She answered by placing her hand on the back of his neck, pulling him down.
He went willingly.
The instant her tongue brushed his, he snapped. He lifted her onto his lap, then deepened the kiss until her moans vibrated against his lips.
He stood and laid her on the bed beneath him, needing more. Needing to feel all of her.
Her body arched against him, trying to maintain contact and stirring a spark inside him.
The door opened with a soft, almost unnoticed creak.
Thanatos pulled his lips away from hers, not needing to look. “Malákas,” he growled through the mental link.
He saw Iliana’s hunger as she looked up at him, eyes dazed, lips parted. All he wanted to do was recapture her mouth and lose himself in her.
Then Hypnos climbed onto the bed, startling her out of the haze.
“Hypnos, what—”
“You’re exhausted,” he said flatly. “It’s time for sleep.”
Thanatos barely held back a growl. He kissed her one last time, then pulled away to let her straighten her clothes.
Before they could process the absurd interruption, Anubis entered. His earlier concern had melted away, replaced by something lighter. The looseness in his shoulders. The slight tilt of his head. That familiar smirk.
Thanatos recognized what was happening immediately. This was Anubis defusing tension and trying to ease Iliana’s discomfort with playfulness.
He hung his head, resigned.There was no point in protesting the intrusion. Instead, he sat down beside Iliana, sandwiching her between him and his brother, and securing a spot for the night.
Anubis came to the bed and leaned around Thanatos. He kissed Iliana goodnight, deliberately theatrical about it. “Sweet dreams,” he said, affectionately.
Then, with a graceful transformation, he shifted into his jackal form and curled up at her feet.
Iliana’s eyes widened, a smile appearing across her lips.
“You’re gorgeous,” she breathed.
Anubis huffed.
Thanatos heard the gratefulness in her words and shook his head. “Looks like we are all sleeping here tonight. Is that okay?”
Iliana narrowed her eyes, but eventually nodded, settling herself between him and Hypnos. Thanatos pulled the covers up over them both, wrapping an arm around her waist. He sighed at the peace he found with her in his arms, even with the others in the room.
He kicked Anubis, earning a nip on the toe and a growl. Iliana stiffened in his arms at the sound, only calming again when Anubis placed his head on her legs. She relaxed, and soon her breath evened out.
Just when Thanatos thought she was asleep, she mumbled, “If any of you guys snore, I swear I’m kicking you all out of this bed.”
Thanatos chuckled and placed a kiss on her shoulder. “Sleep, Iliana.”
Movement grabbed his attention. Hermes stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame. Something fleeting and raw was on his face before it disappeared behind an affable grin.
“Any reason you stole her away?” Thanatos mentally asked.
Hermes shrugged, then disappeared.
Thanatos fixed his eyes on the empty doorway, unsettled. It wasn’t smugness or mischief he’d seen in Hermes. It was longing. That made Thanatos wary. He would stay on guard in case the god of thieves stole Iliana away again.
Chapter forty
