Page 18 of Touched By Destiny
Although their souls had barely touched, Gabriel refused to consider adding to his woes by fucking anyone else. He wasn’t even sure if it was possible. Soulmates couldn’t cheat once fully bound, but when in the process did they lose the ability to respond to others? Gabriel had no fucking clue, and he wasn’t about to ask Clark for his input.
“Gabriel, there’s no reason to put it off,” Clark reasoned. “The house in California is empty. You can stay there if you’d like. We can have a jet on the tarmac ready to whisk you off for a week or two of relaxation in a couple of hours. Food and whatever other essentials you need can be delivered, but you should go out and meet people too.”
“You want me to gotoday?” Gabriel asked incredulously.
“Rhonda can go ghost-hunting with Eric while you’re gone,” Clark said. “He rarely leaves the house except for that, and usually only at Richard’s urging. It shouldn’t be an issue to keep any nights out at the club or dinner dates off the schedule until after you return. I don’t want to overwhelm Rhonda; she’s not used to giving up her evenings or weekends. And if we need to alter things so you don’t have to do that any longer, let me know. We can rearrange duties, resurrect new inspirits to hopefully add to our team, or do whatever else it takes.”
Clark’s kindness made Gabriel feel even worse about the secret he was keeping, and he wished he could tell him that Eric was his soulmate. Instead, he was allowing himself to be talked into a vacation he didn’t want, and being handed nearly everything else he could’ve desired on a platter. Since Gabriel was tired of lying to himself and could no longer stifle the feelings he’d pretended weren’t there for the past five years, he privately admitted that in a perfect world, he’d tackle his fear. He’d move past his terror and try to navigate the road at the side of his soulmate.
But life was messy, complicated, and far from perfect. Gabriel and Eric’s soulbinding was impossible, and that thought depressed the fuck out of him. And left him wondering yet again what the hell he was supposed to do about any of it. Would distance eventually disconnect their souls? Was that a possibility? Could Gabriel make the ultimate sacrifice and allow Eric to be with someone else?
“I guess I could go,” Gabriel murmured. He didn’t want a vacation, but he needed some space to think. Being a state away would hardly be enough distance to run from his problems. However, it would give Gabriel a break from the mixture of yearning and lust that now overwhelmed him whenever he saw Eric.
“Good, we’ll both pretend I didn’t talk you into it,” Clark replied with a chuckle. “Go get packed. Rosalind and I will arrange everything.”
As he’d been doing for the past few days, Gabriel woodenly accepted his fate, and he wandered out without a word. Nothing in his life made sense, and he feared confusion would now plague him for eternity. Gabriel shook his head at the thought. Being immortal wasn’t something Gabriel could fathom, and he’d certainly never imagined it for himself. But he couldn’t waste brain power trying to discern what it meant.
He was far too busy trying to figure out what the fuck to do about Eric. His soulmate. The man he’d already seduced and treated shabbily before their bodies had even cooled. The last thing Gabriel deserved was an unending lifespan or a man as wonderful, gifted, and beautiful as Eric.
Chapter 9
“What do you mean, Gabriel went on vacation?” Eric asked incredulously. After eating breakfast and trying to lose himself in music, Eric had grabbed his things to go ghost-hunting only to find out the inspirit who’d been protecting him from birth was already on his way to the airport.
“He’s tired and needs a break,” his mother stated unequivocally. “Gabriel hasn’t been himself lately, and your father and I felt he deserved some time alone. And an opportunity to attend to his own life. He’s never going to meet his soulmate if he’s working constantly. Rhonda’s on her way over, and she’ll go ghost-hunting with you this week.”
“The vacation was your idea?” Eric asked while trying his best not to think about Gabriel going out and testing whether sex with someone else was possible.
“Of course it was. Honestly, do you think Gabriel would drop everything for a trip for himself? Never in a million years. Your father basically shooed him out the door. Hopefully, when Gabriel gets back, he’ll be more himself. He needs some rest and to worry about nothing but himself for the next week.”
Despite the muddle of his current relationship with Gabriel, the idea of not seeing him for a week was disappointing. But Eric had no choice but to suck it up and carry on as normal. His parents didn’t know that he and Gabriel were soulmates, and Eric had no intention of telling them. Not only did Eric refuse to share the news without Gabriel’s consent, but it was also horribly embarrassing to be dumped by the person meant for him.
Richard stalked into the kitchen in a slick, dark suit and another pair of heeled boots. After one look at Eric’s face, Richard swung an arm around his shoulders.
“Do you want me to call Douglas? He can handle my appointments today, and I’ll go ghost-hunting with you?” Richard asked softly.
Eric shook his head. “Of course not, go to work.”
“I know you’ll miss Gabriel, but he’ll only be gone for a week,” their mother said with an indulgent smile. “Both of you go on with your normal routines, and we’ll have our Gabriel back soon enough.”
Richard kissed Eric’s cheek and hugged their mom, then stalked out.
“Oh,” his mother remarked with a snap of her fingers. “I need to go remind David to add condoms to the supplies he’s arranging to be delivered to the house for Gabriel. That man is even worse than Gabriel at taking care of his needs, and human men rightly demand protection.”
Trying not to vomit at the idea of Gabriel using the condoms, Eric watched her leave the kitchen without comment. Eric had imagined many scenarios in the many years he’d fantasized about being Gabriel’s soulmate, but reality was turning out to be far darker and sadder than any of his daydreams.
Blowing out a breath, Eric trudged toward the front of the house and dropped onto a padded bench as he waited for Rhonda to arrive. Staying positive was innate to Eric, so he hoped some time and distance would aid Gabriel. If the inspirit could step back from the situation and realize how profound of a connection they’d been granted, maybe Gabriel would discover it wasn’t so bad to be paired with Eric.
Gabriel was at least attracted enough to him to have sex, and they were friends. It wasn’t the worst way to start a relationship. From what Eric had been told, most soulmates didn’t start off with much more than sexual desire. They had to learn how to combine their lives. That wasn’t a problem for Eric and Gabriel. Eric wished he could point out some of these things to Gabriel, but he didn’t want to sound desperate or plead with Gabriel to give them a shot. If he said no again, Eric wasn’t sure how he would face the man.
Thankfully, before Eric’s brain could take him down that nightmare scenario, Rhonda arrived.
“Ready to find some ghosts?” Rhonda asked, leading him toward the car in a pretty mint green summer dress.
“Yesterday I felt a spirit, but it’s not a strong one,” Eric replied. “A fragment of a soul perhaps, or he or she isn’t sticking to the same area.”
“All right, where do you want to start your hunt?” Rhonda asked as the car rolled away from the curb.
“Tropicana Avenue.”