Zeus (Contemporary Mythos Book 6)

The first moments together with my new god-king husband were what could only be described as legendary. We transgressed from fucking to making love and fucking again in all forms and locations across the wonders of Mount Olympus. At one point, I asked him simply to sit there. To sit on his throne as the king, legs spread wide, spear in hand. He did as I asked and stared me down with a feral gaze as I danced in front of him, slowly removing my new Queenly attire with every other sway of my hips. He looked glorious on his golden throne. Powerful. Commanding. And he was all mine.

Tingles. It was the best way to describe how my skin felt whenever I read emotions with my new powers. Static water beads trickling over my skin. But one single touch from him—my husband, my king—would make the world go silent. Blissfully quiet. I’d thought my empathic abilities would somehow work differently as a goddess, but instead, they became amplified. And sex with Zeus? The sensations were tenfold and made me ravenous for him at any given moment.

Two Greek gods sitting on a curb in Las Vegas, waiting for our turn to have a man dressed as Elvis Presley marry our mortal guises. Weeks ago, the notion of it would’ve had me laughing hysterically, and though it still enticed a snicker, I couldn’t imagine a better way, nor could I imagine it happening with anyone else.

Zeus sat between my legs with his back to me, his arms wrapped around my thighs.

I trailed my fingers through his hair, pausing here and there to scrape his scalp with my nails. “The media is going to have a field day with this, you know?”

“Fuck the media,” he grumbled, kissing my knee.

“How are we going to explain this? The next court date is tomorrow, and we show up inexplicably married?” I tensed, resting my hands on his shoulders, and staring at the slew of hardened gum littering the sidewalk.

“Hey.” He tugged my arm, bringing my gaze to his. “Come here.”

I lowered my face, and he brushed a kiss over my lips, his hand cupping my cheek.

“Master meddler, remember? I got it covered.” He grinned, jiggling my chin between two fingers.

“Vronti and Bazin?” A man from inside the chapel called out.

Zeus stood first, holding his hand out to me, helping me stand. I brushed dirt away from my ass as we made our way inside. It was gaudy and quaint with only several rows of bright white pews, dozens of heart decorations, and a rounded arch with fake flowers where our minister, Elvis, stood waiting.

Elvis walked up to us, clad in a black jumpsuit decorated with ornate patterns and red rhinestones. He adjusted the oversized gold sunglasses on his nose, and as he bobbed his head, the black wig shifted. “Thank you all for choosing our chapel. Thank you very much.”

I bit my lip to keep from laughing at his horrible impersonation of Elvis’s iconic voice.

Zeus hugged me to his side, curling one hand over my hip. I opted to wear a simple floral dress, and he donned one of his many suits.

“Before we begin, do you both have rings?” Elvis pointed between us with a curl of his lip, his one large golden ring glinting from the overhead fluorescent lights.

Shit.

I slipped my hand behind my back, Zeus mimicking me, and we both used our powers to make rings for the other appear in our closed fists.

“Yes, we do,” my husband responded with a charming grin.

Elvis leaned to one side, glancing behind us. “No guests?”

“We’re kind of in a hurry,” Zeus replied with a wink.

Considering the magical ceremony I’d already had on Olympus, I had no scruples in the slightest with making our mortal ceremony as quick as humanly possible.

“I like your dedication. Let’s get on with it then, yeah?” Elvis snapped his fingers and shimmied to his spot under the altar, motioning for us to follow.

I was a living, breathing goddess now, a Queen, married to one of the most powerful men in the known universe, and—I’d already married him—but yet my stomach fluttered with anticipation.

“If you two would hold hands and face each other?” Elvis made a circling gesture with his hand.

With a sensuous curl of his lips, making my stomach twist even more, Zeus took my hands, running his thumbs over my knuckles. Elvis sang Love Me Tender offkey as the accompanying music played over the speakers.

“You ready to do this, counselor?” Zeus winked at me, dragging his middle finger over my palm with languid strokes.

