“Moments like this, with Colton? They make it all bearable. He doesn't fix me, doesn't heal me. He just makes life worthwhile. He helps me remember to breathe.”

“He does not just fill my body, my womanhood. He fills me. My heart, my soul. He fills the horrible emptiness that has gaped inside me all my life.”

“I can’t be fixed.”“You’re committed to being broken forever?”“Goddamit, Colton. Why are you doing this? You don’t know me.”“I want to.” It’s the answer to both of her statements.”

“It helps - ""No it doesn't. It just pushes it away temporarily. Just like the booze.""But I need - ""You need to let yourself feel. Feel it, own it. Then move on.”

“He stood more than a foot taller than I did, his shoulders like a football player’s pads, arms corded thick. He was huge, I realized. Kyle had been lean and toned. Colton was… something else. Obviously powerful. Hard. Primal.”

“I do not know how he even managed to do what he did. He should not have been able to, but he did. He defended my home. Me. Himself. Us.”

“They took him, although he loved me, and would have made me his. I wanted to be his. Someone's.Anyone's.”