He knew she wanted him. He could see it in her eyes, and read it in her body language, but she just couldn't seem to take that final step toward him. He pressed his fingers to his eyes and shook his head. He ached for her, not just for her body, but for her past. She was such an innocent, taken by a depraved sadist. That vile monster had tried to twist her into something of his own ugly making. It hadn't worked, but she was still trapped by her past and Gavriil didn't know how to free her.

She seemed to think Gavriil wouldn't be able to do without the things Caine had taught her. He'd been a monster, that man, taking a child and teaching her to hate her own body. He'd used her and then punished her for "tempting" him. Caine hadn't once made her feel anything but disgust and fear.

The thought of touching Gavriil or tasting him as he did her, was abhorrent to her. She didn't say it aloud, but he knew that was her biggest fear, that if they progressed in their relationship, he would want the things from her that Caine had wanted and she couldn't give that to him, and she feared he would eventually look elsewhere for satisfaction.

Gavriil raked both hands through his hair. What she didn't realize was that he couldn't imagine ever going back to a life without her. Before her, he hadn't been living. The last couple of weeks had taught him that. She gave his life purpose and form. Everything about her appealed to him, drew him, called to him on every level. Why couldn't he find a way to draw her closer to him? To help her understand that making love was so much more than mere sex. That it was passionate, beautiful, intimate and affirming, not something ugly and depraved.

He had had sex, many times, just about any way one could. He seduced women whenever he needed or wanted to. He'd been taught how to control his body, what techniques to use and how to get a woman to want more. And he'd enjoyed it. But what he felt for Lexi, with Lexi, was worlds apart. Touching Lexi, kissing Lexi, had taught him the difference between having sex and making love.

Her scent drifted to him through the open bathroom door a fresh, clean forest smell that appealed to him as nothing else could. She was soaking in the deep bathtub, her one luxury. Outside the window, the rain fell softly, but in a steady pattern. He turned on the gas fireplace to take the chill from the room so that when she came out of her hot bath she'd be comfortable.

He'd taken his shower, deliberately leaving the door open after washing the farm dirt from his body and easing the aches and pains from various old wounds. His arm was healed, and somehow, the acupuncture seemed to be helping with the nerve damage from the old knife wounds. He sank down into his chair and tried to find a way to relax when his body was as hard as a rock.

The sound of her occasionally moving in the bathtub both soothed and aroused him. He liked hearing her in the house. He was always aware of exactly where she was, whether in the kitchen or on the front porch. The last few nights she'd gone to sleep in the bed beside him after staying up with tiny Lyutyj. The puppy did appear to be getting stronger and had finally latched on to his mother.

Small steps, just like Lexi.

Two nights in a row he'd lain beside Lexi, painfully hard, afraid if he moved, his body might shatter, but she actually had relaxed enough to sleep beside him naked. He contemplated what to do next. She trusted him more and more, but it was definitely becoming difficult not touching her. He needed her body the same way she needed his she just didn't know why she was growing restless and edgy.

He raked his fingers through his hair again. "What in the hell am I going to do about you?" he whispered aloud.

Lexi sat in the hot water, letting it soak away the aches of her body, but it didn't stop the endless hunger crawling through her bloodstream. Each moment she spent in Gavriil's company only served to make her fall harder for him. She was tired of being afraid of the physical side of a relationship between a man and a woman, yet she couldn't overcome her aversion to touching a man.

She closed her eyes against the burn of tears, and drew her knees up to hug them tightly, feeling more vulnerable than ever. The longer she was with Gavriil, the more she knew she didn't want to lose him. He never asked anything of her, but she knew it was becoming difficult for him to live and work beside her.

Her own body was betraying her. She found herself watching the way he moved, the strength in his hands, the gentle way he picked up the puppies and caressed Kiss and Drago. She knew his every expression. She found herself staring at him. Drinking him in, just absorbing him. She didn't know how to feel anymore, she was so confused.

Lexi pressed her fingers to her eyes, shaking her head. The hot water shimmered around her, lapping at her body, making her skin feel more sensitive than ever. She was aware of him in the next room moving around. He made her feel safe. He made her feel as if she were beautiful and special. Sexy. Sensual. Everything she was not.

