Don't Be Afraid. There's The Two Of

If I Find I Need Guidance, I’ll Ask.

I Was Crying And Laughing, Snuffing Tears And Blood, Bumping At Him With My Bound Hands, Trying Awkwardly To Thrust Them At Him So That He Could Cut The Rope. He Quit Grappling, And Clutched Me So Hard Against Him That I Yelped In Pain As My Face Was Pressed Against His Plaid. He Was Saying Something Else, Urgently, But I Couldn’t Manage To Translate It. Energy Pulsed Through Him, Hot And Violent, Like The Current In A Live Wire, And I Vaguely Realized That He Was Still Almost Berserk; He Had No English.

I Had Kissed My Share Of Men, Particularly During The War Years, When Flirtation And Instant Romance Were The Light-minded Companions Of Death And Uncertainty. Jamie, Thought, Was Something Different. His Extreme Gentleness Was In No Way Tentative; Rather It Was A Promise Of Power Known And Held In Leash; A Challenge And A Provocation The More Remarkable For Its Lack Of Demand. I Am Yours, It Said. And If You Will Have Me, Then.

I Don't Plot The Books Out Ahead Of Time, I Don't Plan Them. I Don't Begin At The Beginning And End At The End. I Don't Work With An Outline And I Don't Work In A Straight Line.

I Swore An Oath Before The Altar Of God To Protect This Woman. And If You're Tellin' Me That Ye Consider Your Own Authority To Be Greater Than That Of The Almighty, Then I Must Inform Ye That I'm Not Of That Opinion, Myself.