Chapter 27
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
ANASTASIA
“Thanatos.” Warmth bloomed in my chest at the sight of him.
He smiled down at me, but it didn’t touch his eyes the way it had the last few days or the last few .
. . centuries? My hand flew to my head as the memories of my past lives assailed me.
Visions of the families I’d loved and lost, the homes I’d had, and the friends I’d made all rushed to the forefront of my mind at the same time.
Waves of emotions overcame me. “Oh no! Have I died again?”
“Technically, yes.” He shook his head. “We brought you back.”
“My memories are back.” I ran my hand through my tangled hair.
He pursed his lips. “The mix of powers we used to bring you back must’ve allowed you to keep them this time.”
“Thank the gods. I didn’t want to forget it all again.
” I glanced around the room, realizing I was lying in a hospital bed.
My gaze drifted over him. He was the Thanatos I always knew in his flowing robes.
More memories flowed through me, and I sucked in a sharp breath.
“Oh, my love, a human life is not the life that was meant for us. It never has been.”
A single tear tracked down his check and rolled to his jaw. “It was the only life that I could have with you. I was going to take whatever I could get.”
I nodded up at him and offered him my hand.
He bent down low and took it, placing my palm against his cheek.
His skin was warm and smooth against mine, the way I’d always remembered it.
I was a human who dared to love a god and prayed he would forever love me back.
I lowered my voice. “Take me from here.”
His eyes flashed wide open. “To where?”
“This world is full of wonders. Take me someplace I’ve never seen before.
” The warmth of his powers flowed over my body and those sparks tickled my skin.
One moment I was lying in a hospital bed, and in the next I was standing in a small dome with a clear plastic roof.
A small wood-burning stove stood off to the side with warm flames flickering within, yet the air still held a chill, and I shivered.
Thanatos walked over to the single bed and pulled a fluffy throw blanket from it.
He moved closer to me and threw it around my shoulders, and I realized my clothing had been torn to shreds.
Heat warmed my cheeks, and I turned from him, walking around the small dome-shaped tent.
It was a single room with a low-lying bed covered in thick blankets across from the wood-burning stove. On the other side was a glass shower.
The most astounding feature of this place was the glass tent-top. I would see clear through to the night sky. “Where are we?”
“Iceland.” He moved behind me and wrapped his arms around me. I pressed my back to his chest and melted into him.
As if he cued them, the northern lights streaked across the sky in an array of colors. The vibrant greens danced alongside streaks of purples and pinks. Peace flowed over my body and a contented sigh escaped my lips. “It is breathtaking.”
Flurries began to drift down around our tent-like dome, and I added this to the infinite list of experiences he’d given me that I would also cherish. “I wish it was always like this with us.”
“I fear it never will be.” He tightened his arms around me.
“We must not lose our faith.” Deep down I knew we would somehow, someday end up together.
“Hades has sworn to take you to the Underworld himself.” His voice was a deep rumble. “If he does that, then there is no way I can get to your soul if the judges put you in Asphodel. It will be impossible to find you.”
A chill rushed over my skin. “Let’s face it, I was not the most well-behaved in this life.”
He gave a dark chuckle. “I’ve learned you are quite the contradiction in each of your lives.”
“Can I tell you a secret?” I peeked up at him.
“Always.”
“I’ve never felt more myself than I have in this life.” I sighed. “I am Anastasia, but I’m also Stasie.”
“Every lifetime is just another version of yourself.” He rested his chin on the top of my head. “I’ve enjoyed every facet of you.”
“Even Ana the Deathless?” I chuckled.
“Especially the pirate captain, Ana the Deathless.” He turned me around in his arms to face him, then pulled the blanket up higher on my shoulders. “I have loved every version of you. But getting to feel what it was like to be human with you was the best blessing of all.”
My lips curved. “Did it feel different with me?”
“I didn’t think I could feel more for you, but as a human those emotions were so much more intense.” His pale eyes bore into mine, and I was captivated by him.
“And now?”
“I am . . . altered.” He licked his lips, and my eyes tracked the movement. In answer I licked my own lips, wetting them. He pressed his forehead to mine. “I just want my life bound to yours from now until forever.”
Forever was an intoxicating promise coming from an immortal. “If only I was immortal like you, then we wouldn’t have to worry about the afterlife.”
“I’ve seen many immortals perish.” He paused. “But if you were, we’d at least be able to be together in the world of the living.”
My heart sped. “I didn’t think that was possible.”
A light glinted in his eyes. “Anything is possible in Evermore.”
“I suppose that is true.” My mind turned to Jack and my heart sank. Once he’d been my right hand, more like family than any other. We’d met when I was a pirate and he was my second mate.
As if reading my thoughts, he said, “I still can’t believe that Jack has lived this long.”
“He was cursed by a witch when we were pirates. Perhaps that curse went well beyond just making him a jinx.” We always teased him for his bad luck and now I regratted doing so.
“What witch was powerful enough to curse him like that back then?”
I shrugged. “Dracinda she was the only witch we knew.”
“The crone.” Thanatos groaned and shook his head. “She’d have the power to do it.”
“Like you said anything is possible in the world of Evermore. The mystery to me is why would he betray me now? We were like family.” I couldn’t leave the hurt out of my voice.
“I found that equally surprising.”
“I’m all too aware the years can be unkind.” I shook my head. “It hurts to see him as an enemy now.”
