Human Rights (11 page)

"What we've done together has changed our relationship, and I know you're uncertain." Jiat combed his fingers through my hair. "But when those uncertainties arise, come to me. Speak of them. Let me ease them for you."

I nodded. "I will." Since he'd invited me to share my worries, I decided then to voice them. "Hosanna said you could be charged because... because of me?"

Jiat pulled the tray up over our laps and poured hot tea into a cup for me. "Abomination is a charge one of our kind is leveled with when we take one of your kind as a lover. It's a serious charge, one that very few have escaped."

"And it would mean you'd die."

His hands paused as they spooned honey into my tea. After a moment, he nodded. "Yes. Those convicted go before the executioner's sword."

I licked my lips as I took my cup from him. "And the Human?"

"They disappear into the back room of the pound, and the body is incinerated afterward." Jiat looked at me. "But that isn't going to happen to either of us. Hyra and Jill manage to remain a secret, and so will we."

A lifetime of secrecy... but it was a lifetime with Jiat. I would happily accept that fate. I smiled at him. "It feels... different today. Everything seems brighter, louder."

Jiat chuckled. "Love. It has a habit of making everything shine."

I sipped my tea, the sweet, deep flavor warming me from the inside out. Spread out on the tray were all sorts of delights: fruit pastries, two plates of sliced meat, and a bowl of jewel-gold fruit. The smile I wore was so bright, it hurt my cheeks. "I love the golden fruits."

"I know." Jiat reached for the raw, red meat, his favorite, and began to eat. I watched him, how the ruddy blood never stained his white-cream fur. He looked sideways at me after three mouthfuls. "Something else amiss?"

A blush warmed my face. "No. I just think you so beautiful. Not even the blood dares to mar you."

"Quite a poetic compliment. Thank you."

I dove into one of the fruit pastries, saving the gold-fruit for last. After the last bite of the fruit was in my belly, I sat back and stretched. "Is this what it will be like in the colony? The one you send other Humans to?"

"Freedom to love as our hearts desire? Yes. No fear of judgment or execution." Jiat purred and closed his eyes. "It's a place of equality and hard work, but well worth the sacrifices."

"What sacrifices?"

Jiat finished his meat and licked his fingers. "There aren't as many conveniences. I think they're still building their irrigation and working on plumbing, but I believe this is the sixth year with a positive crop, and they've finally sorted out their livestock. It's very simple. The houses aren't grand, or even as nice as the lower city homes. Huts. Log homes. I know they plan to eventually create more permanent, sturdy housing. Practical, but better. In the end, it's freedom versus oppression."

I let that linger between us for a bit, chewing over his words. The way Jiat said 'oppression' pulled at my thoughts. "Why haven't you gone to the colony yet? If... if the oppression bothers you..."

Jiat let out a slow breath. "I've thought I could do more here. As one of the Guard, I could intervene when possible. I have a spotless reputation, and so my adopting of pets is always thought of as noble. I give older pets good lives before their bodies give out. I was able to help the cause more in the city rather than in the colony."

"But now..."

"But now... I have you." Jiat's slitted, honey eyes turned back to me, pinned me with their sharp intelligence. "You mean more than the cause. I'd rather live out my life with you in the colony than remain here without you. Because, ultimately, you cannot remain with me in the city indefinitely. Suspicion will eventually arise. Love is so difficult to hide."

I furrowed my brow. "What about Hyra and Jill?"

Jiat shook his head. "Hyra plans to send Jill to the colony when the weather turns hot again, when it is safer for the long travel. They've been together too long, and I've noticed the sideways glances. Hyra loves Jill, but she doesn't want to risk Jill's life." He licked his lips and put the tray onto the side table. "Hyra will remain here in the city. It will break her heart. It will break Jill's. But, it's a necessary sacrifice to keep Jill alive."

"Will Hyra ever go to Jill?" My heart hurt for Jill! To lose Jiat would leave a gaping wound inside me. I couldn't imagine the pain Jill would endure.

