His smile faded. "Lexi." He pushed back the wild fall of hair so he could see her face. "You aren't going to panic because we made love, are you?"

"I don't feel like panicking, Gavriil," she replied seriously. "But that doesn't mean I won't."

"If I reach for you in the middle of the night, will that make you panic?" He watched her closely, needing to know that she would welcome him that she trusted him with her body and her heart.

"I can't say," she said, as truthfully as possible. "I don't honestly know what brings on a panic attack, but right now, all I can say is that I love the way you touch me. I love the things you do to me." She started to say something and then stopped herself, biting her lip and turning her head away from him.

Deliberately, Gavriil leaned down and bit her shapely butt.

"Ow." She turned back toward him, glaring. "What was that for?"

"Not talking. Not telling me something important to you. Spill it woman, even if it embarrasses you."

She moistened her lips. "Do you have to be so good at reading me?"

"Yes, because you aren't used to sharing what you're feeling. I'm not either. We both have to work on it." He ran his hand over her bottom, his fingers finding one of the many scars and tracing it gently. He couldn't help himself, he leaned down and pressed kisses along the shiny path.

"Don't you dare bite me again," she cautioned, tensing. "I'll shove you right off this bed."

He laughed. "You could try, angel moy, but you're very little and I'm very big, in case you haven't noticed the difference in our sizes." His hand massaged her bottom with slow, sensuous circles. "Talk to me."

She sighed. "I suppose I knew all along you wouldn't get sidetracked. I can only feel what I'm feeling. My body, I mean. I can't tell what you're feeling. When you..." She trailed off, blushing.

"What?" He raised an eyebrow. "I did a lot of things to you. Things I plan to do as often as possible. You'll have to be specific."

"You're making this difficult deliberately," she accused.

"I'm trying to show you there's no need to be embarrassed about anything between us. We belong to each other. What we do, what we share, is between us."

She rolled her eyes, and he splayed his fingers over her bottom, over her deliciously beautiful firm muscles.

"I'm growing very fond of your butt." He bent his head and licked along one of the scars. His teeth nipped, and she gave a startled yelp. "Well talk to me. Distract me, because I'm already getting as hard as a rock again."

Her gaze strayed to the growing cock in his lap. He circled it loosely with his hand. "Looking at you does this to me. Thinking about you does this. Watching you sleep. Hearing you laugh." He grinned at her, unrepentant. "Just about anything at all you do, let alone lying here naked with you."

Lexi bit her lip. His slow massage on her bottom had already started a slow burn deep inside. She couldn't very well lie when he was so forthcoming.

"What were you afraid to talk to me about?" He wasn't going to drop it. "I know it was important."

"What if I can never put my mouth on you the way you did me?" She blurted it out, one of her worst fears.

"Never is a long time, Lexi," he said gently.

"I know. I know it is and you told me not to worry, but I know it's a big thing with men. All the women in the compound talked about it. Some of the older ones tried to help me, but it made me sick." She had to confess, bring it out into the open. "He was furious whenever I got sick and he..." She stopped herself.

His heart contracted painfully for her. He didn't need to hear what the monster had done to her, he was looking at the evidence. "I told you it didn't matter to me."

"I know what you said, Gavriil, but it matters to me. It matters that I can't give you everything."

He bent his head again, this time to press kisses into the small of her back and then up her spine. "You have given me everything. Don't you know that yet? What we have is too good to ever consider throwing it away for such a ridiculous reason."

Lexi remained silent, her large green eyes moving over his face.

He sighed. "Do you remember when you asked me questions, right after we first met, and I told you not to ask me unless you wanted the truth?"

She nodded, her expression very solemn.

"I meant what I told you then. I'm not going to lie to you. Too many people have done that. I never will. Sometimes, solnyshko moya, you'll wish that I did. I'll tell you when something bothers me."

Her long lashes fanned her cheeks. He went still. He knew she was going to give him something important. He could read her now, that small hesitation, the natural reluctance of sharing her past. She didn't want to open the doors on those memories, but they had shaped her life. Shaped who she was.

