Zeus (Contemporary Mythos Book 6)

I’d expected to wake up to a room filled with darkness, but instead, a faint light peeked through the blinds from the rising sun. The scent of sandalwood surrounded the air around me and a strong tanned arm curled over my body, his hand cupping one breast. His beard tickled the back of my neck as his nose trailed my skin.

“Good morning,” he whispered, kissing my ear.

I ran my fingers down the dark hair scattered on his muscular forearm. “Good morning. I can’t remember the last time I slept like that. I don’t think I woke up once.”

He moaned, pulling me against him tighter. “Mm, I don’t think I did either.” His cock hardened as he rolled his hips against my ass.

I smiled as I bit my knuckle, recalling what happened last night with vivid, visceral detail. Closing my eyes, I lifted my leg, welcoming him. He grinned into my hair, moving one hand to my stomach while the other held up my leg from my inner thigh. The tip of him pushed at my entrance and I moaned.

A whimper sounded from the side of the bed and I flew my eyes open. Levin’s head rested on the sheets, his body sitting on the floor.

Zeus sighed behind me, his forehead pressing into the back of my shoulder. “He needs to go out. I’ll take him for a quick walk and be right back.”

Biting back a smile, I scratched Levin’s head, feeling the bed dip as Zeus crawled out.

“Who’d have ever thought the King of the Gods would be thwarted by a mortal canine.” Zeus shook his head, chuckling as he swirled a hand around himself, appearing in a simple pair of jeans, sweater and boots.

Biting my lip at the sight of him, I curled the sheets to my chin. He was beyond sexy in a suit, fucking sin naked, but in this get up? He looked so normal and so at ease I wanted to eat every inch of him up.

Zane grabbed a leash hanging on a peg by the door and whistled at Levin. “Come on, boy.”

Levin ran so excitedly to Zeus he slipped several times on the way over.

“If I come back and you’re still here plus all of my valuables, I’ll take that as a sign you like me.” Zane flashed a charming grin.

I guffawed, grabbed a pillow and hurled it at him, laughing.

Zeus winced and ducked out the door with a chuckle, the pillow colliding into it.

He could’ve created a companion for himself, I was sure of it. Some divine animal that would live forever and possibly even fly or something, but he decided to own a mortal pet. One that came with the same responsibilities as any human being—food, water, all the necessities. He chose to care for him. He showed me a vulnerable side to him, and I believed there was more buried deep but he feared bringing it to the surface. Yes. Feared. I refused to think even divine entities didn’t fear something, didn’t have weaknesses. It’s what made the world turn. The balance.

I sat up, letting the sheet fall away and hanging my legs off one corner of the bed. His apartment left no clue a Greek god dwelled within. It wasn’t simple by any means, but I suppose I shouldn’t have thought a King would settle for any less. Every piece of furniture, every fixture, even the selections of alcohol in the bar were all top of the line. Did he fabricate the money himself? Earn it? Make it appear in his pocket whenever he needed it? So many questions and barely enough time to ask them all before the inevitable. Immigration would be knocking on my door soon, throwing my illegal alien status in my face. And the worst part of it? I didn’t know when.

The door swung open and I turned my frown into a smile, sitting up straight, and pressing my palms to the bed between my legs. Levin ran past me, heading straight for his room to chew on a toy. Zeus paused at the doorway, his eyes turning carnal once he spotted me naked and waiting.

“This is certainly a sight to come home to.” He chewed on his bottom lip, not tearing his gaze away from me as he hung the leash up and locked the door.

My nipples hardened as I watched him cross the room to me, pushing his sweater sleeves up, and sinking to his knees. He placed his hand on my ankle, delicately dragging his touch up my shin, circling my knee with a single finger, and tantalizing my thigh. I let my head fall back with a moan. He grabbed my left ass cheek before giving it a light slap. Grazing his lips up my ribs, he kissed, nipped, and sucked. His hand cupped one breast, massaging it as he playfully bit my ass with a growl.

As he traced his callused palms over the tops of my thighs, he gave a quick subtle lick to his lips. “Would you believe me if I told you, you are the most gorgeous woman I’ve ever seen?”

My heart missed a beat as I gazed down at him.

Lust. Admiration. Respect.

“Considering how old you are, I’d say it was hard to believe.” But his emotions didn’t lie. It had me reeling.

“Believe it.” A devious grin tugged at his lips. “You’re positively filthy, however. You could use a shower.”

