Page 55 of Thanatos' Craving

But something clicked during the last few days the more I spent time with him.

I longed to stay close to him, cherishing every moment we spent together, though. His touch, especially the gentle brush of his hand, ignited a desire within me. Since that day he lit up my skin, it’s as if he deliberately withholds his touch from me. He only made contact when absolutely necessary, always keeping a barrier between us, my clothes acting as a reminder of the distance between our bodies.

Which was annoying.

His words were strong enough to let me know he cared for me. Now I thought maybe it was only for friendship since he has not touched me since he has lit up my soul on my skin. I was just a pet, or someone to talk to like his wallow, Fluffy. He required someone to have conversations with and act as an oversized nightlight.

His anger had subsided since that night. He didn’t watch my every move, command me as much, anyway. He wanted to know I’m safe, and secretly, I liked it a lot. I’ve never had someone want to spend as much time with me in the past.

I enjoyed the days that progressed since becoming a walking lantern. He’d shown me the animal that resembled black dwarf rabbits that nibble on his small garden he liked to grow. They had long ears that touched the ground, no eyes, and long fingers for front paws. I was able to catch one, and as weird as it looked, they were cute in their own Underworld way.

Thanatos took special care of his garden. Even if he was known for being the God of Death and said he couldn’t give life, he very much had a green thumb. He said it wasn’t him that helped the plant grow, but the soil. The Underworld has a special soil, especially in the darkest part where he lives, that soaks up the riches of nutrients from under the mountain. Instead of gathering their food from light, Thanatos said when his army of reapers bring the souls to the Underworld, bits of their bodies are sprinkled over the mountain, thus making the soil rich.

Ew.

He said it so ominously; I thought he might be joking, but I don’t really think Thanatos knew how to joke.

Thanatos only helped one goddess regularly, and that was Hecate. With his quiet love of gardening, he planted nightshade, mint, echinacea, yarrow, comfrey, and dandelion. The soil itself brought the potency of the herbs near one hundred-fold, and Thanatos gathered it for both him and for the goddess.

I didn’t ask about the relationship he had with Hecate, the Goddess of Witchcraft. Part of me was jealous, and I didn’t want to pry into his private life. He’d lived a long time, and I didn’t need to know his relationships with any of his past.

Something told me though, he hasn’t had a relationship in quite some time.

As the days went on, Thanatos had become easier to talk to about daily life. We hadn’t dug into our pasts in the slightest. I was thankful for that. I wasn’t ready to spill what my past was and about how I came into the strip club, but I knew it was coming. We were on day five of this routine, and Thanatos was quieter than usual today.

Hypnos, who usually joined us for dinner, wasn’t present. Another clue that something was coming. When he said to set the table for only two, I knew he heard my heart stop.

“Juni, please don’t.” Thanatos stirred the large pot that had simmered all day.

I swear if I had a friend back on Earth and I told them that the Grim Reaper was actually fully domesticated and could party like Martha Stewart, no one would believe me.

I shrugged my shoulders and put the plate away. “I-I don’t know what you are talking about.”

The glow on my skin faded when there was more light in the room, but if I became nervous or excited, the gold shimmer danced across my skin and the green trails of sparks flutteredaround my cheeks. I couldn’t tell if Thanatos liked it or not, because the hood still shrouded him.

I wanted to beg him to take off the hood; I wanted to see what was under the darkness and why those blue eyes shine so brightly sometimes.

But then he might ask questions about my past. Not that it matters, because I think he was about to do it now.

“My treasure, what do you think I am about to ask you?” He hung the ladle over the soup and took the pot off the fire.

Crap, does he have to call me his treasure? That’s my weakness. I’ll tell him whatever he wants if he calls me that.

His eyes glowed brighter beneath the hood.

Oh hell.

“I am happy you have the gift of telling me what is on your mind. Better than me having to read it.”

I put my hands on my hips. “Gods can do that?”

He chuckled. “A lot of us can. I can read minds through souls if the soul is open to it. It’s difficult when they fight it. Athena can crawl in a human mind easily but she finds it primitive. She likes to figure out what is wrong with someone without using that method.”

Thanatos pulled out my chair and gestured for me to sit. I sat obediently and watched as his wings scraped across the floor and he sat across from me. He took a long drink from his goblet and set it down.

My knee bounced up and down under the table, my finger tapping on the surface of the wood.

Thanatos reached across the table and grabbed my trembling hand with both of his. I stared up into his hood, and I never felt more naked now than I ever had, even when I worked at Fuzzy Bunnies.

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