hit me, slap me, fight me. I don’t care, the pain is worth it to have you with me, darling. I love you too much to let you go. I’m too fucking selfish to let the best thing to ever happen to us walk away. You’re ours.”

“They’re going to learn that money can’t buy obedience. I’m no man’s object. They are going to regret the day they took me. Vipers? Bitch, please, I bite too.”

“So you have demons? Baby, they match mine.”

“Sometimes you don’t need to find a hero, it’s enough to find someone who will stand with you in the dark and not be afraid of blood and death. No, sometimes you don’t need a hero…you need a criminal, a villain.”

“When you fuck with Vipers, you get fangs.”

“Seriously, Garrett, whose first thought is to slap an intruder with their cock?” She throws her hands in the air.”

“That woman—she’s a fucking hurricane.”

“I look at her, raise my eyebrow, and she just shrugs. “He was rude, plus that was one time…okay, maybe more than once, but honestly, people with dicks always think they know best and can act like they own you. I remind them that vaginas are stronger than dicks, as ours are inside and yours hang out…ready to be chopped off.”

“Love, love is enduring. Love is blind. Love is messy and so perfect, we search our entire lives for it, even when we think we aren’t. I guess I wasn’t either, but I found it anyway in the form of four criminals. Their hearts as dark as their souls.”

“When you’re a kid, they tell you stories of monsters hiding under your bed or in the dark. They don’t tell you of the very real human ones. Those who prey on people weaker than them, or even the monsters that hide within ourselves.”

“When you find love, you hold on hard. It’s a fragile little thing, and once it’s gone, it leaves a hole and memories, we all know that. Ones you wish you could relive, but from every love, you learn something. Something important. From my mother, I learned to be strong. From my father, I learned to embrace pain. From Rich, I learned to love while it lasts and that endings aren’t always a bad thing. From my Vipers, I learned love is unconditional and can come at the strangest of times and places. And from myself? I learned it’s okay to love yourself. Even the darkest parts of you. No matter the shape, size, or weirdness you came with. Embrace your scars and never be ashamed to be who you are, because there is only one of you. And if you don’t love you, how can anyone else? I am imperfectly perfect. I am a lover and a fighter. I am strong and weak. I can be cruel and a killer, but also kind and a healer. I am all of those things, and loving my weaknesses means I can embrace my strengths and be just whom I want to be.”

“Just once, I want someone to match me, to not burn in my fire, but be reborn in it.”

“Diesel’s face splits with a grin. “I think I’m in love. Do you think she would shoot me if I ask?”

“I looked into the dark and embraced my fear because hurt comes both day and night. The monsters don't wait for the sun to set, this isn't a goddamn fairy tale. This is life and monsters...monsters are everywhere. But they are human. Flesh and blood like me and you”

“I got some information,” Diesel starts, his tone serious before he grins. “Roxy is a screamer. I can inform her dad now.”

“So what will I do for her? Everything.”

“Because Roxxane was never meant to be locked away. She is meant to be free, wild, and uncontrolled.”

“because somewhere along the way, 'I hate you' became our 'I love you”

“A woman can be strong and weak. Beautiful and scarred. Scared and brave. Smart and sexy.”

“I’d rather deal with the devil we know than the one we don’t.”

“She can’t know the true depth of feelings I have for her, that even though I try to stay impartial, that I try to hate her, I can’t. Because I’m falling in love with her.”

“Pissed and bored isn’t a good combination for me.”

“Rich or poor, it doesn’t matter, humans are still monsters. They hide behind pretty faces, loved ones, blood. Yet they are all the same. They all want you for something, the difference is…how far they’re willing to go to get it. It seems the Vipers will go all the way.”

“Just two broken souls meeting in a blood-stained bedroom, both lost until we are in each other’s arms.”

“I’m falling in love with you, darling,” I murmur, and she freezes. “Don’t, love has a way of changing to hate,” she whispers”

“They picked the wrong fucking girl. I’ve been fighting longer than I’ve been walking.”