Page 19

W ith a yawn, Luke opened his freezer and contemplated his choices. He’d made a run to the grocery store on Friday, so he was stocked with plenty of frozen options. After ten years of drifting around the country, Luke didn’t know how to cook. He kept promising himself he’d learn a few recipes, but it hadn’t happened yet.

A beep from his phone caught his attention. Luke dragged the device out of his pocket and grinned at Richard’s name on his screen. Mealtime was forgotten, and the freezer door slammed closed as he responded to the necromancer. Richard wanted to know if he could call him. As if he’d ever have anything better to do than speak to his soulmate.

With a grin, Luke hit the button to call Richard. Since leaving the hotel, Luke had eaten, taken a nap, and grabbed a shower. Reality hadn’t settled in yet, and there were still moments when Luke wondered if the previous night had really happened.

“Hello?”

“Did you get my note?” Luke asked.

“Yes, thank you for that.”

“I was expecting you to immediately argue that you don’t talk in your sleep.”

“Don’t worry, that argument will happen, but I’m not at liberty to speak about it right now.”

“Ask him, Richard,” a female voice said loud enough that Luke heard her distinctly through the phone.

“I’m trying,” Richard countered. “Lucas, would you like to come over and have dinner with me and my family?”

“Absolutely,” Luke said, rushing to his bedroom. He was about to grab sneakers, but he stopped. “Is there a dress code or anything I should know about?”

“No, I’m wearing sweats.” There was some commotion on the other end as Luke went ahead and put on his tennis shoes. “Do you mind if I put you on hold for a second?”

“Go ahead,” Luke replied.

By the time Richard returned, Luke was in the hallway, locking his front door. “Sorry about that,” Richard said. “My family has decided to be extremely annoying today. I had to escape to my bedroom.”

“I wasn’t sure when you’d get a chance to contact me today. How’s the happy couple?”

“Just as irritating as everyone else in this house today. We had to tell them about their surprise vacation because Gabriel can’t go an entire day without talking about work. They’re leaving after dinner. I hope they’re packing right now so there are a few less people in this house to deal with in the next few hours.”

“Rough day?”

“You have no idea. It started out great, but my afternoon sucked. Do you remember how to get here?”

“I know the general direction, but I’ll need some help once I’m closer,” Luke said. He switched his phone to speaker and set it on the console so he could continue to talk to Richard safely as he drove. The technology that connected his phone to his car had long ago stopped functioning. Now that Luke was staying in Vegas permanently, he needed to remedy his vehicle situation. He didn’t want to empty his savings, but he could start putting his full paycheck toward a car payment. That was as far down that avenue as Luke wanted to go right now because he still couldn’t believe Foxe had acted so horribly the previous afternoon.

“Let me pull this shit up on my phone so I don’t get you lost. I’m not going downstairs to ask Gabriel or anyone else for help or I’ll get pelted with questions and unhelpful information. I put you on speaker. My mother says I have to change my clothes.”

Luke pulled out of the building’s garage. “So, you’re going to get naked? Like right now while you’re on the phone with me?”

“Depends on what pants I choose because I’m not in a thong and I hate a line to ruin the aesthetic of my outfit.”

Wiggling in his seat, Luke focused on the road and wrestled his mind away from the dangerous territory of recalling exactly how Richard looked naked. The man was gorgeous from the top of his fruity-smelling hair to his slender, arched feet.

“Don’t paint me a picture, Dragonfly, I can’t eat dinner if I wreck my car.”

“Drive safely, damn it.”

“Doing my best. How come you told me I didn’t have to dress up but you have to change out of sweats?”

“Ask my mother,” Richard said dryly. “We need to talk, okay? Because of what happened this afternoon, I had to do something before speaking with you. Or maybe I was wrong, and I should’ve called you first. I’m not sure, so I’m asking for your forgiveness.”

“I’m confused, but okay. What happened?”

“I told my family that you’re my soulmate. We didn’t discuss how we’d announce it, and I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize,” Luke insisted. “You already told me you didn’t want it to be a secret. I didn’t need to be there for you to tell your own family.”