Shoving his shoulder, I laughed and pushed to my feet. “Well, I guess I’ll head in there alone then if I’m so filthy.”

“Oh, no.” He stood and snapped his fingers, making his clothes disappear. “Who else is going to show you how to properly scrub behind your ears?”

My eyes unabashedly dropped straight to his already hard as granite cock asking for attention. I trailed my gaze over the body I wanted pressed against me now, tonight, tomorrow, possibly forever. “Lead the way.”

He took my hand in his and led us down the hall to a massive marbled bathroom complete with hot tub and a shower wide enough to fit eight people. I dragged my fingers over the smooth countertops—swirls of black, grey, and white. He slid a hand to my lower back, leading me into the shower, his hand waving above us. The squared chrome showerhead sprung to life, sending a high-pressured downpour of simulated rain.

“If I would’ve stayed in Argentina—” He lightly shoved me against the tiled wall in the same motion as when I’d been sensually pinned to the tree. “—how do you think this moment, right here, would’ve played out?”

The steaming hot water poured over our heads, our hair, making our naked bodies glisten from the one light illuminating above us. I skirted my right leg up his thigh, wrapping it around his waist—the same leg that showed from the slit in my dress.

“I would’ve let you have me right there against that tree. Fuck everything else.” Gazing up at him, I roughly tangled my fingers in his soaked hair.

Groaning, he gripped my chin, tracing his thumb over my bottom lip, catching on it. His hand slipped to my ass and unlike last night where he would’ve claimed me with one thrust, he pushed himself in inch-by-inch, grinning as he made me whimper. He pressed the other hand on the tiles by my head, starting slow rolls of his hips.

“And it wouldn’t have bothered you if someone saw you getting railed in a public park? At a wedding reception no less?” Pumping, rolling, writhing inside me, he brushed his lips over my cheek.

“No. Just because I take what I want, doesn’t make me a whore. It makes me empowered.” I pressed my head against the wall behind me, groaning as he rubbed that spot inside me so feather-like it caused tremors and tiny quakes within my belly.

His thrusts grew in intensity, urgency at my words, the hand on my ass pulling me onto him further. “I’d never call you a whore. Unless of course, you wanted me to behind closed doors.” He smiled against my neck, before licking and kissing it.

Dirty, filthy, talk.

“Use it,” I breathed out, digging my nails into his shoulders.

As if being able to read my thoughts or sense my need, the lightning pulsed over his skin, traveling to mine, entwining us in an electric embrace. The water from the shower made it hiss and smoke, filling the shower with an ethereal lit fog. I bit my lip, waiting for the sensations to titillate my skin, my nerves, my insides. It started at my lips as he kissed me, sparking against my skin before traveling over my breasts, through my stomach and finally—a pulsing radiation intensified by his thumb circling my clit, crackling the lightning directly over it.

I cried out and not just a cry—I fucking screamed in pleasure, digging my nails into his back, scratching him. If he’d have been mortal, I would’ve scarred him. He growled and pumped inside me harder, firmer, sliding my body up the wall, the water splashing around us. The lightning didn’t stop, still cracking and surging around us—our union. As he pumped his final thrusts, he settled his hand around my neck. Not gripping it, simply rested it there, taking my gaze with his lightning blazed one as he came undone inside me.

We spent the next several minutes taking an actual shower, his hands still roaming my body as he sudsed me up, bathing me. When we finished, he made himself instantly dry, but I still stood on the mat, dripping wet.

“Are you not going to dry me off too?” I asked, snickering.

He canted his head to one side, taking me in with those sensual sapphires he called eyes. Producing a fluffy grey towel, he handed it to me with a grin. “I would but you look so fucking sexy right now.”

Smiling, I yanked the towel from his grasp. It was perfectly warmed. Hugging it to my chest to relish in the heat wafting from it, I dragged it over my skin, drying myself as he watched me.

He folded his arms and leaned on the doorway, letting out a deep sigh. “Have you made a decision yet, Keira?”

My smiled faded and I crinkled my brow, tying the towel around me, suddenly feeling exposed. “What?”

“You know what I’m talking about. You’ve heard my offer. I’ve answered your questions. You’ve experienced what else I can offer, multiple, multiple times—” He cut his gaze to mine. It wasn’t ruthless or conniving, but serious. “—it’s time to cut a deal…or not.”

