Page 81 of Leashed

Her eyes glinted with interest. “Really. The only innocent who would be affected by the alleged tampering of your thread would be…oh. Oh, gods, Bo,” she laughed. “No. No way you’ve fallen in love.”

He bristled at the word, lips drawing into a thin line.

Lachesis sat up and leaned closer to him. “Who’s the unlucky goddess?” she sneered. “Or did you drop your fishing line into the human cesspool?”

“Just tell me how to end this, Lach.”

She lounged back in her seat, allowing her skirts to fall open to expose her thighs. “I admit I’m a little disappointed in the direction this meeting is going,” she sighed. “Hermes made it sound like you were hoping for a reconciliation. And I was so looking forward to denying you the pleasure of my bed.” She swung her legs over the chaise and stood. “I suppose I’ll have to be content denying this request instead.”

He scrambled up, forcing his voice to remain calm. “This game, she doesn’t deserve this.”

“But you do.” Her hands went to her hips and she stepped in tight to him. “You’ve spent thousands of nights cycling through women without care. Drunk with revelry, not a care of the carnage you left behind. Just because you never crept out under the veil of darkness doesn’t make you more honorable than your run-of-the-mill scourge. And with what consequence? Nothing, because you’re Persephone’s golden boy, her show dog. The sacred mongrel of the god of the underworld.”

“I’ve never hid what I was,” he argued. “Never lied about what I was after. Never made promises I couldn’t keep. Or wouldn’t keep. I’m a lot of things, Lach, but I never advertised myself as a potential mate. For anyone.”

“Until now,” she laughed. “This is priceless. Does Seph know? Is that why she was so anxious to marry you off to a deity? Does the little princess know her pretty prized puppy wants to tie his life to a mortal?” When he didn’t respond, she clasped her hands over her mouth. “She doesn’t, does she? What about Hades? Have you told him your loyalties have shifted to a woman? And a human woman at that?”

He licked his lips and bit down on his cheek. “Tell me,” he ground out. “If my line ends, does it impact hers as well?”

Crossing her arms, she looked at him long and hard. “All choices bound by your lifeline will be untethered, so yes. As a deity, the path of your lifeline trumps hers. Her choices are limited only to those ensuring the accurate following of your fate. She cannot make a decision that could alter the road ahead of you, so she must choose from the remaining options before her.”

“Where’s Atropos?”

Her eyes widened. “You aren’t serious.”

“If it unbinds her from the path she’s been forced on, I’m very dead fucking serious, Lach.”

She stepped back. “Pretty words, little dog. But words are useless.” She shook her head, her sweet smile returning. “Why don’t we play a little game to put those words to the test? Give you a chance to redeem what little honor you may still have.”

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