42
" Before he can do anything at all, I sit down in his lap. I hear Thanatos’s sharp inhale, but then his hands fall on my hips. “If you try to stab me—” “With what, the butter knife?” I say teasingly. More serious, I add, “I’ve left that behind, Thanatos.” His fingers press into my skin at the sound of his name. I hold up the bread, a line of oil sliding down its flaky crust. “I want you to try this.” Death grimaces. “Perhaps I would prefer a good stabbing.” I bite back a laugh. Only this man would say such a ridiculous thing. “This is bread and olive oil. Humans have been eating it for thousands of years. It’s good. And I want you to try it.” His chest rises and falls. “Why?” he asks. “Why do you care at all?” “For a year now, you have forced me to experience what death is like. Maybe it’s time you experienced a little life for a change.” He hesitates, looking half convinced. “It won’t kill you,” I say. “An unfortunate truth,” he murmurs. “Death, I am comfortable with. This … I am not.” I’m trying really, really hard not to snicker at the fact that this man—who has been shot repeatedly by me—is afraid of a little bread. “This is your victory dinner,” I remind him. “And dinners are meant to be eaten.” He frowns. “And,” I add, “if you try it—” I hesitate, my gaze dropping to his lips, “I will kiss you.” His starry eyes flash. In an instant his hand closes over mine, and he brings the bread I hold up to his lips. He stares at it for a moment, scowling. “Everything in me revolts against this,” he admits. “Then you must really want that kiss.” I say a bit breathlessly. I’m trying to make light of it, but inside, I feel raw. Death’s eyes meet mine. Yes, they seem to say. "
― Laura Thalassa , Death (The Four Horsemen, #4)
43
" His face twists into a grimace, and I see him gag a little as he awkwardly chews, then forces the bite down. “It’s awful,” he gasps out. I can’t help it, I start laughing—I laugh so hard my entire body shakes with it. “It’s really not,” I say, quieting down. His eyes have returned to my face, and despite looking a little queasy, he stares at me like he’s never seen anything like me before. “Do that again,” he says quietly. “Do what?” I ask. “Laugh.” I give him a confused smirk. “I can’t just do it on call. Tell me a joke and I might.” He stares at my lips some more. “Hmmm …” Rather than telling a joke, he takes my hand and tries another bite of the bread—and proceeds to gag again. “I can’t—eat this,” he admits. “It’s … atrocious.” He grabs the wine his skeletal servant poured for him, presumably to wash the taste out, but it’s wine he’s drinking, not water, and this too, is an acquired taste. Thanatos nearly spits the liquid out, only stopping himself by pressing his fist to his mouth. Behind that fist, his face looks sickly. His throat works over and over before he manages to swallow it all down. “Devils, woman,” he wheezes out, his face twisting at the taste. “What is that?” But now I’m laughing again. I shake my head, unable to tell him. Death is doing his best to wipe his mouth with his hand, even as he watches me intently. “And you’d have me believe that life is enjoyable,” he mutters. With one last grimace, he drops his hand, his eyes fixed to me, and I’m pretty sure he only took a second bite of bread to hear me laugh again. That thought sobers me up, even as unwelcome warmth spreads through me. I take his glass and drink from it. I mean, it’s good wine and he’s not going to enjoy it. He marvels at me. “That is really wine?” he asks skeptically. I lower the glass from my lips. “Yeah, it really is.” Death is the picture of disillusionment. “I have seen and heard much about wine over the ages. I did not imagine it would taste so … disappointing. "
― Laura Thalassa , Death (The Four Horsemen, #4)
45
" Why does your voice sound like that? And what is that clicking noise that keeps coming from you?” “B-because I’m c-cold,” I say. “N-normally I s-sleep inside—” “Inside was an option,” he cuts in. “—i-in a bed w-with blankets to k-keep me warm.” Thanatos is silent. Surely he’s aware of this. I hear him stalk towards me. When I think he’s within arm’s reach, he kneels down next to me. “Wh-what are you—?” Before I can finish the thought, the horseman is laying his body out alongside mine. He pulls me against him. His armor hasn’t reappeared yet, and I nearly moan at the heat emanating off of him. “You’re shaking again,” he says, alarmed. “B-because I’m c-cold,” I remind him. I can’t see his frown in the darkness, but I feel it all the same. One of his wings comes around me, blanketing me in. And now fantasies about woolen blankets have been sidelined in favor of this. “Better?” he asks softly, his voice like a caress. This is far more intimate than I bargained for. And I like it. I like it so much. I can feel Thanatos’s delicious heat against my back and the warmth from his wing insulating me everywhere else. If I were a cat, I’d be purring. I melt into the horseman’s embrace, all my earlier declarations about him keeping his distance long forgotten. “Mmm,” I murmur. "
― Laura Thalassa , Death (The Four Horsemen, #4)
48
" I crave your laughter.” That’s … not how this works. I give him a crazy look. “People do not tell jokes when they’re”—making love—“having sex.” “Oh good—I do so like breaking tradition,” Death says, thrusting into me once and wringing a moan out of me. He continues to gaze down at me, and aw shit, he really is waiting for a joke. “Um …” Trying to think over the enormous dick inside me. An old joke my sister Juniper told me as a kid comes to mind. I cannot believe I’m doing this. “What should a sick bird do?” Thanatos’s brows come together. “I don’t underst—” “Get tweetment.” He stares down at me, and there’s nothing in his expression. Not even the barest spark of understanding. And I still have a giant, unmoving dick inside of me. “You know,” I say, willing to help him understand, “because birds twee—” “That can’t actually be a joke,” Death says disbelievingly. "
― Laura Thalassa , Death (The Four Horsemen, #4)
54
" I glance over my shoulder, staggering a little when I see the horseman standing in front of me, his gaze fixed to my mouth. “So that’s music,” he says wondrously, as though he only just put a name to the sound. I guess that’s the irony of Thanatos. He’s existed for forever, and he seems to be a well of wisdom when it comes to humans, but the horseman has only been a man for a short while. Giving him a hesitant look, I nod. His gaze scours my face. “Don’t stop,” he whispers. Heat creeps up into my cheeks. I don’t really want to sing now that I have an audience. “Please,” Death adds. He’s still staring at my lips. I want to tell him that people don’t ask these sorts of things, but he knows that. And he seems genuinely … moved by the music. So, I clear my throat, and after only wavering for another moment or two, I begin to sing again, turning back to the tree so that I can resume picking fruit and pretend I don’t have an avid audience. Only, I’m not left alone for long. Thanatos rounds the tree, his gaze moving over my eyes, my lips, my hair. He’s looking at me like I’m the Eighth Wonder of the World and I have no defense for the blatant longing on his face. My song ends, and it’s silent for a long moment. Death shakes his head, still looking possessed. “That was … opodanao.” The foreign word draws out an instant reaction. I feel bathed in light, as though it were stroking my skin and running its fingers through my hair. I think I understand the word’s meaning, but the horseman translates for me anyway. “Beautiful. "
― Laura Thalassa , Death (The Four Horsemen, #4)