Fury exploded in my chest and I pushed past him, back to the living room and away from the steam and heat of the bathroom. He followed behind me, directly on my heels.

“I can’t believe you. You’re making this sound like some sort of business transaction,” I snapped, leaning on the bar top with my back to him.

He shoved his hands in his pockets, the skin between his eyes wrinkling with no hint of a smile. “It is.”

Impatient. Nervous. Irritated.

Taking a quick inhale, I turned to face him, still leaning on the bar. “How could you possibly say that?”

“It’s more than that, yes, but at the end of the day it’s an arrangement to help us both.” He shook his head, holding one hand at his side.

Arrangement.

“I’d eventually be just another Hera, wouldn’t I?” A lump as coarse as coal formed in my throat.

He rested his arms at his sides, and grabbed a fistful of his hair, tugging it once as he took a step forward. “No. This is different.”

“Is it?” My sinuses stung. “This is arranged. We’d be jumping into it sooner than we’d have ever done in a real situation—so what’s to stop this from fizzling out a year from now? Ten? A thousand?”

He furiously rubbed his chin, his eyes dropping to his feet before cutting back to me. “That won’t happen. This. Is. Different.”

Storming forward, I fumed up at him. “How?”

His mouth opened and closed several times, but nothing came out.

Confusion. Rage. Slightly frantic.

“I—” He paused to loosen his tie, his jaw tightening. “I don’t know what you expect from me. This is who I am, Keira. You either take it—” Sucking in a deep breath, he lifted his chin. “—or leave it.”

Hurt. Anger. …sadness.

My eyes blurred with tears as I stumbled backward. “That’s it then, huh?”

With a discomfort that flowed from him like a waterfall, he rubbed the back of his neck, dragged a hand down his face and after locking eyes with me, raised his hand, fingers ready to snap.

He was going to port away. “Don’t you dare, you son of a bitch.” I jolted forward.

He snapped his fingers, drying me off, clothing me, and…disappearing.

Growling, I circled the room as if he were still here. “You fucking coward,” I screamed into the void, panting and on the verge of sobbing.

I dropped to the floor in a slump, curling my knees against my chest, letting the tears roll down my cheeks. Levin approached with his ears drooping, tail between his legs.

Coaxing him over, I wrapped my arms around him and stroked his soft white fur. “It’s okay, boy. How do you deal with him every day, hm?” I smirked. “That part’s obvious I suppose. Non-verbal communication is the key to your relationship with him, huh?”

Whereas with us? Talking was the only solution.

And like that, it was crystal clear to me. I couldn’t do this. Who in their right mind would agree to this? The possibility of leading a lonely, loveless marriage was too great to risk—right? But he kept repeating it was different for us. All I want him to do is tell me why.

Why?

Having no idea when or if Zeus would come back, I had to head to work, but couldn’t in good conscience leave Levin in the apartment without food. After rummaging through the kitchen cabinets and drawers, I couldn’t find any dog food nor even any real food in the fridge. What was I expecting? He was Zeus. He could create anything his heart or canine desired in a blink of an eye.

I ran to the convenience store down the street, bought some kibble, and gave Levin a heaping bowl of it. My hand was on the door knob, ready to leave, when I realized—the door would be unlocked. Anyone could waltz in and rob him blind, or worse yet…steal Levin. Frowning and against every cardinal rule I imposed on myself, I moved into Zane’s bedroom to search for a spare key.

Hovering my hand over the first drawer in his armoire, I held my breath. Would it be so much to ask I’d only find socks, boxers, and condoms? Maybe a bottle of lube or two? Hell, I’d even be okay with butt plugs, but what exactly did the King of the Gods store in his drawers?

Biting the bullet, I yanked the drawer open.

Nothing.

Not even a lining of any kind, just bare wood with nothing inside it.

The rest of the drawers were the same. And so was the nightstand.

The entrance to his walk-in closet stared back at me like a luring web of darkness. Gulping, I flipped the light switch, revealing immaculately organized rows of suits, shoes, watches, and cufflinks. I traced my fingers over the suit jackets, sighing at the feel of the fabric against my skin. Designer brands always had the softest materials but I could never afford them, having to settle for the scratchy imitation varieties.

Licking my lips, I reached to the shelf above the clothes, feeling around for a key. My fingers brushed something rounded and rough, and I grabbed it. It was a large black rock with letters carved on the back. The symbols resembled the letters a, p, n, and c. There was only one god whose name started with an A and had four letters I could recall.

