Page 28 of Touched By Destiny

Before their souls had connected on a fundamental and irrevocable level, Gabriel had wanted to shield Eric from any kind of pain. Then he’d rejected him. Hurt had been stamped on Eric’s face, and Gabriel had sunk into a deep melancholy. He hated himself for it. But it had been the right thing to do. Or had it?

Gabriel had no fucking clue anymore.

Across the room, Eric threw his head back as he laughed at something his brother said. There was too much noise and distance between them to hear it, but Gabriel had memorized the sound of his chuckles long ago. Despondently, Gabriel wondered when he’d fallen so hard for Eric. Years ago. Why it’d taken him so long to realize he was infatuated with the man didn’t matter.

He knew the truth now and wondered yet again how to handle it. Shifting to find some comfort for his aching dick, Gabriel allowed his gaze to track Eric as he moved to the bar to have a couple of shots with his brother. Douglas hung behind Richard and nursed a beer as he flashed his smile at whatever the siblings were discussing.

As for Maribeth, she was on the other side of the room, sandwiched between two statuesque women in little black dresses. They were dancing, kissing, and enjoying themselves. If Gabriel were a betting man, he’d lay odds on another five or ten minutes before the trio ventured out of the club for some privacy. If Maribeth were lucky, tonight she’d find her perfect match and her soul wouldn’t be matched with someone unworthy of her.

Gabriel wondered how much longer he’d have to wait until Eric selected some man in the room to favor with exceptional sex. Hands curling into tight fists, he ground his teeth as his imagination conjured images of Eric and some faceless asshole fucking him. If Gabriel could trust anyone else to guard Eric, he would’ve stayed home.

But no.

Gabriel’s sense of duty had brought him to the club, and he wondered if he could escape sliding into madness as Eric gave his body to someone else. Perhaps this was his punishment. Thirty-three years after Samael’s death, Gabriel was finally facing the consequences.

Whatever force decided who would be soulmates had given Gabriel a man he was unworthy of, so he’d pushed him away. He’d cast Eric aside and hurt him. The beautiful friendship between them, which had once lit up Gabriel’s life, was already gone. But it wasn’t fate or destiny who’d fucked up. It was Gabriel. He’d been granted a soulmate and had rejected him. All his pain and misery were his own damn fault.

Eric glanced his way, and Gabriel stared at him with a mixture of lust, yearning, and guilt. Without breaking eye contact, Eric said something to his brother and moved away from the bar. Gabriel didn’t move a muscle as he eagerly watched that lithe form evade dancers. The room was filled with inspirits, other Marwood employees like the loyal Douglas, and the few casual friends Maribeth and Richard had asked to be included.

It was a safe crowd, and background checks had been conducted on everyone. None of them knew that their lives had been examined under a microscope before they were allowed to share a space with the man destiny had touched. Eric stopped to talk to none of them and—as if Gabriel had summoned him—soon stood a foot from Gabriel.

His painted mouth curved in a smile, and Gabriel was so delighted to be close to him he nearly returned his grin. Eric pulled a card from the back pocket of his enticing pants and wiggled it between his fingers.

“Can I speak with you privately?”

It was the same question Eric had asked a month ago, and Gabriel gave himself no time to consider the consequences. He wanted him. And he was desperate to please him.

Gabriel plucked the hotel key from Eric’s grasp and held out his hand.

“Let’s go,” Gabriel said. All he cared about in that moment was Eric’s pleasure, and he gave no thought to theconsequences. It was reckless. It was stupid. But it was as fucking necessary to Gabriel as the air he breathed.

Eric’s palm met Gabriel’s, and a frisson of excitement and delight surged through him. It awakened his desolate soul, which was aching for its mate. Gabriel charged out of the club, pretending the only thing that mattered was their connection—the first tentative touch of two soulmates promised eternity and the unparalleled passion crackling between them.

???

It took a couple of hours and a few shots for Eric to build enough confidence to approach Gabriel. As he’d danced and ignored Richard’s incessant need to discuss business with Douglas over the loud music, Eric had marshaled arguments to convince Gabriel to sneak off with him again. But Eric had finally decided keeping it simple was best. He wasn’t sure how, but it’d worked. The happy clatter of the casino filled his ears as he stretched his legs to match Gabriel’s long strides.

Whatever was going on in Gabriel’s mind, he was wasting no time getting them to the hotel room. Like everyone in Eric’s life, Richard considered safety first, which was why they were once again stopped in front of a door on the first floor. If they needed to escape for whatever reason, there’d be no stairs or elevators to slow them down. And security was focused on the main level of the hotel to ensure no one was cheating the casino.

However, Eric wasn’t concerned with rogue assassins killing him because his existence supposedly put every necromancer in danger. All he cared about was the sexy, broad-shouldered blond pulling him into an empty hotel room. Eric didn’t say a word. The last thing he wanted was conversation.

Once the door shut behind them, Gabriel dropped Eric’s hand and tugged off his suit jacket. He flung it onto a nearby chair without looking. Then Gabriel strode forward, grabbed Eric’s right ass cheek in his warm palm, and captured his mouth as his fingers slid over the short hairs at Eric’s nape.

Gabriel’s tongue was wicked as they kissed, and Eric went pliant. The rush of desire was intoxicating, and his heart was pumping so hard his blood thundered in his ears. His soulmate’s taste was addictive, and Eric moaned.

Already desperate and needy, Eric ground against Gabriel. His dick was hard and aching in his ridiculously small thong. Although Eric was pleased to feel the answering stiffness of Gabriel’s cock rubbing alongside his, they were still annoyingly dressed.

Working his hands between them, Eric went to work on the buttons of Gabriel’s crisp white shirt. Beneath the cotton, his skin was warm, and Eric loved the solidness of his muscular frame. Eric delighted in the discovery of Gabriel’s slightly furred chest and smoothed his palms over the crisp hairs. His fingers grazed the scar left behind by a bullet before Eric was born. One Gabriel had gotten by throwing himself in front of a destiny-touched necromancer. As a child, his parents would often tell him the same story, and it had brought him comfort. Whenever he’d grown scared of the dangerous people who’d kill him without thought, he’d reassured himself that anyone who wanted to hurt him would have to go through Gabriel first.

His obscenely gorgeous champion with the overly tempting body. Eric wanted to spend hours exploring Gabriel, but he couldn’t. They were limited to forgetting about anything but mindless sex.

A wave of disappointment brought him to his senses, and he nearly pulled away, but Gabriel shifted. He tilted his head, changing the angle of their kiss. Instead of voracious, his tonguewas tender, and his thumb caressed Eric’s cheek. That moment of affection left Eric undone.

He yanked Gabriel’s unbuttoned shirt from his slacks and wrapped his arms around him. Since it could be another month or more until he was close to him again, Eric clung to his soulmate. Instead of focusing on the demands of his balls, he savored.

In the stillness of the hotel room, Eric pretended Gabriel was his. That this was real and they could have forever. A heartbeat later, Gabriel slid Eric’s zipper down, and they returned to two desperate bodies seeking fulfillment. The spell was lost, and Eric wanted to weep at the cruelty of it.

Instead, he sped up the process and shoved his hands between them again to undo Gabriel’s belt and unfasten his trousers. Gabriel was impatient and did little more than free their cocks before wrapping them in his fist. It was rough and desperate, and Eric loved it.

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