Free Prince of Dragons by Cathryn Cade Page B

puppy.”
    “Oh. I’ve heard of them, of course, but I’ve never seen one. They sometimes bite, do they not?”
    “When threatened. However, this one signaled no fear or hostility, did you, little one?” He stroked the puppy gently and it wriggled happily, tail flapping against his cradling arm. Sirena watched them with a fascinated gaze.
    “Would you like to hold it?” he asked.
    She stepped back, but Slyde thrust the puppy into her arms. Great serpents, the woman was prickly. She acted as if she’d never held a pet before. He dropped to one knee and examined the empty cage.
    “Nothing else here,” he said. “I don’t discern the troubling scent in this area, either.”
    He looked up. His imperious co-commander was eye-to-eye with the puppy as they gazed at each other, neither moving. The puppy’s back feet rested on the upper edge of the gold fabric hung so precariously across her magnificent breasts. Slyde’s jaw clenched as heat streaked through him at the sight. One push, the bodice of that thing would slip and he would see paradise.
    The puppy’s tail wagged as it darted out a pink tongue to swipe her chin.
    “That’s quite enough of that,” she said severely, but Slyde saw her stroke the little creature before she placed it carefully back in its cage. It whined and stood up with its paws on the bars, wagging hopefully. She smiled, wiggling a finger through the cage and laughing when it was licked.
    “I know how you feel,” Slyde said to the puppy silently. “I’m damn near ready to do the same.”
    “This cage is empty.” Sirena turned to the next row. “I don’t see how anything could have escaped, with motion sensors as well as iridium bars.”
    Slyde read the label on the cage.
    “Blue radix lizard. Probably loose in the Aquarian quarters,” he said. “They seem to like to have pets about them.”
    “Oh, of course,” she said with relief. “I’ve seen them.”
    They worked smoothly along the next row of cages. Open the cage, distract the inmate while the other searched quickly, sniffing as well as rifling through the bedding and under feeding receptacles.
    Slyde worked in a state of near torture. The scent of her body accented with her perfume, spicy and tantalizing, overlay the scent of every other creature. This, combined with her lithe, silky body so close and so scantily clad, nearly drove him mad.
    He burned to do two things—first, throw her over his lap, pull up that tiny excuse for a skirt and spank her ass until she cried mercy for teasing him so. Second, lay her down on the floor and thrust into her right here, while the creatures in the cages watched. His cock was hard and aching, his balls drawn up so tight he felt as if he would explode.
    He clenched his teeth and forced himself to concentrate on their task.
    They found nothing, but as they neared the corner of the room, Slyde flared his nostrils uneasily. There was something—but where? He could not hone in on it. Then they both sniffed and exchanged a look.
    “Here,” said Sirena, reaching for the lock on a large, closely barred cage at the end of the row.
    “Wait!” Slyde shot his hand protectively in front of hers, then slipped his weapon off his belt, and aimed it through the bars. A narrow, powerful beam of light shot out, lighting the interior of the cage. With a loud hiss, a hideous specter reared up in the beam of light, swaying from side to side. The mouth gaped open, and sharp-looking frills flared on either side.
    They both flinched, and Slyde let out a curse. “It’s a kronos—a false dragon. They are foul, but harmless.”
    “Ewww!” Sirena wrinkled her nose. “Why does Azuran want one of these? Not only are they ugly, they stink.”
    “Ask him while the two of you are flirting.” Slyde peered down the beam of light he was playing under the squatty, bowed legs of the large lizard. “There’s the reason for her hostility. She’s sitting on a clutch of eggs.”
    Sirena leaned over his shoulder