For the second time, for the hundredth time, I’d say yes to marrying him countless times.

“This is the easy part.” I smiled at him, squeezing his hands.

“Groom, if you would put the ring on her left hand, ring finger,” Elvis said.

Zeus dug into his back pocket and slid a silver band over my finger. Several shimmering stones shined in a zigzag pattern when the light caught it —like lightning.

Zeus pressed his lips to my ear. “Those aren’t diamonds. It’s captured lightning.” He kissed the corner of my jaw before leaning back.

I wiggled my fingers with a grin, making the lightning dance from the assistance of the fake lighting in the room. “It’s beautiful.”

“Sir, as you look into your bride’s eyes, do you promise to love her, respect her, and honor her for the rest of your life?”

Zeus’s grip tightened on my hands.

The rest of our lives…eons—eternity.

“Abso-fucking-lutely,” Zeus answered with a warm smile.

“Wow. Great answer. Bride, if you wouldn’t mind placing the ring on his finger,” Elvis replied before turning to me.

I slipped the ring I’d conjured from lava rocks, its dark grey coloring a stark contrast to my brighter ring, onto his finger.

“Miss, do you promise to love him, respect him, and honor him for the rest of your life?”

“For eternity,” I whispered, tears starting to cloud my vision.

Zeus stole a tear that’d escaped from my cheek with one quick swipe of his thumb. We’d said our vows to each other, promising to take the other through good times and bad, sickness and health, richer or poorer for as long as we both lived. Despite the ethereal nature of our first ceremony, saying the words I’d said before to my first husband made everything so much more real. As the final step, we lit a unity candle together, using our smaller candles to light the larger one in the center in unison. It’d been my missing link all this time. I’d never felt like someone else’s crucial half. With Zeus, we were powerful as individuals, but we could conquer galaxies together.

“Congratulations to you both. After hearing the vows spoken by both of you, I can now officially pronounce you husband and wife. Sir, you can kiss your wife now.”

Zeus flashed a sultry grin before dipping me and planting his lips to mine. I wrapped my arms around his neck, kissing him back, his lightning power coursing through my veins. Elvis sang Viva Las Vegas to us as we walked down the aisle toward the exit hand-in-hand. Zeus had fabricated a wedding certificate for us as further proof to immigration once they’d gotten wind of my illegal residency.

Once we were standing outside of the chapel, he slipped his ring off and squinted at the inside of it. “I think your powers need a little more work, sweetheart. Shouldn’t that say ‘KZ’ not ‘KB’?” He pointed at the engraving I’d done on the inside of his band.

Smiling, I shook my head. “Nope. I got it right. Keira’s Bitch.”

He glared at me with a wicked glint in his eye before he let out a roar of masculine chuckles, and slipped the ring back on. He grabbed me by the waist, tickling me, making me cackle before pulling my back to his chest, hugging me from behind.

“Honestly, don’t worry about any of it. The media. The trial. Immigration. Big Daddy Z will handle all of it.” He kissed my cheek and hugged me tighter.

“Big Daddy Z?” I smiled while biting my lip. “I’m not calling you that.”

He shrugged, giving my nape a nibble, smiling against it. “Time will tell.”

We shared a cab the next day to the courthouse, our hands intertwined, only parting ways once we walked inside. He was off to prep his client, and I was getting used to my new skin—how different it would feel standing in front of a judge and jury knowing I was now a celestial being amongst unknowing mortals.

“Keira fucking Bazin,” Olivia shouted, power-walking through the lobby until she stood in front of me.

“Olivia—” I raised a hand, but she batted it away.

“I came into your office with a cake and a gift ready to celebrate your birthday the usual way you bloody prefer, and do you know what I found?”

I opened my mouth to reply, but Olivia cut me a glare.

“Nothing. That’s what. And then I don’t hear from you?”

Not bothering to speak anymore, I lifted my left hand and wiggled my fingers.