“You’re being very considerate, thank you. I wanted to wait for you. But…well, this afternoon, it was…emotional.”

Luke didn’t need to be told that; he could hear the distress in Richard’s voice. “What happened, Dragonfly?”

“I like that nickname,” Richard said. “Douglas asked to come over. Lucas, he…he thought something was happening between him and I. That was news to me. He wanted to find out if we were soulmates.”

Shock had Luke’s mouth dropping open. But he snapped it closed a second later. He’d wondered if they were a couple, and he couldn’t blame Douglas for trying. Richard was wonderful and sexy.

“I felt so bad for him,” Richard continued. “The last thing I wanted to do was hurt him. But I had no choice. And the truth is, even if I didn’t already have a soulmate, I’m not attracted to Douglas. He’s my friend. My dear friend. He’s like family to me. Gabriel mentioned he had suspicions, but he didn’t tell me. He didn’t know for sure. Douglas was so angry, he stormed out. Tomorrow is going to be so awkward.”

“Wow, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

“Me too. I don’t want to lose my friendship with him, but what happens now will be up to him. He deserves to dictate how our relationship unfolds. I can’t force him to be my friend if he’s not ready to do that.”

“I hope you don’t lose your friendship with him either.”

“Thanks for not freaking out and throwing some fit because I want to remain friends with someone who just asked me to have sex with them,” Richard said.

Luke shook his head though he was alone in his car. “It’s easy for me to understand why he’s attracted to you and the importance of finding a soulmate, so I can’t blame a guy for trying. Plus, you’ve known him for years. We met three months ago. Our first night together was…well, this morning. Not that I’ll ever have a right to dictate how you live your life. That’s not fair.”

“This is why I like you more every day. Now, brace yourself, I picked out my clothes and I need to switch to a thong.”

“Did you tell me that so I’d be thinking about you naked?”

“I’m no expert on relationships, but I know how to flirt, Lucas.”

Charmed by Richard, Luke stopped at a light. “Once you’ve stopped teasing me, maybe you could make sure I’m headed in the right direction so I make it to your house before dinner?”

“Oh please, do you think anyone is going to eat without you? They’re probably downstairs creating a list of questions to pepper you with right now.”

With some guidance from Richard, Luke took a few turns and was soon in the fancy neighborhood the Marwoods called home.

“Tell me what kind of questions your family is going to ask me.”

“Lucas, I don’t want to frighten you, but they’ll probably hit every important subject in a rapid-fire interrogation that will make you wonder why you ever wanted to have sex with me.”

Despite how happy Luke was to find himself paired with Richard, the whole family thing was intimidating. Luke had no experience being part of one, and he wanted to impress the Marwoods. Did they approve of a rescued inspirit being with their eldest son? What would happen to his relationship with Richard if they didn’t like him?

Luke reassured himself that he’d attended a wedding between a Marwood and a rescued inspirit the previous day. While he wasn’t comfortable comparing himself to anyone, there were parallels between Gabe and Luke’s relationship and Richard and Luke’s. That offered him some hope that the Marwoods wouldn’t reject him without cause or make him mysteriously disappear.

“That’s terrifying,” Luke managed, fear making his stomach clench.

“Don’t be scared, they’re just excited.”

“That’s good, right?”

“Yes, they were literally trying to lecture me on how it was my responsibility to go to bed with Douglas despite any protest I could make, which is why I told them the truth. It was my only way out. Or I’d still be in that kitchen with my parents and their disapproving stares. I couldn’t deal with it. All I could think of was the misery I know Douglas is coping with right now because of me. I took a chance last night. I know how brave he was to show up today. It sucked to say no.”

“Like how I nearly did because I didn’t understand what you were asking?”

“I want to make excuses for you, but you did nearly embarrass me for eternity.”

“In my defense, your invitation was implied, not directly stated.”

“Excuse me, but there were too many people in the room for me to ask you if you wanted to fuck, Lucas.”

Luke grinned at the ire in Richard’s voice. “After some reflection, don’t you think you could’ve done a better job?”

Richard’s outraged gasp was music to Luke’s ears. “Lucas Wynnter, you were attracted to me if last night was any indication, so why wasn’t I the one letting you down gently?”

