Page 82 of Thanatos' Craving

“She does, though,” Ares winked at me.

I turned my head, my face flaming red now. “No-no,” I stuttered. “It was just–um–I–”

“It a Prince Albert. Got it a few weeks ago.” He wrapped his arm around Mariah’s waist. “Mariah can’t get enough of it, can you, baby?”

Mariah rolled her eyes and nodded. “Yeah, it is pretty great.” She drew circles in Ares’ chest.

“So Juniper,” Ares nodded his head forward, so we could walk. At the end of the hallway, Uriel peeked around the corner tomake sure that Ares' pants were pulled up. “Have you clammed slammed Thanatos yet?”

I blinked and stared up at him. “Excuse me?”

“You know, clam slammed, sat on his face? Got some action? I heard Hypnos lent my books and pornographic material to help the poor guy out. Who knows how long since he’s gotten any, if anything at all.”

Pornographic material?

“We like to make fun demonstration videos,” Mariah whispered to me. “It’s kinda like Only Fans, but we do it for free because we get off on it. Ares uses it for his sex education after he taught Uriel. Athena isn’t too keen on teaching sex ed, so Ares was kind enough to be the front runner for the new set of gods and goddess growing up. Isn’t he sweet?”

Ares leaned down and kisses Mariah deeply. “Thanks baby, I try.”

My smile wobbled. “It certainly sounds interesting!”

A shiver ran through me and I hustled my way closer to Uriel.

“Luci says I can’t hang out with them much,” she whispered. “Especially when they talk about sex.”

I snorted, my laughter finally taking over. “I can see why.”

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Juniper

After our satisfying dinner, we gathered in a dimly lit sitting room enveloped in the flickering glow of a colossal fireplace. The hearth stood tall, stretching up to two stories high, its flames dancing vigorously, reaching halfway towards the heavens. Remarkably, it didn't require anyone to tend to it.

The room itself was not excessively warm but served as a captivating display. The air carried the rich scent of mahogany as the walls displayed its warm hue. Above the mantel, a grand portrait portrayed Hades, Ember, and their family, along with the formidable presence of Cerberus, who, I was informed, was not just a pet but a member of the family.

Cerberus, just like the human lore, was a three-headed hound who could actually talk, which was a new feature according to Uriel. Hades gave Cerberus this gift since he was expressingmore interest in acting human than animal because of his complicated thoughts from his many years of living.

He wasn’t here tonight, and I was a grateful for that because I don’t think I could handle one more outrageous thing, such as a three-headed hound that could talk to me.

My chonky Fluffy was just fine.

Ares and Uriel were currently playing Jenga. Ares was fully into the game, trying to use his tactical battle skills to measure which piece would be the most logical while Uriel picked blocks at random, and somehow still managed to win.

Lilith was playing with them but was promptly escorted to bed an hour ago, not that she hadn’t put up a fight. The Reaper did a great job of handling her. Lilith was certainly a strong-willed child, but I think the Reaper did something that the other previous nannies didn’t do. And it was that he listened to her.

He allowed her to throw her tantrums until she finished and then asked if she felt any better before escorting her to bed. I guess reapers have more patience than real demon nannies, I suppose.

Curled up by the warm, crackling fire, I found myself engrossed in the soothing sounds of the embers as they danced and flickered in the roaring flames. With Macaroni nestled in my arms, and Fluffy by my legs, I let my mind wander to thoughts of Thanatos.

Not that he’d strayed far from my mind all day. He’d consumed me, in my mind, body, and heart. I won’t say soul. I didn’t want to, because part of me doesn’t want to believe it.

Is it the bond pushing me toward him? My craving to be wanted? I’m so insecure to be pushed away, I don’t even want to try.

Mariah closed the book she’s reading and purred in her chest. It was a wolf thing, that much I knew. I’d heard Ares do it when he was comforting Mariah when she was missing their child atdinner. “Ah, now she speaks her thoughts,” Mariah interrupted me.

“Damnit.” I sighed.

Mariah rubbed my hand and smiled. “Didn’t Uriel tell you not to think so much about this?”

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