Celia could not form an immediate response. For a moment, she simply stood in the shadow of his body and basked in the comfort his presence created. There was something ridiculously intimate about the way he knelt and gathered her books. How he spoke in that husky dulcet voice of his as if intent on gaining her trust. Yes. There was something exhilarating about it all. Something horribly… perfect.

“Lady Celia?” Gabriel’s head tilted at her silence, his eyes glittering like gold dust in the brightly lit corridor. “If you will lead the way, I shall follow.”

His voice dropped into little more than a coaxing whisper. It did strange things to Celia’s insides. Made her tingle in the most surprising places and ache in others. She didn’t understand how he possessed such power, but it was alarming. And it was certainly inappropriate she should feel anything at all for this man when no meaningful connection existed between them.

“Um, the rear terrace. The others await me there,” she finally stuttered, cheeks flushing with embarrassment. She was behaving like a complete half-wit who’d never been in the presence of a handsome man before.

“Very well.” Gabriel released her arm and Celia felt the loss immediately. It was as though the sun had gone behind a cloud.

Did he know how he affected her? She suspected he did. The beginnings of a smile made his lips twitch. Lips that looked firm and irrationally plush at the same time. Everything about Gabriel Rose was an annoying, mysterious contradiction. She was foolishly fascinated by the paradox this man presented to the world.

A nod of his head was a deferential invitation that she begin walking ahead of him. “My lady.”

Taking a deep breath, Celia started down the corridor. A cloak of politeness settled over her, tamping down the attraction she was experiencing. She was the daughter of an earl, for goodness sakes. And being unnerved by someone outside her social circle was unacceptable. And dangerous. “Thank you for your assistance, Mister Rose.”

Gabriel chuckled, his amusement setting her teeth on edge yet again.

Blast the man.

“Think nothing of it, Lady Celia. It appears I have a habit of coming to your aid when you are in need.”

CHAPTER 3

Gabriel Rose clenched his teeth.

The whisperings from inside Ravenswood’s library began low, but the tone was climbing higher. He could hear the anger in their voices, although thick oak doors muffled the sound.

He knew who was inside that room. Awareness sent an unfamiliar noise rising in his throat. It was almost a growl. A tiny sound constructed of annoyance and foreboding. Certainly, nothing good would come of this situation.

It was two o’clock in the morning. If anyone should stumble across either him or the couple whispering furiously behind those library doors, there would be hell to pay.

“Ow!”

“Serves you right, you miscreant—Oh! How dare you? Stop that! Stop this very instant!”