Kate Cotoner

When his dream man walks into his lunch-break wearing tight snakeskin jeans, Clayton King puts down his sandwich and follows his libido. Clayton tracks his guy to a pet shop and leaves with a name - Anthony - and a date for that night. What Anthony neglects to tell him is that they're going to a fancy dress party, and Clayton is the only normal guy in a hall full of Greek gods.

Except it's not a fancy dress party, and Anthony isn't simply a shop assistant. He's a basilisk, the shape-shifting king lizard of Greek mythology who can kill a mortal with a single glance. It's his task to seduce human men so his mother, the goddess Echidna, may feed upon their flesh. Though trapped by his duty to his mother, Anthony can't bear the thought of harming Clayton. What's a god to do?

"How big is it?" Anthony asked.

Clayton's mind went blank. "How big is my..."

"Tank," Anthony said, splaying his right hand across the glass of the large tank beside him. "Your fish tank. What are its dimensions?"

Clayton had no idea what size would be acceptable for any of these fish. He gestured vaguely at the one that held the blue and red fish. "It's about that big."

Anthony smiled as if he knew what Clayton was thinking. "That's a good size," he said, his voice softening. "So, what kind of fish would please you? Something friendly, perhaps - you seem intrigued by the neon tetras."

Clayton glanced back at the blue and red fish. "Yeah, they're cute. But..."

"Not quite what you're looking for? Maybe you'd prefer something more beautiful, something showy and exotic..." Anthony swayed further into the room and indicated another tank, crooking his finger when Clayton hesitated.

"Come," Anthony said, "take a look at these. Siamese fighting fish. Beautiful and deadly, and used for sport in parts of Asia. They're fiercely territorial."

Clayton no longer knew whether they were talking about fish or about something else. On the surface it seemed to be about the fish, but there were undercurrents here, things he didn't understand, warnings he only half-caught and invitations he wasn't sure he should accept.

He forced his attention back to the most obvious topic. Desperately, he pointed at the tank closest to him. "I'll take one of those."

The fish inside it were ugly, flat-looking things the colour of wet steel. Their eyes were cold and their teeth visible above the line of their mouths.

"Those are piranha." Anthony's lips twitched slightly as he fought a smile. "They need to be kept in a group."

"Maybe this one, then." Clayton pointed at the next tank. "It's cute. It looks like a piece of carrot."

Anthony raised a hand to his mouth to stifle his laughter. Even behind the cover of his sunglasses, his eyes looked bright. "You don't really want to buy a fish, do you?"

"Truthfully? Not at all. The only fish I like come served with fries. Chips. Whatever you people call it." Clayton grinned. "I only came in here because I wanted to see you."

"And now you see me." Anthony gave him a small, contained smile in return. "What next?"