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Maria reached up and s the wiry silk of it Ellison’s eyes flickered, the Shifter in hi her touch

He didn’t want to scare her Fro to cal her He’d been right there when the asshat huht; he’d been at her side the moment Broderick had tried to harass her on her way horabbing her or coercing her She ran her hands up his forear the hollows inside the bend of his elbows, the hard strength of his biceps under his shirtsleeves Up to his shoulders, which held the responsibility of his sister, his nephews, Deni’s violent episodes

So strong, and yet carrying so h of unshaved whiskers, the warm satin of his lips She rose on her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to those lips, while he watched her, his gaze intent One arth of him took her breath away

And Ellison wassexy The way he danced to the country tunes at Liarace, and she felt it now as he held her without effort as she kissed him

Maria had never touched a man like this Her experience with sex had been li when, where, and how Luis done all of the touching, and that hadn’t beenher closer, kissed her lower lip then the corner of her ," he said

"Me too"

Ellison touched his forehead to hers "I’ht now Much as I want to I told Broderick to give you a little space, and I will too What I’ to do instead is teach you how to love life"

Maria looked up at him in confusion "I do like my life now It’s much, much better here than it’s ever been"

"No, sweetheart, you’re only surviving Maybe basic surviving is a little easier now, but you’re still living in the shadow of all that pain and fear You want to go to school because--why? It will help you survive better?"

She shook her head "I want to be a doctor, to take care of people I can live anywhere if I do that, o back to Mexico and help people who don’t have anyone Or find people here that need the sa What you mean is you want a way to take care of yourself, so you don’t live under soain Not Shifters, not family, not friends, not anyone"

He understood Ellison’s eyes sparkled gray in the sunlight and were full of knowledge How he knew exactly ent on in her heart Maria wasn’t sure, but he did

Maria’s voice was quiet "I never want to be enslaved again"

"Neither do I" Ellison’s hand went to his Collar "You knohat Shifters knoe’ve learned? That it’s not enough only to survive We want to live"