Worth It - Lisa Oliver Page 0,34

made him mine. I compensated his father for him handsomely, as was the custom, and for the most part gods and mortals alike weren’t bothered by our relationship. Out of all my lovers, Ganymede was the only one I gave the gift of immortality to. We were lovers for a long time.”

Immortal? Does that mean…? Paulie tried not to let his jealousy show. “Do you still see him? I mean, you made him immortal, so he must still be around.”

“I see him.” Zeus picked up his wine glass, twirling it in his hands. “I see him occasionally on my computer screens. The Fates smiled on him well before they turned their eyes on me.”

“He found his fated mate?” Now Paulie felt sorry for Zeus whose shoulders had a dejected slump.

“He claimed a sheep farmer in Australia, would you believe, more than a hundred years ago.” Zeus took a long swallow from his glass. “He kissed me on the forehead and took off for the antipodes. To think, I rescued him from tending cattle which is what he was doing when I first saw him, and he ended up doing the same thing anyway. He’s absurdly happy.” Zeus downed the contents of the glass and filled it again. “It’s not as though I was faithful to him either,” he added. “But I liked having him around.”

Paulie’s tiger roared in anger and Paulie had a hard time swallowing it. “So why are you here then?” Jumping up from the table, Paulie grabbed the plates, taking them across to the kitchen sink. Turning on the tap, he put the plug in the drain and searched for his dishwashing liquid.

“It’s clear Ganymede was the one you loved.” Paulie started scrubbing the plates, not even waiting for the sink to be filled. “You miss him. Your whole face closed up when I mentioned his name. Whether you screwed other people or not during your relationship, you still care about him. The great beauty. So, what the hell are you doing here with someone like me who only has a home because you granted me one?”

“I told you, you would yell at me.” Zeus’s voice sounded infuriatingly calm. “Of course, I thought you’d yell at me for knowing about your existence for nine months and not coming to see you sooner. But nope, apparently the idea that I cared about someone deeply in a time before you were born is the trigger issue for you. What was I meant to do? Engage in casual fucks until you were born? I’m the Father of the Gods. I own the sky. Was I meant to be celibate for a million lifetimes in the hopes the Fates might find me a mate? Something they’ve only been doing for gods in the past two years, by the way. When I was busy having fun in the bedroom like gods do, I didn’t even know you were a possibility. But tell me, go on, what would make this right for you?”

Gods, when it was put like that… But no, even if Zeus was right, it didn’t help. He was still unfaithful to the love of his life. Pain lanced through Paulie’s heart, so sharp he was surprised he didn’t see blood seeping through his shirt. Tears poured down his face, mixing with the steam rising from the running tap. Turning off the water quickly, Paulie braced his hands on the edge of the sink, his head bowed, his shoulders heaving. “All I wanted… all I’ve ever wanted my whole life…” he choked out another sob.

“All I’ve wanted in my heart is to have someone who would love me and accept me the way I am. I kept myself pure, and yes, I know my twenty-five years is nothing compared to the millennia you’ve existed, but they’ve felt like forever to me.” Paulie turned away from the sink, facing his mate, well aware of his tear-ravaged face. But it wasn’t as though he could ever compete with a beauty like Ganymede.

“I’m glad you’ve had love in your life,” he said haltingly, his chest still heaving. “No being should be without it. But I can’t be Ganymede. I will love you and no other, ever. It is what mates do. I can’t casually accept you having affairs, with men or women, if we’re to live as mates. I can’t do it. It would kill my tiger. It would kill me. I just can’t do it.”

“I’ve never wanted another Ganymede in my life.” Zeus