She wanted him, pure and simple. Well... her body wanted his. Her heart wanted him. Her brain rebelled and screamed at her she would lose him if she tried or didn't try. They seemed to be doing some strange dance, moving in circles around each other.

He gave and she took. She had been living a half-life, existing on her safe little farm. He had been existing in the shadows. Now they'd come together. He'd been the broken one, she'd been so certain of it when she met him, but somehow the truly broken one had been her all along.

Caine had made her ashamed of herself, of her body. He had told her how vile she was, nothing but a temptation for a man, a vessel to use when the temptation became too much to resist. He had forced her to do things to him and then beaten her for doing them. When she began to develop, he'd told her she was ugly and disgusting and forced her to bind her body and cover up at all times.

Tears spilled down her cheeks. Caine had ruined her chances for a real life. She would never be normal. She didn't even know what normal was. She wasn't living much of a life, that was certain, and she was dragging Gavriil down with her.

Gavriil offered her... everything. Without strings. Without asking for anything in return. What kind of relationship was that? She kissed him. She loved kissing him. But every time they kissed she could feel the need and hunger running so deep in him. He never tried to hide it from her. More, she felt that same need and hunger running just as deep in her.

Truthfully, she'd been in a constant state of arousal for the last few days and had no idea what to do about it. Twice she'd gone into the greenhouse and cried. She thought about talking to her sisters to get ideas, but this issue was between them. Gavriil and her. No one else.

She hadn't known a person could feel so desperate for another's body. For his touch. Or his kiss. For his hands. She rubbed her chin back and forth on the top of her knees. She had to find the courage to either let him go or take the next step. And God help her, she didn't want to let him go.

She couldn't continue to take without giving something in return, but she didn't know how to make herself give him what she knew he needed. The idea of losing him terrified her absolutely terrified her.

She lifted her head and looked at the full-length mirror Judith had installed in her bathroom. She hadn't protested at the time, but she never looked at herself in it. A few times she'd even covered the mirror up, but was afraid one of her sisters would discover the sheet over it.

When she'd taken a shower at the farm, Caine had forced her to wear a shirt to cover her body. He'd drilled it into her not to expose herself, yet Gavriil was just the opposite. He wanted her to sleep without clothes. He enjoyed looking at her body; Caine had been repulsed by her figure as she grew older. He even made her bind her breasts when he deemed them too big.

She had complied with Gavriil's request to sleep without clothes, partly because it was one of the few things she could give him and partly in defiance of Caine.

She wasn't certain what to think about her body. She knew the scars on her back, buttocks and thighs were ugly. The raised ridges sometimes ached in the cold. She had been more embarrassed for Gavriil to see the scars than for him to see her big breasts.

Of course, unlike Caine, Gavriil didn't seem to think her breasts were too big at all. Her hands came up to cup the soft weight. Maybe they weren't too big. They fit easily enough into Gavriil's palms.

Blushing, she stood up slowly. The water poured off her body into the tub. Steam rose around her and lightly obscured her reflection in the mirror. Still, she could see herself.

What did Gavriil see when he looked at her? She wanted to see through his eyes, not Caine's. Perhaps that was the real trouble, she was trying to see herself through someone else's vision, not her own. She took a deep breath and forced herself to really study her body in the mirror.

She wasn't very tall in comparison to Gavriil. Her hair, even wet, was beautiful and her one vanity, again because Caine despised it so much. The moment she was free of him she vowed to never cut it, and with the exception of an occasional trim on the ends to keep it healthy, she hadn't. Gavriil loved her hair. He even liked her wearing it down.

Her breasts were full, high, and didn't sag in the least. She refused to give in to the urge to look away from the soft, firm mounds. Caine had referred to them as a cow's udders and insisted she bind them and keep them from sight at all times. Gavriil was just the opposite. He lavished attention on her breasts. He loved to touch her there, to kiss and suck and tug and roll the nipples.

Her entire body turned bright red at the thought of Gavriil's mouth pulling so strongly on her breasts. Damp heat pooled between her legs as she touched herself, mimicking his fingers on her nipples. Streaks of sizzling electricity rushed from her breasts to her most feminine core. Sparks of arousal danced up and down her thighs.