"Caine really was a pedophile. You can see that I'm curvy. I started getting breasts and hips around the age of thirteen. He couldn't stand looking at me. He didn't want to even use me for sex after that. Just, you know, me having to do things to him."

She bit her lower lip as if reluctant to continue. He rubbed her bottom again, a slow massage meant to soothe her. He wanted her used to his touch. Wanted her able to lie naked with him like this after they made love. He especially wanted her to share her past with him, to trust him that much. Gavriil remained silent, knowing she struggled to continue, but it had to be her choice.

"He would have gotten rid of me I know he thought about it a million times but our farm was a gold mine for the Reverend's church. We practically supported every compound."

"And of course, you were the one, even at such a young age, who made the plants grow for them." He pressed more kisses down her spine and stroked the dark mass of auburn hair spilling down her back.

Lexi nodded. "He tried starving me, to keep me thin. He wouldn't allow me to eat more than one meal a day, but I worked with all the crops so it was easy enough to eat lettuce and tomatoes while I worked."

"And when he found out?"

"He would beat me and then lock me in the box for days. Then he'd be afraid I'd die. It was kind of a vicious circle. That man. Benjamin Frost. The Reverend's right hand. He'd come around and tell Caine he'd take me off his hands. He said Caine wouldn't even have to pay him. I think he suspected I had some kind of gift, but Caine knew if I left, the farm would go downhill. The farm's prosperity gave him power and a certain prestige. He didn't want to lose that."

"And he couldn't break you," Gavriil said, remembering the hatred on Caine's face when he stared at Lexi. He had come looking for her to turn his fortune around again, to punish her for being everything he could never be. Gavriil had seen many men like him over his years in the field.

"I feel broken," Lexi admitted. She frowned. "At least I did. Now that you're here, I don't know what I feel."

"Feel beautiful. Feel feminine. Feel as if you're mine, because you are. And I'm yours. That's our world, Lexi, and those people have no place in it. They don't control you and they can't get to you. I'm standing between you and them and I always will. You can count on that. And you can count on the fact that I'm very, very good at my job."

"Are you going to let Jonas Harrington go after the men threatening me?"

"Sure. He can look for them all he wants and wait until they commit a crime he can lock them up for. Of course they'll get out again in a few years if that happens." Gavriil knew he sounded complacent too complacent, but prison for men like Benjamin Frost was simply a revolving door. Frost knew how to work the system and when he couldn't, he got others to take care of witnesses.

"Basically it's who finds him first, right? And I told you where to look for him." She rubbed her chin on the sheets, her tone thoughtful.

He shrugged. "You women wanted the chance to clear out the innocents. I'm all for that, and I can wait. I've got eyes and ears on him now. He isn't going to slip through my fingers because you need to wait for a foggy day. He can't sneak up on us. You're safe here on the farm. The fog will come soon enough."

"What if Jonas gets him first? Ilya might tell him where they are."

"Ilya is my brother. He's loyal to Jonas and the Drakes, there's no doubt about that, but this is a family matter. We keep family safe."

"What does that mean?"

"It means I find anyone who is a threat to our family and I eliminate them. That's what I do, Lexi. I'll make certain I get every last one of them, just to keep you and the others safe." He leaned down again and pressed another kiss into the small of her back. "I'll be right back. I'm going to run you a hot bath. You need to soak for a few minutes or you'll be very sore. You, my little woman, are impossibly tight. And I'm rather..."

Her eyes widened with a hint of mischief in them. "Large?"

He laughed and made his way to the bathtub, running the hot water while he found bath salts. Dumping in a generous amount, he added cold, checking the temperature. "You're not falling asleep, are you?"

"Yes. Go away. Feed the pup. I'm exhausted."

"You're taking a bath and then you can fall asleep."

"You're just plain bossy. I thought I was supposed to be the boss, wasn't that the deal we had?"

