Zeus (Contemporary Mythos Book 6)

After transforming myself back to my mortal form, because dear old grandma didn’t need yet another reason to be a wise-ass commenting on the godly form I hardly donned anymore, I ported Keira and me to the celestial gardens. A cottage surrounded by all forms of plant life, flowers, fountains, and lawn ornaments appeared in the distance—a steady smokestack puffing from the chimney. Keira gasped and walked toward the cozy-looking abode, but I hooked her by the elbow and pointed up.

What started as a cloud began to morph into overlapping green leaves, floating from the sky in sea waves—flowers bloomed, a deer trotted, sunbursts blazed. The earthy craziness spooled in front of us until finally, Gaea appeared in her human form—long white hair down to her ankles with vines and scattered flowers, and a dress made entirely of willow branches, moss, and far too sheer to my liking.

The woman always had to make a damn entrance.

“Hey, Yia-Yia.” A wicked grin pulled at my lips, knowing full well she hated being called any form of grandmother.

Smirking, Gaea played with the petunia flower charm of her necklace. “You’ve changed so much and yet the smart ass remains.”

“Not sure even I could make that stop,” Keira said, smiling at me. “Or that I want it to.”

Gaea propped her hands on her hips. “A fated bond for the ages, I’d say.”

“What do you know? A third attempt at dethroning me—” I stepped forward, sinking my face into my dear primordial grandmother’s. “—and you failed. Again.”

Gaea patted my cheek and, with one finger, pushed me back. “Oh, grandson. Your mind is still so clouded. I accepted a very long time ago that you are the god most suited for this task. And you earned it. The marriage clause was put into place to ground you, to ensure you didn’t become a ruler such as those before you. Also—to make you put your ass in gear when this opportunity presented itself to you.”

What was this harpy going on about?

Scowling at her, I moved closer to Keira, making our arms brush.

“Judging from that look on your face, you need me to spell it out for you.” A coy grin pulled at her lips as she steepled her long pale fingers.

Keira slipped her hand in mine, sending an electric pulse through my arm into my chest that did not come from my power.

“It has been far too long since our kind has driven into a new era. The moment has come for a change. As time changes through the ages, so must we. This is the dawning of a new age, and it starts with progression.” Her hands fanned above her, projecting images of aligning planets floating above us. “I ensured all mortals were born and paths intertwined through this very cycle with their gods.”

“There’s been more than just us?” Keira’s grip tightened on my hand.

“Oh, yes. And far more to come. But this past cycle has been vital.” She slapped her hands together, making the images disappear, and cutting her rainbow-colored eyes to me.

I looked from left to right. “Are you waiting for me to ask you why? Get on with it.”

Keira elbowed me in the ribs, causing a satisfying smile to appear on Gaea’s face.

“You, Zeus, King of Kings, witnessed sons, brothers, a grandson, a wife—all find the happiness they’d long since given up on, and little by little, it chipped at the metal that’s been weighing you down for far too long.”

The lightning hissed in my palms, flashing in my eyes as I ground my teeth.

“As we must progress in this modern age, so must our king.” Gaea leaned forward with a gleam in her eye. “And Keira was the final piece. Do you both know the purpose behind a fated bond?”

Keira vigorously shook her head.

“Oh, I’m sure you’re going to tell us.” I rolled my eyes and added, “Always one to ramble,” in a mumble.

Gaea made a tree branch slap me in the face, enticing a growl from the pit of my stomach. I’d defeated the Giants this woman threw at me, and a fire-breathing dragon, but still could never predict her conniving little outbursts.

“A fated bond is meant as comfort in a union—a completion of one half to a whole. With both of you accepting it, I suspect you’ve already begun to experience its effects. And once you are married—it will be tenfold.” She clasped her hands together with a brightened smile.

Keira leaned toward my ear. “What does that mean?”

“Only pay attention to half of what this woman says, trust me,” I whispered back.

“When Zeus was a little boy growing up in Crete—”

Stepping forward, I opened my mouth to stop her from talking, and another branch slapped me in the face, sticking to me this time.

“—he used to pretend he was a baby goat. Made the noises, hopped around on all fours with sticks on either side of his head to serve as horns, but the best part? He even suckled from one of the real goat’s teats.” Gaea cut me a wicked grin.

Keira bit her lip, trying to subdue her smile and no doubt holding back a laugh.

