Two Eyes Cenote [m] hard odds to beat when you're on all fours

Her enthusiasm was both adorable and contagious. It also disconcerted him a little. Talisman smiled a little nervously, glancing down when she grasped him by the elbow. When Inji tugged, he found himself obeying, his own chest filling with excitement.

His question made her freeze, though, and he did the same. Talis felt a nervous flicker in his belly, though it dispelled when Inji began listing the tasks expected of a fellahin. Some might balk at them, though just hearing her speak of them filled Talis with a sense of honor, importance and duty.

When Inji made an obscene gesture, his pale blue eyes blinked. He was at a loss for a good beat or two, as Inji insisted nobody would ever force his hand. Pharaoh wanted her servants to want to be servants, which of course spoke to some deep place tucked inside the yearling.

And then it hit him, what she must mean by that motion. Talisman’s lips parted. Something in his belly flickered again, though it was entirely different now. Even more people might eschew this particular line of work, though that wasn’t how he felt. Perhaps it was partly his inexperience, yet like any hotblooded young man, he could find no fault in being asked to perform in this way. Pleasure palace, indeed…

All of that sounds rewarding to me, particularly the last bit, he confessed in a breathy voice, pupils now overblown so that only a sliver of arctic blue showed. But won’t that mean there’ll be a lot of pups? Talis wondered in the next breath, his voice as curious as it was hopeful.