and decorated with a flower motif. A couple of suspended chairs and a writing desk completed the basic furnishings. A doorway on the other side of the room led into what Gryph knew would be an ornate bathroom. Westerners loved ornate bathrooms. The wealthier the family, the more exotic the household baths.
"We've got to find it," Sariana said, glancing inside an empty vase. "I can't go to sleep in here unless I know it's back in its cage. Here, Lucky. Where are you. Lucky?"
"Scarlet- toes are harmless, Sariana. You don't have to worry if we don't find it."
"Easy for you to say," she muttered as she began to check all the tiny drawers of the writing desk. "You're not the one who has to sleep in a room with a lizard."
"The real danger is to the scarlet-toe," Gryph pointed out as he went down on one knee beside the bed and swept aside the drapery. You might accidentally step on it when you got out of bed in the morning."
Sariana groaned and opened another drawer. "What a horrible thought."
"Yeah. Especially for Lucky." Gryph bent down to look beneath the bed and saw the flash of red gems in the shadows. "Ah, here we are."
Sariana slammed a drawer shut and hurried across the room. "You found it?"
Gryph settled back on his heel. " It will be easier for you to catch it than it will be for me. I told you this morning, they like females."
"You're serious, aren't you?" Sariana looked ruefully resigned.
"I'm afraid so." He waited, curious to see what she would do.
"Well, I can't leave it where it is. It will drive me crazy all night wondering if it's sneaking around my bed somewhere." She dropped to her knees and peered under the bed.
"Don't make any sudden moves. It's still quite wild. But it will be curious about you. Put out your hand very slowly."
"What if it bites me?" Sariana hissed. She went down on her stomach and slithered halfway under the bed. She disappeared from the waist up, leaving Gryph with a view of her charming rear.
"It won't bite." Gryph stayed where he was, enjoying the soft curves of her buttocks and thighs as they were revealed by the shirting folds of her robe. "Don't worry, Sariana. All it secretly wants to do is curl up in your palm and warm itself against your skin."
"I hope you know what I'm doing." She wriggled a little farther under the bed.
Gryph fought the almost overpowering urge to shape his hand to the lush curve of her hips. "Just trust me, Sariana. It doesn't want to hurt you. It wants to be held and touched and petted by you. At this point it just isn't quite certain how to approach you, that's all. You need to show it that you want it."
"I hate to break this to her, Gryph," her voice was muffled, "but I don't particularly want a lizard for a pet. I just didn't know how to tell Luri that."
"You can't really know how you feel about it until you've held it close," Gryph said softly, still studying the gentle mounds that were so close to his hand. "Don't make snap judgments."
"It's not a snap judgment. I've never been fond of lizards. I don't know many people who are."
"The scarlet-toe seems strange and alien to you now. You're wary of it because it's unfamiliar to you. Just as I am."
Her wriggling body went still. Then Sariana said tardy, "I hadn't thought of you and the scarlet-toe as having all that much in common."
"We're both from the west," Gryph noted in soft amusement.
"And you both have teeth."
Gryph blinked, unsure how to interpret that "Sari-ana…"
"Ah! Got 'em." Her body snapped forward quickly and an instant later she was sliding back out from beneath the bed. She sat up, triumphantly holding her captive. "Here it is. Get the cage."
Gryph studied the careful way she was clasping the small red lizard. "It's not necessary to keep a scarlet-toe in a cage. Not
"We've got to find it," Sariana said, glancing inside an empty vase. "I can't go to sleep in here unless I know it's back in its cage. Here, Lucky. Where are you. Lucky?"
"Scarlet- toes are harmless, Sariana. You don't have to worry if we don't find it."
"Easy for you to say," she muttered as she began to check all the tiny drawers of the writing desk. "You're not the one who has to sleep in a room with a lizard."
"The real danger is to the scarlet-toe," Gryph pointed out as he went down on one knee beside the bed and swept aside the drapery. You might accidentally step on it when you got out of bed in the morning."
Sariana groaned and opened another drawer. "What a horrible thought."
"Yeah. Especially for Lucky." Gryph bent down to look beneath the bed and saw the flash of red gems in the shadows. "Ah, here we are."
Sariana slammed a drawer shut and hurried across the room. "You found it?"
Gryph settled back on his heel. " It will be easier for you to catch it than it will be for me. I told you this morning, they like females."
"You're serious, aren't you?" Sariana looked ruefully resigned.
"I'm afraid so." He waited, curious to see what she would do.
"Well, I can't leave it where it is. It will drive me crazy all night wondering if it's sneaking around my bed somewhere." She dropped to her knees and peered under the bed.
"Don't make any sudden moves. It's still quite wild. But it will be curious about you. Put out your hand very slowly."
"What if it bites me?" Sariana hissed. She went down on her stomach and slithered halfway under the bed. She disappeared from the waist up, leaving Gryph with a view of her charming rear.
"It won't bite." Gryph stayed where he was, enjoying the soft curves of her buttocks and thighs as they were revealed by the shirting folds of her robe. "Don't worry, Sariana. All it secretly wants to do is curl up in your palm and warm itself against your skin."
"I hope you know what I'm doing." She wriggled a little farther under the bed.
Gryph fought the almost overpowering urge to shape his hand to the lush curve of her hips. "Just trust me, Sariana. It doesn't want to hurt you. It wants to be held and touched and petted by you. At this point it just isn't quite certain how to approach you, that's all. You need to show it that you want it."
"I hate to break this to her, Gryph," her voice was muffled, "but I don't particularly want a lizard for a pet. I just didn't know how to tell Luri that."
"You can't really know how you feel about it until you've held it close," Gryph said softly, still studying the gentle mounds that were so close to his hand. "Don't make snap judgments."
"It's not a snap judgment. I've never been fond of lizards. I don't know many people who are."
"The scarlet-toe seems strange and alien to you now. You're wary of it because it's unfamiliar to you. Just as I am."
Her wriggling body went still. Then Sariana said tardy, "I hadn't thought of you and the scarlet-toe as having all that much in common."
"We're both from the west," Gryph noted in soft amusement.
"And you both have teeth."
Gryph blinked, unsure how to interpret that "Sari-ana…"
"Ah! Got 'em." Her body snapped forward quickly and an instant later she was sliding back out from beneath the bed. She sat up, triumphantly holding her captive. "Here it is. Get the cage."
Gryph studied the careful way she was clasping the small red lizard. "It's not necessary to keep a scarlet-toe in a cage. Not
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