Worth It - Lisa Oliver Page 0,39

shock of his encounter with Paulie still running through his every nerve. He knew, in that instant, how much he’d underestimated the power of the bonds provided by the Fates.

Sure, he’d said the right words. He’d even shared his sentiments with his brother. Zeus did feel the need to protect his young tiger, but he’d had fleeting feelings for others in the past as well. Zeus had accepted that for as long as he felt ‘something’ towards Paulie, he could keep him around. It was never meant to be permanent as in ‘eternity’ type permanent, and Zeus never intended, ever, to be monogamous for the rest of existence.

And he had good reason for thinking that way. The sense of belonging, the sheer volume of need he’d felt, taking Paulie that first time, scared him. Words of claiming hovered in his throat, and Zeus had kept his teeth tightly clenched so they wouldn’t escape. But he could voice his frustration with the Fates now. “You meddling bitches. I refuse your gift! You can’t make me feel!”

Of course, the Fates didn’t answer. They never did when Zeus roared. And Zeus couldn’t blame the Fates for the feelings he couldn’t control now. They were his. He had to own them. “I don’t have to fucking like it,” he muttered as he stormed from his room, stomping up the stairs to his own private retreat.

Olympus was different from other realms in that it had a view of the world below. Sitting on a bench, Zeus stared down at the clouds that acted like a set of curtains, blocking the view from the uninterested. One wave of his hand, and the clouds would part, showing Zeus any part of the world in as much detail as he wanted to see. But Zeus didn’t need to wave his hand. His mind was already full of Paulie’s image and that scared him too.

No one had ever affected Zeus as deeply as Paulie had. No one. Ever. Closing his eyes, Zeus thought, and now I don’t know what the hell to do about these wretched feelings. He tried thinking about things analytically. He was wearing Paulie’s scar on his shoulder. The tiger had claimed him. But Paulie wasn’t a full shifter. He was a demigod. Which should mean the curse of the eternal droop won’t apply to me.

If it was that simple, then Zeus could’ve accepted that. He was already calling Paulie his mate in his mind and had mentioned words of possessiveness to Hades. But in the back of his mind, he’d been sure if he didn’t make a verbal claim himself, thereby alerting the Fates to their joining, he wasn’t casting their bonding in concrete. Surely it had to be a two-way thing for the bond to snap into place.

Which meant technically, he wasn’t mated, because Zeus hadn’t made the claim. He was a free agent, in full command of his dick and his realm, just the way he’d always been. But nothing had prepared Zeus for the wealth of feelings he experienced taking Paulie’s body for the first time. Feelings that made Zeus want to commit to that elusive forever – feelings that caused him to shudder at the idea of being intimate with anyone else.

I can’t do that. I’d resent him. It might take years, but I’d get bored with him. I always do. No god was meant to be faithful to one person. Someone would catch my eye. Shit… Zeus remembered what Paulie had said about not wanting to be another Ganymede.

I should never have had sex with him. It wasn’t Zeus’s intention. When he’d told Paulie he wanted to get to know him, he meant outside of sex. He already knew the tiger was a virgin, and that wasn’t something to be given away lightly.

Now I’ve taken that and left his bed like a robber in the night. At least I didn’t let him bite me again. Not that Zeus thought that would make any difference. He had a horrible feeling, that demigod or not, Paulie’s claim on him was permanent. The scar he wore still shone brightly and showed no signs of fading away.

I haven’t claimed him in return, Zeus thought stubbornly. My dick will work when I want it to, and for whoever I want it to, and no scar, or tear-filled eyes and full pink lips are ever going to change that.

Which was fine in theory, but none of his pep-talk made Zeus feel any better. Matings should come