Shocked, she dropped her hands and almost sank back into the water, but then stopped herself. No, she was done with giving into fear and shame. She wanted to be free of Caine and his ugly influence. She was realistic enough to know she would never get over her panic attacks and that he would creep into her nightmares, but she didn't want him ruling her life.

Gavriil had been courageous enough to change his life. He had given her more pleasure than she thought existed. Caine hurt her in every way a man could possibly hurt a woman. Gavriil's mouth and hands on her breasts excited her beyond anything she'd known. He'd awakened her body to the pleasures a man could bring to a woman, and he'd asked nothing for himself.

Gavriil's kisses were amazing, even earth-shattering. Caine would never have kissed her. He had told her that her mouth was made for only one purpose.

Deliberately Lexi ran her fingers down her flat belly, watching her hand in the mirror. Sometimes Judith wore a gold chain around her waist, and Lexi had dreamt a few times that she had been bold enough to do such a thing. She wanted one that hooked to a piercing and rode a little lower than her waist. She wanted little bells that jingled with each step she took, reminding her of her freedom to dance in the fields. She'd never worked up the courage to go to a place where they'd do such a thing, because she'd been too ashamed to show her body to anyone.

Dreams and fantasies were far different than reality. This time, she had everything to lose. Gavriil was worth fighting for. He fought for her with every breath he took. Could she do less for him? He wanted her. He'd asked her time and again to trust him, to give herself to him.

She whispered his name as she brought both hands down over her thighs and back up to the junction at her legs. Love for him was there. She felt it rising inside her like a towering wave. Her body ached for him. She started to touch herself and then pulled her hand away as if she'd been burned.

Memories surfaced, ugly horrible fragments that wouldn't leave her alone. The pain. The humiliation. The disgust and shame. She sank slowly back into the water and drew up her knees, making herself as small as possible. Tears tracked down her face and dropped into the steaming water. She covered her face with her hands, not knowing what to do.

She felt Gavriil close. Moving in her mind. A caress. Gentle. Intimate. Her stomach muscles tightened. Fear lived and breathed in her. Fear, not so much for her but for him. He wouldn't leave her or give up on her. She had to be just as brave. She just needed to find the courage.

"Solnyshko moya, enough. Stop hiding in there and come to bed." Gavriil's voice was low and brushed over her skin the same way he had the walls of her mind. Intimate and gentle hard to resist.

She bit her lip. She was hiding. From him. From herself. From what she was and what she wasn't. He would know the moment he saw her body that she was in a fierce state of arousal. She couldn't possibly spend another night beside him, skin to skin, his heat spreading through her until she was afraid she would burn right there in the bed.

"I'm too tired to get out. I think I'll sleep right here." It was a lie. Her voice betrayed her. She didn't talk in that soft, silky voice meant for satin sheets and candlelight. An invitation. Not only did her face turn red, but so did her entire body.

"You're going to turn into a prune."

She heard him move and closed her eyes like a child afraid to face her greatest fear. Silence. Long, heartbreaking silence. Lexi lifted her lashes, and there he was, his wide shoulders filling the doorway, his dark blue eyes like the midnight sky, drifting over her possessively.

She shivered, her nipples tightening. He was beautiful draped so casually there. All man. His muscles defined. Strong and confident. Everything she wasn't. He didn't have to touch her to make her want him. He just looked at her with his blue eyes and she was lost, caught in his spell.

She looked at him helplessly. Wanting had gone to craving. To needing.

"Baby, just come to me. Don't do this to yourself." His soft whisper ran like fingers over her body to tease her thighs.

She took a deep breath. Gavriil wore his skin comfortably. The towel dipped low around his hips and she knew he wore it only as a condition to her modesty, not his. He was a man who preferred not to show emotion, but was completely casual naked.

She moistened her lips, determined to claim him. Determined to rise like the phoenix from the ashes of her past. Gripping the edges of the tub until her knuckles turned white, she slowly stood, forcing herself to stand naked in front of him. The light was low, but still, it illuminated her wet skin, playing over her body with the drifting steam.

She froze, her breath refusing to leave her lungs. She couldn't let go of the death grip she had on the tub. "Gavriil." She whispered his name, willing him to understand what she was trying to do come to him in her own skin.

