Zeus (Contemporary Mythos Book 6)

So. Fucking. Tired. Despite several cups of coffee and a Red Bull, sleep still pulled at my brain, and I rested my forehead on my arm in my office. A five-minute power nap wouldn’t hurt anyone.

Ice clanking against a glass sounded in my ear.

“Keira,” Zeus whispered, resting the glass on my desk near my head.

Groggily, I lifted my head to see the insanely gorgeous King of the Gods looming over me with a tumbler of scotch in hand that matched the one resting next to me.

“A peace offering.” He lifted the glass in a cheers gesture and nudged his chin at mine.

Eyeing the alcohol, I shifted my gaze to his face, glaring at him. “I fed and took care of your dog, by the way.”

He rubbed the back of his neck as he stared at his shoes. “Yeah. I uh—I appreciate that.”

Embarrassed. Regretful.

With a sigh, I lifted the glass, and we clanked them together. I remained sitting, sipping on my scotch and waiting to see what wondrous words he came up with after how swimmingly our last encounter went.

“I’m a dick. I’m an asshole. I’m a bastard. Whatever name you want to call me, I’m all of them.” He crouched in front of me, resting one forearm on the top of my thigh, his blue eyes pulling me to him. “I didn’t expect any of this to happen. Not Hera leaving. Not running into you. And especially not…having my entire world turned fucking upside down—by you.”

Sincerity. Hope. Admiration.

My grip tightened on the glass as I pushed down the burning sensation in my sinuses.

“I’ve spent my entire life living a certain way, having that life ruled by Olympus, contrary to what most think is the other way around. You catapulting into that life made me realize it’s possible to have both Olympus and—” He squeezed my knee. “—more.”

“Is this an apology?” I squinted at him, biting back a grin.

He smirked. “Definitely not.” A hint of a smile played at the corner of his lips before he patted my leg and stood. “Come with me.” He held out his hand, the light from my desk lamp glinting from his silver pinky ring.

“I don’t know, Zeus.”

His hand lowered. “That was the first time you called me Zeus without us fucking each other or your life being threatened.”

Hope. Flutters. Actual flutters.

As I stood, my chest tightened. I hadn’t even realized I’d said it. “I—”

Shaking his head, he brushed his thumb over my lips to silence me, his palm pressing against my cheek. “You don’t need to rationalize it. Just come with me. A little birdie told me it was your birthday. You shouldn’t be spending it in your office.”

“I’ve spent every birthday since living in New York in my office.” I shrugged, nuzzling against his hand still stroking my face.

“That doesn’t surprise me and all the more reason you should come with me.” He stepped back and tugged my hand. “Now.”

Smiling, I grabbed my coat. “So bossy.”

“You love it.” He helped me with my coat, even going so far as to do up the buttons.

I did love it. Damn it all to hell. I loved it all.

Canting my head, I saw a new side to him—as if he’d opened a hidden passage to let me in, one he hadn’t even opened to himself in a long time.

He wrapped an arm around my waist and, with the blinds closed in my office, ported us to an alley near Rockefeller Center. We were blocks away from where I knew the gigantic tree and ice-skating rink were, but even from this distance, the emotions pouring from the crowds of tourists punched at my mind.

“Keira? What’s wrong?” He cupped my elbows, keeping me upright.

I hadn’t even told him yet. Here I was expecting every bit of truth from him, and I’d left out that tiny detail?

“I can’t handle the city right now. I just can’t.” I shoved my face against his shoulder, trying to drown out the overwhelming feelings of joy and whimsy—emotions that individually caused euphoria but combined in droves made for hysteria.

“Keira.” He pushed me back, tilting my head up to look at him. “Talk to me.”

“I’m—” Squeezing his biceps through his jacket, I gulped. “I’m an empath. I guess I got it from my mother because it’s—intense. So intense all the time when I’m around a lot of people. I can sense emotions, fleeting feelings, and can even tell when someone is lying.”

What started as a light chuckle transformed into a glorious masculine laugh—deep and throaty.

I wanted to laugh, but tears threatened to push their way through. “Why in the hell are you laughing?”

