Page 23

T wo nights later, Richard’s bedroom was bathed in the light of a single lamp. The throw pillows had been tossed onto the padded bench at the base of his bed frame, and he should’ve been asleep twenty minutes ago. He had work in the morning and needed his rest. But he was far too busy to consider snoozing.

Richard’s fingers were threaded through Lucas’s thick locks, and his mouth was moving beneath his soulmate’s. Their bodies were flush. A hard cock poked his midsection. Richard couldn’t complain. His own rigid length was pressed against Lucas.

Since Lucas had moved in, time had raced by, and Richard’s weekend had passed in a blink. Richard hadn’t slept alone, and he’d already grown addicted to waking in the morning in Lucas’s arms. If he’d known such coziness and delight existed, he wouldn’t have sworn off soulmates in the first place.

But he was also good at fooling himself. It wasn’t Richard’s attitude or poor choices in men that had been the problem. What Richard had lacked was Lucas. His kindness. His charm. And the savagely beautiful way he used his tongue to entice Richard.

A moan escaped him, and Richard couldn’t help grinding his hips into Lucas. He wanted relief so badly. But they’d spent the last two days in a whirlwind and had learned precious little about each other. They needed to focus on their friendship. To build the tight bond expected of soulmates.

Failure wasn’t an option. At least not to Richard. He remained afraid of botching things with Lucas, but he was also committed to making every effort to avoid it. Now that Richard had a soulmate, he wanted to excel. To treat Lucas with the respect and care he deserved.

A warm hand slid under Richard’s sleep shorts, and he lost his train of thought.

“Dragonfly, why aren’t you wearing underwear?” Lucas growled as he nibbled Richard’s bottom lip.

“It’s bedtime. I don’t wear underwear with my jammies.”

“Why does everything I learn about you make me want you more?”

Richard could hardly be expected to answer such a ludicrous question, so he gave his attention to getting his own chance to fondle Lucas’s skin. It meant giving up part of his hold on Lucas’s silky waves, but compromises had to be made. His questing fingers wiggled beneath Lucas’s T-shirt, and he liked the way the inspirit’s back muscles bunched as they wiggled to get friction.

“Should we stop?” Lucas asked. “Are we stopping?”

Annoyed that Lucas kept talking when Richard wanted to make out, he scowled. “Do you want to stop?”

“No.”

“Do you think I want to stop?”

The light was low in the room, but Richard was confident that Lucas’s pretty gray eyes were dilated thanks to desire. “Probably not.”

“Then stop asking so many questions.”

“But didn’t we agree not to rush sex?”

“That’s another damn question, Lucas.”

The inspirit laughed. “Sorry. Could you address it though?”

“I’m making you come before I fall asleep. Is that a good enough answer for you?”

Lucas’s grin was feral. “Yes, it is. Thank you.”

The air whooshed from Richard’s lungs as Lucas hauled him closer. Lucas rolled, and Richard was happily trapped beneath him. Their mouths met, but Lucas kept the kiss brief. Richard wasn’t sure whether to be disappointed or not.

His decision was easily made a moment later as Lucas dragged Richard’s loose top up and over his head. Determined to feast his gaze on Lucas’s smooth skin, Richard tugged at his T-shirt. Lucas whipped it off, and Richard’s palms landed on his shoulders. He slid them across the muscled planes of Lucas’s chest and belly.

Richard would’ve explored further, but Lucas straightened so he was on his knees. He hooked his fingers in his waistband and pushed both his sleep pants and boxers down. Richard licked his lips as Lucas wiggled the rest of the way out of his clothes. His stiff flushed cock bobbed as he moved.

So engrossed in the fantastic view, it took Richard a second to aid Lucas in pulling off his own pajama bottoms.

“Spread your legs for me, Dragonfly,” Lucas requested as he tossed Richard’s last article of clothing onto the area rug beneath the bed.

Able, willing, and ready to make Lucas happy, Richard bent his legs and slid them apart. He wasn’t worried about Lucas pushing anything that he wasn’t ready for. Lucas was far too gentle of a person to pressure Richard after he’d confessed that intercourse frightened him.

Lucas made himself at home between Richard’s knees and shuffled upward so their lips met again. The inspirit’s sexy mouth was swollen from their kisses. It didn’t stop Lucas from reuniting their tongues. Richard held him close as they tasted each other.

The musky scent of his soulmate swamped him, and Richard reveled in the heaviness of his limbs. Desire had quickened his heart rate, and he grabbed a breath when he could. Every other ounce of energy was focused on building on the passion that roared to life whenever he and Lucas touched.

It was tempting to complain, but Richard didn’t argue as Lucas bent his head to nip at Richard’s ear. Richard buried his fingers in Lucas’s hair again as Lucas moved downward. Lucas’s tongue flicked a nipple, and Richard moaned. An electric shock moved through him with dazzling intensity.

