Read Online Forbidden (The Gabriel Lennox Series Book 1) by M.L. Desir - Free Book Online

Colin called over his shoulder.
    He frowned. “Listening and thinking, young Colin.”
    “Care to share . . . your thoughts?” His voice had dropped an octave in a husky whisper that a woman would most likely have found quite arousing. Gabriel just found it disturbing.
    “Drop the seductive stance and just drive, Colin. Drive ,” he ordered. “I don’t need the kind of company you’re thinking about.”
    “Aha! So, you’re saying you can read my mind?” Colin asked.
    “. . . Something like that,” Gabriel answered, putting as much hostility in his voice as possible, but Colin paid it no mind and burst into golden laughter, which filled the quiet night with something near to beauty, until Nathaniel spoiled it by adding, “Reading minds? Would you like me to demonstrate, darling Colin?”
    When Colin shuddered, Gabriel knew the cold had nothing to do with it. He sensed that Colin knew it, too.

CHAPTER 8
Light and Darkness
    WEALTH HAD COME EASILY to Gabriel, and with it, although he could’ve acquired one of the finest mansions in London’s West End, Nathaniel thought it better that they stay aloof and out of the hawkish eyes of aristocrats. And servants were always an afterthought. As a child, his parents occasionally had one or two, to help with cooking and cleaning. Now that he had grown older, he couldn’t stand the thought of people always hovering around him like gnats that needed to be swatted. So, they resided in a two-story flat near the city. Compared to the homes of Sevien and Michel, the interior décor of his home may have been Spartan, but it belonged to him, and he called it sanctuary.
    Gabriel took his keys out and opened the door. He rushed upstairs leaving Colin and Nathaniel behind. He wanted nothing more than a bath after his visit to the slums. And then sleep. He didn’t need to sleep, but he often used it as a convenient and easy way to endure the slow passage of time.
    He should’ve lingered in the parlor to show Colin around, go over his duties, but he preferred to leave Nathaniel to see to those tasks, and that way, he wouldn’t be left open to another of his lectures on Enlightening others. Even though that hadn’t been brought up, he knew Nathaniel would mention the topic soon. He wanted to close himself away in his room to postpone it.
    Gabriel moved in a blur through the mirrored hallway that led to his room. Once there, he shut the door and went into the bathroom. He plugged the bath’s drain and turned on the hot water faucet. The tub filled up, and when the steaming water reached halfway, he turned it off and stripped. Taking a box of powdered soap, he poured its contents into the porcelain tub, then sloshed his fingers in it to produce suds. He stepped into fragrant, steaming water, and the warmth on his skin was delicious. The soap smelled like lavender, a soothing scent. He took a washcloth from the railing and scrubbed himself clean. Dunking his head into the water, he rubbed shampoo into his hair, working it into a good lather before rinsing it. Once he finished, he decided to linger a little longer, pleased that the water still retained some warmth. Closing his eyes, he leaned back to soak and to think.
    The door to the bathroom opened, and Gabriel’s eyes snapped open to behold Nathaniel. “Go away. I’m trying to relax.”
    Nathaniel sat on the floor by the tub, smiling.
    Gabriel rolled his eyes. “Since you’re obviously not going to leave me in peace, then you might as well converse with me. Where’s Colin? Did he try to escape yet? He probably knew that it was you who made him tremble with your voice. What a foul trick.”
    “ Ahhh. I daresay that you just complimented the human’s perception. Well, our Colin, he took a quick, much- needed bath and is now sleeping in one of the guests’ bedrooms. With the dirt gone, you’d be amazed with how pretty he is.”
    Gabriel raised an eyebrow. Pretty? It wasn’t impossible, but he found it unusual for a man