Quotes from Tiger's Quest

Colleen Houck ·  479 pages

Rating: (32.9K votes)


“I decided to find you, throw myself at your feet, and beg you to have mercy on me. Honestly, I’ll accept whatever you choose, Kelsey. Just don’t ask me to live apart from you again. Because...I can’t.”
― Colleen Houck, quote from Tiger's Quest


“There are many different types of kisses. There’s a passionate kiss of farewell—like the kind Rhett gave Scarlett when he went off to war. The kiss of I-can’t-really-be-with-you-but-I-want-to-be—like with Superman and Lois Lane. There’s the first kiss—one that is gentle and hesitant, warm and vulnerable. And then there’s the kiss of possession—which was how Ren kissed me now.
It went beyond passion, beyond desire. His kiss was full of longing, need, and love, like all those other kisses. But, it was also filled with promises and pledges, some of which seemed sweet and tender while others seemed dangerous and exciting. He was taking me over. Staking a claim.
He seized me as boldly as the tiger captured his prey. There was no escape. And I didn’t want to. I would have happily died in his clutches. I was his. And he made sure I knew it. My heart burst with a thousand beautiful blooms, all tiger lilies. And I knew with a certainty more powerful than anything I’d ever felt before that we belonged together. ”
― Colleen Houck, quote from Tiger's Quest


“You know you are in love when you see the world in her eyes, and her eyes everywhere in the world.”
― Colleen Houck, quote from Tiger's Quest


“No matter what happens, please remember that I love you, hridaya patni. Promise me that you'll remember."

"It's a pet name our father used to call our mother. It means...wife of my heart.”
― Colleen Houck, quote from Tiger's Quest


“You didn’t think I’d let you go alone, did you?”
“No, but I’m grateful that I had you with me.”
“Grateful is all I’m going to get, isn’t it?”
“What else were you hoping for?”
“Adoration, devotion, affection, infatuation, or just plain finding me irresistible.”
“Sorry, Don Juan. You’ll have to live with my undying gratitude.”
― Colleen Houck, quote from Tiger's Quest



“I was just slipping my pajama top over my head when I heard Ren bellow, “YOU ate ALL of my peanut . . . butter . . . COOKIES?”
― Colleen Houck, quote from Tiger's Quest


“I once told Ren our story wasn't over.
And it's not.
Not yet.”
― Colleen Houck, quote from Tiger's Quest


“One's enemy is often the best teacher of tolerance.”
― Colleen Houck, quote from Tiger's Quest


“Kishan spoke intently, "Kelsey is all that a man could ask for. She's perfect for you. She loves poetry and sits endlessly content while listening to you sing and play your guitar. She waited months for you to come after her, and she has risked her life repeatedly to save your mangy white hide. She's sweet and loving and warm and beautiful and would make you immeasurably happy."

There was a pause. Then I heard Ren say incredulously, "You love her."

Kishan didn't answer right away, but then said softly, almost so I couldn't hear it, "No man in his right mind wouldn't, which proves you aren't in your right mind.”
― Colleen Houck, quote from Tiger's Quest


“Tarzan-like men are my weakness, apparently.”
― Colleen Houck, quote from Tiger's Quest



“He seized me as boldly as a tiger captures his prey. There was no escape. And I didn't want to. I would have happily died in his clutches. I was his, and he made sure I knew it. My heart burst with a thousand beautiful blooms, all tiger lilies. And I knew with a certainty more powerful than anything I'd ever felt before that we belonged together.
He finally lifted his head and murmured against my lips, "It's about bloody time, woman.”
― Colleen Houck, quote from Tiger's Quest


“I find that all people are fundamentally alike. We are one human family. Perhaps we have different clothes, our skin is of a different color, or we speak various languages, but that is on the surface only. We all have dreams and seek for things that will bring true happiness. To know all the world, I just need to learn about myself.”
― Colleen Houck, quote from Tiger's Quest


“I shoved him. "Kishan. Kishan! Wake up!"

He woke only halfway and pulled me closer. "Shh, go back to sleep. It's not morning yet."

"Yes, it is morning." I pushed against his ribs. "Time to wake up. Come on!"

"Okay, honey, but how about a kiss first? A man needs some motivation to get out of bed."

"That kind of motivation keeps a man in bed. I'm not kissing you. Now get up.”
― Colleen Houck, quote from Tiger's Quest


“... A hot shower is going to feel heavenly."

He raised an eyebrow. "Would you like to go first."

"No, you go ahead."

His eyes twinkled as he regarded me, "It would be more heavenly if you told me you wanted to conserve water."

My mouth opened in shock. "Kishan!"

