Chapter 10

I couldn’t get what Gabriel had told me last night out of my mind, but I couldn’t stay cooped up in this room any longer. The silence was already driving me crazy.

With Gabriel busy in meetings downstairs, I decided to explore the quiet corners of the East Wing.

I kept to the main hall, remembering Mrs. Gable’s warning about the guards, but my feet naturally carried me past the grand bedrooms toward a narrow, dark hallway I hadn't noticed before.

At the very end of the corridor stood a plain wooden door. It looked older than the rest, tucked behind a heavy red velvet curtain.

Curiosity got the better of me. I looked over my shoulder to make sure the hall was empty, then reached out and gently pushed the door. To my surprise, it gave way with a tiny, soft creak, revealing a dimly lit room filled with covered furniture, old paintings, and tall mirrors.

I took a small step closer, peering through the crack.

In the center of the dusty room, past the tall mirrors, stood the tall shadow of a man. He was standing completely upright on his own two feet, his broad shoulders squared, reaching up to adjust a frame on the wall.

My heart slammed against my ribs. I gasped softly, blinking hard. Standing? On his own feet?

Before I could step inside or get a clearer look through the dusty glass, a shadow shifted in the corner.

Suddenly, a motor hummed quietly, and the figure turned. There sat Gabriel, firmly planted in his heavy electric wheelchair, his dark charcoal jacket buttoned tight, his storm-gray eyes locked onto me.

I froze, my throat dry as bone. Could my eyes be deceiving me? Had I just seen a trick of the light in the old mirrors, or was someone else in the room? I looked toward the wall, but there was no one else there—just Gabriel in his chair, staring at me with a lethal intensity.

Before I could utter a single word, Gabriel hit the control on his armrest.

The heavy wheelchair surged forward with terrifying speed. I tried to jump back into the hallway, but the huge front wheels cut me off. The heavy footrests slammed right up against my shins, pinning me tightly against the cold wood paneling of the wall.

I was trapped.

Gabriel leaned forward out of his seat, his massive hands slapping hard against the wall on either side of my head with a loud *thud*. His broad body completely blocked out the dim light of the hallway, boxing me in entirely.

His face was inches from mine. I could see the tiny flecks of dark silver in his gray eyes, the tight clenching of his sharp jawline, and the faint scar along his neck pulsing with rapid heat. The warm scent of cedarwood and rain rushed over me, instantly filling my lungs.

"What did I tell you about wandering into rooms you don't belong in, Clara?" he rasped, his voice dropping into a dangerous, gravelly whisper that vibrated right through my chest.

"I... I was just walking," I choked out, my hands pressed flat against the cold wall behind me. "The door was open."

"Curiosity gets people killed in this house," Gabriel growled, his eyes narrowing as he leaned in even closer, so close his lips almost brushed the shell of my ear. "You signed a contract. You stay in your place, or I will lock you away where even the sun can't find you."

His words were cold threats, meant to terrify me and drive me away. But the sheer proximity between us made my blood run hot.

Pressed flush against the front of his chair and his broad frame, I could feel the violent, rapid thudding of a heart against his chest. It wasn't steady or calm like a tyrant's. It was racing wildly, pounding in the exact same frantic rhythm as my own.

My gaze dropped to his lips, then back up to his stormy eyes. He noticed.

Gabriel’s breath hitched slightly, his rough chest expanding against mine as he held me pinned. The terrifying anger in his face flickered, replaced by a sudden, heavy spark of raw heat that snapped through the quiet air between us. Neither of us moved. Neither of us breathed.

He was threatening to destroy me, yet the way his gaze lingered on my mouth made my pulse scream in my ears.

"What did you see in there, Clara?" he asked softly, his tone shifting from a threat to something deep, dark, and dangerously intimate.

"I... I thought I saw someone," I whispered, my voice trembling as my eyes searched his. "Standing."

Gabriel’s jaw locked tight as stone, his hands gripping the wall so hard the wood groaned beneath his fingers. For a second, a flash of pure panic crossed his dark features before he pulled his icy wall back up.

"You saw shadows," he whispered, his hot breath brushing over my cheek, sending an electric shiver straight down my spine. "Don't let your eyes play tricks on you. Or you might discover secrets you won't survive."