Page 4 of Touched By Destiny
Necromancers wrote little down, and much of what humans speculated at, they got wrong. Through the years, Eric had also gifted inspirits with life, and they were strong men and women—one of them even had the gift of invisibility, though it did not last more than an hour at a time. Gabriel respected Eric’s dedication and was endlessly fascinated by everything he learned from Eric.
On the thirty-minute drive from the heart of Vegas to the custom-built mansion Clark and Rosalind owned, Gabriel gratefully allowed the cool air of the car’s air conditioning to lower his body temperature and dry his clothes, which were dampened with sweat. A few feet away, Eric sat with his brow furrowed and alternated between grumbling and biting his lip in a way that had Gabriel’s blood heating. It was an enormous relief when Gabriel spotted the house, because it meant he could get away from Eric.
As soon as the car pulled to a stop, Gabriel hopped out and waited for Eric to emerge.
“Good luck with your new spirit. Can you let Rosalind know I’ll be home for dinner?” Gabriel asked. While Rosalind allowed Gabriel to live separately, she insisted he attend family meals whenever his schedule permitted it.
“Dinner?” Eric repeated as he stood there, staring up at Gabriel. His face was exquisite. The proportions were perfect, and his dark eyebrows arched elegantly above his expressive eyes. His pale skin was unmarred by the sun despite the unrelenting sunshine, and the gentleness of his features made him appear delicate.
The often-dreamy look in those bright blue irises helped. But Eric was no pushover and easily asserted himself as necessary. That combination of strength and beauty was irresistible. At least to an idiot like Gabriel. He couldn’t have him, and the last thing he should’ve been doing was thinking about Eric unless it had to do with how best to keep him safe.
“Yeah. Dinner. I have a few meetings, but I should be on time,” Gabriel said, grasping at the thread of their conversation.
“Oh, is Rhonda going with me tonight?”
Gabriel scowled. Rhonda was an inspirit resurrected by Eric, and in five short years, she’d risen through the ranks of Gabriel’s security team. Intelligent, strong, and with a giant heart, Rhonda had been granted the gift of rapid healing. Cuts or wounds lasted only seconds on her lovely dark skin. There was no one he trusted more, but Eric’s safety was Gabriel’s domain alone.
“Where are you going?” Gabriel demanded.
Eric’s older brother, Richard Marwood, had insisted a special room be built as part of the nightclub in the hotel where he worked. This allowed him and his family to party with guests approved by Gabriel. But Richard hadn’t arranged for anything that night, and Eric had only ventured out to the nightclub oncein the four years since they’d moved to the vibrant, light-filled city.
Eric sighed heavily. “I have a date.”
“With whom, and why are you just telling me now?”
“I don’t remember his name,” Eric argued. “I’m sure Richard told me, but I forgot. I thought he’d already mentioned it to you.”
Richard rivaled Gabriel in his over-protectiveness of the lone destiny-touched necromancer in the family. Now twenty-nine, the meticulous Richard co-directed conference services at Clark’s largest casino alongside an inspirit he’d given life to when he was barely more than a teenager. The resurrected man had chosen the name Douglas and was as adept as Richard in his chosen career.
“Well, he didn’t,” Gabriel retorted. He hated Eric’s dates. If Eric had been content with staying home and single, Gabriel might not have ever noticed that Clark and Rosalind’s youngest child had grown up. But Eric had, and Gabriel didn’t know why the thought of him with another man was so fucking irritating, but he hated every pretty boy Richard set him up with. As vigilant as Richard was about where Eric went, it made no sense to Gabriel that this date hadn’t been brought to his attention earlier.
Eric beamed a smile at Gabriel that made his belly ache. “Okay, I’ll tell Richard I have to cancel.”
“Why do you keep letting Richard set you up if you don’t even want to go on the dates?”
“Because I don’t want to die a virgin, Gabriel.”
“You’re immortal, and you’re going to live forever,” Gabriel argued, bristling at the idea that he’d fail and Eric would die. It helped distract him from thinking about Eric naked with his long limbs spread across a bed. “Go in the house and getready for your damn date; I’ll talk to Richard and find out where you’re going and who the lucky guy is.”
“Why would I start getting ready at ten in the morning?” Eric groused as he trudged toward the front door of the modern house. His shoulders were hunched, and his shoes clomped heavily against the brown bricks of the walkway. It was a far cry from the lightness of Eric’s usually graceful stride. Once Eric was inside and safe, Gabriel climbed back into the car and let out a string of curses.
The last thing he wanted to do at the end of his day was provide protection for Eric as some human wined and dined him. Although the Marwoods were aware of a few other necromancer families, they refused to allow any of them near Eric. They were too afraid some relative in those family trees would learn about their destiny-touched son and want to harm him. And it wasn’t unusual for necromancers to find soulmates among the human population.
Unlike the Marwoods, many necromancer families—at least the ones Gabriel had encountered, including the Wolfebriers—weren’t full-blood sorcerers. Their bloodlines were diluted thanks to human partners or soulmates. Perhaps that was something Rosalind and Clark wanted for Eric. A human soulmate.
The problem was that the only way to find your soulmate was to have sex. And the thought of Eric sliding between the sheets with any man made Gabriel want to punch someone. Usually, it was himself he wanted to sock for having such potent feelings for someone he was supposed to be guarding and not fantasizing about, but he also wanted to crush the faceless man who’d one day have Eric’s long limbs wrapped around him as they fucked.
With a growl, Gabriel forced himself to focus. He yanked out his cellphone and, with more force than necessary, stabbedat the screen until he had Richard on the phone. Whether Gabriel liked it or not, Eric had a date that night and he needed to be prepared. Eric must stay safe. And, in the end, it didn’t matter who took Eric’s virginity or who his soulmate was. It for damn sure was not Gabriel, and in no universe was he good enough for the Marwoods’ youngest son.
Chapter 3
As soon as Eric shut the door behind him, he twisted and, when that didn’t work, grabbed at the back of his pants.
“What are you doing?” Richard asked as he stalked toward where Eric was trying desperately to find some comfort in his confining clothing.
“It’s too fucking hot to wear a thong,” Eric retorted.
“Your pants are too tight to wear boxers. Plus, they aren’t sexy.”