“I know.” He pulled me to his chest. “I am sorry for that.”
“I hardly think you had anything to do with it.” I rested my hand over the smooth planes of his chest.
“You don’t know.”
“Neither do you.” My heart ached at the thought of Jack’s betrayal.
“What shall we do?” He pressed his lips to my forehead, giving it a light kiss, then ran his lips down to my temple. His warm breath fanned over my cool skin.
I swayed at the contact. “I-I’m not sure.”
“Think, love.” His voice was a warm whisper in my ear.
“Can’t.” It was impossible to think when he pressed those firm lips to the corner of my lip. When he bent lower, tilting his head to the side and pressing an open mouth kiss to my neck, I arched my back and my eyes fluttered closed. “Tomorrow. We’ll talk about it tomorrow.”
“Hmm,” he hummed and pushed the blanket from my shoulders, letting it fall to the floor.
He took a step and started walking me back toward the glass shower. I was helpless under his gaze, trapped in the pale depths. He reached past me and flicked the water on. I smirked up at him. “Are you showering now?”
“No.” His eyes darkened. “We are.”
In all the years we’d spent in hiding, we’d never had the opportunity to shower together.
I’d either been an oblivious human or a soul, neither of which could experience him the way I truly wanted to.
When I started to take my clothing off, I realized I was still in the scraps left over from the accident.
I glanced down at myself and saw the dried blood on my skin. “I’m a mess.”
“You’re perfect.” He guided me into the shower and heat flowed over my body.
Water sloshed down the both of us and I giggled at his sopping robes.
But he didn’t seem to care about it in the least. I reached up and pushed the single piece of fabric off his shoulder.
His robes fell to the floor in a wet heap.
He stood before me completely naked. His pale skin glistened with the water trickleddown his body.
My gaze roamed over the muscular planes of his chest and stomach.
I stepped in closer to him, pressing my naked body up against his.
His length lay against my stomach, so strong and so ready for me.
But he didn’t make a move to go farther.
Instead he took the soap off the shelf and began to massage the suds into my skin, washing away the dirt and blood.
He took great pains to do each of my fingers, moving up my arms and rubbing just right when he came to my shoulders.
The tension left my body, my muscles going liquid under his touch.
When he grazed his fingers over my breasts, heat bloomed over my body.
He moved slower over the peaks, thumbing them until they grew hard under his touch.
When I leaned into his touch even more, he slid his hands lower over my stomach . . . and lower.
Heat flowed low in my stomach, and I craved his touch even lower.
He slid to my hip and to my thighs, working the soap over me and pressing his fingers into my skin.
Tingles ran all over my body and I groaned.
In answer he chuckled and moved to my other leg.
His fingers brushed high on my inner thigh and my inner muscles clinched for him.
I took a step back under the fall of water, washing away the bubbles. I crooked my finger at him. “Enough of your playing with me.”
“But I do so enjoy it.” He backed me against the wall, then grabbed my wrist, pinning them over my head. “I love the little sounds you make.”
I hadn’t even realized I made a sound. He pressed his body against mine and warm water flowed over the two of us.
His other hand trailed lower until it was exactly where I craved him.
His fingers slid between my legs, seeking and sliding in the most delicious way.
My hips rolled to his touch. He lowered his head to take one of my peaks between his lips as he stroked and my body went wild.
I wanted to touch him, to pull him closer, but he still had my hands pinned over my head.
I was helpless, only to take what pleasure he decided to give.
My body quickened and a moan slipped past my lips.
He switched to my other peak, and I was so close to ecstasy.
If he touched me for one more moment, I was going to topple over the edge.
He took a small step back, letting my arms go, his lips pulled up in a devilish grin.
I threw myself toward him and wrapped my arms around his neck.
His hands landed on my ass, and he lifted me up to hook my legs around his hips.
My back smacked into the shower wall, and I felt him at my entrance.
I wriggled my hips, trying to slide him in.
Thanatos chuckled. “No. Patience.”
“I’ve waited long enough.” I squeezed him with my legs to pull his hips closer.
With a growl he shoved me back into the wall.
His hips flexed and he shoved himself forward.
My body slowly parted around him, and I threw my head back at the delicious feel of that stretch.
I gazed up at the northern lights, watching them dance overhead as Thanatos rolled his hips in that delicious way that stirred inside and rubbed along my little bud on the outside.
I sucked in a sharp breath. “Don’t stop.”
His pace quickened. All I could do was hold on as he held me against the wall and pounded between my legs.
My breasts glided against his chest as his fingers dug into my ass.
Pleasure, so much pleasure, racked my body.
My muscles began to quake. Without warning his magic covered the two of us and we disappeared from the shower, landing in the fluffy bed.
He pressed me back into the pillows and straightened his arms. My legs fell wide open and I gazed up at those pale eyes and saw he was as lost for me as I was for him.
He moved faster. Our bodies slapped together.
My head thrashed and I couldn’t fight this any longer, building, building, building even higher.
I soared over the edge, falling into ecstasy.
It flowed over my body in a wave. My muscles clenched and unclenched around him.
Thanatos threw his head back, following me into bliss.
His body surged within me and yet he never closed his eyes, never looked away.
The connection between us sizzled as our breaths mingled and our chests heaved.
A slow smile spread across my lips. “That was . . .”
His own lips curled. “Just the beginning.”