The Prisoner's Release and Other Stories Read Online Free PDF Page B

branch out into books. Ever read any P. Zinsky?” Jonas shook his head. “Ah, you’d like him.” Alexan wiggled inside Jonas and tugged, sliding out.
    “ I’ll have to look him up sometime.” Jonas clambered off the bed and took a towel from the side, rubbed some scented oil into it, then came back to the bed where Alexan was sitting with his legs spread. Jonas cleaned his sheath and member, making the fox squirm and yelp in delight.
    Alexan pulled on his clothes and patted Jonas gently. “Thanks again, Jonas.” He flashed a grin. “Wish I could take you with me.”
    “ Me too.” Jonas returned the smile, and then caught himself wondering, What if…
    Alexan was already gone before he could voice the thought. But his mind kept spinning while he went through the motions of cleaning himself up and straightening the room. He tucked the robe under his arm and went back to the back room.
    From then on, Jonas nursed his fantasy of escape. He could have asked any of his clients to take him, but there weren’t many he liked. Besides, his contract promised compensation to Tally if he didn’t stay four more years, and he doubted his father would be willing to pay up, which would leave a sticky situation. Alexan, though—he liked the fox well enough, and the thought of being able to escape the country was thrilling. He could leave all this behind, start over again, maybe end up helping Alexan with his business. He could be good at it, given a proper chance and nobody waiting to outshine him.
    Even his weekly appointment with Van Wyck wasn’t as bad as usual. He wandered back into the lounge afterwards and kept himself hard, thinking about Alexan and teasing himself as he sat down. Pike and Alicar were chatting on the other side of the room, and Ishel was picking at one of the wall carvings, turning to join in the conversation from time to time.
    Pike was describing the new Cantor at the church down the street. “I tell you, if anyone had Ursis behind him, this one does. He’s the biggest raccoon I’ve ever seen. Maybe he’s part bear.”
    Alicar snorted. “That’s as likely as me and Jonas having a kid.”
    Pike glanced at Jonas. “Looks like he’s trying to have one himself. Come on, Jonas, give us a show.”
    Ishel looked over his shoulder at Jonas, and said, “Don’t stain the couch, okay?”
    Jonas took his paw away and leaned back into the couch, enjoying the fact that he was teasing Pike. “Don’t worry, I won’t.”
    “ What’s on your mind, big kitty?” Pike asked. The raccoon was naked, too, but not aroused, and though his paw brushed his sheath briefly, he made no effort to match Jonas’s show.
    “ Oh, I’m just thinking of the king’s announcement that he’s going to be lowering the countrywide tax on ale following the rich harvest last year.” Jonas licked his lips and grinned at Pike. In fact, Mani had mentioned that on his last visit, which perhaps had accounted for his extra excitement.
    Ishel laughed. “Cheaper to get drunk, eh?”
    “ Actually,” Alicar stretched as he spoke, “it’s a sop designed to make up for raising the taxes on the farms that produce the grain two years ago, which the king needed to do in order to pay for the armies he’s sending to the Reysfields to protect them against the Ferrenians. The Uprising fifty years ago left the king in power but wary about offending the people, so each tax increase since then is met with a drop in taxes. But if you look closely,” he yawned, “the drops rarely make up for the increase.”
    The room fell silent. Alicar looked around. “Oh, come on, it’s not that complicated.”
    “ You amaze me,” Pike said. “You eat dinner with your father, what, once a week? And you still remember all that?”
    “ History,” Alicar said stiffly, “is the most important teacher.”
    The raccoon grinned widely. “You haven’t had a lesson from Pike.”
    Alicar flicked his ears and grinned back. “Don’t need to. I already know