Page 7 of Bound to Death

“No, little raven. As much as you wish it were, none of this is a dream.” I dipped my head down, stealing her innocent gaze for a heartbeat before fusing my lips with hers.

I expected Asha to punish me for taking advantage of her. I was rarely surprised by anything, but my little raven continued to baffle. Instead of hitting me, she wrapped her arms around my shoulders and dragged me back down for another kiss.

A groan rumbled inside my chest, reveling in how sweet she tasted. Pleasure was a luxury as the Reaper of Souls, and her mouth against mine was fucking perfection. I could only guess what it’d feel like when my cock made its home inside her, sweetening her soul for the end of the world. It’d probably be the greatest pleasure of them all.

Only one moon cycle left. Only a short month to take this lovely human’s soul, but I’d do it as Thanatos and no one else.

Chapter Four

Asha

Astranger—or should I call him my savior?—took me to my apartment. He knew where I lived. But why? Why would he know? Then again, how could someone like him tear apart fivemen with his bare hands? None of what happened at the club made sense.

Maybe because this wasn’t real life. Maybe I was finally part of the nightmare I dreamed every night, living the moments I’d forgotten each morning. Maybe I’d wake up at three a.m. like I always did and remember nothing.

But why did his lips against mine feel so fucking real? Why was it that the second our mouths touched, I’d never been so turned on in all my life, or so desperate to get someone’s hands on my body?

His kiss felt right when everything about tonight was insanely wrong. I got the sense that I’d lose everything if I kept kissing him and let this thing between us go where it was clearly heading. Except, I didn’t care if I did, and maybe that was the most terrifying revelation of the night.

Sometime between leaving the alley and getting to my apartment, the blood that had drenched the gorgeous killer’s body had disappeared. Not one stain or red patch of evidence was left for my eyes to find. And it was just another nail in the it's-a-dream coffin.

My savior’s fingers caressed the arch of my neck, gliding down until they reached the place where my heart pounded. I sucked in a frantic breath as he tugged my shirt down and dropped his head so he could suck on the exposed mound of my breast popping out of lace. “You taste so sweet, little raven. Sweeter than I ever imagined.”

Little raven? Why does even that pet name feel right?

The stranger’s ghost-grey eyes lifted and connected with mine, and I swear they were glowing. Fuck, everything about him glowed even when I got the oddest sensation that he’d melt into the shadows if I looked away. Like this terrifying stranger was a goddamn phantom brought to life. Everything about him wasdark despite shining like the moon in a starless sky. He beamed his own goddamn light.

His devilish tongue traced the line of lace cutting into my breast, leaving a wet, glistening path over my skin. I swallowed a moan, tensing, trying not to imagine the things he could do to me with that tongue of his. I’d never seen one so long. It could’ve been a snake’s tongue if I hadn’t known any better. The only thing missing was the fork in it, but the length wasn’t natural. I couldn’t help but wonder what something that long would feel like between my legs, penetrating me in a way no one’s ever had.

The sensation of his mouth worshipping the skin around my bra wreaked havoc on my pulse, and I couldn’t keep still. My hips moved and my stomach tensed, wading the storm of sensation he gave me without asking, effectively pinned under his massive form and under his control. But still, I didn’t want to escape. If anything, I hoped he’d take whatever he wanted. And I’d watch him do it. It was crazy, but I didn’t want to miss a goddamn second.

With both of his hands, he yanked my shirt apart. The sound of fabric tearing next to my racing heart were all I heard in the otherwise quiet room. Something came over me as the impossible stranger dragged and splayed his large, ring-covered hand down my front. Something carnal and full of dark desires. Something that hadn’t been there until he touched me.

His eyes took the same path as his hand as if he were mesmerized by the sight. As if he'd worship every inch with his gaze alone. I wasn’t naked, but I might as well have been with the way his glowing gaze ate me up. Every curve was delicious to him, especially the extra ones I’d gotten thanks to my terrible schedule and lack of training. He was a king claiming new land. Every part of me was now his to do whatever he wished.

And fuck, I loved everything about it.

No one had ever stared at me like Mr. Killer did. No one looked ready to destroy everything and anyone just to be with me. I couldn’t explain it, but every touch, every caress of his powerful grey-white gaze was possession personified. I should be scared—terrified, actually—but I wasn’t. He could kidnap me, hurt me, even kill me, but for some odd reason, I knew he wouldn’t. Somewhere deep inside of me, I was already his.

I’d been waiting my entire life for him.

My breath came faster, and I struggled to say something in this weird dream I was having. “What’s your name?” I asked in a soft whisper very unlike me.

The stranger dropped a kiss between my breasts and then flicked his gaze back up to mine. “Thanatos. But you can call me Than, little raven.”

Entranced, I watched his hand slide out of view. “Thanatos…are you sure this isn’t a dream?”

I didn’t expect him to chuckle, and when he did, I swore the shadows around us moved in reaction. I barely caught it out of the corner of my eye, but it happened. They’d shifted with him. All of them. Not just the ones his shape cast on the walls, but every single fucking shadow in the room. I couldn’t explain how I knew he was the entire reason they had. In this weird dream world the two of us shared, this devilishly handsome stranger controlled the shadows.

Maybe the night, too.

Instead of answering, Thanatos tossed his leather jacket over the side of the bed and dragged his skull shirt up his huge torso. His beautifully sculpted upper half tautened and reformed when he finally discarded his shirt next to the jacket already on the floor. His skin was beautifully brown even as it glowed cast in moonlight. The shadows clung to every strong contour. But it was his gaze that stole my attention more than the perfectlysculpted form that came into view. The ethereal beams never left mine the entire time he undressed.

I couldn’t look away if I wanted to.

The size of him doubled out of clothes. Every powerful cord and muscle expressed how deadly this man truly was. I’d spent years fantasizing about a guy capable of throwing me around. I never once thought someday I’d meet one who could. Okay, so he probably wasn’t real, and this was still technically a fantasy, but if I was going to lean into this dream—or whatever it was—then I might as well try out the things I never thought possible.

As I laid under him, I yearned to be wrapped inside those enormous arms and pinned down by that dangerous, oversized body. Despite looking like a terrifying monster stalking me in the dead of night, I wasn’t afraid of being eaten by him. No, if anything, I hoped he’d swallow me whole.

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