“It just all makes so much sense now. Who better to be at my side than someone who can always see straight through my bullshit? For fuck’s sake—the Fates are such conniving, intuitive pieces of work.” He chuckled a little more and pulled me to him, hugging me, his nose grazing my hair.

“And now knowing you’re a Greek god, it makes sense why emotions were so intense from you.” I pressed my ear to his chest, listening to his divine heartbeat thrumming like a giant’s steps.

“Try something with me,” he whispered, slipping off his glove and shoving it in his pocket. He lifted one of my hands, and with a seductive curve of his lip, he removed my glove finger-by-finger.

“What are you doing?”

“I have a theory because of our formed bond.” He took my hand, our skin touching.

I closed my eyes, the copious amounts of emotions around me dissipating with each passing second. Joy melted into my joy—his joy. Wonder morphed into my own. Hope settled into Zeus’s hope alone.

His lips pressed to my ear, the warmth from his breath making heat pool in my stomach. “Did it work?”

“Yes,” I breathed out.

“Good.” He tugged my hand, causing my eyes to fly open. “We have ice skating to do.”

“Ice skating? Zeus, I’ve never skated in my life.” I laughed, scanning the busy sidewalks filled with people dressed in wintry attire with their arms loaded with shopping bags. Familiar smells of roasted nuts, baked goods, and hot dogs pervaded the air.

“I’ll just get to laugh at you falling on your ass every other minute then, huh?” His face beamed at me as he flashed a grin.

I pointed at him. “You will do no such thing.”

He pretended to bite my finger. “No promises. Besides, you might drag me down with you considering I can’t let go.” He lifted our joined hands—the only thing keeping the emotions from hundreds of people infiltrating my brain.

And he wouldn’t let go. Not for anything. I knew it with every breath escaping my lungs. It made my heart swell.

Lit angel sculptures bordered the ice rink with dozens of people skating in circles—some hugged the wall, others skated like pros, and some shuffled rather than gliding. But what stood out most of all was the majestic sight of the glittering tree at the heart of Rockefeller Center, piercing the sky like a towering Titan.

My eyes blurred with tears staring up at it, the chill in the air making my cheeks numb, but I only gripped Zeus’s hand tighter.

“All the time I’ve been here, and I’ve never seen this. I’ve been so caught up with my life and work I never stop to breathe—to enjoy the little things.” I sniffled, fighting back the tears that threatened.

His thumb kneaded between my knuckles. “If anyone can relate to you, it is me on the grandest of scales, Keira.”

“My mother. Is she alive?” I continued to stare up at the tree, trying to keep my voice steady when I asked.

He circled my palm with his thumb. “Yes.”

“Do you—” I turned my gaze to him, taking a deep inhale before my next question. “Do you know where she is?”

“Yes.” His face softened.

“Do you think she’d want to see me?” I tightened my grip on his hand, terrified of the response.

“If you ever want to meet her, all you need to do is speak with Hades.”

My shoulders tensed. “She’s in the Underworld?”

“Tartarus.”

An overwhelming sadness tugged at my brain. “By her choice?”

“I think, my dear, that’s something you’d need to ask her.” He offered a small smile as he tugged my hand.

Pursing my lips, I turned my attention back to the tree. “Tell me something. If we do this—tell me it’d be different. The job will have to come first at times, but the times that it doesn’t—we make it for us. About us.”

He pulled me tight against him, yanking off his other glove to cup my face in his hands. “Those words are the biggest part of the reason no one else can be at my side. I physically couldn’t stand it.”

He only had so long to get this done. What the hell was he talking about?

“What?” It came out like a squeak.

“You take as long as you need. Because I’m not asking anyone else.” His jaw tightened as he stared down at me, the sparkling lights hanging from street lamps framing him, paling in comparison to his lightning.

Was he willing to let the time lapse? To give up the crown? It was so…selfless.

“And to answer your question, you’d have to be willing to share my time with the universe, but when duty doesn’t call—” He dipped his lips to mine, kissing me, his tongue skirting the tip of mine before pulling away. “—I’m all yours.”

All mine. Heart. Pulverized.

I smiled against his lips, and brushed my nose against his to warm it. “Care to watch me look like a penguin in a pair of ice skates?”

