Her smooth brows contracted painfully, frowning back into past occasions, for the first time with doubt and dread.

His heart contracted painfully; it still did whenever he thought of Aurelia.

Donald's heart contracted painfully as he realized she must still be in there.

Finally, her face contracted painfully, and, sinking forward upon his shoulder, she burst into a storm of sobbing.

"I'll pay you back, Gertrude, a hundred times over," he gulped out, his throat painfully contracted and in his eyes a swift hint of moisture.

Nicholas' breath caught in his throat and his belly contracted painfully.

When his mouth covered one, her womb contracted painfully.

The door stood half open and his heart contracted painfully as he saw the mark-a splash of yellow paint.

His heart contracted painfully and, for a moment, he was blinded by a blood-dimmed haze.

Vi's heart contracted painfully then settled into a dull ache.