Page 47 of Touched By Destiny

It was too damn bad they’d agreed to take it slow because Eric was ready to throw himself on that plain bed and demand satisfaction for them both.

“It was. Want a beer?” Gabriel asked, raking his fingers through his hair and heading for the staircase.

“Sure,” Eric said. He tried to turn, but he’d lost all sense of coordination and had to slap a palm on the wall to keep from careening into it when he tripped over his own foot.

“Are you okay?”

His face bright red, Eric hadn’t missed the merriment laced with concern in Gabriel’s voice.

“Never better,” Eric replied without glancing at his soulmate.

Gabriel held out a hand. “Take it.”

Eric shook his head and forced himself to meet Gabriel’s gaze. Those gorgeous green eyes were warm with affection. “IfI touch you right now, I’m going to break the rules. I will strip my fucking clothes off and refuse to leave your bed until we both come.”

“Please don’t put that mental image in my brain. I won’t get any sleep tonight.”

“Are you saying you’ve never thought about it before?” Eric asked, disappointment drowning out his embarrassment and allowing him to gather his scattered wits. Without waiting for Gabriel’s reply, Eric jogged down the stairs. He went to the fridge and grabbed two beers from the nearly empty appliance.

“Of course I’ve thought about it,” Gabriel grumbled. After taking the beer, he downed a third of it in a single swallow. “What I’m saying is I don’t need you encouraging my brain to go there. I can already easily imagine you ass up on the sheets ready to be fucked.”

“I didn’t say anything about having my ass up in the air.” That didn’t stop Eric from yearning for it and imagining it in perfect clarity. If he thought it would be good for their relationship, he’d be demanding Gabriel slide his fat cock in his ass that minute.

Gabriel cocked his head and gave him a knowing smile. “But you like the idea. You’re getting that dreamy look on your face. You’re thinking about it right now.”

Busted.

“Maybe I was just thinking about how much more exciting it’s going to be to jerk off tonight now that I’ve seen you naked.”

“Happy to help you out with that. Sit, let’s talk.”

Eric’s dick wanted to discuss sex—orhaveit—but he forced himself to focus on building the other aspects of his relationship with Gabriel. If he was ever going to have Gabriel fully as his soulmate, they had to move forward as a team. Eric settled on the couch across from him and sipped his beer.

“I feel like I should apologize again for what I said in the car this morning,” Eric offered, recalling the way he’d unintentionally brought back painful memories for Gabriel when he’d stupidly joked about taking a life.

“No, you don’t need to apologize. I’m the one who allowed old memories to bother me. Let’s just forget about it, okay? Things were tense today with Connor; how are you feeling about it now?”

Blowing out a breath, Eric sank further into the sofa cushions. “It was rough. He’s been in denial about being dead for so long, and today he finally realized he’s a ghost. He was devastated. I tried to comfort him, but he took off. I’m hoping tomorrow he’ll let me open a portal for him. He really loves his partner, and they can be together now.”

“Sounds like it won’t take much convincing to get him to take the portal now that he’s accepted the truth.”

“I like him; I’ll miss him. He’s stubborn as fuck, but I’ve loved hearing about his life with his partner. They met in high school and spent fifty years together before his partner died. They adored each other. Honestly, they should’ve had more years together. He won’t discuss his death, so I’m not sure what killed his partner, but I get the feeling they knew it was coming. I’m guessing illness.”

“You love a good romance.”

“I do,” Eric said. “Which is why I’m loving those books David recommended.”

“I haven’t had time to read more than the first two, but I can’t help but laugh at some of it.”

“Like what?”

“Everyone in the books has so many abilities,” Gabriel remarked. “We don’t have a fraction of those talents.”

“I guess if you’re going to dream and write a fantasy, why not make it as big and powerful as possible.”

“You’re powerful compared to others of your kind.”

Eric glanced down at the hand marked with a skull that glowed whenever he practiced magic.