“Skyler,” Gabriel said very gently, “if you do not wish to read my emotions or my thoughts, then you will be shielded from them. If it would reassure you to do so, then, by all means, let us begin.”
Her large dove-gray eyes were very expressive as they moved over his face. He waited quietly, allowing her to make up her own mind. Eventually she nodded. Gabriel took her hand with extraordinary gentleness, leaned close so that his black eyes could trap Skyler’s gaze in the dark depths of his. She didn’t even blink. When the young woman made up her mind to do something, she threw her heart and soul into it and did it 100 percent. He would have to keep that in mind when he was trying out his nonexistent parenting skills.
She startled him with her laughter, not aloud, but in her mind. “I’m reading your mind, too,” she reminded him.
“Great, you are going to be a pain in the neck, just like Francesca,” he groused, teasing her gently while flooding his mind with the extent of his love for Francesca, with his warmth and feelings of protectiveness toward Skyler. She felt his presence in her mind occasionally, but she didn’t realize he had already shared her memories of her childhood. That would have humiliated her. He knew it instinctively and had no intention of allowing her to be embarrassed. She read what he wanted her to read. His desire to welcome Skyler into his family, his hope he would be a good parent, someone who would protect her and guide her and always make her feel safe. He shared his feelings of inadequacy as a husband, his fears he would somehow let Francesca down. He loved Francesca more than life itself and he allowed Skyler to know he would grow to love her the same way.
All the time, he was delving deeper into her mind in an attempt to find a trace of power, a hint that his twin intended to use her to strike against Francesca. He saw Francesca’s work and it was flawless. He saw their combined safeguards, the strong protection they had wrought together, yet he could find no trace of Lucian, no hint of tainted power, no dark hidden agenda. Gabriel was careful, searching everywhere for the slightest anomaly, finding many, examining them all meticulously. She seemed to be free of all outside forces.
He sighed softly, releasing her before his sudden, unexpected surge of anger transmitted itself to Skyler. She had been hideously abused and the raw wounds in her mind would forever leave scars. She was an extraordinary young woman with rare insight and gifts beyond measure. But the man who should have loved and protected her had been the very one to initiate and perpetuate the abuse.
Gabriel was careful to breathe deeply, wanting to appear completely calm and in control. He knew that Skyler would be terrified by any masculine displays of temper. Lucian had already destroyed Skyler’s abusers one by one. He had taken the girl’s enemies as part of his little chess game with Gabriel, to show he knew what Gabriel knew.
“Did you see anything in there that changes your mind about wanting to take me home with you and Francesca?” There was a challenge in Skyler’s soft voice but her gaze had slid away from his the instant he released her.
Gabriel caught her chin in two fingers and tipped it up so she had to look at him. “You have an astonishing mind. I stand in awe of you and the things you have accomplished and the things you are capable of doing. I am honored you would want me to serve as your guardian along with Francesca. Did you not see yourself through my eyes?” He asked it very gently.
A faint flush of color crept up her face. “I’m not like that. Not like you think of me—courageous and brave and beautiful. No one else thinks that.” When he continued to look at her the color deepened. “Well, only Francesca, but she doesn’t have a mean bone in her body. She would find something nice to say about a monster.”