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T he second Luke set his duffel bag on the gray couch in the guest room nearest to Richard’s suite, his soulmate unzipped it. Without asking, Richard plucked socks and underwear out. Luke went to grab the clothes from him, but Richard skirted around him and tucked everything away in a tall black dresser.

“I’m glad Gabriel and Eric are home,” Richard said. “I’ve had to wait all week to spend any time alone with you.”

“Dragonfly, you don’t have to put my stuff away for me.”

“Go hang up your slacks in the closet,” Richard ordered. “Of course I’m going to help. Thank goodness Mom intervened in the car thing, otherwise my father would’ve insisted on buying you the most expensive vehicle in Vegas.”

“Yeah, she pointed out I couldn’t explain how I was affording anything too pricey, but she shut down the option of me paying for it out of my own funds,” Luke complained.

“I argued with them too, but they’re old and set in their ways. You should start spending money like mad to get back at them. Fill this entire closet with clothes. Overpriced shit. Tell everyone at work you got them at thrift stores or something so no one knows you’re making my parents buy it.”

“You may be a menace too,” Luke told the necromancer.

“Of course I am, look at my parents. At least you’ve learned up front that my most awful traits are a result of crappy genetics. Now, when I act terrible, you can blame my parents.”

Luke laughed. “So, you’ll claim innocence for every horrible decision you make?”

“Obviously.”

“You’re definitely a menace.”

“Thanks, I try.”

“Did you and Maribeth decide which week you’re going to New York?” Luke asked as he stowed the last of his belongings in the closet.

Richard joined him with the empty duffel in his hand. “We’ll stash this in here. Shit, Lucas, there’s so much room. You need more clothes.”

“I’m not going to spend your parents’ money.”

“Use some of your own,” Richard insisted. “But don’t go too crazy. Closet space is not something I have in abundance. In fact, it’s probably going to pose a serious issue in the future.”

“Given that I rarely see you wear the same thing twice, I’m not surprised.”

“That’s a blatant lie, and yes, I’m going to New York in three weeks. Mari tried to get me to postpone it indefinitely since she doesn’t want to get in the way of our relationship, but that’s ridiculous. We agreed to nearly five days. Sunday evening through Thursday, then she’ll come back with me for a long weekend.”

“I didn’t consider how our relationship would affect so many members of your family so quickly,” Luke said.

“Don’t worry about it. My parents involved themselves with their demands that you move closer and buy a car. As for Mari, she should’ve invited me months ago, and I’m not putting up with any further delay.”

Richard stalked out of the closet, and Luke followed him out.

“This room is pretty,” Luke remarked.

“No one has used it before. I’m not sure why my mother insisted on having it. There’s an apartment in the house that we use when we resurrect inspirits, and Gabriel has a suite. I guess that’ll become a guest room now. Well, Gabriel thought it was for guests despite my mother decorating it in green for his eyes. That man can be so dense sometimes. Clearly, it was his, but he only used it over the holidays. How my mother talked him into doing that, I’m not sure.”

“The same way I was invited to have your parents buy me a car?” Luke asked with a smile.

“Exactly. They’re diabolical. It’s a wonder Eric, Mari, and I aren’t raving lunatics. We spent all but the last five or six years with only them and inspirits for company. It wasn’t until we moved to Vegas that my father added things to the resort and allowed us to do things normal people take for granted.”

Intrigued, Luke sat on the sofa and patted the cushion next to him. “You didn’t leave the house?”

“Not without guards,” Richard said, relaxing on the couch at Luke’s side. “We were homeschooled and sheltered. But I never complained. How could I? It was to protect Eric.”

“This entire thing with destiny-touched necromancers is awful. How different are the destiny-touched from regular necromancers? It’s a mark and stronger magic, right?”

“Your necromancer didn’t explain it?” Richard asked, his blue gaze widening. “Maybe it’s not common knowledge. Or perhaps the gifts vary like they do with inspirits. I don’t know. None of us do. It’s impossible to learn anything. Thanks to our need to hide from humans, nothing is written down. As for Eric, he can talk to spirits. Communicate with them even if they can’t speak. He can also open portals to allow them to cross to the other side.”

Luke was flabbergasted and impressed. “So, he isn’t making up the medium thing, he is one. Wow.”

“He is, but not in the traditional way I think most humans believe it works. He doesn’t get to choose which spirits contact him. They make the first move. Eric befriends them but doesn’t pry about their pasts, nor does he locate their living relatives. What he does is aid them in joining the rest of the dead.”

“Very noble of him. But knowing that confuses me more. Why would you want to stop someone from helping the dead? The entire point of a necromancer is to give life to the dead. Then families like yours give them resources. You’re helping them like Eric is, so why would anyone want to kill the destiny-touched? They are literally doing the jobs no one else can.”

Richard shrugged. “Makes no sense to me either. But necros hunt them. Gabriel’s did. It’s why the man is dead. Samael Wolfebrier was trying to murder another destiny-touched—a child. Gabriel tried to save the kid, but he was too late. The child was already dead. But he would’ve taken the shot to kill Samael anyway because he’d learned what a monster he was. Gabriel’s gift is perfect aim, so he didn’t miss. Samael murdered countless destiny-touched. I don’t know if that’s something Gabriel will ever forgive himself for. He loved Samael. Gabriel didn’t understand what was happening. Unconditionally, Gabriel supported Samael and helped bury the dead. Gabriel and Samael were family, but the man was a butcher.”