Snarling, I sizzled the tree branch away from my mouth with one flash of lightning. “Uh-huh. We’re kind of on a time crunch here, as you fully know, Granny. You have an eternity to embarrass me.”

“For once, you’re right.” She snapped her fingers, appearing in front of us, and slipping her hands over our shoulders. “Keira Bazin, do you agree to marry Zeus, King of the Greek gods, and thereby becoming Queen and the goddess of healed emotion?”

Keira paused, a warm subtle smile edging over her lips before her gaze lifted to mine. “I do.”

My heart boomed in my chest, the thunderous echo pounding in my ears.

“Do you Zeus, King of the Gods, ruler of the skies and wielder of lightning, accept Keira as your new Queen to rule at your side as an equal?”

Without a breath of hesitation, I answered, “I do.”

Gaea’s grip tightened on our shoulders, making Keira wince. A bright light burst from Keira’s chest, blasting through her mouth and eyes before an explosion of golden shimmers trickled over us, and Keira disappeared.

Fury. Anger. Fear.

Turning circles, I whirled on my heel, pointing a finger in Gaea’s face. “What the fuck did you do with her?”

Gaea placed one palm on my chest. “Your mother says hello, by the way.”

My foster mother, Amalthea, was long gone, so there was only one other she could’ve been talking about.

The anger trickled away, and my face fell. “Rhea? But you—”

Unlike my brothers, I couldn’t remember my birth Titan mother. She handed me off as soon as she gave birth to me to be raised without her, to save me from the fates of my brothers.

“She still lives but is one with Chaos now where she has a purpose.”

A peculiar tightening pulled in my chest at the mention of my mother. The realization settling in that she’d been alive this entire time.

“In Chaos, is she able to see everything?” I cast my gaze downward, clenching my fists at my sides.

“Yes. Despite the little shit you’ve been, Zeus, she is still proud of you and bore witness to this union.”

I lifted my eyes to meet Gaea’s, and puffed my chest. “Where’s Keira?”

“Where else would Zeus’s Queen be for a royal—consummation?” Gaea raised a thin brow, eliciting a sly smile from me.

Gaea had a naughty side. And here I thought I’d always gotten it from dear ‘ol dad.

“She waits for you, grandson.” Gaea pushed my chest.

Nodding, I backpedaled away. Right before porting, I kicked over one of several garden gnomes bordering the cottage and could hear the faint whisper of the word “brat” as I disappeared.

The perfectly formed white clouds and skies of purple and orange welcomed me as I set foot on Olympus marble for the first time in a decade. It had little purpose now, with most of our duties being upheld elsewhere. Perhaps now with this “new age” Gaea spoke of, Olympus could have its uses again. Pillars lined the path leading to the thrones, spires of white and gold towering from the mountains in the distance.

One singular look at her—my new Queen and I transformed into my godly form. My body would accept no other form for the first time I’d be with her. The first time I’d fuck her as a goddess, my wife—my. Queen.

She sat on the throne next to mine with her legs crossed and exposed beneath a long white dress. A golden brooch held the strap of white fabric coiled around her neck right above her left breast, and a matching gold belt cinched at her waist. She brought an apple to her lips, her eyes glowing with an orange hue as she bit into it, watching me walk toward her. Golden armbands hugged each of her biceps, and ornately-designed sandals with crisscrossing leather ties traveled up to her knees. As she shifted her waves of blonde hair over one shoulder, my dick got hard.

“Mighty bold of you making your new Queen wait so long alone on her throne.” She tossed the apple in her palm, fingernails tapping the gold armrests.

My greaves clanked as I took step after step, not tearing my eyes away from her for anything. “I couldn’t agree more. You should allow me to make it up to you.” I plastered a devious smile across my lips.

She grinned back, tossing the apple over her shoulder, making it disappear.

Producing ambrosia in my palm, I stood in front of her, outstretching my hand. “Eat this so we can consummate this marriage properly.”

She dragged a finger over her lips, still smiling at me as she slowly opened her mouth.

Leaning over her, I slipped the ambrosia in, her tongue licking the length of my finger. My dick twitched, and I groaned. Once she swallowed it, immortality seeping into her bones from the ambrosia’s power, she gasped. Her hands gripped the armrests, legs uncrossing and widening as the light and shimmer swirled around her, delivering my wife goddess in only a matter of seconds.

