Page 52 of Leashed

Chapter Twenty

Bo stood outside the apartment, easing his constraining leather jacket off his shoulders quietly and lowering it to the floor, his eyes on the sliver of light coming from the open door. With a quick glance down the hall to ensure he was alone, he hooked his thumbs in his belt loops and mentally prepared for a sudden shift should the intruder be armed.

“It’s impolite to hang in doorways,” Persephone’s voice called from inside. “Come inside, dear.”

Snatching his jacket off the ground, he stormed in and kicked off his filthy boots, yanking his wet socks off and tossing them aside. “Hey, Seph,” he greeted, checking out his reflection in the hall mirror and accepting his mistress would be unhappy with the amount of mud and gravel in his hair. He walked into the living room and gave her a nod. “I should probably hop in the shower. Is Clotho hanging around?”

“I haven’t seen her.” Her nose wrinkled in distaste as she scanned him over. “Oh, Boreus. You really need to take better care of yourself. Be quick. We have plans.”

Bowing as he exited, he grabbed a change of clothes from the dryer and jumped in the shower, not bothering to wait for the water to warm before he doused his hair and lathered up.

Plans.

Seph’s plans always ended with him facedown in a dog bowl, wine drenching his fur while a pissed-off nymph or demigoddess stormed naked from his underworld chambers.

There was a loud knock on the bathroom door as he rinsed the shampoo from his hair.

“Bo, sweetie? Is there anything here to eat that isn’t completely vile?”

He turned off the shower and wrapped a towel around his hips. “Probably not,” he called back, yanking his boxers and jeans on and opening the door. “What’s up?”

She looked him up and down and held out her hand for his brush. “I was just going to check in on you while Alex and Charlotte are dragging their feet on their nuptials, but honey,” she huffed as she tugged at a knot, “this is unacceptable.”

Wincing when she dragged the brush roughly through his hair, he reached across the counter for his shirt. “What is?”

Satisfied with her work, she set the brush down, waited for him to pull his shirt on, took his hand, and led him down the hall. “I told Hades living alone was a big jump for you,” she cooed. “Just look at this bedroom. It’s disgraceful, Boreus.” Closing the door, she dragged him into the kitchen. “You have no viable food, the garbage has a strange smell, and there’s dirt all over the floor.” Taking his other hand, she brought them both to her chest. “You’re coming home with me.”

“I’ve been working a lot trying to get my business up and running,” he muttered, a slow panic building in his gut. “Laundry’s getting done, I vacuumed last week. And I eat out all the time, so—”

She flattened him with a dead stare. “You’ve been playing in traffic again, sweetie. It’s not healthy for you, and it isn’t becoming of your position.”

“Seph,” he opened, his voice more pleading than he expected, “I’m fine here right now. I’m just getting used to Ryan being gone and working on growing my business.”

With a laugh, she tucked his wet hair behind his ear. “Awww, honey. There’s no reason for you to get used to being alone. Or working like one of those humans. Orion, sure, because he was born to toil. And Alexandros loves dirtying his hands for the sole purpose of aggravating me.” Sighing in feigned disappointment, she looked up at him. “But not you, Boreus. Living like this, alone and working, it isn’t your destiny. I’ve already arranged for a banquet back home and invited all the unattached handmaidens and demis I could tolerate.” She patted his cheek. “We’ll find a suitable wife to take care of you, and you can be back here playing without the silly pressures of work within a week. Come now. Dio’s waiting.”

*

Sage tucked herpurse into the corner of the booth and looked out the cafe window toward the park, watching through the early morning snow for signs of a tall blond hiker.

It had been almost a week since she’d driven away from the coffeehouse, her fingers gripping her steering wheel as she tried unsuccessfully to forget the heat in his eyes when he’d dared her to kiss him.

In that week, she’d checked her phone a hundred times, peered through her patio curtains every night, kept one eye on the doors of the lounge and library, wondering if he’d swing by.

He did, after all, have a book due back.

And that was the only reason she waited for him.

Pushing away all thoughts of the horribly inappropriate draw to Bo’s lips she’d felt the last time she’d seen him, she checked her messages again, startling when C sat down across the table from her.

“Hey,” she greeted with a half smile, unnerved by the intensity of C’s stare. “How are you?”

“I am always as I should be,” she stated. “I have questions.”

Shifting in her seat, Sage shrank back a bit as she became increasingly uncomfortable in the petite woman’s presence. “About?”

“Have you seen Bo this week? I’ve been busy elsewhere and could not maintain a track on him.”

She shook her head slowly. “No. Why? Is everything okay?”

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