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The probleh Ender understood perfectly as going on, he was enjoying it He didn't want it to stop

But it had to stop Stop or change The back-rubbing thing couldn't go on forever

And he couldn't stop it abruptly He had a role to play Morgan had to believe that Ender was devoted to Alessandra, so that byDorabella, he would become Ender's future father-in-law One more set of levers to control him by Ender had planned to do it platonically The time he spent with Alessandra, the attention he devoted to her, that would do the job

Until no they were pushing hiht of this little encounter herself "Thinking about yourjealous?"

That got her to pull her hands away "No," she said "Not at all What does rubbing your shoulders have to do with the married?"

Noith her no longer touching him, Ender could swivel the chair around to face her She was dresseddifferently Nothing obvious, not like the vids he'd seen of supposedly sexy fashions on Earth She earing clothing he'd seen before But a button less was fastened Was that the only difference? Perhaps, because she had been touching hih new eyes

"Alessandra," he said, "let's not pretend we don't knohat's happening here"

"What do you think is happening?" she said

"I was asleep, and you did what you've never done before"

"I never felt like that before," she said "I sa heavy a weight you carry Not just the governorship and all that, I in I know you don't like to be touched, but that doesn't mean other people can't want to touch you"

Ender reached out and touched her hand, hooked it lightly in his fingers He knew even as he did it that he shouldn't Yet the desire to do it was aler in this Touching hands? People do it all the time

Yes, and they do other things all the time, another part of his mind said

Shut up, said the part that liked touching Alessandra

What if this did go according to Alessandra's script--or herto a colony world Colonies were all about reproduction He liked this girl There wasn't going to be a huge pool of girls to choose froers in stasis, so it would be irls born on Shakespeare that he would have to choose from, and they would be--not from Earth

While he argued with hihtly and moved closer to hiined he could Now her body touched his upper ar, stroked his hair Now she brought his hand up to her chest Pressed the back of his hand, not to her breast--that would be too obvious--but to her chest, where her heart was beating Or was that his own pulse he felt pounding in his hand?