“Nothing would give me greater pleasure.” He chuckled, and after donning our skates, we circled the ice over a dozen times, hand in hand.

Despite his jabs, he never let me fall and only laughed when I let out an infectious bout of giggles from slipping. He used every opportunity and excuse to touch my ass and cop a feel at my boobs through my jacket, grinning like a jackal each time. We also stole kisses too many times for me to count—the faint sound of holiday music fluttering in the background from outdoor speakers.

We’d retreated to a corner, and he stood behind me with his arms wrapped around me, our bare hands still touching. His beard tickled my cheek as he kissed it. “Have you ever seen thundersnow?”

“What the hell is that?”

He chuckled. “I’m going to take that as a no. It’s a rare occurrence, but the people of New York City should thank you that it’s your birthday because today—they’re going to witness it.”

His grip tightened on my arms, and with a cue only a god could give, snowflakes fell on my lashes. Grey clouds filled the sky as blankets of white fell from above like static, making the view of the New York skyline with the giant tree in the forefront look like something from a Norman Rockwell painting. Static flowed from him behind me, followed by a subtle electric current.

A crisp, clean, and wondrous bolt of lightning flashed across the sky, its radiance bouncing off the white snow, illuminating a several block radius of the city in shimmering vibrance. The crowds around us gasped, yelped, and wooed at the rare show in the sky—cheers roaring once the boom of thunder followed.

“That’s remarkable,” I whispered, sticking my tongue out to catch flakes on it.

“Hey now, I need that tongue. Don’t get it electrocuted.” He bumped his hips at my back, and grinned against my ear.

“This is the best birthday I’ve had in a very, very long time.”

He continued the thundersnow show as people whipped out their cell phones to record the strange occurrence, children laughing and weather nerds shouting about how rare it was.

“Good, because you realize how off-theme a Hallmark moment like this is for me, right?”

I nuzzled against him. “Yes. And it delights me to know you’re screaming inside but still doing this all for me.”

“Mmhm.” He nibbled the side of my face.

“Was I destined to lose the Daniels case the moment you signed on?”

He grabbed my shoulders and turned me to face him. “What?”

“You’re not human. You can spin a case in your favor, I’d imagine?” I frowned.

His eyes shut, and he shook his head before flashing his gaze at me. “You said you can tell when I’m lying, correct?”

I nodded.

“You are the best damn lawyer I’ve ever seen, Keira Bazin. Even with only half a godly brain, you surpass any power I’d have in that courtroom.” He massaged my shoulders before cupping my chin with a gooey smile.

Sincerity. Admiration. Lust.

I grinned at him and took both his hands in mine. “I asked you this once before, and I’m going to ask you again. But I want a real answer this time. Newsflash: Saying I’m hot is not part of the answer.”

He lifted a finger. “Let the record show, however, that you are.”

“Fine. Thank you.” I rolled my eyes with a smile before meeting his gaze. “Why me, Zeus?”

He licked his lips, the static still sizzling over my skin as he continued to produce lightning in the clouds. “You challenge me. Ground me. Drive me fucking crazy—”

I playfully nudged him in the stomach.

He grunted with a grin. “And I love it. But mostly because—you understand me. See me. Really see me. I can be myself around you.”

Sincerity. Hope. Pure happiness.

“And that, counselor, was a solid argument.” Smiling, I raised as high as I could on skates and slid my arms around his neck. “Let’s do this.”

He squinted at me, tensing beneath my touch. “To clarify, by ‘this,’ you do mean getting hitched, right?”

“Yes.”

His gaze turned predatory. “Fuck, Keira.” He kissed me—deeply, longingly, his arms wrapping around me and lifting me from the ice.

The lightning show intensified in the sky, crackling, hissing, striking, and booming. All surrounding lights went out, coating the entirety of Rockefeller Center in darkness. He pressed his forehead to mine, and I couldn’t see my hand in front of my face, it was so dark.

“What the hell are you doing?” I whispered.

His eyes glowed with lightning. “I need to show you something before we do this and it can’t be here.” He grinned as he ported us away from the middle of downtown.

We reappeared in his penthouse, minus the ice skates, and he snapped his fingers.

