Page 18 of Charmed By Destiny

“I’ll get the door,” Gabe said, rising from the chair he’d been cuddled in with Eric.

“Don’t mind us, we tend to meddle,” Clark said.

Luke chuckled. “It’s fine. To answer your question, no. I’m not seeing anyone. I haven’t had time to do much of anything but survive for years.”

Those words settled into Luke’s brain, and he wondered why he hadn’t noticed how unhappy he was. Perhaps because no other alternative had existed. Luke needed to build something more for himself and Foxe—whether his necromancer liked it or not.

“Well, that won’t do at all, Lucas,” Rosalind replied, her gaze lighting up in a way that made the hairs at the nape of Luke’s neck rise to attention. “You need to find your soulmate. I keep telling Richard that too, but he never listens to me. It’s important to put yourself out there. They won’t show up at your door.”

Luke shrugged. “My necro mentioned soulmates, but I wasn’t convinced they were real until last week when I sensed Gabe’s connection. Since then, I’ve noticed it from several other people around the casino. But I don’t know the first thing about finding one for myself. How does the whole signal thing work? Like you shake hands and get a weird sensation or something?”

Richard choked on his wine, and Eric rushed over to grab his brother’s glass as he patted his back.

“Um, I think we’ll have Gabriel explain to you how it works,” Clark said. “One inspirit to another.”

“What am I explaining?” Gabe asked as he returned with Douglas at his side.

“Dear, Lucas doesn’t know how to find and recognize his soulmate,” Rosalind remarked.

Gabe’s green eyes widened as he gazed at Luke’s poor self. What the hell was going on?

“Yeah, thanks, I’d love to explain that,” Gabe deadpanned with a peeved expression for the elder Marwoods. “Luke, do you mind coming into the other room with me? I can give you the pertinent details before dinner. Does that work?”

Unsure why they required privacy, Luke went with the flow. He was curious about the whole thing now that he knew it was real. Maybe the information would come in handy someday. With one last glance at Richard to ensure he was still breathing after his battle with the wine, Luke wondered what kind of person the necromancer would wind up with. Whoever they were, they were lucky, and Luke envied them.

Chapter 8

Afew nights following Gabriel’s effusive complaints about having to explain to Lucas that soulmates were discovered through sex, Richard sat in his room and stewed. No one had questioned Lucas about his necromancer yet, but that time would come. Who was this person that had chosen to bring an inspirit to life without giving them enough respect to explain the most important aspect of being supernatural?

It infuriated Richard. While he’d sworn off soulmates for himself, he’d been given the correct information to digest. Several embarrassing mistakes and thorough examination had led Richard to his decision. Without the proper guidance, Lucas hadn’t known how to find his perfect match. Had he held himself back in the past because he hadn’t understood the need to take someone to bed to find out if they were compatible in every aspect of their lives?

If withholding such important stuff wasn’t horrid enough, Lucas’s necromancer had no visible means of support. Inspirits didn’t poof into existence. They had to be summoned. There was no requirement to have one, nor was there such a thing as an inspirit being accidentally created. From what Richard had learned of Lucas’s necromancer, they were irresponsible and selfish.

Lucas wasn’t the first stray helped by the Marwoods, nor would he be the last, but Richard couldn’t recall being so irritated by someone’s circumstances. And he’d be damned if he’d spend a single minute examining why he was so indignant on Lucas’s behalf. The last thing he wanted to be reminded of was the fact that he’d developed a silly crush on yet another man with a handsome face.

To be fair, he’d worked with Lucas for nearly two weeks now, and he wasn’t just gorgeous. Lucas was kind, noticed details, and showed immense enthusiasm for everything. He was a nice guy. While Richard was rarely described that way thanks to his desire to pick things apart and drive people up the wall, he appreciated the trait in others.

His phone rang, and Richard pounced on it before his mind went down a now-familiar path that centered on every attribute he’d ever noticed about Lucas Wynnter. Richard grinned when he saw the name on the screen. With alacrity, he accepted the call.

“How are you, Mari?”

Her laughter filtered through the device. “You barely let it ring once. What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Why do you assume something’s wrong? Maybe I miss you.”

“Of course you do. I miss you too, but something’s up.”

“Stop trying to read my mind.”

“I was given this power for good.”

Richard snorted and swung his legs up on the chaise to relax against the dark plush cushions fully. “Yeah, right.”

“Richard, you have few redeeming qualities, but one of them is your honesty. So, spill it.”

“And everyone thinks I’m the rude one.”

“You are. It’s part of your charm. Now, stop avoiding my question.”

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