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She belonged to him, this woman She was created for him She was the one woman he could bind to him Gavriil pressed his thumb into the center of his pal hi that back either He didn't get a do-over--and that eht, that pain, was far worse of a burden than the physical one he bore

She was the youngest woman on the farm where his brothers lived Lexi, they called her She turned her head abruptly toward the back of the property and just as suddenly switched direction

The e far on it, he'd felt the ripples of power and knew the farerous, but by elements Earth Air Water Fire He even felt spirit

Had he been less powerful in his own right, without his own gifts, he would have been far e along a broken path Nothing could deter hi like the ghost he was through the heavy foliage as she made her way toward some secret destination

Gavriil knew she was going somewhere important to her, and that she didn't want anyone to know She lances around her, as if she suspected someone watched her He kneouldn't set off her radar He didn't give off enough energy to do that, not even when he was slipping up on his prey and about to deliver the killing blow

He glided rather than stepped He had learned to walk softly in his school as a young boy, but pain was an even better teacher Taking heavier steps jarred his body She was ht for a vehicle, a sone quite pale

So for wildlife, a bird, a squirrel, anything at all The skies were suspiciously empty He didn't trust it when a forest was silent in the earlyhours Even the insects had ceased their continuous racket So He felt it with every step he took He could tell she felt it as well, but she didn't believe

Lexi Tho to the back of the property where she'd left the little trail wagon parked She wanted to take another look at the adjoining property that was up for sale--now in escrow Thomas and Levi had put a bid on it, and the owners had sold quickly without negotiating too long She was very excited about the possibilities the acreage represented

The far far more than she expected the first year out The orchards were yielding large crops, and the fruit was fantastic Her lettuce field had been ruined by a helicopter landing right in the middle of it when some men had coed to save soed to save Airiana

The bottom line was Lexi needed more space--and someone to help All the other wo those other businesses had been necessary to support the far comfortably in the black, and she intended it to stay that way She worked hard every single day, from sunrise to sunset and s

ometimes more She poured herself into the far work There was only one of her and she needed help if the farm was to continue to sustain them

She sighed softly The proble the food, but each of them had their own business--ones they loved--outside the farm She wasn't certain how to approach the others to tell them she needed more full-time help

Lexi stuck her thu leftover habit she continually vowed she'd quit When she realized what she was doing, she snatched her thumbnail from between her teeth and rubbed her palm down the side of her jeans

She was suddenly uneasy, and she stopped and took a careful look around She spentin her She knew she was paranoid, especially ever since her sister of the heart Airiana and her fiance, Max, brought home four very traumatized children

The children's parents and a sister had beenHad not Airiana and Max rescued them, they would have been killed

Knowing children were on the far terrible could happen to them, had made her more paranoid than ever She realized her thuain and she blew out her breath in total exasperation

She detested being the weak link on the farm with her panic attacks and paranoia She tried toa success of their family business She couldn't sleep in her house, or bed She'd tried, and she just couldn't do it

To her everlasting shame, when she was so exhausted she knew she had to sleep, she would sleep in the porch swing, or in the sleeping bag she had stashed in the corner of the porch, out of sight Sometimes she even slept on the roof She kneas silly, but the house didn't feel safe to her Nothing felt safe