Page 10 of Gods and Graves

CHAPTER TEN

KRYSTIAN

T his woman is going to goddamn kill me.

“This is soooo good,” Thea practically squeals, then she moans yet again.

The sound travels straight to my cock.

Zaid shifts uncomfortably in his seat at the head of the table. Obviously, my brother is dealing with the same problem I am.

“You seriously never had food before?” he asks, but not in an asshole, accusatory way like Everett would.

He sounds genuinely curious.

“Never.” Thea’s already digging into her next dish, a beatific smile on her otherworldly face. “You guys seriously get to eat this stuff all the time?”

“Next time, have Everett cook for you,” I tell her, trying my damndest to ignore my visceral reaction to those tantalizing moans she continues to make. “He’s the best chef I know.”

Thea whips her head in Everett’s direction, curiosity alighting in her eyes while syrup drips down her chin. And goddammit, all I can think about is my cum taking the syrup’s place.

“Really?”

Everett grumbles something inarticulate, but I notice he doesn’t outright refuse to. For him, that’s progress.

Hell, it’s practically a declaration of marriage in Everett speak.

Now that we’re satisfied Thea is eating—and obviously loving the food—the four of us begin to scarf down our own meals. It’s silent for a few minutes, the only sound the clanging of silverware. At some point, Darla returns with our milkshakes.

I’m ninety-nine percent positive Thea actually orgasms when she takes her first sip. Her blue eyes roll into the back of her head, and her entire body begins to convulse. Darla, who’s still standing by the table, appears flushed, her damn nipples poking through the fabric of her uniform.

I don’t consider myself a possessive or jealous person, but having her so close to Thea when she’s like this…

I tighten my grip on my knife.

“You can go now,” Everett snaps at the waitress, his eyes frosty.

I wonder if his thought process went down the same direction as mine.

Or if he can sense how close Rafe is to the edge, hovering precariously at the tip, madness clouding his brown eyes.

Darla stutters out an apology, then she retreats to the kitchen.

God, what the fuck is wrong with me?

Normally, I would find it hot as fuck. I mean, what’s better than watching two girls please each other and then having them turn all of that attention onto me? But the thought of anyone laying a single fucking hand on Thea makes me see red.

The reaper continues to “enjoy” her milkshake, oblivious to the direction of my thoughts.

Zaid clears his throat and subtly readjusts himself in his jeans.

“We should discuss our next steps.” He waits until we’re all staring at him before continuing.

“Someone obviously knows something about Thea. We just need to figure out who to ask without information getting back to the wrong person.”

“Athena?” I suggest, thinking of the calculating, aloof Goddess of Wisdom.

If anyone would know anything about Thea’s situation, it would be her.

“She’s been MIA for over one hundred years now,” Everett points out. “Ever since the team she selected died.”

Rumor has it Athena started a relationship with her warriors, which ended when they all passed away on one failed mission. She hasn’t been seen since.

“There’s only one other person I can think of asking,” Zaid begins hesitantly. “Someone who knows everything about everyone.”

We all groan—except for Thea, who volleys her gaze between us, confused.

“Who are you talking about?” She uses a napkin to wipe away pasta sauce that has gotten stuck to her lips.

“Aphrodite,” I answer, internally cringing.

“You mean the Goddess of Love and Beauty?” Thea’s frown deepens.

“The one and only.” Everett blows out a breath and reclines back in the booth.

Aphrodite is also Ares’s ex, though their relationship ended horribly.

I don’t know all the details, but apparently, the God of War fell in love with another woman centuries ago.

He became so obsessed with the new girl that he stopped giving Aphrodite attention.

She was absolutely furious, but her anger only grew when her own team of warriors passed away and we took their place.

It’s her mission in life to destroy us. And how does she go about doing that?

Attempting to seduce us.

She knows, as well as we do, that if she were to succeed, Ares would murder us. They may not be together, but Ares is still insanely possessive of her.

Once, when we arrived at the compound, it was to the sight of a naked Aphrodite splayed out on Rafe’s bed, one of her hands fondling her tit and pinching her nipple while the other played with her pussy.

I jacked off to that imagery for weeks.

Now, my cock doesn’t even stir at the memory of the Goddess of Beauty pleasuring herself.

What the fuck?

How can I get a boner from listening to Thea moan but not feel anything when I think about the most beautiful woman alive in the throes of passion?

Well, second most beautiful.

I’m not sure even Aphrodite can compare to Thea.

For experiment’s sake, I close my eyes and think of Aphrodite the last time I saw her.

She lay on the cot, her long hair cascading around her in a curtain of silk. Her large, perfect breasts were peaked from the chill, her pink nipples hard. She squeezed the tight nub and threw her head back, crying out.

She gasped, continuing to twist and flick her nipple. “Yes!”

Her other hand crept over her toned stomach, through her perfectly trimmed pubic hair, and finally to her spread pussy lips. She rubbed her finger through her folds, then she added a second.

“Oh, fuck. Yes. Yes .” She began to stroke herself even faster, her back arching and her tits bouncing enticingly.

Then she came around her fingers, her pussy convulsing, liquid gushing down her tan thighs.

At the time, I was hard as steel and had to quickly leave the room before I did something I regretted—like getting her on all fours and fucking her.

Now? I feel absolutely nothing. Not even a stirring of lust.

I think of Thea instead, sitting beside me in a hideous oversized T-shirt and pants that do nothing to accentuate her figure. Her lips sucking on the straw of her shake as moan after moan escapes her.

My cock strains against the denim of my jeans.

“Dude.” Zaid nudges me, and I force myself to reopen my eyes, to rejoin the world of the living. “What the fuck was that? You zoned out for a second.”

“Nothing,” I say quickly.

Too quickly.

But the last thing I want him to know is that I was thinking of Thea’s goddamn moans.

What the fuck is happening to me?

Is it because she’s attractive? There’s no denying she’s the sexiest woman I’ve ever laid eyes on before, but it’s more than that. It’s… her . Her smile. Her laughter. Her joyful innocence.

Am I crushing on a woman I only just met? I want to say no—the mere idea is preposterous—but my body calls me out on the blatant lie.

Something about Thea consumes me.

“So we get a hold of Aphrodite,” Everett reiterates, frowning. “Then what?”

“Then we ask her what she knows about me,” Thea interjects. “If what you guys are saying is true, then what’s happening to me isn’t normal.”

“It’s not.” Zaid shakes his head. “I did some more research at the motel when you were changing. There’s never been any case like you described.”

“So I’m the only reaper in existence trapped in a prison?” Thea absently reaches for a fry on Rafael’s plate.

Surprisingly, he doesn’t stop her. He actually pushes his plate closer so she doesn’t have to strain herself.

That alone is fucking strange. Rafael once stabbed me in the shoulder when I tried to steal a bite of his pizza.

“What happens if I return to my prison before we can figure out why that is?” Thea queries.

A pang lights along my sternum, and sick panic wells up in me.

She mentioned it before in passing, but now that I’m actually thinking about it…

“That won’t happen,” I tell her resolutely.

She arches an eyebrow. “How can you be so certain?”

“Because we won’t allow it to,” Zaid adds.

Rafael simply nods.

“And even if it does, we’ll find a way to bring you back.” That declaration, surprisingly, comes from Everett, who’s focused intently on his empty plate, as if embarrassed to meet Thea’s prodding gaze. “You protected my teammate. Now we’ll protect you. You have my word.”

Then Thea does the worst thing she could possibly do around four hardened warriors.

She begins to bawl.