Casually, it pulled the lance out of a bony shoulder, gushing
forth blood. A good hit but his magic healed it quickly. And,
as it healed the wound, the dragon began to shrink, becoming just
more than half again her size.

With another crunch it ripped off her breast plate exposing her
heaving chest beneath the leather jerkin she wore, slicked with
her sweat.

“Ahhhh,” said the dragon, “I like a woman who can appreciate the
caress of leather.”

With a single talon he slit the jerkin open and stood there eying
her beautiful breasts. They had been compressed behind the
jerkin but now they burst forth, sweat and a few beads of blood
rolled down her cleavage.

She passed a field with a mare in it. From the way the stallion
pranced she guessed that the mare was in heat. The thought of
the stallion being tormented by the mare caused her to smile.
Shades of her teasing many a man with her own sexuality. As she
drew closer she realized that it smelled as bad as the stallion,
ending the comparison right there.

Soon she came upon a scene of great beauty – gold strewn about
the mountain – works of art scattered carelessly – the dragon’s
horde. Out daring any to even touch it. Gnawed bones and shat-
tered armor showed what fate befell those attempting to claim
that horde.

I lit a cigar before I answered. “It just wouldn’t work,” I
said. “I know we like each other.” I hesitated before going on.
“Maybe I should even say I love you. But I couldn’t go to Ailou-
ros as your pet human. I had to fight like hell to get off the
streets of Northeast Minneapolis and get where I am now. I’m
supporting myself and doing a damn good job of it. I won’t
change that-even for you.”

Kontar drew me into the curve of his arm before he answered.
“And I love you, human. You misunderstand my proposal. We want
to employ you as our liaison with Earth in carrying out the trade
agreement. You’ll be well paid-extremely well paid since you
will need to be very wealthy indeed to live in a manner befitting
your position as the true beloved of the fourth in line to the
throne of Ailouros!”

“The custom of eating with utensils has been long established on
Ailouros,” he replied with a smile, “although our own eating
utensils are somewhat different from yours. I was trained in the
correct use of your own implements before I came here, of
course.”

After dinner, we took our liqueurs into the living room. Kontar
lit a cigar as he sat down on the couch and handed one to me.
“I’ll stick to cigarettes,” I said, motioning it away. “I tried
one of those once during my early teens and was sick as a dog for
a whole day.”

“That’s probably because you inhaled,” he replied. “Also, your
body wasn’t used to tobacco then. I brought these because
they’re just right for a beginner. Don’t inhale; just take it
into your throat and taste the flavor.”

I inhaled cautiously. “The flavor does have something to recom-
mend it,” I thought. I inhaled again when I felt no rumbles
portending an impending volcanic explosion from my stomach and
leaned back against Kontar’s muscular arm. I took a sip of my
cordial. I was conscious of the softly silken feeling of the fur
on his arm against my neck and of the powerful feline muscles
rippling beneath.

“You can tell by the tiara around my head,” Kontar replied. “It
is an insignia that only members of the ruling family are allowed
to wear.”

Since it was getting late, I showered, shaved, and had breakfast
in Kontar’s suite before going directly to my job. We nuzzled
each other affectionately before we parted.

I had worried about how my two cats, Alexander and Hephaestion,
would react when Kontar appeared, and when he arrived, it seemed
for a while that my fears were justified. They arched their
backs and hissed as soon as they laid eyes on him and then took
refuge under the couch. But he held several tempting morsels for
each of them just beyond their hiding place and meowed softly.
They poked their heads out cautiously and began to nibble.
Within ten minutes they were purring softly on his lap.