“Please tell me that snap was returning those beloved lights to full glory, right?”

He kissed my temple. “Yes, it was.”

Pulling away from him, I greeted Levin as he trotted over to me with his tongue out. “So what could you possibly need to show me? I’ve seen every square inch of you.” I smiled mischievously over my shoulder at him as I scratched Levin’s head.

“Not quite.” He played with his jacket sleeve. “If you were full mortal, I wouldn’t be able to show my true form to you. Mortals—well, sort of spontaneously combust if they were to lay eyes on my divine form.”

My throat tightened, and I slowly rose. “Spontaneously combust? Like—” I made an explosion gesture with widened eyes.

“Yes.” Zeus’s cheek twitched.

“And you’re positive my demigod self is safe from this? That’d be quite a damper on the entire situation, don’t you think?” I let out a high-pitched laugh.

“You’ll be fine. Are you ready?”

I chewed on my lip, shook out my hands, and stood upright before vigorously nodding.

A massive bolt of lightning struck over him from an invisible pocket above him, the brightness almost blinding me, making me wince. I held a hand above my eyes like one would do to shield from the sun. When my vision acclimated to the light, my lips parted.

It was still him, the same face, the same eyes, but—older. No, not older. Distinguished. Ancient. His dark hair turned silver and longer, reaching to his collarbone. His beard matched in color and hung to just above his chest. He was bare-chested and positively majestic, his muscles far more significant than in his mortal form and cut so pristinely like they were carved from marble. A gold metal crown circled his head, the middle rising to a sharpened point. Golden shin guards covered his knees and legs, his feet in sandals. On one knee bore an eagle’s head, the other a crown. His muscular, tanned thighs were exposed from beneath the blue tunic circling his waist, golden chains and adornments hanging from his hips.

With my hands cupped over my mouth, I moved closer. He stood still and tall, gripping a sunburst shield in one hand, the pulsing thunderbolt spear in the other. Once I stood toe-to-toe with him, I gazed up at the familiar eyes and placed a single finger on his cheek, followed by my whole hand. Golden beads with carved ancient Greek lettering were woven into his beard and parts of his wavy hair.

“Hey,” he said with a grin, the lightning flashing in his eyes more vibrant than when he was in his mortal guise.

I let my eyes roam over his face up close, and my hands, of their own volition, dragged over the bulging hard muscles that made up his chest, his arms, abdominal muscles over abdominal muscles I didn’t even know existed.

Dipping my fingers into the front part of his tunic, I slid closer. “Damn. I never knew I could be so attracted to a silver fox.”

He groaned. “Like my godly form, do you? You can fuck this form whenever you please. Except if we’re in mortal public. That could—kill the mood rather quickly.”

I sputter-laughed, slapping a hand over my mouth as soon as it happened. He smiled at me, and I kissed him—hard.

After kissing me back for far less time than I’d have liked, he gently coaxed me back. “As much as I love where your head’s at right now. We really do need to get this show on the road.” His gaze lifted to the clock hanging on the wall behind me. “I only have a matter of hours, and we still have someone we need to talk to about this.”

“Hours?” I swatted him hard in the chest. “You’re cutting it that close? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I needed to know that you truly wanted this. No outside interference. I’m a master meddler, Keira.” He twirled the thunderbolt in his palm. “I figured you’d appreciate knowing it came down to you and only you as well.”

This was the man I sensed bubbling under the surface from the day I met him but couldn’t pinpoint what it was. This. Right. Here.

“Who do we need to talk to? Hera?”

“No. I’ve already spoken to her. Trust me, she’s fine.”

I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from smiling. “You checked in on her?”

“Yeah. I had to make sure she wasn’t going to try and come back around and bite me in the ass.”

There was no stopping the grin now. “Uh-huh. I’m sure that’s all it was. You know, King of the Gods, you can be rather sweet when you want to be.”

He scratched the back of his neck with a pointed part of his sunburst shield. “In the right company, maybe. But don’t tell anyone.”

After making the gesture of zipping my mouth shut, I asked, “Then who do we have to see?”

Zeus sighed, his gaze lifting to the ceiling with a disgruntled groan. “My godsdamned grandmother—Gaea.”