The drowsy note in her voice drove him crazy. How was he ever supposed to resist her when she sounded sexy and tempting? "As I remember, that was when we were working the farm together. I'm certain I was a perfect helper. I did everything you said. This is my expertise."

She made a disparaging sound. He was fairly certain she'd rolled her eyes. He found her lying exactly as he left her. "If you don't soak in hot water, you'll be too sore for more lovemaking and I've got ideas."

"Go away. I'm too tired for lovemaking, or feeding pups tonight. You're on your own. I'm sleeping right here like this, so leave the fire on."

He rolled her over and lifted her easily into his arms, cradling her against his chest. "Bath time, solnyshko moya."

"You said that meant your sun. Maybe I could be your moon. As in night. Sleep." She wrapped her arms around his neck and laid her head against his heart, her lashes sweeping down.

He put her down into the hot, steaming water.

She gasped and then smiled up at him. "Maybe this was a good idea after all. I didn't realize I was so sore."

He brushed a kiss on top of her head, standing over her, emotion overwhelming him. "I'm going to always take good care of you, Lexi. I haven't ever loved a woman before. It's a new, raw experience. You're my only. The one." Because the wealth of emotion was overpowering, he turned away from her. "I'm going to get the pup his supplement, and you contemplate how much I love you for the next few minutes. Let it sink in."

Lexi stared after him, shocked at his last comment. They danced around the word love. It was put out there a few times when Gavriil told her the difference between making love and having sex, but neither one of them was very good at expressing the emotion.

She should have told him she loved him. She hadn't actually said it to him. She wasn't certain she could without crying. After her family had been murdered, her "sisters" had saved her life. She had gone to the group therapy as a last resort, and without the women she loved as her family, she wouldn't have made it through those terrible times. But Gavriil...

Gavriil had given her a life, not simply an existence. She didn't know how to feel about his plan to keep them safe. She wasn't exactly happy about it, but she was tired of being afraid. Tired of knowing she didn't dare leave the farm just in case someone spotted her. He was a strong man, a man she could rely on, and there was no doubt in her mind that he would do everything in his power to keep her safe.

Why had Caine come back? Why was Benjamin Frost threatening her? He hadn't liked Caine. Even as a child she could tell he didn't. Caine had been pompous and vain. He believed himself the ultimate authority and didn't like Frost around because he scared everyone. Caine's congregation seemed more respectful and fearful of Frost.

The more prosperous the farm became, the more Caine took credit. He wanted the Reverend's attention. Frost suspected Lexi had something to do with the farm's sudden increase in production, although he couldn't understand why, and when it became apparent Caine no longer wanted her, Frost had come to him with a deal. He'd replace Lexi with a young girl if Caine gave Lexi to him.

She shivered, remembering Frost's vicious stare. He wasn't trying to save her from Caine, that much was certain. She'd learned to get away with a few things and had even begun planning her escape. The last thing she wanted to do was go with Frost. Caine had refused to hand her over, citing the sanctity of marriage. That effectively stopped him from taking another child bride. He'd had to choose between his sexual depravity and his need to be seen by the Reverend as all powerful.

"You're crying."

Lexi's eyes flew open. Gavriil towered over her, looking like an avenging angel a dark one, but still her guardian angel. His voice was harsh, his features a stone mask. In his arms he cradled Lyutyj. Her heart gave a little stutter at the sight. She could see him holding a child in his arms just as securely. She knew he would never drop that puppy, no matter what happened. He was a big man, a strong man, but that small living creature was totally safe in his arms.

"I'm not crying because of you. Or us. Never that, Gavriil. Too many memories close. Frost. Caine." She shook her head. "They have no place here in our home. I don't want them to come between us."

She stood up and allowed the water to drain from the tub, taking the towel he handed her as she stepped out. "Do you want children?" The question came out of nowhere. She shocked herself by asking it.

