Pets: Bach's Story Read Online Free

someone would take her home as a recreational pet instead. No brutish male mountings and frequent impregnations for her, no sir! She’s much too sweet for that.”
    As Bach let go of her hand, she lethargically tipped up her head and her eyes peeled open a crack. She rolled them to look at him. Behind him, Bach heard Ralhan announcing, “As soon as you’re ready, Sir, we’ll go back to my office and complete the licensing paperwork.
    Congratulations! You own a pet!”
    Her brows quirked together again, arching upward as she fought to keep her eyes open and focused on him.
    He stroked her cheek, and she hummed at him. A sweet reaction, he thought, for what he was sure would no doubt be a very sweet, female pet.

Chapter Two
    His daughters would have grown up, but Pani—as he’d come to name his coppery-maned pet—would always be the size she was now: small, with the top of her head just coming up to his chest. She would never grow up and move away; he would never again feel as though he were rattling around in an empty house. An ideal situation, to his way of thinking.
    Too bad Pani hated him.
    She had stuffed herself into the farthest possible corner, her arms thrown out against both walls, squatting with her legs drawn all the way up to her chest. Her grey eyes were so wide, they all but dominated her pale, spotted face.
    At least she wasn’t making that high-pitched screaming sound anymore.
    Bach reclined in his chair by the fireplace, reading his book, How To Raise A Well-Behaved Human. He had flipped to the index in the back and looked up the section that entailed excessive screaming. The chapter heading was Judging the Mood of Your Pet. Well, he already knew her mood. It was scared half to death. To be honest, he really couldn’t blame her, either. He was many times her size, at least three times her weight, and she was a wild creature who was suddenly confronted with forced domestication. Unfortunately, the book didn’t have a section that detailed what to do if your very appearance terrified your pet half out of her mind.
    He sighed. And while his attention was focused on the book, skimming the chapter for something relevant to his situation, she made a desperate dash for the door. Grabbing the knob with both hands, she vigorously shook the door, rattling it in its frame four or five times. She flung herself into another corner and stared at him again, those slate grey eyes of her wide and unblinking.
    He was careful not to move. There wasn’t any need. The lock for the door was higher than she could reach, and he’d closed all the windows. All the breakables had been removed to safer locations, he’d put paper down on the floor until he got her housebroken, and every exit out of the living room had been sealed off. Whether she wanted to be or not, she was stuck here until he had a chance to socialize with her. If it continued on like this, they’d probably still be sitting here, with her ducking from corner to corner, until midnight.
    He sighed again and flipped back to the index. Ah, here we go. Page fifteen. Your Human and You: The First Introduction. Number one, the page read, don’t scare it.
    Damn.
    Bach frowned and flipped back to the index to see if there was a section on what he could do to correct an accidental scaring. There wasn’t one.
    Double damn.
    Pani dashed towards the window, grabbed the bottom sill and yanked frantically to get it up. When that failed, she flattened herself back against the glass and stared at him again, as if reassuring herself that he still hadn’t moved. Then she surprised the hell out of him. When she turned back to the window, she stretched her hand up for the locking mechanism, jumping in an attempt to reach it. The first time, her fingers missed it by bare inches. But on the second jump, her fingertips skimmed the bottom, causing the latch to turn, albeit barely, towards unlocking.
    Bach quickly stood up. Although fairly confident that he could catch her again