Attuned to him, Lucas suckled, and Richard’s cock throbbed in delight. He could literally put his mouth anywhere and find a spot that perfectly torments me , Richard thought with a mixture of joy and slight embarrassment.

Either too early or far too late, Lucas stopped toying with Richard’s chest and laid a kiss on his belly. The muscles quivered. Lucas chose not to linger. Instead, he closed his mouth over Richard’s dick. It was such a wonderful fucking sensation that Richard’s back bowed.

Lucas was doing dangerous things with his tongue as he sucked Richard. He moved so fast and with such confidence that all Richard could do was feel. And burn slowly from the inside. He tried moving his hips, but Lucas put a quick stop to that by trapping Richard with sturdy hands.

Somehow, that made the experience hotter. Richard clung to Lucas’s hair as sparks raced along his spine. Two souls filled his mind, and Richard wanted to cheer as they twisted a little closer together. They were excelling at being soulmates.

Lucas swallowed around the head of Richard’s cock, and he shouted the inspirit’s name as he lost control. Richard held his breath as he climaxed. It was startling in its strength.

And he couldn’t wait to repeat it.

Richard dragged air into his lungs. His immediate concern was to make Lucas feel incredible too. Thankfully, Lucas crawled forward and sealed their lips together. It was beautifully erotic to taste his own essence in Lucas’s talented mouth.

Lucas groaned and grabbed Richard’s arm. The inspirit guided it away from his head. Richard kept the muscles relaxed, and he caught on quickly as Lucas pulled his limb toward the inspirit’s waist. With a smile, Richard wiggled his hand between them and fisted Lucas’s length.

Richard squeezed and stroked him. Lucas pumped his hips. His lips grazed Richard’s cheek. A heartbeat later, his seed splattered between them.

“Are we done pretending we don’t want to have sex?” Richard whispered.

Lucas’s chuckles were more air than sound since the man was still trying to breathe. “Yes, you’re too fucking sexy, Dragonfly.”

Heedless of the mess, Richard pulled him close and kissed him again. Their no-sex rule hadn’t lasted long, and Richard didn’t give a fig about abstinence.

???

Several days later, Richard received an email and winced. Although he’d been raised to believe in himself and loved his confidence, he realized he was a menace like his parents. The message in his inbox was confirmation. It was an itemized list of the things arriving at home in a few days.

Richard loved clothes, shoes, and accessories. Deals were also something he liked. So, if one of his favorite retailers alerted him to a sale, he perused their merchandise. As he selected things, he’d grab a top he knew Maribeth would adore or added something to his cart that suited Eric. There were purchases for himself too, otherwise his closet wouldn’t be so full.

But earlier in the week, as he’d scrolled, a few items had screamed Lucas to him. The inspirit stuck to a few colors—blues, grays, black, and white. Richard had given no thought about his decision to add Lucas to the group of people he routinely shopped for.

Now, there would be a box arriving in a couple of days with things for Lucas. Richard hadn’t asked for permission, nor would he accept one cent from Lucas for anything he’d bought. Learning he was as awful as his father pushing a car that had already been paid for onto Lucas didn’t bring Richard any joy.

Would it be better to alert Lucas to what he’d done or wait for the evidence to arrive? Before Richard could argue both sides in his head, someone knocked on his open door. Guiltily, Richard exited his email and was nearly relieved to find Douglas standing there.

But the frozen hostility in his gaze kept Richard tied in knots.

“Do you have a minute?” Douglas asked.

“Of course.”

“Thanks,” Douglas replied.

Richard said nothing as Douglas shut the door behind him, enclosing them in the office without an audience. It was unusual for Richard to have private meetings, but not unheard of—and especially not with the co-director of the department. Not that Richard bothered worrying about office gossip. He was related to the owner; it followed him wherever he went anyway.

“It’s been a long week,” Douglas said, taking a seat on the small couch in Richard’s office.

Since he felt foolish staying behind his desk, Richard rose and sat opposite Douglas in a tonal black chair reminiscent of the sheets he’d rolled around on with Lucas last night. While the workdays were awkward thanks to the rift between him and Douglas, the rest of the week had flown by for Richard.

“Yes, I don’t want to pry, but how are you doing?”

Douglas’s mouth firmed, and anger flashed in his eyes. “I’d prefer to keep our private business away from work, but since you asked and we’ve been friends for years, I’ll be honest. I’ve been better. You’re making a mistake. One that is robbing us both.”

“I’m sorry, Douglas. I hate that I’ve hurt you, but I disagree,” Richard replied. “The last thing I’d ever want to do is upset you. If I had a way to take away the pain you’re feeling now, I’d do it without hesitation.”