He didn't appear thrown in the least. He didn't even blink. He took her hand and led her back into the bedroom. Sinking down into the chair, he began to feed the puppy with the bottle. Since taking his mother's milk, little Lyutyj could use a regular nipple and greedily took the supplement.

"I had never considered such a thing, Lexi. Me? A father? How could this be when I didn't have a woman of my own? A woman I loved more than life itself? I didn't really think about it until Lucia came over and I saw the two of you with your heads together and you looked so perfectly right."

He reached out his hand, the one with the bottle in it, to run his finger over her abdomen. "Look at you. A woman is such a miracle. Her ability to keep a child safe and secure inside of her amazes me."

His voice made her shiver. His eyes darkened, desire glittering there.

"Once a certain politician, a friend of Sorbacov's, decided he wanted his wife dead. She was pregnant and he had a much younger mistress. I didn't know why Sorbacov ordered the hit, but when I saw her, I knew there was more to it than I'd been told. She was no spy. She was no threat to our country. I did my own investigation. Now, she and her child live somewhere safe, far away from Sorbacov. She has no worries that her husband will ever pursue her or get his friend to send another operative after her again."

Lexi moved behind his chair and circled his neck with her arms, leaning down to hold him close to her. His memories were every bit as horrendous as hers were. She wanted to erase them all for him and replace them with something far different. Laughter. Peace. A home and a woman who loved him.

"I'm glad you stayed with me, Gavriil," she whispered, and brushed his ear with her lips. "I think we're good for each other."

18.

"Conditions are perfect tonight," Blythe said, looking back toward the mountainous road. They had parked their vehicles carefully in the trees where they couldn't be seen. "It's definitely a go."

Levi, perched on the tailgate of their pickup beside Rikki, nodded. "We have numerous recordings and we know the main event takes place each evening at eight o'clock. Everyone is inside the building and sitting by precisely eight. If they dare to be late, there's hell to pay."

Lexi shivered. Gavriil didn't change expression or even look at her, but he shifted his weight imperceptibly closer and his palm slid down her arm to her wrist.

We're taking them down, solnyshko moya, there's no need for bad memories.

Lexi took a deep breath. "Were there any young brides there?"

"None that we saw," Ilya said. "We were careful to study each of the tapes over and over, Lexi. This compound seems to be operating independently of any others. At least, if there are others, this group doesn't actively interact with them."

The eleven of them six women and five men huddled in a circle under cover of the trees. From the road they were impossible to see, even with four vehicles. They were still a distance from the compound where Frost ruled, but they'd have to get closer on foot to avoid detection.

"How many enforcers?" Lissa asked.

"Six," Gavriil answered. "All six men answer to the man by the name of Benjamin Frost, the one who threatened Lexi on the message machine."

Lexi cleared her throat. Her fingers twisted together. Gavriil noted with a silent curse that each of his brothers noticed the sign of nerves. He laid his hand gently over hers, stilling the action.

"Frost worked exclusively with the Reverend," Lexi said, her voice strained. "He went around to each compound and gave the leaders their orders. No one made a decision without his permission. His punishments were extremely brutal. Not even Caine wanted to go against him, although he stood up to him when Frost tried to get him to hand me over. Because Caine was supposedly my husband, Frost couldn't just take me, although several key members believed that Frost was the actual leader of the cult and the Reverend was merely his front man, chosen because he had so much charisma. Whether that's true or not, no one knows for certain."

Max paced under the trees restlessly. "It's clear he's comfortable in the role of leader. He never has to ask twice, and when he enters the meeting hall, there's absolute silence. No one even fidgets."

"Can we see what's happening in the hall where they meet from the entrance to their compound?" Airiana asked.

"You can't be there," Thomas said instantly.

"Anywhere near there," Gavriil added.

Before any of the women could protest, Thomas continued. "Frost has his own security cameras set up. We've marked them on the map surrounding the compound. Frost is smart though. He set up the night vision cameras he did have to give the maximum amount of coverage surrounding his compound."

"Clearly they no longer have the money they had when the Reverend was around, or the manpower," Maxim stated.