Page 76 of Touched By Destiny

“Gabriel?” Eric asked, sliding his hands into his soulmate’s blond hair.

“Yes?”

“Do you want to talk about the weather or find my lost lube?”

“Hmm, tough choice,” Gabriel teased, cupping Eric’s ass and squeezing his cheeks.

“Is it though?”

Gabriel chuckled against Eric’s mouth, then kissed him thoroughly. Going a little weak in the knees, Eric enjoyed the desire flowing through him. “Not at all. Do you think it’ll rain tomorrow?”

With a laugh, Eric nipped his chin. “Oh, Gabriel, I love you.”

Suddenly, all the amusement left Gabriel’s gaze, and Eric nearly wept at the joy and reverence glowing back at him. “I love you too. More than anything.”

Eric sealed their mouths together and focused solely on their beautiful connection as he clung to Gabriel. It was a night he planned never to forget.

Chapter 31

The last few days were a whirlwind in Gabriel’s mind. It had been startling to discover that, despite how he’d believed he’d been making good choices, the past thirty years had been fraught with mistakes. The Marwoods were ecstatic that he and Eric were soulmates. That was still shocking.

Gabriel hadn’t returned to his house. Each night, he curled up with Eric after spectacular sex and held him as the necromancer drifted off to sleep. Slumber wasn’t so easy to find for Gabriel. He’d hurt the people he loved. Each day he’d woken up and taken the Marwoods for granted.

They’d included him in everything, begged him to live under their roof, and he’d pushed them away—exactly the same thing he’d done to Eric after discovering they were soulmates. Gabriel had been careless and selfish. He’d been so preoccupied with protecting himself from being hurt that he’d kept himself from feeling genuine joy and acceptance too.

If he hadn’t been so dimwitted, things in his life would’ve played out much differently. Maybe he and Eric would’ve even spent the past few years together if Gabriel hadn’t misunderstood himself and the world around him so deeply. But as sad and guilty as Gabriel felt, he couldn’t drown in remorse.

What he had now was far too important to risk by indulging in sorrow. Instead, Gabriel promised himself he’d do better. He’d embrace the family that had trusted him from the beginning, long before he’d proven himself. The only way he could repay them for their kindness and love was to ensure the future wouldn’t resemble the past.

Gabriel walked into Clark’s office suite for a normal meeting and smiled warmly at his assistant instead of stalking past with only himself on his mind. They chatted about the holidays, and Gabriel tried not to notice the surprise on the man’s face at his kindness. Then he sailed past Clark’s assistant and found Clark and Rhonda both waiting for him.

“Congratulations,” Rhonda enthused with a grin as she hugged Gabriel.

“Thank you, how are things with Tasha going?” Gabriel asked. “Did you get to spend any of the holidays with her?”

“I did, yes. She introduced me to her family. They’re fantastic. We’re doing good. I still don’t know how to break everything to her; I keep mentioning magic. The other day, she finally asked me why I kept bringing it up. I panicked and told her I love fantasy books. Thankfully, I’ve read enough of them that I could recommend some authors after she asked.”

“At least she didn’t dismiss you or tell you fantasy and magic were stupid,” Clark commented.

“Yeah, I’d take that as progress,” Gabriel added, taking a seat in one of the comfy black guest chairs next to Rhonda.

“Indeed,” Rhonda replied, then smiled devilishly. “Speaking of progress, I nearly peed myself with surprise when Clark called me. We’ve been wondering for years when you were going to open your eyes and realize how smitten you are with Eric. I refused to let myself think about the possibility of you two being soulmates. I would’ve been crushed to find out I was wrong.”

Gabriel chuckled. “Imagine how we would’ve felt. No, I was terrified at the beginning.”

“Rosalind keeps telling me to focus on the joy, but I have to say it hurts to think about you fearing confiding in us about being Eric’s soulmate,” Clark said, his blue gaze filled with the pain Gabriel had caused.

“At first, I was more afraid of being with Eric than anything else,” Gabriel confided. “This is horrible to say, but the only reason I even allowed myself to sleep with him was because…well, I woke up that morning and my toes were skeletal.”

Clark gripped the edge of his desk and grimaced. “Gabriel, if you hadn’t…oh. I…I, well. Thank goodness you took a chance and had that night with Eric. If we’d lost you. Shit, ifErichad lost you. Fuck, I don’t even want to think about it. I console myself constantly with the fact that Eric has tried to make his inspirits immortal. I’ve decided Rhonda is. We’re not losing you.”

“No, we’re not,” Gabriel agreed. “I haven’t been fully present in my own life in thirty-three years. Maybe I never was. The truth of my past robbed me of any serenity…any chance at happiness. Because I let it. A brush with death led me to make what I thought was a reckless decision. And it changed everything. Now I have everything. It’s important that you know I’m sorry.”

“I cannot and will not accept your apology,” Clark stated firmly, a heavy crease between his black brows. “We’re family. You were hurting, and all we wanted was to be there for you. But that’s not your way; you needed to heal on your own. It frustrated the fuck out of us. I’ll be honest about that. It’s over now. What’s important is that you know we love you and we support you. And Rosalind is going to hound you mercilessly to move in with us.”

“Why don’t you move in with your soulmate?” Rhonda asked.

“Why don’t you move in with yours?” Gabriel retorted.

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