Her eyes widened before snatching my wrist and bringing my hand so close to her face I could feel her breath on my knuckles. “Did you or Zane or you and—” She rolled her neck, her eyes still wide.

“Both.” My stomach clenched as an image of my god-king sitting on my throne in his full Zeus form flashed through my mind.

She tugged me closer. “Wait. So you’re—”

Taking a quick scan of the area, I leaned forward, making my eyes spark with orange lightning.

Her grip tightened on my wrist as she stared up at me. “Holy shit, Keira.”

“It’s all happened so fast it’s enough to make my head spin.” I waved my fingers, making the lightning in my ring glisten.

“Wait. You all eloped, and I didn’t get invited? Where’d you get married?” She threw my hand away as if she were disgusted by it.

“Vegas. We were in a hurry, Ollie. You know I would’ve asked you to come if it were possible.” I rubbed the back of my neck with a frown.

“Vegas?” She slapped her hands on her head, laughing and twirling circles. “That couldn’t be more perfect. Please tell me you at least took pictures?”

My frown deepened. Fuck. I hadn’t thought about that. “I guess we forgot.”

“Keir, what if immigration showed up today? They’re going to ask to see photos of you both.” Olivia grabbed my shoulders, concern cinching in her brow.

Nervousness. Anxiety. Regret.

“I—” My phone buzzed in my briefcase, and I grabbed it.

Several texts from Zeus. Photos of our Vegas Elvis wedding. Smiling to myself, I scrolled through them. Us holding hands, facing each other, both smiling. Zeus in mid-answer of his vows with me glassy-eyed. Him dipping me as he kissed me.

Zane: I told you. Don’t Worry. 😉 – BDZ

Laughing, I shoved the phone at Olivia. “Apparently, my darling husband snuck in photos I wasn’t aware of.”

She snatched it from me, giggling. “Oh my—you did an Elvis one? Keira, this is too rich.” Pressing a hand to her chest, she sniffled. “You look so, so happy. Legitimately. Look at the way you are absolutely swooning over him.”

She wasn’t wrong. From the first day I’d laid eyes on him, even when he was just a crummy defense lawyer with a pretty face—I was smitten. At the time, I couldn’t make sense of the emotions, the carnal power radiating from his skin, the spark in his gaze that had nothing to do with his lightning. It’d been a destined meeting preconceived in the universe, and who were we to deny its pull?

“Before the trial starts, here.” Olivia shoved a small box wrapped in snowflake paper into my hands. “Happy belated birthday.”

My chest tightened. I’d gained a husband, godhood, and immortality for my last birthday as a mortal. The thought brought a warm smile to my lips, and my fingernails dug into the paper surrounding the box.

“What is it?” I flashed her a devious grin, knowing she hated whenever I asked that.

“I’m not sure you’ll have much use for it now, but—I mean, the thought was there at the time.” Olivia folded her hands in front of her and averted her gaze skyward.

Squinting one eye at her, I tore off the paper and flipped open the brown box hidden within. I pulled out a small white ceramic elephant holding a marker with its trunk and folded cloth with its tail.

Grinning, I held it up. “It’s adorable. What’s the marker for, though?”

Olivia held her hand out, and I rested it on her palm. She removed the marker and wrote something on the elephant’s side before showing me.

“File your damn paperwork,” I read aloud, laughing.

“It’s a dry erase elephant. I figured it’d look cute on your desk and serve a purpose. Multi-functional.” She rubbed the words away with the cloth and handed it back to me.

“It’s perfect, Ollie. And I’ll still use it, but maybe more for naughty encrypted messages or something.” I winked at her, slipping the elephant into my case.

“I like where your head’s at. Ready for what I hope to be one of the final days of this damn trial?” She curled her arm with mine.

After taking a deep breath, knowing Zeus and I’s marriage changed the dynamic, I let my godly intuition calm me as I breezed into the courtroom. Zeus already sat at the table with his client, immediately moving his gaze over his shoulder to grin at me.

What were you up to?

Giving a subtle smile back, I took my seat at the table only to rise seconds later as the judge entered the courtroom.

