Page 103 of Leashed

“Five,” he shot back. “Six once I eat. What do you know?”

“Everything.”

Her voice was completely flat, her eyes on the floor.

Resting his weight against the wall, he locked his attention on the ceiling. Of course she knew. The timidity, the distance, the way she shrunk into herself when she saw him. Whatever had driven her to his door had very obviously been washed aside by either Ryan’s or Dio’s big mouth.

His money was on Dio.

Her presence in his apartment now was probably nothing more than that inner spark she had to please, to accommodate, to make the lives of others easier. She’d likely promised his brother she’d stay until he woke, releasing Ryan from the responsibility.

Limping back to give her enough room to get past him, he motioned toward the door. “As you can see, I’m in decent shape now. So thanks for babysitting,” he grunted. “Text me when you get home so I know you made it.”

Her dark eyes widened for a moment before they narrowed. She uncoiled and stalked toward him, drawing in a deep breath and bringing his attention to the label on his shirt.

Label.

Right.

Had nothing to do with the fact he was pretty damn certain she wasn’t wearing a bra under that label.

“I’ve spent the last forty-eight hours trying to decide what I was going to do when you woke up,” she said calmly.

Way too calmly.

He swallowed against the growing tightness in his throat as she stepped up to him and poked her finger into his chest, purposely avoiding the remaining healing slashes. “There were two choices after what Dio and Ryan told me,” she continued, her nail digging into his skin. “I was either going to throw myself on you, or beat the everliving hell out of you because WHAT DID YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING TAKING ON A DRAGON BAREHANDED? Who does that? No one, that’s who. No one does it, because it’s reckless, dangerous, and stupid.”

He blinked in surprise as his little mouse unleashed.

“There’s nothing valiant or brave about risking your neck like that,” she seethed. “Do you know how many syringes of dragon spit and blood I watched Ryan pull out of you? No, you don’t, because you were in so much pain, you passed out cold for two damn days.” She stood toe to toe with him, her dark eyes flashing with rage. “Dragon spit, Bo. Dra. Gon. Spit. And the Scylla? The Eidolon? I mean, yes, it took a bit before Dio convinced me he wasn’t exaggerating. But Bo? I am so angry right now! It was reckless and thoughtless, and you could have ended up dead!” she yelled, trading her finger with the palm of her hand as though she could hold him in place.

She was succeeding, but still.

Her chest was heaving as she pressed her hand harder against him. “And flipping off Lachesis? Really? After the power trip she unleashed on you? What on earth was going through your head?”

“You,” he replied without hesitation. “Did Dio tell you what she did?”

“Of course he did,” she growled, pressing against him. While he was sure she was attempting to be intimidating, it was having the very opposite effect on him. “It was still horribly reckless. You should have told me.”

Looking down at the palm flattened on his skin, thumb absently stroking him, he exhaled. “You’d just started realizing I grow a tail and chase cars at will,” he murmured, the coarseness of his voice no better than it had been in the underworld. “Hardly the time. Besides, you were driving off to your happily-ever-after-white-picket-fence and I didn’t want to get in…well, I wanted to get in the way, but like, properly.”

Her lower lip trembled. “I knew the moment you made it,” she whispered. “I didn’t know what you’d done, but I knew where I was supposed to be, where I belonged.”

Her forehead dropped to his chest when the first tear fell, her arms wrapping around him.

Crying.

No, no, no, no.

He needed to end the tears, because hot damn if that didn’t cut him deeper than the stinging nettle he’d encountered on his little trip to the Fates’ pad. He stroked her hair and nuzzled against her. “It’s because I’m hot, right?”

Her teary eyes snapped up to his and she leveled him with a flat stare. “Bo.”

He lowered his head, brushing his lips against hers. “Because I have great hair?”

Unimpressed, he felt her thumb dig into his ribs. “Bo.”

Nudging her legs apart with his knee, he slid his thigh between hers. When she didn’t instinctively move against him, he dropped his hands to her panty-clad ass and rocked her along his bare leg. “Gotta be the truck then,” he murmured, grunting when her slight tugging of his hair sent a shiver down his back. “Chicks dig the truck.”

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