Gavriil nearly groaned aloud. She was killing him with her need to please him. She didn't understand he would wait a lifetime for her. She sounded sexy. Scared. Innocent. There was a note of raw courage in her voice that whispered over his skin and reached deep inside of him to turn him inside out.

He caught up a towel, and plunged his hand into the warm water to pull out the plug. She trembled, her gaze clinging to his. He wrapped his arm around her waist and lifted her right out of the bathtub.

She leaned away from him. "Are you crazy? You'll be soaked. We'll have water all over the floor." Her hands went to her long, thick hair, wringing it out hastily over the tub so that water streamed from the silky mass.

He set her feet on the bathmat and wrapped her in a towel. "I don't have a stitch on other than a towel. A little water never hurt anyone." He began drying her, using a slow, deliberately sensual massage, paying attention to every part of her body.

Lexi stood frozen, one hand on his shoulder. He could feel the tremors running through her body as she stood very still for him. His heart swelled. He felt almost overwhelmed with love for her. She was so frightened, yet she refused to give in.

In spite of the towel moving over her, little shivers shook her body. He took his time, warming her gently. The towel rasped gently over her nipples and teased at the undersides of her breasts. As he dipped the towel a little lower to wipe the water from her rib cage, he bent his head to her breasts, a slow, seductive descent, waiting for her to protest. When she didn't, he licked at her nipples, breathed warm air over them and drew one breast into the heat of his mouth.

She made a little sound, a breathy, soft moan, and her arm came up to cradle his head. He forgot for a moment he was drying her off, losing himself in the sheer pleasure of her soft body. His tongue flicked her nipple, his teeth tugged gently. He suckled first one, then the other.

You're so brave, Lexi. I'm proud of you. He teased at her nipple, drawing her deep in the heat of his mouth.

I don't know what I'm doing.

You're showing me you love me. He couldn't help kissing his way over the curve of her breasts back up to her mouth. Her lips trembled just like the rest of her, but were soft and warm and welcoming under his.

She had no idea just what it meant to him that she had gathered her courage and stood up stark naked in the bathtub, offering herself to him. As seductions went, most wouldn't consider it sexy. He found her the sexiest woman alive.

She was fragile and innocent in spite of the years she'd spent as a prisoner to a depraved madman. He felt privileged and humbled that she chose him and had worked hard to conquer her fears in order to come to him.

He could spend a lifetime kissing her. She gave herself without reservation to him when he kissed her. He left her mouth reluctantly to kiss his way back down to the tips of her breasts.

You're so beautiful. I love your body. You're warm and so damned soft, Lexi. When I touch you, I feel as if I've found my way home.

Her arms crept around his head again, holding him to her. Her long lashes fluttered and veiled the expression in her eyes, but it didn't matter. He felt her moving in his mind.

You are home here with me.

Her voice was tentative. Shy. Loving. His heart contracted. She could bring him to his knees so easily, and she didn't even know the power she wielded.

You are my home. You. Not a place. Just you. When he called her his sun, or his angel, he meant it.

He kissed his way down her ribs, using the towel to catch a few drops of water while his hands shaped her and his mouth worshiped her.

Someday I'm going to buy you a little adornment I can play with. His tongue dipped into her belly button.

Her breath caught in her throat. I always wanted one so I could get a chain, a really fine gold link chain with little bells on it.

Instantly he visualized her stark naked, dancing in front of the firelight with only that chain around her hips. His blood thundered in his ears. He crouched low and brought the towel up her ankle to her calf, leaning in to sip at the water on the insides of her thighs. His hair brushed against her legs, and his fingers bit into her hips.

Both of her hands caught at his shoulders for support. She went very still but she didn't protest. He ran his tongue up higher, chasing the drops up toward the vee at the junction of her legs. Her legs quivered and she made a small strangled sound in the back of her throat.

"I think I need dessert tonight, laskovaya moya," he murmured. "Do you have any objections?" Before she could answer, he tossed the towel aside and lifted her, carrying her to the bed.

"I don't know what that means," she answered. Her eyes met his and then slid away shyly. "Not exactly."

"It means I want to eat you like candy." He practically growled the explanation. "I could devour you whole and never get enough." He bent his head to hers, brushing coaxing kisses over her trembling lips. "Try this for me. If you don't like it, we'll stop."

