Worth It - Lisa Oliver Page 0,63

Seconds later, Paulie felt the insistent push of a broad cockhead pushing between his butt cheeks, and he grabbed under his knees, pulling his legs close to his chest.

“Oh, baby, yes, that’s the way.” Zeus thrust, his hips brushing against Paulie’s exposed butt.

Paulie was full. He could breathe again, and as he looked up into Zeus’s eyes he could see the god felt their connection just as deeply. “You’re my home, honeybuns.” Zeus’s voice was gruff with emotion. “Olympus, this place, the whole thing could fall into the sea and if you’re in my arms, it would be okay.”

There was a momentary twinge of panic as Paulie recalled Zeus saying how words had power, but Zeus chose that exact moment to pull out and thrust back in, and with that one action, Paulie found he wouldn’t care either. Nothing mattered but the way Zeus pounded into his body. Paulie caught that feeling of ‘rightness’ that occurred every time Zeus was fully thrust in and hung onto it, reveling in it as it grew between them until his body couldn’t hold it anymore.

Paulie yelled something; he had no idea what language the words were that left his mouth.

Zeus stuttered, for just a second, and thrust home even harder, calling out words of his own. Words Paulie did understand and took to his heart. “I, Zeus, undisputed ruler of the Greek Gods, claim Paulie as my fated mate. Tie the knot so none can break our bond.”

Lightning flashed through Paulie’s veins, a sharp pain thumped on the side of his neck, but the pain was gone barely before it registered. Eyes scrunched shut, Paulie felt it as the lightning reached his balls, and he screamed to the skies as his orgasm hit him.

On and on it went, Paulie’s body jolting with every wave. When it finally ebbed away, he was slumped on the mattress, his arms and legs felt like soggy noodles, but his heart was full. Looking up, his eyes widened as he saw the new tattoo gracing Zeus’s neck on the opposite side to the mating scar he’d left. A gorgeous lightening bolt zigzagged its way from just under Zeus’s ear, to the pulse point at the base of his throat. Curled around it, was Paulie’s tiger, his eyes as bright as jewels.

“Oh my gosh.” Paulie raised a shaky finger, reaching for it. “Is that our mating mark?”

“If you’re talking about a gorgeous tattoo, I imagine the one you’re wearing is just like it.” Zeus smiled, a true smile, and Paulie marveled at how it lit up his mate’s traditionally hard face. “I meant those claiming words with all that I am. So, when I pull out this time, be prepared for a snuggle. I think you’re long overdue for a nap.”

And Zeus was as good as his words. Pull out and clean up completed, Zeus tucked Paulie under covers so light it was as though they were filled with clouds. But that wasn’t the best bit. Resting his head on Zeus’s chest, the god’s arm snuggly around his shoulders, Paulie fell asleep to the sound of Zeus’s heart. He’d never felt so safe.

/~/~/~/~/

Zeus sensed it, the moment Paulie fell into a deep sleep, but thanks to the nap he’d had in the glade, he was still wide awake, and surprisingly happy. Almost deliriously so. Having Paulie in his arms was a novel feeling, but it felt so right, Zeus couldn’t work out why he’d always resisted the idea of having a mate so badly.

Maybe there’s something to this monogamy shit, Zeus mused as he stared up at the stars that formed his ceiling, listening to Paulie’s breathing. It wasn’t anything he’d considered before – if anything, it was something he avoided at all costs. But times were different back then, he reminded himself. Thinking back… to be respected as a man, a male had to be the biggest, the loudest, the strongest and the most virile. Or really pretty. At least in Zeus’s opinion, and he’d ticked those boxes well.

But Zeus hadn’t been as pigheaded as those around him thought he was. He’d avoided earth and humans, yes, for well over a hundred years, and a lot of that was because he worried about the potential side effects of a shifter bite. There was a deeper reason, however, one Zeus never shared with anyone, and as Zeus glanced down at his mate’s relaxed face he smiled in the dim light.

I’m not alone anymore. The Fates saw fit to send