How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
He pressed his lips into my hair. "I love you, Becks. I've never felt like this." (7.96)
When Jack tells Nikki that he loves her, she feels like it's too good to be true. She's had feelings for her childhood friend since, like, forever, and now they're finally together and he loves her. Talk about a dream come true.
Quote #2
Cole could shield me from the pain of this world, and for the moment, I wanted to go with him.
No good-byes. No second chances. No disappointing the people I loved. (9.63-64)
Nikki has learned that love is a double-edged sword: Caring for people also often means caring about how they feel. And this includes how they feel about what you do and who you are. Nikki knows she let down the people closest to her when she disappeared for the Feed the first time around—it's almost too hard to face how much disappointment she left in her wake. Ain't love grand?
Quote #3
"The love of Orpheus's life, Eurydice, was taken to the Underworld. He was desperate to get her back, but no one ever comes back from the Underworld, right? Orpheus didn't give up, though." (13.15)
In Mrs. Stone's telling of the Orpheus story, love was the main motivator for Orpheus to try to track down Eurydice in the Underworld. She was the love of his life, so he wasn't about to give up on her easily. So love essentially provided Orpheus with the perseverance to find Eurydice, and then (depending on the version of the story you know) to make the ultimate sacrifice for her.