"I don't know. That is a decision Hyra must make on her own and in her own time." Jiat pulled me into his arms. "It is something I am sure Hyra and Jill have spoken of many times."

I looked up at Jiat. "Would you send me away like that?"

"Of course not. We will remain in the city until I can sort through my affairs, and then we will go."

I couldn't help the smile that tugged at my lips. "It's that simple?"

Jiat laughed and leaned down to lick sweetly across my lips. "No, Ewan, it isn't, but at the same time... it is."

The words made little sense, but I didn't care. All I wanted was to stay with Jiat, and I trusted him to keep us together. That little lick sent a tingle through my body, and a soft whimper made its way out of me. I pressed closer to Jiat, my hands hesitating a moment before reaching out to brush my fingers over his chest. His breath shivered out, his eyes fluttering for a moment, and I felt that surge of power within me again. It was intoxicating, and I hardened between my legs so quickly, it was almost painful.

After another lick from Jiat, another slow touch of my fingers to his nipples, he rolled us over so that he blanketed my body with his own. It was a heady sensation. Jiat was so broad, muscled under my shaking hands. The thick heat of him—damp with his desire for me—rubbed against me, alongside my cock. My head spun as we kissed, rocked into each other. Our panted breaths filled the air, and though I would have welcomed him inside my body all over again, Jiat never asked. The simple rocking, the breathless kisses and teasing touches, were all he wanted. All I needed. Time stopped for us, and our world narrowed to each other. I'd never felt something so intense, something I knew was as fleeting as it was lasting. I was more than a pet; he was more than a master. Together, we were so much more, and I wanted to hang onto it with both hands.

I gasped against his furry muzzle as the pleasure took me and I shook beneath him. All I saw were amber eyes dark with passion for me. For
me
. Jiat growled, his clawed hands tightening on my body, and then I felt the wet rush of his release across my skin. Our fluids mixed against my belly, and I sagged, a silly smile on my lips as I moaned. It was like a brand on my soul, and the mingled scent of our musk was my new favorite smell. I wanted to roll in it.

Jiat nuzzled my temple and chuffed softly. "A bath is now in order," he rumbled.

I laughed, happy and drunk with the afterglow. "But I like smelling of you."

Jiat purred at that and held me a little tighter. I closed my eyes, my belly full and my passion spent, and was content to just doze with him as the sunlight moved across the room.

Chapter Nine

Every year, the city lit up with the Spring Festival. Streets were crammed with stalls selling clothing, shoes, art, food. Jiat took me into one of the crowded streets, his collar warm on my throat and his leash leading me through the throng safely. My feet were clad in new sandals, and I had been recently groomed by Kosi. I thought everyone had to know how Jiat and I lived, loved, as if it were a mark on my very flesh, but no one gave us a second look. I didn't feel safe, but I also wasn't afraid. As long as I continued to behave as I had before all things changed, no one would be the wiser. I kept my eyes downcast and my feet three steps behind Jiat.

So much life around us! Myriad voices echoed in my ears, and I stole glimpses here and there. The sun was bright, the breeze cool, and the colors and scents from each stall beckoned me. Jiat stopped at several of the stalls, buying bits of art, a new loincloth, and six books. I carried what I could, but by midday, my stomach ached with hunger. I didn't want to be too forward as I stood there, Jiat talking with one of the beautiful, caramel colored cats outside the sweets stall. She didn't look to be of noble birth or pure bloodline, and Jiat laughed when she spoke of her betrothed's drunken antics the previous night. I wondered about their marriage customs. I'd never been kept long enough—or by someone unattached—to even know how the Felines and Canines married and bred. I chewed on that, lost in my own thoughts, until a gentle tug at my leash brought me back to the present. The female had disappeared into the stall, and Jiat was grinning at me.

"Daydreaming?" he asked.

I shook my head. "There's so much to look at!" I couldn't help but smile back at him. "And... and my stomach is very empty."