“Ares,” I whispered, running my finger over the haphazard carving that resembled a child’s handiwork.

So much more to Zeus than he let on. If he’d just talk to me, truly talk to me, I wouldn’t feel so hesitant about taking the plunge. I wouldn’t. Smiling, I put the rock back and continued to feel around until a cool piece of metal brushed my skin. Bingo.

With key in hand, I turned off the light, gave Levin a quick kiss to his head, and whisked out the door to distract myself with piles of paperwork.

I’d been sifting through case files for the Daniels case when a light knock sounded at my office door.

“Come in,” I said flatly, squinting at a storage facility invoice.

“Are you still not talking to me? Because I’m not sure how much longer I can take this torture,” Olivia said, grinning at me from the crack of the door.

Sighing, I waved her in. “I’m sorry, Ollie.”

“Uh-oh. You don’t look like a woman who’s been sufficiently screwed. What happened?” She shut the door behind her.

Oh, I’d been screwed, in far more ways than one.

“It was Zane. I slept with Zane and I thoroughly regret it.”

Her jaw dropped and she sprinted to my desk. “There is no way in hell I believe you regret sleeping with the King of the Gods for one bloody second.”

“You—” I narrowed my eyes at her, dropping the papers to my desk. “You said you didn’t believe me.”

She snapped her hands to her hips. “I never said that. Can you blame me for needing some time to let it process? To do—research?”

“So, you believe he’s Zeus and I’m a demigod?”

She folded her hands in her lap. “Yes. Read me if you must.”

I searched her face, her body language, and a small smile managed to work its way over my lips. “No need.”

“Now that that’s out of the way, what’s really going on, Keira?” She nudged my shoulder.

Who else would I talk to about this?

“He offered to marry me to keep me from being deported and damaging the career I’ve built here in New York.” I couldn’t look at her when I said it.

“I’m sorry, hold it, hold it, hold it.” She moved around the desk and leaned into my face, pressing her hands on the armrests of my chair. “He offered to make you Queen?”

“Yes.”

She blew out a breath, laughing. “Leave it to you to not only stew this long over an amazing offer but also look depressed about it.”

“Ollie, it’s not that simple. He’s only doing it to save his own ass in the process. Hera left him. Their marriage never ended in love. It ended with them living separate sexual lives while staying married for politics’ sake.” I couldn’t help the worry and fear displaying on my face as my forehead cinched and my throat bobbed.

Pouting, Olivia shook her head. “I see what’s going on here. You’re scared the same thing will happen to you.”

“Yes, but—” I stood and dragged my hands through my hair. “It’s not only that. This whole thing started out of a selfish act for him to save his own goddamned ass. A lot of the myths about him may have been warped and fabricated but his arrogance and self-centeredness? That’s all there.”

“I don’t know. He may have spun it as selfish, but if you look at it from a different perspective it’s an arrangement that benefits you both. You need a husband to stay here, he needs a Queen to keep his power and title.” Olivia shrugged and leaned her hip on the desk. “He could’ve married anyone, Keir. Hell, he could’ve asked me. But he’s asking to marry you because I’m going to guess one: he likes you and two…it’s more than marriage, it’s helping you.”

Here I was, the powerful prosecutor who could solve some of the craziest cases, and I couldn’t even navigate a relationship. But Olivia? She’s always been so good at thinking outside the box.

“Wait. How do you know he needs a Queen to keep his power and title? He never even told me that.” I stood in front of her, folding my arms.

“I told you. I researched. Gaea made a clause when he became King. There always has to be a Queen. If there’s not, he has a certain timeframe to find another. If he doesn’t…he loses part of his power and his crown.” She leaned back on her palms, crossing her legs, and bouncing one foot. “Textbook fantasy irony, really.”

My heart raced. How long did he have? The Greek gods without Zeus as their King? It seemed absurd.

“Ollie, what timeframe? How long does he have?” I grabbed her shoulders.

“It didn’t say. I looked. I couldn’t find it. Why? Do you think it’s soon?”

Numbly, I let my hands fall away, the rawness traveling to my toes. “It has to be. This morning he sounded so—urgent.”

“Keira, sweetie.” Olivia appeared at my side, grabbing my elbow to turn me toward her. “The fact you’re concerned about this, tells you all you need to know. He’s not just doing this for himself. Remember that.”

And maybe he wasn’t. But was it so much to want to hear him say that?