From the shadows a long, thin, sinewy creature crawled out. Its body had no fat over the taut muscles. Its skin was pale and completely hairless, though the hair on its head was very long, silky, and pale blond. The creature came to a halt at Cain’s boots. It dipped its head, its hair trailing the ground, but it did not nuzzle his boots as the brown eyed man-dog had.

“Only twenty?” Cain looked at Kadon suspiciously. “What’s wrong with it, aside from the fact that it’s so hairless and fair skinned it will burn to a crisp under the Arriden sun in half a day?”

“Now there you’re wrong, Master Cain. That dog is bred from a line of Terran man-dogs that originates on a part of Earth called Persia, or so I am told.” Cain reached down to pat the creature’s silky hair. “It’s used to the sun and it does not burn. It will just get a bit golden if you leave it out.”

“I thought the Persians were darker skinned, like that one,” Cain pointed at the olive skinned, hairy animal he wanted so badly, but refused to pay the exorbitant fee for.

“They used to be dark in ancient times,” Kadon agreed. “But migration over recent centuries has brought fair skinned people to Persia where they got used to the sun. I was just telling that lot.” He thumbed over his shoulder in the direction the tourists had gone. “Prisoners were taken during the Intergalactic Raids.”

Cain held up one hand to stop him. “I know the history of the man-dogs, Kadon.” He had always been fascinated by the creatures and enjoyed both their submissiveness and their sexual talents. “Why is this one so cheap? That’s what I want to know.”

Kadon clucked at the man-dog. “Star, stand upright for the Master. Let him look at you. Up, boy!”

The man-dog rose elegantly to its full height. It was close to six feet of lithe, lean beauty. Its silky hair trailed almost to its waist. Cain looked into its large eyes, their color somewhere between blue and green, reminding him of the sparkling seawaters of his home planet. His gaze travelled down the fine, completely hairless body which, though it looked almost fragile, emanated an intrinsic strength which he was certain could be unleashed at the right moment.

“It’s gelded! That’s why it has no body hair,” he burst out, seeing the small cock and lack of balls. “Who gelded it? It will lack upper body strength.” Even as he said it Cain looked into the sea-blue eyes and wanted the creature, not at all sure why. He ran his fingers through the long hair. It was like fingering pure, rich silk. Leaning forward he sniffed the creature, finding its scent clean and fresh.

Only twenty gold pieces and eight when I return it.

“I bought it already gelded. I’d never geld a man-dog, it takes the aggression out of them, but it didn’t seem to work with this one,” Kadon explained. “You should have seen it last night when another man-dog tried to steal its food. I thought Star would tear its head off.”

Cain smacked the back of his hand into the man-dog’s chest to see if it would snarl at him, but it stepped back submissively, ducking its head. “It respects a Master anyway.”

“Very obedient,” Kadon said quickly. “Every man-dog wants to please its Master. It was sold to me a few weeks ago over in the mountains by a slave trader who had several man-dogs and some human slaves. I was getting short on stock and I went travelling looking for more.”

“It’s better suited to the mountains, there’s more shade there and it’s cooler.” Cain ran his hands over the man-dog’s smooth flanks, and then grasped the small cock between his fingers and thumb. He squeezed, looking at the man-dog’s face. The muscles of the slender body tightened and the creature gasped, opening its eyes wider.

It would be responsive to a fuck. That was good.