“I amnotyour property!” I spat at him. “You might have bought me, but I didnotconsent to be sold!”
Sir’s brow furrowed warnningly.
“Nevertheless, you are now my pet. Are you ready to go back to your crate now and sleep?”
The thought of being locked in the claustrophobic confines of the crate all night sent a shiver of horror down my back and all the anger abruptly left me.
“Please, no!” I said quickly. “Please don’t lock me in there! I…I’m really claustrophobic. And now that you know I won’t, er, pee on the carpet, you don’t have to confine me like that—right?” I added hopefully.
He frowned at me.
“Ialsoknow you’re not trained to behave yet—you’re still very headstrong and disobedient. Why should I trust you outside your crate?”
“What if I gave you my word to behave?” I asked desperately. “Please, I’ll be good. Can’t I sleep somewhere else?Anywhereelse? Even the floor—in fact, the floor would befine.”
He shook his head.
“I don’t like the idea of you on the floor. What if I got out of my sleeping platform at night and accidentally stepped on you?”
“Okay,” I said in a tight voice that was less than a whisper. “What if…what if I slept at the foot of your bed? Since I’m your…your pet?”
I could barely force the word out of my mouth, but I couldn’t face the idea of going back into the narrow confines of the crate—I justcouldn’t.
Sir’s frown deepened, furrows appearing on his high forehead between his curling horns.
“I wouldn’t want to kick you by accident, little one,” he said slowly. “And I don’t usually approve of allowing pets to sleep in their owner’s bed. But…”
“But what?” I said, leaning forward eagerly when he paused.
He sighed deeply.
“But IsupposeI can make an exception, just this once. Provided that you give me your word you’ll stay on the sleeping platform and won’t try to go wandering around the room or my ship.” He pointed a finger at me sternly. “I’m prepared to be very strict about this. If I catch you out of the platform, you’re going straight into your crate no matter how much you hate it. Am I understood?”
“Yes, Sir,” I said, speaking the name he had given me to call him for the first time. “I’ll be good—I promise.”
“Well…” He sighed and ran a hand over his curling horns and black hair. “I suppose for tonight it’s allowed. But the moment we get to the spaceport, I’m buying you your very own pet bed. Understood?”
I nodded eagerly.
“Yes, all right. I understand.”
“All right then—come up on the bed.” He patted the bed beside him, as though he was inviting a cat or dog to jump up.
I might have been more offended, but at that point I was just so relieved that I didn’t have to sleep in that horrible crate, I barely even minded his condescension.
But getting up into the high sleeping platform by myself was easier said than done. As I said before, it was really high and there was nothing to use as any kind of step to climb up. Plus, the silver bedspread wasreallyslippery. Still, I gave it a try. Gripping handfuls of the silver duvet in both hands, I attempted to pull myself up.
I go to the gym regularly but you know how guys often skip leg day? Well, I kind of do that same thing with my arms. So I’m afraid I don’t have as much upper body strength as I would like. Notnearlyenough to pull myself up onto a bed that is chin-height on me. My feet kept slipping on the silver coverlet as I tried to drag myself up and I kept on sliding back down again.
Sir began making that rumbling sound again and after a moment, I realized he was laughing at me—just like he had when he’d found me in the clutches of the alien toilet!
“Hey!” I said sharply, panting. “It’snotfunny—it’s not my fault… you have a bed… as tall as Mount Everest!”
“Come here, little one” he said. And leaning down, he held out his arms to me.
Though it went against all my instincts, I inched closer and allowed him to pick me up under my arms and swing me onto the bed, like I was a little kid or a doll—which was basically how I felt with him, size-wise, anyway.
“There you go,” he said, still rumbling with laughter. “You really are adorable, you know that, little one?”