Luke’s heart broke for what Gabriel had suffered. “Shit, that’s horrible. To have to kill Foxe? I can’t imagine it. But I also couldn’t stomach the thought of protecting a murderer either. It’s not like you can turn them in to the human police.”

“No, they’d figure out we exist, and that’s the last thing we want.”

“Especially for the destiny-touched,” Luke said, shaking his head at the thought of two different populations going after the most gifted among them. “Can you imagine if humans decided people like Eric have too many skills too? We couldn’t save any of them. It’d be impossible.”

Richard took one of Luke’s hands and sandwiched it between his own. “I need you to know that if there is ever a choice of saving myself or stepping in front of danger approaching Eric, I won’t hesitate. Neither will anyone else in this family. Mari stepped in between Eric and her father and happily took a bullet meant for my brother.”

The thought of Richard facing a gun or anything else deadly horrified him, but he also understood the necromancer’s desire to protect his sibling. Knowing what Maribeth had endured already added to the terror. Richard wasn’t exaggerating. “I don’t like it because I prefer to think of you as being safe, but I also understand. Add me to the list of people willing to protect Eric, okay?”

“David and I take weekly kung fu classes, want to come?” Richard asked, grinning.

“Are you any good?”

“No. I don’t practice because I’m only there for David. He expressed interest in learning self-defense, and we don’t let David do anything alone.”

“I’m assuming he has a story?” Luke asked. “Was he hurt protecting Eric, like Maribeth?”

“No. I don’t know what happened to David. Clearly something did, but my parents made it clear from the time we were small children that questions aren’t welcome. His story is his own. I’d guess my parents know because he’s been with them his whole life, but they protect him. I can’t argue with that. David was resurrected by my mother, but I can’t even tell you when. That’s how much I know about David’s past. But it doesn’t matter. I don’t need to know who he was to love him now.”

“I understand.”

“I’d like to know pieces of your past though. At least the ones you want to talk about. Not now, because we don’t know each other that well…but someday.”

Luke brought their joined hands to his mouth and kissed Richard’s soft skin. “What skeletons do you think I’m hiding?”

“You’ve been alive for ten years. Things happened.”

“It’s a blur of a poorly decorated condo, frozen dinners, shitty motels, smelly casinos, odd jobs I did to get some money in my pocket, and crappy meals that didn’t stretch to include both cereal and milk because we couldn’t afford shit. Oh, and I had lovers. Want to hear about them?”

Richard’s nose crinkled in disgust. “No, absolutely not.”

“You’ve lived for thirty years. That means you have three times as many stories to tell.”

“Want me to talk about my lovers?”

“No. Tell me why you oppose marriage,” Luke said, vividly recalling Richard’s plans to avoid nuptials.

“We should probably talk about it before you hear it from someone else, since I was vocal with Mari and Eric about not wanting a soulmate. I’d sworn off sex and relationships. As for my parents, I wasn’t brave enough to announce my intention not to have a soulmate, but they knew I wasn’t interested in relationships. But bear with me because this is embarrassing.”

Luke shifted on the sofa so he was facing Richard. “We don’t have to talk about this now if you’re not ready.”

Richard kept ahold of Luke’s hand as he tucked a knee on the couch so it rested against Luke’s thigh and they were eye to eye. “Time isn’t going to make it easier. The truth is, I have a terrible track record of picking the wrong men. Shallow, I guess you’d call me. I like handsome men. I met a few. Not many. I’m not that experienced. I had three lovers…each worse than the last. Sex was paltry at best. The last guy, I dared attempt intercourse with. He finished. I didn’t. The man either didn’t care or failed to notice. He sailed out of the room, whistling. He was gorgeous on the outside but lacked redeeming qualities on the inside.”

“Oh, Dragonfly, I’m sorry,” Luke said, hating to think of anyone being cruel to Richard.

“You and I had a great night, but to be honest, intercourse still intimidates me.”

“We won’t do anything we both aren’t fully interested and invested in doing, okay? In fact, I’m glad you were brave enough to be honest with me because we rushed into the physical stuff. Maybe we should focus on something besides sex for now. That way, we can figure out what we both want and whether this is going to work before we confuse feelings with desire.”

Richard smiled. “I was looking forward to feeling the way I did last weekend again soon, but I think you’re right. Not forever, just for a little while. We’re not going to stop kisses and everything, are we?”

Leaning forward, Luke licked his way into Richard’s sweet mouth. The necromancer surrendered swiftly, but the strokes of his tongue weren’t tentative as they stoked a few flames of passion. While Luke’s dick wanted something far more intimate, they needed to learn about each other.

“No,” Luke whispered against Richard’s lips, then pulled away. “I’m not talking about banning sex forever. Not even a long time. It may be a few days or a couple of weeks. We’ll figure it out. This is a pause. A very temporary one.”

“Could I persuade you to consider some overnight snuggles?”

Luke grinned. “I’ll sleep in your bed if you want.”

“Probably for the best anyway. I wouldn’t put it past my parents to question why we aren’t sharing a bed if they discover you’re in here at night.”

It was too tempting to resist another kiss, so he pressed his smile to Richard’s frown. “Since we want to avoid ever discussing sex with your parents, we’re definitely sharing a bed often. Plus, I may get to hear all kinds of secrets.”

“I don’t talk in my sleep,” Richard argued.

Amused and eager to keep Richard guessing about what he might confess, Luke grinned. Richard had mumbled once during their night together, so Luke wasn’t being dishonest—more like stretching the truth. However, there was no reason to explain any of that to Richard. Not when it was infinitely more fun to tease him a little.

“Want to bet, Dragonfly?”