Jiat nodded. "It's well after noon. I know a perfect food stall that sells pastries filled with savory meats." My eyes must have lit up because Jiat laughed and began to lead me through the crowd once more. "Pastries and perhaps some dandelion wine, and then we will return home."

"My mouth is watering already," I said, a slight, excited hop to my steps. When we neared the stall, there was a short line. Jiat took me to a small part of grass between two stalls, attaching my leash to one of the stakes set there for just that purpose.

"I won't be long," Jiat promised. "You can sit, if you like. The grass is cool and soft. I'll bring the food back, and we can eat it as we begin home."

I watched him go to the stall and step in line. As long as I could see him, I didn't worry. Maybe, if this had been within the first few weeks with Jiat, I would have panicked. But not now. Now, I closed my eyes and turned my face up to the sun. Sitting on the cool grass was an inviting proposition, but Jiat had said he'd be quick. And I'd just been groomed, too. No, I'd stand and wait.

"Well, look at this hairless mutt!"

The voice was sharp, and there was something under it that I didn't like. I didn't look for who had said it. That would have been above my place. I kept my eyes closed, my face upturned. If I ignored him, maybe he'd just go away.

"Look at him?" Someone snorted nearby. "Hell, I can
smell
him from here."

I finally opened my eyes and glanced around. There were three of the Guard standing ten paces away, leering at me. Another Jaguar like Jiat, but not unique in color. There was one of the Lynx bloodline, and the third was a slim, wiry-looking Fox with a rusty coat. I swallowed against the dryness of my throat and tried not to make eye contact with any of them. These were Jiat's fellow Guardsmen, and the last thing I wanted was to draw attention to us.

"I dunno," the Jaguar said, and I could feel his eyes crawl over my skin. "He's adorable, I suppose, except for those big, dumb cow eyes."

Oh, my cheeks burned, but I hoped they thought it merely from the sun. These were the ones who wanted to keep us as pets. Keep us on our hands and knees, eating table scraps and beaten when we didn't behave. These three embodied everything Jiat wanted so desperately to change, and I felt a fire in the pit of my belly that hungered for that very change.

The Fox snorted. "I know! It's why I could never own one. They're just so
stupid
," he sneered.

The Jaguar spoke up again. "I've read that some of them can speak as well as we do."

"They just mimic us." The Lynx was the one who had started the whole discussion about me. There was a cruel, cold edge to his voice that grated at me. "They can't possibly understand the words." When he spoke next, it was directly to me, his tone mocking, silly and nasty. "Who's a dumb cow? That's right! You are! You're a brainless little fuck, aren't you? Yes, you are!"

My cheeks
burned
, and my eyes darted around trying to find Jiat. I couldn't see him; the crowd had grown as the men taunted me. I fidgeted with my leash, fear making my heart race. What if they attacked me? Would anyone here stop them?

"Oh, leave him alone, Kayn," the Jaguar sighed.

"Lighten up; it's not like it can understand me," Kayn said with a shrug.

"That's almost worse," the Jaguar said with a shake of his head. "It's like making fun of the crippled. It's not his fault he's a stupid mongrel. Look at that blush, and his eyes shine with tears. You've made him sad!"

Bringing attention to my humiliation only made it worse. I didn't want to cry. I swallowed it down and looked away from them. I wouldn't give them the satisfaction of seeing me weep. These were the men who protected the city? They were cowards, picking on someone who couldn't fight back.

The Fox laughed. "Don't worry. He'll forget all about it in a few minutes. They only have a tiny memory, anyway."

"Exactly," Kayn said, his muzzle split in amusement. "It's too stupid to realize how stupid it is, so what difference does it make?"

"The difference," Jiat snarled, "is that
this
'hairless mutt' belongs to a superior officer, and he expects you to show due deference and respect to his possessions!" Jiat towered above the three Guards, his eyes blazing like the sun and his shoulders tense. His tail shivered, and everything about him warned that all should tread carefully. My relief at having him at my side once more was palpable.