Page 2 of Charmed By Destiny

“I’m glad you’re here,” Richard told David. “We can use your expertise.”

“Rosalind told me on the car ride over she wants Eric and Gabriel to have the final say on everything,” David confided.

Richard smirked. “Yes, like he did with his bedroom.”

Douglas sailed into the conference room, and Richard kissed David’s cheek, then moved on to embrace his mother. It’d been less than an hour since Richard had been with his family eating breakfast, but they were his world, and he adored them.

“I tried to invite Maribeth, but she insisted on staying home,” Rosalind revealed, worry in her blue eyes.

Maribeth had been distant lately, but she was working through a lot. Her only parent had kidnapped Eric, intending to kill him. Alden Marwood had lost his wife twenty-five years ago and had somehow twisted the situation in his mind, deciding that the destiny-touched Eric was to blame. Thankfully, the plot had been foiled. But not without a cost.

Maribeth had been shot by her father while trying to save Eric, and to keep from going to jail, Uncle Alden had taken his own life. Maribeth’s shoulder wound had healed quickly thanks to her necromancer blood, but for reasons Richard couldn’t fathom, she blamed herself for what had happened.

It frustrated Richard, but he had to allow his cousin to handle her emotions the way she wanted, and she insisted on going at it mostly alone. Richard was her best friend, but she refused to confide in him. It worried him and did little to help him sleep at night.

“Maybe Eric can convince her to get involved,” Richard suggested, already knowing it’d be a futile gesture. Maribeth would insist that Eric and Gabriel be the ones making the decisions and that her presence had no point.

“We’ll see,” his mother replied, though Richard could tell he’d done nothing to ease her worries. “Hug Gabriel.”

Doing as his mother bid, Richard was taken into a big bear hug by the brawny inspirit Eric had been crushing on since he was twelve years old.

“Are you ready to spend all that Wolfebrier money?” Richard teased.

“I’d spend every penny to please your brother,” Gabriel vowed. Delighted that Eric had someone who loved him unconditionally and would literally lay down his life for him, Richard grinned at the tall inspirit.

“Good thing for you the mashed potatoes he’ll request won’t put much of a dent in your bank account.”

Gabriel cracked a smile, then stepped aside to greet Douglas. Richard’s delight grew as he tugged his only sibling into his arms.

“Your man looks good today,” Richard said.

Eric fixed his dreamy blue gaze on Richard’s face. “He looks good every day.”

“Oh, trust me, I know. Why do you think I worked so hard to get him to notice you were more than the destiny-touched necro he was sworn to protect?”

“Considering what you think of hot guys, I’m surprised you didn’t tell me to run in the other direction,” Eric muttered.

Richard’s track record with men was sorry at best. He didn’t have vast experience, but his encounters had soured him. Every damn time, he’d allowed himself to become fixated on a handsome face and hadn’t considered their personality. But no longer. The last straw was allowing some pretty man with no kindness in his heart to take the last vestiges of his virginity.

Trying anal sex had been painful and embarrassing. He could vividly recall being on the bed with his ass in the air and his cheek pressed into a pillow as the man whose name he refused to remember emptied into him with a grunt. Meanwhile, Richard hadn’t even been hard any longer and had desperately waited for it to end so he could escape.

He’d told no one about his tears afterward. Instead, he’d promised himself that he was done with that foolishness. The first frisson of desire was nice, but it didn’t end well for him. Richard was no longer willing to gamble himself or his body on anyone. He made poor choices when it came to men.

So, he was done with them. Permanently. The last damn thing he wanted was a soulmate. Much to the disgust of his brother.

Richard swatted Eric’s ass. “Be good. We’re here to celebrate love. Specifically, yours and Gabriel’s. Now, slap a smile on your face and pretend you care about tablecloths, dinnerware, and floral arrangements.”

Eric’s mouth twisted in disgust. “We have to decide all that?”

“Gabriel’s not going to listen to any talk about elopement, so yeah.”

“No one warned me about all this shit. I just want to be with Gabriel,” Eric muttered as he stomped inelegantly to a seat near his soulmate.

Amused, Richard grabbed a chair next to Douglas and allowed a vision of a silver-and-white reception to float into his mind. White represented inspirits, and unlike that of most necromancers, Eric’s essence was silver instead of black. The two colors would be perfect together, and Richard wanted it to sparkle as brightly as the love flowing between his brother and Gabriel.

Chapter 2

Luke Wynnter was trapped in a delicious dream. Beneath him, a pretty man’s mouth trembled open as Luke slid deep inside him. His lips curved into a grin. Luke thrust hard and expected a moan. Instead, a hand landed on his shoulder and shook him fiercely.

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