Page 14 of Touched By Destiny

“Getting drinks. I thought we might need some fortification. Now, tell me if that fucker pacing outside the bathroom needs to die for hurting you,” Maribeth ordered.

“We had sex,” Eric said. His breath hitched, and a tear slid over his lip. “My soul touched his. I know it did. I thought for a second I made it up, but I didn’t. I know what I saw. He’s my soulmate. But…he didn’t see it. He was so cold. Regret. He said…he said that was…that was it. All we shared.”

Richard pulled Eric into his arms, and Maribeth comforted him with a soothing hand on his back.

“Bullshit,” Richard commented. “Bullshit, you saw it and he didn’t. I don’t know what his fucking deal is, but I refuse to believe meeting your soulmate can be one-sided. That’s not how it works. He can be scared, mad, or whatever the fuck he is, but he’s lying.”

“Has to be,” Maribeth agreed immediately. “No doubt. My parents loved each other, and even with those strong feelings, they couldn’t pretend they had that connection. It’s too powerful to miss. That’s what we’ve been told our whole lives. Be sad that he’s a lying asshole, but don’t worry that he isn’t your soulmate. Because he fucking is.”

“Which means I can’t kill him even though Ireallywant to right now,” Richard muttered.

Everything had happened so fast that Eric’s mind was still trying to catch up with the events of the evening. His emotions were all over the place, but deep in his heart, he knew Richard and Maribeth were right. Gabriel was his soulmate—whether the inspirit liked it or not.

“Inspirit souls are said to be white; is that what you saw?” Maribeth asked.

“Yes,” Eric said, sniffing and trying to stem the tide of his weeping. “It glowed so bright it…it was blinding. Stunning. It looked so pretty against the silver of mine.”

“Silver?” Richard echoed. “Eric, baby, our souls are black. Necros have black souls.”

“Mine was silver. Like the mark on my hand gets when I cast,” Eric argued as Richard’s blue gaze bore into his.

Richard pressed a kiss to his forehead. “I guess we didn’t think about all the differences between necros and our destiny-touched.”

Shoving Richard out of the way, Maribeth slapped her purse on the counter. She dug around in the small clutch. “Good thing I brought a few essentials since you just put a big-ass red mouth print on your brother’s forehead,” Maribeth chided Richard.

With a click of his tongue, Richard slapped a hand on his hip. “Fucking cosmetic companies. Doesn’t transfer or smear my ass. Eric, tell me what we can do to help you right now.”

“I don’t know,” Eric said, reaching up to rub the snot from his face, but Maribeth slapped his hand away and handed him a tissue. “I don’t know what to do.”

“We’re going to figure it out, okay?” Maribeth assured him.

“Yes,” Richard agreed, pressing his palm to Eric’s. “Maribeth’s going to fix your face. Then, we’re going back out on the dance floor for exactly one hour. You’ll have a few drinks and be just as aloof as him.”

“And when we get home, we’ll take off these fucking uncomfortable shoes,” Maribeth added. “We’ll put on our favorite sweats, make about a dozen martinis, and get drunk.”

“And trash his ass for being a dick,” Richard said. “After that, we can strategize. We’ll make meticulous plans. Analyzeevery detail to ensure we’ve constructed the best tactic to win Gabriel’s heart. Now, tell me, did he at least fuck you properly?”

Eric closed his eyes as those moments of fiery passion filled his mind.

“It was so good,” Eric murmured. Not wanting to ruin Maribeth’s handiwork, he got ahold of himself by promising his heart he’d cry it all out later. When he could do it without Gabriel seeing how badly he was hurting. “It didn’t go wrong until after we came. He threw a rag at me and basically told me it was a mistake. AndIwas mistaken for thinking we were soulmates.”

“Soulmates are forever, and he’s not going anywhere,” Richard insisted. “We’re going to fix this, and he’s going to apologize for being a dick.”

“Did you guys at least have a good time too?” Eric asked.

“I should’ve invited more interesting men,” Richard lamented. “But Maribeth was hard flirting with a beautiful girl in a smoking-hot red dress.”

“I’m such a sucker for ebony skin and a killer fashion sense,” Maribeth mused. “Hopefully she’ll be here next time so I can find out if she’s my soulmate. As for Richard, he spent the entire time you were gone talking business with Douglas.”

“Use your key, Mari,” Eric said. “If we’re staying an hour, promise you’ll use your key and enjoy yourself. You can’t miss out on the chance to possibly find out if your soulmate is here tonight.”

Maribeth shared a glance with Richard, who rolled his eyes.

“Come on, Mari, seduce the girl,” Richard coaxed.

After sliding some fresh gloss on Eric’s lips—still swollen from Gabriel’s voracious kisses—Maribeth popped the tube into her purse and grinned. “Okay, no need to pester me. I’ll go make a move and see if she’s interested.”

Satisfied that at least one of them would have an evening that didn’t end in tears—and might get laid—Eric hugged his brother and allowed himself to be led out of the bathroom. Head held high, he met Gabriel’s glower the minute he stepped into the hallway and schooled himself to show nothing but indifference.

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