Bobby followed her, his leash suddenly spangling brilliantly as the sun found a gap in the clouds. The others closed around as they moved across the wide viewing terrace. Still more people goggled at the chained slave and his retinue of butch bikers than at the scenery. Bobby was hard-pressed to keep smiling vaguely as if his lot in life were simply wonderful and his minders cherished friends. The fact that both were mostly true helped. Yet humans are very social animals. Pack instinct runs deep. Tribalism remains rampant and nonconformity is rarely encouraged. There seemed an almost genetic urge in Bob to cower or flee from even imagined communal disapproval. He was delighted when Toni began to talk over her shoulder to him, giving him other things to concentrate on – not least her exampl
