Read Online Earth Bound by Christine Feehan - Free Book Online Page A

him.
    No one had ever done such a thing for him. No one. He was humbled by her. Shocked. Outraged. He feared her complete power over him—and she had all the power whether she knew it or not.
    â€œOf course. Come into the house.”
    Lexi found herself nervous all over again—this time not because she was bringing a stranger into her home—but because she was attracted to him. She’d never been attracted to any man. She hadn’t thought it possible. He was lost just as she was. Maybe worse. He’d gone down a path she so easily could have gone down without her sisters.
    He’d thought about killing her. She saw him, the wounded animal that he hid from everyone else, and he’d been so fearful that he actually had considered striking out at her. Just the way a cornered, wounded animal would. She’d stayed very still, breathing for both of them, accepting his decision. Waiting for him to make up his mind. Was he going back to the shadows, or was he going to try to live.
    Gavriil Prakenskii was a man worth fighting for. Heneeded someone to throw him a lifeline. Everyone saw the violence in him, but no one seemed to see his pain—or his worth. She did. She identified with him.
    She knew Gavriil had to be more uncomfortable than she was and that helped her to move with confidence through her house, pointing out the bathrooms and showing him each bedroom so he could choose the one he’d feel safest in while he slept—if he could actually sleep.
    Lexi preferred wide-open spaces so she could see what was coming at her. Her house, unlike most of her sisters’, was a single story. She didn’t want to be trapped upstairs and not have an easy escape. The house was long and branched out in all four directions, east, west, south and north, with the living room being the central location. Great arches led the way to the various directions.
    The kitchen was situated to the east. She liked to look out over the sink when she worked, either cooking or cleaning, out the large windows to the forest toward the back of the property. Two bedrooms were located on the southern side, opening from the great room via the arches. A large sunroom was located to the west. A jungle of plants grew everywhere and the sound of running water could be heard. The main bedroom was situated on the northern side.
    Situated in the very back leading to a large verandah was an immense atrium, a lush indoor rain forest with a jungle of plants, water flowing into a small pond and tiny birds flitting from one plant to the next. The atrium ran the length of the house. He’d never seen anything like it. The sound of water was soothing, and the floor-to-ceiling plants definitely made one feel serenity and far from the craziness of crowds.
    Her furniture was Asian. She surrounded herself with calm. Prevailing colors were black, white and red. She hoped Gavriil felt at peace in her home. Each piece of furniture was something she loved, but she didn’t have much of it.
    â€œWhere do you sleep?” Gavriil asked. He’d looked into each of the three bedrooms and none of them looked livedin. Her house was beautiful and comfortable, but she didn’t live there. She lived outside among the trees and vegetation.
    â€œThe bedroom to the north is my bedroom.”
    â€œHave you ever actually slept in it?”
    She ducked her head and smiled at the hardwood floor. “No one’s ever asked me that before. No. I never have.”
    â€œWhere do you sleep?” he repeated.
    â€œOutside. On the porch,” she admitted.
    â€œThat’s why you have the sleeping bag stashed out there.” He shook his head, fighting not to touch her. “It gets cold here.”
    Lexi lifted her head, smiling at him. Her smile had a way of turning his insides to mush. Everything about her was a new experience for him. He was finding out more about himself the longer he was in her company, more than he’d ever