Page 65 of Charmed By Destiny

“Oh, Dragonfly, I’m sorry,” Luke said, hating to think of anyone being cruel to Richard.

“You and I had a great night, but to be honest, intercourse still intimidates me.”

“We won’t do anything we both aren’t fully interested and invested in doing, okay? In fact, I’m glad you were brave enough to be honest with me because we rushed into the physical stuff. Maybe we should focus on something besides sex for now. That way, we can figure out what we both want and whether this is going to work before we confuse feelings with desire.”

Richard smiled. “I was looking forward to feeling the way I did last weekend again soon, but I think you’re right. Not forever, just for a little while. We’re not going to stop kisses and everything, are we?”

Leaning forward, Luke licked his way into Richard’s sweet mouth. The necromancer surrendered swiftly, but the strokes of his tongue weren’t tentative as they stoked a few flames of passion. While Luke’s dick wanted something far more intimate, they needed to learn about each other.

“No,” Luke whispered against Richard’s lips, then pulled away. “I’m not talking about banning sex forever. Not even a long time. It may be a few days or a couple of weeks. We’ll figure it out. This is a pause. A very temporary one.”

“Could I persuade you to consider some overnight snuggles?”

Luke grinned. “I’ll sleep in your bed if you want.”

“Probably for the best anyway. I wouldn’t put it past my parents to question why we aren’t sharing a bed if they discover you’re in here at night.”

It was too tempting to resist another kiss, so he pressed his smile to Richard’s frown. “Since we want to avoid ever discussing sex with your parents, we’re definitely sharing a bed often. Plus, I may get to hear all kinds of secrets.”

“I don’t talk in my sleep,” Richard argued.

Amused and eager to keep Richard guessing about what he might confess, Luke grinned. Richard had mumbled once during their night together, so Luke wasn’t being dishonest—more like stretching the truth. However, there was no reason to explain any of that to Richard. Not when it was infinitely more fun to tease him a little.

“Want to bet, Dragonfly?”

Chapter 23

Two nights later, Richard’s bedroom was bathed in the light of a single lamp. The throw pillows had been tossed onto the padded bench at the base of his bed frame, and he should’ve been asleep twenty minutes ago. He had work in the morning and needed his rest. But he was far too busy to consider snoozing.

Richard’s fingers were threaded through Lucas’s thick locks, and his mouth was moving beneath his soulmate’s. Their bodies were flush. A hard cock poked his midsection. Richard couldn’t complain. His own rigid length was pressed against Lucas.

Since Lucas had moved in, time had raced by, and Richard’s weekend had passed in a blink. Richard hadn’t slept alone, and he’d already grown addicted to waking in the morning in Lucas’s arms. If he’d known such coziness and delight existed, he wouldn’t have sworn off soulmates in the first place.

But he was also good at fooling himself. It wasn’t Richard’s attitude or poor choices in men that had been the problem. What Richard had lacked was Lucas. His kindness. His charm. And the savagely beautiful way he used his tongue to entice Richard.

A moan escaped him, and Richard couldn’t help grinding his hips into Lucas. He wanted relief so badly. But they’d spent the last two days in a whirlwind and had learned precious little about each other. They needed to focus on their friendship. To build the tight bond expected of soulmates.

Failure wasn’t an option. At least not to Richard. He remained afraid of botching things with Lucas, but he was also committed to making every effort to avoid it. Now that Richard had a soulmate, he wanted to excel. To treat Lucas with the respect and care he deserved.

A warm hand slid under Richard’s sleep shorts, and he lost his train of thought.

“Dragonfly, why aren’t you wearing underwear?” Lucas growled as he nibbled Richard’s bottom lip.

“It’s bedtime. I don’t wear underwear with my jammies.”

“Why does everything I learn about you make me want you more?”

Richard could hardly be expected to answer such a ludicrous question, so he gave his attention to getting his own chance to fondle Lucas’s skin. It meant giving up part of his hold on Lucas’s silky waves, but compromises had to be made. His questing fingers wiggled beneath Lucas’s T-shirt, and he liked the way the inspirit’s back muscles bunched as they wiggled to get friction.

“Should we stop?” Lucas asked. “Are we stopping?”

Annoyed that Lucas kept talking when Richard wanted to make out, he scowled. “Do you want to stop?”

“No.”

“Do you think I want to stop?”

The light was low in the room, but Richard was confident that Lucas’s pretty gray eyes were dilated thanks to desire. “Probably not.”

---