He winked at me. "I didn't think so. Can't blame a guy for trying.”
― Colleen Houck, quote from Tiger's Quest


“If a king owned a pearl without price, a gem he cherished above all. Would he hide it away, bury it from sight afraid others would take it? Or would he display it proudly, set it in a ring or crown, so that all the world could behold its beauty and see what richness it brings to his life? You are my pearl without price.”
― Colleen Houck, quote from Tiger's Quest



“All things considered, I'd rather have monkeys," Kishan shouted.

I shivered. "Tell you what. We'll rent King Kong and The Birds. Then you can decide."

He yelled as he ran from a swooping bird, "Are you asking me on a date? Because if you are, it will definitely give me more incentive to come out of this alive."

"Whatever works"

"You're on.”
― Colleen Houck, quote from Tiger's Quest


“Softly, Kishan said, "And it seems that the only girls I'm ever interested in... always belong to Ren.”
― Colleen Houck, quote from Tiger's Quest


“You said parachute. You think we're going to parachute out of here?"

"Yep."

"I don't think so."

"Ah, come on. Tigers aren't afraid of heights, are they?"

"This isn't about heights. This is about being extremely high up in a tree and hurtling out bodies into oblivion based on a strange fabric that you now claim is a parachute.”
― Colleen Houck, quote from Tiger's Quest


“A deep rumble echoed in his chest.
I pulled back, laughing. "Are you growling at me?"
He laughed softly, twisted my hair ribbon around his fingers, and pulled gently, loosening my braid. Biting my ear lightly, he whispered a threat, "You have been driving me crazy for three weeks. Your lucky all I'm doing is growling.”
― Colleen Houck, quote from Tiger's Quest


“It's a McLaren SLR 722 Roadster."

"How big is it?"

"It's a convertible."

"Will a tiger fit?"

"No. It seats only two, but the boys are man half the day now."

"Is it more than $30,000?"

He squirmed and hedged, "Yes, but-"

"How much more?"

"Much more."

"How much more?"

"About $400,000 more."

My mouth dropped open. "Mr. Kadam!"

"Miss Kelsey, I know it's extravagant, but when you drive it, you will see it's worth every cent."

I folded my hands across my chest. "I won't drive it."

He looked offended. "That car was meant to be driven."

"Then you drive it. I'll drive the Jeep."

He looked tempted. "If it will appease you, perhaps we can share it."

Kishan clapped his hands. "I can't wait."

Mr. Kadam wagged a finger at him. "Oh, no! Not you. We'll get you a nice sedan. Used.”
― Colleen Houck, quote from Tiger's Quest



“Back at home inside our garage, Ren opened the door for me. Instead of helping me out, he leaned over and growling softly. His lips brushed against the sensitive skin under my ear. His voice was seductive, dangerous.

"I'm warning you, Kelsey. I'm an extremely patient man. I've had extensive practice in waiting out the enemy. My life as a tiger has taught me that persistence and diligence always pay off. Consider yourself forewarned, priyatama. I'm on the hunt. I've caught your scent, and I won't be thwarted in my course.”
― Colleen Houck, quote from Tiger's Quest


“I spent the rest of that day brainstorming. How do you catch a very old, very alert tiger by surprise? Use his weaknesses: food, feminine wiles, poetry, and over-protectiveness. The poor guy didn't stand a chance.”
― Colleen Houck, quote from Tiger's Quest


“... Now what brings you down here? Want to work out?"

"No. I wondered if you wanted to go for a swim. Mr. Kadam has ordered us to relax today."

He grabbed a towel and scrubbed his face and head. "A swim, huh? It might cool me off." He peeked from around his towel. "Unless you're planning to wear a bikini.”
― Colleen Houck, quote from Tiger's Quest


“Okay. So, apparently I find burly Indian men attractive. What's wrong with that?”
― Colleen Houck, quote from Tiger's Quest


“A life with Ren was harder to picture. We didn't look as if we belonged together. It was like matching up Ken with Strawberry Shortcake. He needed Barbie.”
― Colleen Houck, quote from Tiger's Quest



“What would Ren do in Oregon? Would he get a job? What would he put on his resume? High Protector and former Prince of India?”
― Colleen Houck, quote from Tiger's Quest


“When we reached the front of the line at Burgerville, Ren let me order first and then asked for seven huge sandwiches, three orders of fries, a large soda, and one large blackberry milkshake. When the lady asked if it was to go, he shook his head, confused, and told her we'd be dining in. I laughed and told the lady he was very hungry.”
― Colleen Houck, quote from Tiger's Quest


“No one can understand what you've been through more than Kishan and Mr. Kadam. I think the best thing you can do to repay him is to give him that level of loyalty in return. He considers you and Kishan sons and the best way a son can honor his father is to be the kind of man that would make him proud.”
― Colleen Houck, quote from Tiger's Quest


“I peeked at him out of the corner of my eye. He had a slight smirk on his face. I imagined he was mentally checking off a task in his planner.