She’d closed her eyes, and once the transformation settled, they flew open, the glowing radiance intensified in her stare. She pushed from the throne, leaping into my arms, curling her own around my neck, kissing me with such force it made me stagger back. Her fingers tangled in my long hair, tugging it. I cupped her ass with both hands, the wide belt hanging over my hips grinding against her.

She pulled away from the kiss, my hair still wrapped in her grip. “I recall an arrogant god telling me he could at any moment port me to Olympus and fuck me on his throne.”

“That guy sounds like an asshole.” I licked and kissed her neck, tickling her collarbone with my beard.

“He’s no asshole.”

I lifted my godly gaze to hers.

“He’s a dick.” She grinned as she slid down my body. Once her sandaled feet touched the marble floor, her finger dipped into my tunic, making my cock throb for her as she pulled me to the thrones. “I want to hold him to his claim—but fuck him on my throne.”

This. Godsdamned. Woman.

She pushed me to her throne, forcing me to sit on it, more strength behind her movements than her demigod self. Spreading my legs wide, I shifted the tunic to free my cock, stroking it as I watched her saunter over to me, pulling the dress up to her hips. The sight of her bare pussy had me growling, and I dug my fingers into the armrest as she straddled my lap. As I moved my hands to her ass, guiding her, she slapped them away.

“This is my show, god-king,” she whispered, nipping at my ear.

Fuck. Me.

Moving her hands to my shoulders, she slowly began to lower herself. As the tight warmth passed over the tip, it sent a tingle down my shaft, straight to the fucking base of my spine, and I groaned. Once our hips met, she stilled, my cock pulsing inside her. She moaned and began to rock, grinding her clit against my stomach as she damn near milked me.

She was so tight and so fucking wet it had my spine stiffening. With a snarl, I let my head fall back, fighting everything in me not to touch her—to squeeze her tits, her ass. The bond pounded through my chest, settling over my brain like the static aftershock from thrown thunderbolts in a heated battle. Keira gasped and pressed her face against the side of my neck, breathing me in.

“Touch me,” she whispered.

Seeing as this woman never had to command me to do anything twice, I took her face in one hand, our glowing eyes sparking at each other before I kissed her. My other hand grabbed her ass, pulling and pushing her on and off me, deepening her thrusts. Traveling my touch up her back, I yanked the top of the dress down, exposing one breast, and broke away from the kiss to suck on it, flicking my tongue over the nipple before biting it.

Pressing a hand to the back of my head, she rocked back and forth, whimpering and gasping. White lightning crackled in the sky, brought on by my powers going into overdrive from the bond—the connection—my fucking gorgeous Queen writhing on top of me. Her nails dug into the back of my head, her pussy clenching around me as she cried out, coming on me. A small streak of orange lightning blasted through the sky directly above us—silent with no thunder to accompany it.

That…didn’t come from me.

The familiar pressure built at the base of my cock, and I grabbed her hips, taking over the thrusts, bucking against her as it built and built. The glorious torture churned until an uncontrollable roar burst from my lungs, and I came inside her, my hips locking. Waves passed over me until finally, I sunk into the throne, holding my new Queen in my arms and keeping her from falling backward with that glowing satiation in her eyes.

“I felt something I’ve never felt before.” She combed my beard with her fingers.

I traced her exposed breast. “The bond?”

“That was far more intense, yes, but this was as if I had an electric pulse radiating from my chest and not settling over it like when you use your lightning on me.” She caressed my chest.

“The summer lightning. That was you,” I whispered.

I’ll be damned. I’d given her some of my power through the bond and didn’t even realize it.

She sat up straight, my cock still inside her hardening again as she tightened. “I have lightning powers? How?”

Shifting beneath her, I pulled her closer. “Transference, I’d guess. Suppose we should add Wielder of Silent Lightning to that ever-growing list of titles you have, hm? Though I believe heat lightning would be more appropriate considering how it happened.” I grinned and traced her jawline with a single finger.

She smiled and kissed my lips, starting to rock on me again. “I never got to thank you for saving my career properly.”

Moaning, I massaged the back of her neck. “Nor I, you.”

We fucked each other senseless for hours amidst the silent halls of Olympus—the marbled floor, the thrones, the atrium, even on the damn mountain’s edge. And when we were finally spent, we slept for even longer. And yes, she did let me use her tits as a pillow. With our royal consummation duties solidly upheld, tomorrow would lead to other concerns. Our alter-egos had to get married as well. I’ve heard the weather in Vegas this time of year is perfect for a quickie wedding.