Page 9 of Pooch Planet

Holy…

Benji’s gaze traveled up the muscled legs, tree trunk thighs then landed on the Commander’s impressive cock. He would’ve kept drinking in his protector’s sculpted frame, but that cock…

A large square hand interrupted his line of sight and he snapped out of his trance. His cheeks felt as if they’d caught fire and he accepted the commander’s offer of help. Once he’d risen to his feet, he busied himself by brushing dirt off his clothing and straightening his dorky reserve guard uniform. Anything to keep from gaping at the mind-numbing hotness that was Commander Dubois.

He finally glanced over at the small group of gargoyles who were listening in rapt attention to the commander’s tale. Sadly, the commander was also donning his clothes again as he spoke.

“…which is when I grabbed this shifter—” He frowned as he regarded Benji. “I’m sorry, what’s your name?”

Benji coughed then shoved his hands into his pants pockets. “Benji.”

Was he supposed to call the guy sir? He had no idea what gargoyle-dog shifter protocol was. The Federation hadn’t hung around Benji’s village much since their Pooch Planet base of operations was in Best of Show Metropolis.

Commander Dubois smiled. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Benji. I’m Antoine Dubois.”

Ooh. What a sophisticated, sexy name. Benji gave him a shy smile then lowered his eyes.

The sound of someone loudly clearing their throat pulled Benji from his musings and he looked up to see the gargoyle who had originally arrived on the scene regarding them both with narrowed eyes.

“What were you saying, Commander? That’s when you grabbed this shifter and…?”

“Benji,” the commander growled. “His name is Benji.”

Benji stood a little straighter, his chin held high. This Antoine fellow was more than a slice of hunk heaven, he was a decent guy. Respectful. Protective. Didn’t take shit from anyone.

“Sorry, sir.” The gargoyle hunched in on himself.

Antoine scrubbed his face with both hands. “That’s fine. Contact Lieutenant Moreau and have him bring a squad to this area, do a sweep.” Antoine turned to Benji. “Who is your village leader? I need to set up a forward command and begin interviewing witnesses.”

“Oh, uh, right over there.” Benji pointed down the road. “That large, fenced in property is where the mayor lives. I was on guard duty when you, well, you know.”

Antoine arched his eyebrows as if in surprise. “You were assigned to guard the mayor?”

Benji crossed his arms. “And your point is?”

He was tired of being treated like the stereotypical runt who was weak and helpless.

Antoine’s lips tugged into a smile. “My point was that it sounds like a very prestigious position. I’m impressed.”

Benji’s face flushed again. “Oh. It’s not really. But, thank you.”

“I’m sure they wouldn’t assign you to his care if it wasn’t.” Antoine seemed to give himself a mental shake and his features took on a serious mien. “It’s almost daylight, so your population should be safe from further attacks for now. This would be a good time to meet with the mayor.” Antoine indicated for Benji to go ahead of them all. “If you could lead the way?”

Benji swallowed hard. “Sure, no problem.”

As they made their way down the road, all Benji could think about was how safe he’d felt in Antoine’s arms, how he’d wished they hadn’t been interrupted by that pesky Tully guy. That was of course after he’d gotten over his initial terror that Antoine was the bat demon.

He sighed. Everything had happened so fast that he wasn’t sure what to think—not really. The trembles of excitement might not mean anything, might have nothing to do with signaling his heat was approaching. Because if his heat had been triggered without the use of drugs, it could only mean one thing.

Antoine was his fated mate.