Seduce date by talking about other girls
Impress date with number of awards you have received
Do not spend money on date
Make date watch corny movie in media center
Sneak in comments about your frugality
Put arm around date at exactly the halfway mark of the movie”
― Colleen Houck, quote from Tiger's Quest


Video

About the author

Colleen Houck
Born place: in Tucson, AZ, The United States
Born date October 3, 1969
See more on GoodReads

Popular quotes

“More than every once in awhile,
More than most dreams,
More than just my heart,
More than anything,
More than you know,
And more than I can say,
I’ve loved you more
Every passing day”
― Laura Miller, quote from Butterfly Weeds


“My brain is made up of different rooms. Each room is for doing a different thing. For example, I have an Eyes Room for seeing things and an Ears Room for hearing things. I have a Hands Room, a Memory Room (it’s like my father’s office, full of drawers and folders and boxes with papers), a New Things Room, a Numbers Room (my favorite), and a Horror Room (I wish this room would be broken, but it works just fine). The rooms don’t touch each other. There are long, looping hallways in between each room. If I’m thinking about something that happened yesterday (like when I knocked over the white coffee mug), I’m in my Memory Room. But if I want to watch a Barney video on the TV, I have to leave the Memory Room and go into Eyes and sometimes Ears. Sometimes when I’m in the hallways traveling to a different room, I get lost and confused and caught In Between and feel like I’m nowhere. This is when my brain feels like maybe it’s a little bit broken, but I know I just have to find my way into one of the rooms and shut the door. But if too much is happening at once, I can get into trouble. If I’m counting the square tiles on the kitchen floor (180), I’m in my Numbers Room, but if my mother starts talking to me, I have to go into my Ears Room to hear her. But I want to stay in Numbers because I’m counting, and I like to count, but my mother keeps talking, and her sound is getting louder, and I feel pressure to leave Numbers and go inside my Ears Room. So I go into the hallway, but then she grabs my hand, and this surprises me and forces me into Hands, which isn’t where I wanted to go, and she’s talking to me but I can’t hear what she’s saying because I’m in my Hands Room and not in Ears. If she lets go of my hand, I can go into Ears. She’s saying, Look at me. But if I look at her, I have to leave Ears and go into Eyes, and then I won’t be able to hear what she’s saying. So I don’t know what to do, and I’m wandering the halls, and I can’t make a decision on where to go, and I’m In Between, and that’s when I get into trouble.”
― Lisa Genova, quote from Love Anthony


“Todos somos especiales. Tan sólo hay que potenciar lo que te hace especial”
― Albert Espinosa, quote from The Yellow World


“I don't want to hear any bullshit about how 'forgiveness' helps you sleep better at night,' because that's not true. (My seven layer mattress is amazing.)”
― Whitney G., quote from Mid-Life Love


“We are a biological species arising from Earth’s biosphere as one adapted species among many; and however splendid our languages and cultures, however rich and subtle our minds, however vast our creative powers, the mental process is the product of a brain shaped by the hammer of natural selection upon the anvil of nature.”
― Edward O. Wilson, quote from On Human Nature


Interesting books

History Is All You Left Me
(14.7K)
History Is All You L...
by Adam Silvera
The Betrothed
(4.9K)
The Betrothed
by Alessandro Manzoni
Jo's Boys
(27.6K)
Jo's Boys
by Louisa May Alcott
Flesh and Blood
(4.5K)
Flesh and Blood
by Michael Cunningham
Eugénie Grandet
(14.3K)
Eugénie Grandet
by Honoré de Balzac
The Renegade Hunter
(13.1K)
The Renegade Hunter
by Lynsay Sands

About BookQuoters

BookQuoters is a community of passionate readers who enjoy sharing the most meaningful, memorable and interesting quotes from great books. As the world communicates more and more via texts, memes and sound bytes, short but profound quotes from books have become more relevant and important. For some of us a quote becomes a mantra, a goal or a philosophy by which we live. For all of us, quotes are a great way to remember a book and to carry with us the author’s best ideas.

We thoughtfully gather quotes from our favorite books, both classic and current, and choose the ones that are most thought-provoking. Each quote represents a book that is interesting, well written and has potential to enhance the reader’s life. We also accept submissions from our visitors and will select the quotes we feel are most appealing to the BookQuoters community.

Founded in 2023, BookQuoters has quickly become a large and vibrant community of people who share an affinity for books. Books are seen by some as a throwback to a previous world; conversely, gleaning the main ideas of a book via a quote or a quick summary is typical of the Information Age but is a habit disdained by some diehard readers. We feel that we have the best of both worlds at BookQuoters; we read books cover-to-cover but offer you some of the highlights. We hope you’ll join us.