“You may be seated,” she announced, adjusting her glasses and shuffling papers.

Zeus cleared his throat, remaining standing. My heart boomed in my chest. What was he doing?

“Mr. Vronti, is there something you need to address before we proceed?” The judge eyed him over the rim of her glasses.

Zeus adjusted his tie. “I’m sorry, your honor, but I’ve briefed my client, and with her consent, another partner will be taking over this case as—” His eyes cut to me, fully smiling before turning back to the judge. “—I’m now married to opposing counsel.”

My cheeks flushed and I sunk into my chair. I’d wanted to make an announcement, knew we had to tell them, but did not plan to make it a spectacle. Considering I knew who I married, it shouldn’t have surprised me.

Melissa Daniels’ face scrunched, and she shook her head. “We never—”

Zeus waved his fingers behind his back at Melissa, making her face neutral, followed by a firm nod.

“Well, in the thirty years I’ve been doing this, I can honestly say this has never happened before. Thank you for bringing this to our attention. In light of the change in defense, we’ll adjourn the proceedings until tomorrow.” She slammed her gavel.

Olivia smacked me in the shoulder with a grin. “He’s so good.”

Oh. I know—the charming, gorgeous asshole.

Zeus approached me as I stood, his hands jiggling the keys in his pants pocket. “I know that’s probably not how you wanted to announce this, but I wanted them to know I’m stepping down.” He leaned in, unabashedly sliding an arm around my waist now that everyone knew. “Win the case, my Queen.”

A sensual shiver shot up my spine, fluttering over my skin.

“And now, to handle the slew of media I know lurks behind that door.” Zeus smirked before holding his hand out for me to take.

“Olivia—” I started, flicking my gaze over my shoulder to her.

She held up a hand as she gathered papers into her briefcase. “I’ll catch up with you. Trust me. I’m elated your first instinct isn’t to go straight to the office to over-prepare.” She tugged one of my jacket lapels as she passed and grinned up at Zeus before pointing a finger in his face. “I don’t care who you are. If you hurt my best friend, I’ll do bad things to you.”

“Careful, Ollie. Don’t threaten my husband with a good time, or I may get jealous.” I smiled at her, offering a tiny wink.

Zeus squeezed my hand.

After Olivia guffawed, she slapped my shoulder. “Yup. I like this version of you. Call me later.”

I elbowed Zeus. “Quick work with those photos.”

“Mmhmm.” He bumped his knuckle under my chin. “What did I say?”

“That you had everything under control.” I bit back a smile.

He held up a single finger. “That who had everything under control?”

Glaring at him but still smiling, I said, “Big Daddy Z.”

“That’s right.” He kissed my brow.

No sooner did we step outside of the courtroom cameras and reporters swarmed us.

“Miss Bazin, did you ever imagine yourself with a defense lawyer?”

“Mr. Vronti, what does this mean for your career?”

I stepped closer to Zeus, squinting from the flashes going off in waves.

“I’m sure you all have a lot of questions, and we’ll answer all of them in due time. Considering this is so new, however, you’ll respect us if we wish to enjoy this momentous occasion—alone.” Zeus’s voice commanded attention, everyone falling silent as soon as he opened his mouth and nodding in agreement without asking anything else.

“Miss Bazin, we will expect you to answer a few questions, however,” a man’s voice said from nearby.

When I turned to face him, he flipped his wallet open, revealing a USCIS badge, making my throat tighten.

It was only a matter of time.

“Miss Bazin, is Mrs. Bazin-Vronti now. She’s legally in the country with her marriage-based green card.” Zeus said, holding up our joined left hands.

“Be that as it may. We’ll need to take you both in for questioning due to the urgency and convenience of your marriage to ensure its legitimacy.” The man stepped aside and held out his hand. “If you’d both follow us to the immigration office.”