“Are you really questioning if I’m attracted to you?”

“Okay, no.”

“Thank you. To answer your question, I lacked the courage you showed last night. Plus, you’re my boss and you can fire me.”

“That’s weird because I think of us as coworkers.”

Pulling to a stop in front of the correct house, Luke frowned. “But we’re not.”

“Inspirits don’t get fired, Lucas. If things don’t work out, they’re transferred or given the tools to help them excel outside of Marwood properties. I sign your timesheet because it’s one of my duties, not because I think of myself as your supervisor. In every aspect, necromancers in the Marwood family are equal to our inspirits.”

Affection for Richard had Luke grinning. “Thank you for explaining, that’s lovely. But you killed my fantasy of being invited into your office to perform sexual favors to avoid being fired after a poor performance evaluation.”

Richard cackled. “We’ll talk about your weird little fantasies later. Wave to me, I’m in the upstairs window. Go to the door and ring the bell, I’m not going downstairs until you’re inside or they’ll swarm me.”

“Do you have cookies to sweeten the deal?”

“Haven’t had time to bake any, will a kiss do?”

Luke climbed out of the car with his phone in his hand. “Let’s find out. Talk to you in a few minutes.”

“Bye.”

Richard disconnected, and Luke made the walk up to the mansion. The house was no less daunting on his second trip to the estate, but things were different now. Richard was his soulmate, and according to the necromancer, his family approved of their relationship. Lucas was about to find out if that was true.

With his heart in this throat, Luke hit the doorbell and hoped to hell Richard was right. Gabe pulled the door open. His often-stoic face was predictably expressionless.

“Thanks for coming over,” Gabe stated.

“Thanks for having me, and congratulations again on your wedding, it was beautiful.”

Gabe smiled, and the butterflies in Luke’s stomach fluttered with less intensity. “Appreciate it.”

“Move,” Richard ordered from behind his brother-in-law. To Luke’s surprise, Richard’s hair wasn’t perfectly coiffed; it lay flat on his forehead. It was charming and made him appear somehow younger but just as gorgeous. He stepped close to Luke, and the inspirit grinned as he scooped Richard into his arms. Their lips met in a soft kiss that Luke would’ve deepened if Gabe weren’t standing a few feet away.

“Hi,” Richard said when Luke lifted his head.

“Hi, you look beautiful.”

“Hush, no I don’t, but also, tell me more.”

Luke laughed. “I like your hair.”

“Of course, the one thing that makes me look a hot mess. I was about to tell you how well those jeans suit you, but you’ve ruined my mood.”

“Congratulations on an eternity with Richard,” Gabe offered.

Richard pulled away but grabbed Luke’s hand. “You forgot to tell Lucas that if his soulmate was a necromancer, he’d be immortal too.”

“I wasn’t expecting to explain soulmates to anyone.”

“But you know how it works. Now, play nice or I won’t help Eric pack for your trip. He’ll probably put thirty shirts and zero pants in a suitcase. You’ll spend your entire honeymoon shopping for clothes so the man is presentable in public.”

“Not that I want to get involved in this disagreement, but the man is going on his honeymoon, why does he want his soulmate wearing pants?” Luke asked.

“Thank you,” Gabe replied. “I couldn’t have said it better myself.”

“Come on, Lucas, we have an interrogation to attend, then I need to explain to you how loyalties work.”

“Congratulations again, Luke,” Gabe snickered.

“Ignore him. Thank fuck my brother is the one who has to deal with him for eternity.”

“Richard, be nice to Gabriel, he was married yesterday,” Rosalind demanded as she entered the foyer. “Lucas, we’re so pleased you could join us. Can I get you anything to drink?”

“I’ll grab you a beer,” Gabe said on his way out. “You’ll need it.”

“And I’m the one getting yelled at for not being nice,” Richard grumbled.

Luke remained nervous about the evening ahead, but he was also enjoying the easy camaraderie of the Marwoods. Did destiny believe he’d fit into their lives with ease? Luke hoped so; he wanted Richard to have happiness in every avenue of his life. And Luke dearly wanted to get to know everyone who was important to Richard.