Page 79 of Touched By Destiny

“I hope I didn’t wake you.”

“How would you have done that?”

Eric shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“How long have you been awake?” Gabriel asked. He turned, giving Eric no choice but to scuttle away until Gabriel was on his back. Then Eric grinned and sank a hand into that glorious chest hair as he pinned himself at Gabriel’s side. With a leg slung over Gabriel’s thigh, Eric was once again warm and happy.

“A few minutes maybe. I was thinking we should spend all day in bed.”

“Yeah, right. Rosalind would probably barge in here with trays of food and tell us we need to keep our strength up between bouts of sex.”

“Knowing my mom, you’re probably right,” Eric said with a roll of his eyes. His mother could hardly contain her excitement about their relationship and, much to his embarrassment, liked to encourage them to be alone. As if Eric needed any persuading to climb into bed with Gabriel.

“Plus, we’re going out to dinner tonight.”

“Yeah, I’m not missing that. We’ve waited forever to meet Tasha. I’ll have to ask Richard to help me pick out something to wear—I want to look nice.”

“You always look nice, but I’m sure Richard will volunteer to dress you.”

“That’s true, he loves fashion. And he’s trying to pretend he isn’t missing Mari horribly. I’ve lost count of how many hours he’s spent in his room reorganizing. But at least that keeps him from calling Douglas so often the poor man blocks his number.”

“It’s going to be weird for everyone without her at the house or the casino,” Gabriel said.

Maribeth had left the previous night for California and had already spent her last day at her old job. Her plan was to stay at least a month with her dad. Although Eric wanted her to be happy, he was scared.

Alden hadn’t been reliable in the past twenty-five years, and Maribeth was rushing headlong into her desire to be close to him. She was convinced his new girlfriend and her brothers were helping Alden embrace joy for the first time since Nariko died. But as far as Eric and the rest of the Marwoods were concerned, it was far too early to tell if Alden had changed.

“Yeah, I’m worried about her,” Eric said.

“I know. Me too. Are you planning on heading to the club with Richard while she’s gone so he can dance and party?”

“I don’t think so. We talked about it yesterday, and Richard is over the club thing. He had fun in the beginning, but that was four years ago. It’s Mari who likes meeting new people to discover her soulmate and enjoy herself. Richard’s just there to dance with her until someone catches her eye. He’s looking forward to getting more sleep and having more time at the house.”

“He should be dancing with strangers and trying to find his other half.”

Eric grinned and kissed him. “Listen to my Gabriel encouraging others to find their soulmates. I seem to recall that was the last thing you wanted.”

“Being impulsive and running off to that hotel room with you was the best choice I ever made.”

Glowing with joy, Eric cupped Gabriel’s jaw and ran his thumb across the short stubble on his cheek. “I really need to thank Richard for his plots to get your attention. Without my dates and Richard’s desire to dress me in sexy clothes, we might not have had that night.”

“Richard’s ploys worked, but I was interested in you even when you weren’t wearing revealing clothes or dating pretty boys,” Gabriel said, sliding a hand down to grab Eric’s ass. He frowned. “Why are you wearing underwear?”

“I don’t know. Why are you?”

“Habit, I guess. That’s what I’ve always slept in.”

“It’s a good thing I find boxers sexy.” Eric brushed their lips together again. “Sorry, my breath stinks.”

“Don’t worry, I’m growing used to your gross morning breath.”

Eric cocked his head and frowned. “And just how minty do you think yours smells right now?”

“My theory is that because you snore, yours is grosser.”

“I do not snore,” Eric exclaimed.

“You sure do,” Gabriel retorted with a grin. “It’s not very loud, and I think it’s cute, but you definitely snore.”

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