Zeus dropped his lips to my ear. “You’re a Queen goddess now. Use that charm for questions we’ll undoubtedly be unable to answer. Unless the person interviewing us is a man, then maybe tone it back a tad.” He grinned against my cheek.

Let the interrogation commence…

The officers led us to the same room with a single desk, overhead light, and three chairs. I cleared my throat as I adjusted in my seat, purposely playing with the new band on my finger to show my immediate familiarity with it. Zeus sat next to me, but they’d made us far enough apart we couldn’t hint answers to the other.

“It may have taken us longer to catch wind of you were it not for going through customs after your quick trip to Argentina,” Officer Miles said as he twirled a pen on the desk.

I folded my hands and calmly placed them in front of me. “I wasn’t worried about it because I knew I was already marrying Zane.”

Zeus grinned and bobbed his brows at the officer.

“You seemed to have a short engagement. Care to explain?” Miles cut his gaze to Zeus.

Zeus casually leaned back in his chair and bent forward, resting his forearms on the table. “Do you believe in love at first sight, Officer Miles?”

“No.”

“Well, then how could you possibly understand why we were ravenous to make it official?” Zeus spied me out of the corner of his eye, smiling at me.

Ravenous.

I bit my lip and crossed my legs with a flick of my hair.

“How does he take his coffee?” Miles narrowed his eyes at me, tracing his gaze over every expression and gesture I made.

“Black. No lid,” I answered quickly.

Seemingly satisfied, Miles nodded and turned his attention on Zeus. “And hers?”

“Black, but I’ve also seen her sneaking a packet of sugar in now and again. When she wants to be hyper-focused.”

He noticed that?

I didn’t want the officer to catch the surprised expression on my face, so I hid it behind a smile.

“What side of the bed does she sleep on?”

“That all depends on which position we finished in.” A glint flashed in Zeus’s eyes.

My stomach flipped several times.

“Any children from past marriages?”

Zeus stared at the officer before squinting. “Can you repeat the question?”

I slid a hand over my mouth, grinning behind the guise of my palm.

“How long has he been in his current state of employment?” Miles tapped the pen against the table as he shifted his gaze between us.

I shrugged. “Years, but honestly, sometimes it feels like—forever.”

“And the wedding, where did it take place?”

Zeus slid his phone from his back pocket, pulling up the gallery of photos he’d fabricated from his memories. “A chapel in Vegas.” He pointed at his phone. “They streamed it on Facebook, too, if you need further proof.”

“Have you planned the honeymoon?”

I frowned and traced my thumb over my lightning ring. “We haven’t talked about it.” Stealing a glance at my new husband, I caught his gaze, and he too frowned.

“Have you met each other’s parents?”

We both turned our attention back to the officer and responded in unison, “They’re dead.”

The officer clucked his tongue against his teeth and tapped the pen faster. “What about your spouse’s best friend’s name?”

Frustration. Annoyance.

Zeus shifted forward. “Olivia.”

“Levin,” I said, grinning at the god-king when he raised a brow at me over his shoulder.

“Do you live together or plan to live together?”

Live in my tiny apartment with painful memories of my divorce? Fuck that. Besides, I still had half my shit packed anyway. “I’m moving into his penthouse.”

Zeus nodded. “Mostly because it’s soundproofed.”

I choked on my spit, holding back a laugh, and coughed into my fist.

The interrogation continued for another fifteen minutes, and we newlyweds answered each question with ease and precision. The officers informed me I could maintain my green card, which would expire ten years from the current date. We strolled out of the USCIS office holding hands.

“So, you’re moving into the penthouse with me, huh?” Zeus tugged my arm.

“Damn right I am. Hope you’re prepared for that—hubs.” I kissed his cheek.

“So bossy.” Zeus flashed me a grin as he slid his sunglasses on.

“You love it.”

“Speaking of bosses, we need to introduce you as everyone’s new ‘co-boss’ formally.” He brought my hand to his lips, giving a quick peck to my palm.

“How do you propose getting everyone in one place?”

“It’s been a very long time since I called everyone home—to Olympus.”