“The way you care about others is one of the reasons I respect you. Which is why, despite my feelings, I wanted to let you know that the offer still stands. Whenever you’re ready to discover if we’re soulmates, I’ll be here for you.”

“Douglas, I don’t want you to wait for me. You deserve your soulmate. It’s not me. Please don’t stop living or seeking the person meant for you.”

“You’re making an assumption without evidence, but I refuse to argue with you,” Douglas snapped. He closed his eyes, sucked in a deep breath, then exhaled slowly. “Let’s set that aside for now. We have an office to run. It’s impossible to do that if we’re at odds with one another. Gossip is spreading about how we haven’t spoken this week, and that’s not good for morale. We need to patch things up publicly.”

Richard wanted to insist Douglas give up the idea of them being soulmates, but it would lead to more arguing. Like Richard, Douglas was a stubborn man. The chatter hadn’t reached Richard, and Lucas refused to comment, but the rumors didn’t surprise the necromancer. It wasn’t so large a staff that things went unnoticed often.

Which was why Richard was careful about his words and how often he spoke to Lucas in the office, but that was another issue and not one he’d involved Douglas in. With Douglas’s refusal to take his offer off the table, Richard didn’t know how to reveal the truth about his relationship with Lucas. That was a problem for another afternoon, unfortunately.

“Of course I’m willing to be professional and work as a team,” Richard said. “I’ll respect your desire to not push for friendship right now. I hope you’ll consider prioritizing yourself.”

“Thank you. I believe I’m doing the best for myself in every respect.”

“Okay. While I have you here, is there anything we need to discuss for this weekend’s events?” Richard asked. “I’m pretty sure we covered everything through email, but I thought I’d check anyway.”

Douglas had sent Richard countless messages. It’d taken twice as long as normal to complete anything, but Richard hadn’t complained or marched to his office to finalize plans for upcoming events, though he’d been sorely tempted.

“No, I think we are set. However, we should meet early on Monday because I have questions about the upcoming education conference.”

“Join me first thing on Monday morning and we’ll go over it step by step,” Richard promised.

Douglas nodded and stood. “One more thing before I go.”

“Sure, what’s up?”

“One of the other rumors that I’ve heard several times both yesterday and today is that our newest inspirit, Luke, has started a relationship with Holly. It’s none of our business who either of them are sleeping with, but I wanted to let you know. You remember what happened last year after Morris and Kelly broke up? Kelly quit. Morris transferred. It took us weeks to straighten things out around here.”

Richard bit his lip and wondered how that rumor had started. Holly was a human who’d worked in the office for the past two years. The pretty redhead was outgoing and friendly. Richard didn’t know her relationship status, but he could guarantee she wasn’t sleeping with Lucas. Unless, of course, the man had tired Richard out and escaped Gabriel’s security undetected to gallivant to Holly’s house sometime in the previous week.

Feeling mischievous and preparing his ammunition to tease Lucas later, he swallowed to prevent a chuckle from escaping.

“Interesting, when did that start?”

“Recently,” Douglas responded. “They left Eric and Gabriel’s wedding together. Either that or they were a couple before then and were more discreet, but at least since that night. I saw them together at lunch today, so I can confirm they’re at least cozy.”

“Just the two of them eating lunch?” Richard asked.

“No, there were a couple of other staff with them, but they were seated next to each other and laughing together in a way that gave me pause.”

“Gabriel’s recently made a friend of Lucas, I’ll mention it to him. Maybe he could warn Lucas about what’s being said?” Richard suggested as his earlier menace assessment roared to life in his head.

Richard could no longer deny he was evil. But at least Douglas didn’t know that he was laughing internally at the tales swirling around Lucas and poor innocent Holly. Thankfully, Richard had an avenue to get the rumors to stop, so Holly’s reputation wouldn’t suffer further. She and Lucas deserved better than having their personal lives discussed behind their backs. The imaginary chat between Gabriel and Lucas would allow Richard to tell Douglas on Monday that the gossip was incorrect. Soon, everyone would know that Lucas wasn’t sleeping with Holly.

“If anyone can teach Luke how to be discreet, it’s Gabe. Talk to him,” Douglas advised. “I wonder if this relationship with Holly is why Luke suddenly decided to purchase a home. Your parents would find nothing unusual about it and likely offered the guesthouse with no questions asked. They’ve never wavered in their support of inspirits.”

“As usual, you’re right. I’ll speak with Gabe tonight.”

“Thanks, I hope you’ll give thought to your words. There’s a lot I could be right about, but you have to be willing to try,” Douglas remarked as he stood and headed for the door. “Enjoy your weekend, Richard.”

All of Richard’s humor vanished as Douglas reminded him again that they still had this awkward, awful obstacle sandwiched between them.

“You too,” Richard murmured as the inspirit walked out.