He wanted to devour her for real. Touching her soft skin drove him nearly out of his mind. A jackhammer seemed to penetrate his skull and his blood pounded hard in his veins in sheer desperation but she deserved so much more.

Lexi stared up at Gavriil's face, totally mesmerized. His features were dark with sensuality, his hooded eyes the color of midnight, filled with so much desire, he took her breath away. She was terrified, truly terrified, but there was no resisting him and the sudden need to learn more about the absolute pleasure she knew he could give her.

She swallowed hard as he tossed the sheet, her only protection, out of his way. His towel came next and she couldn't help glancing down at his manhood. He was intimidating, much thicker and longer than she remembered. Up close he was terrifying, yet his hands slid over her body with such tenderness he disarmed her.

His body moved over hers, covering her like a blanket. Caine had made her face away from him. He hadn't wanted to look at her as he rutted. Gavriil stared into her eyes, and held her gently. His mouth came down on hers and she tasted passion. Aggression. Love.

Tears burned behind her eyes. She couldn't believe a man could act so loving toward her. No one had ever made her feel loved and beautiful and wanted. She gave herself up to his kisses, absorbing the way his body felt against hers. Hard. All muscle. Hot. All over.

She found she liked the difference in the way his body felt against hers. He made her feel feminine and protected. His kisses brought an ache to her breasts and tension between her legs. She held on to her love for him as he kissed his way down to her breasts. Her skin burned, flames licking at her. She felt damp heat gathering between her legs.

Relax, solnyshko moya, trust me to take good care of you.

She did trust him, but it was difficult to relax when her body felt heavy and unfamiliar and so... desperate. He was setting up a deep craving in her and there was a part of her that feared where it would take her.

I can't breathe. She had no idea a woman could feel this way. Needy. Hungry. Unable to control her body. She tried to stop moving, but her hips couldn't be still and she feared they were taking on a life of their own, desperate for his body. She felt empty and needed him to fill her.

I can't breathe without you.

He whispered the admission into her mind. His voice felt like velvet moving over her hot skin, brushing caresses right along with his tongue and hands. His mouth closed over her breast and just like his kiss, his mouth was more aggressive. He suckled strongly and used the edge of his teeth and the flat of his tongue to drive her up fast.

She heard her own moan, and the sound startled her. It was all happening too fast her body not her own, but his. He seemed to know exactly where to touch her, to kiss her, even those small stinging bites fed her growing hunger. She really couldn't catch her breath, but she didn't want him to stop.

Her breasts were sensitive and responsive to each tug and pull of his fingers. Jagged lightning sizzled through her bloodstream, connecting her breasts to her feminine core. Her pulse thundered, roaring in her ears. The tension between her legs built unrelentingly.

Lexi buried her fingers in his hair, trying to find a way to steady herself when she felt as if any moment she might fly apart. She really couldn't quite catch her breath.

Gavriil? She needed reassurance. Needed to know that she'd survive. She knew better than to think she'd ever be the same. Is so much pleasure a sin? How could it not be?

If so, I'll take sinning over fire and brimstone any day. He pressed a kiss in the valley between her breasts and lifted his head, his eyes meeting hers.

Her heart slammed in her chest. His eyes were dark and sensual, hooded with fierce desire so intense she felt her feminine sheath contract in response.

"I'm loving you, Lexi. My way. The way a man is meant to love his woman. I'm worshiping your body, expressing my feelings for you in the way I'm best at. This is love my way. I can't imagine that we're not meant to love each other."

Before she could reply he bent his head to her body again. His body pinned hers down. The strength in his hands was enormous. He seemed on the edge of his control, his features carved with harsh sensuality. She should have been afraid of him, but she was more afraid of herself. Of the ever-building need growing so strong inside of her.

Gavriil kissed his way to her belly button, dipping his tongue there, while one hand slid between her legs to feel her slick heat. She cried out, the sound shocking her. Just that simple touch had her squirming, her hips bucking. She was embarrassed that she couldn't hold still, her body writhing with need and a hunger she'd never known before.

"Gavriil?" She caught at his hair, the only thing left to her.

He didn't lift his head but stroked his tongue down her belly. Just relax for me, Lexi. I'll take care of you. Breathe. You'll like this, I promise.