Page 24 of The Death God
“I wish he’d feed himself some too.”
Jaki grunted and headed for his and Rufus’ room. “Have a good night, Gregory.”
He intended to. Walking toward the kitchen with determined steps, he grinned to himself.
He stepped over the threshold right as Thanatos was about to put the jar back on top of the refrigerator. “Hey, babe.”
A yelp followed by a crash, then there was dough and glass shards all over the floor. “No.” Thanatos looked so heartbroken, something twisted in Gregory’s chest.
Then he dropped into a crouch and reached for a shard, then another and another, then he cursed. The room filled with the scent of blood. Fuck. Gregory’s fangs dropped before he could think about trying to halt them. He would not drink from Thanatos, wouldn’t so much as taste, but damn, he smelled good enough for him to want to lick him all over.
Shaking his head, he stepped forward.
Thanatos held up a glass shard like a weapon. “Stay back.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.” He grabbed Thanatos and pulled him to the sink where he turned on the tap, made Thanatos drop the shards on the counter, and held his bleeding hand under the spray of water. “How bad is it?”
He turned his hand to be able to see. New blood welled up from a cut across the palm, but it didn’t look too deep. He could lick it, seal it with the rapid healing his saliva provided, but then he’d taste Thanatos blood.
He didn’t trust it wouldn’t bind them together in some way. A partial mate bond should only last a couple of weeks, and yet it was as if he was trapped in one. He wanted to be close to Thanatos every minute of every day, and since he didn’t like him, it had to be a partial bond. He wouldn’t risk tying them together over a shallow cut.
“My sourdough. It had bubbles in it.” Thanatos didn’t look at his hand, he was trying to see past Gregory to the mess on the floor.
“It’s a fucking dough. Who cares?”
If looks could kill, Gregory would’ve been dead on the floor alongside the dough then and there. “Careful or I’ll never allow you to eat anything I bake ever again.”
It wasn’t a small threat. Gregory had come to rely on Thanatos baking, and he didn’t want to go back to a life without freshly baked bread and breakfast cakes.
He turned off the water. “Come sit.” Tugging him toward the kitchen table, he guided him into the chair, then he went to grab the first aid kit in the cleaning cabinet. Shortly after, he had the hand bandaged. Thanatos was about to get up, but Gregory put a hand on his shoulder. “Stay.”
Then he went to mix a gin and tonic and placed it in front of Thanatos. “Drink this, and I’ll clean up.”
“Why?”
“Because it was my fault.”
Thanatos narrowed his eyes. “Why do you want me to drink this?”
“So you’ll kiss me goodnight later, my darling.”
* * * *
Thanatos snorted. He’d never kissed anyone, and what Gregory had done earlier didn’t count. It had all been in the name of manipulation.
As he watched Gregory pick up the glass shards, he took a careful sip of the drink in front of him. It tasted the same as the one Gregory had tried to get him to drink the night before. Not bad. He took another sip, enjoying the fizz on his tongue. Carbonated drinks weren’t served in the house of horrors.
Gregory scooped up his ruined sourdough with a dustpan before vacuuming and scrubbing the floor. All the while, Thanatos sat on the chair and sipped his drink.
When Gregory was done, the tall glass was half full, and Thanatos was leaning against the backrest of the chair, feeling a warmth spread in his limbs. “I should make a new batch.”
Gregory eyed him, then the glass. A sly smile crept onto his lips. “Sure. Drink up, and I’ll mix us new drinks while you mix new dough.”
Thanatos narrowed his eyes at him. “Are you trying to get me drunk?”
Gregory mock gasped. “Sweetness! I would never.” Then he grinned wickedly. “I only figured we could have a drink and talk about our relationship. We need to set some ground rules.”
He was being played, he knew he was, but he took another sip. “What ground rules?”
