“I can’t. I don’t know how.” Tears roll down my sodden face as I let out a useless breathy whisper. So ashamed of my own inability to be a match for his strength and power. Colton stares at me, his face suddenly straightening as he sobers instantly. He looks to his own hand, curled around my shoulder, an instant twinge of his cheek muscle and then a frown that I can’t read.

Colton doesn’t wait, something registering on his face, and he furrows his brow with determination, pushing the softness aside. He picks me up, even though I cry out in renewed agony of this new torture, and holds me...