Page 35 of Saved By the Alien Hybrid

Rentir went very, very still. “They treated you thus?” His voice was too steady, some strong emotion thrumming just beneath the surface.

“I had it better than a lot of women. Better thanmost, honestly. For most women, the career I’ve had will never be anything more than an unachievable dream.”

She didn’t tell him about the time her drink got spiked in college, or the boyfriend who’d slapped her when she’d accused him of being insecure about her career, or the numerous men she’d dealt with during her training as an astronaut who’d mocked and belittled and stymied her as much as possible. It was still so many leagues better than what most women got handed. Even some of the women on her crew had been through worse.

“And all men were like this?”

Felix’s dark eyes and easy smile flashed before her eyes.

She smiled sadly. “No. Not all of them, but too many.”

He stiffened, his tail tightening around her thigh, the tip creeping perilously close to the junction of her legs. “Did you have a man? On Earth?”

“When I left? No.”

His tail went slack. “Ever?”

“You’re kind of nosy, huh?” Her tone was teasing, a smokescreen for the panic she felt at the thought of pulling that skeleton out of her closet.

He blinked owlishly at the turn of phrase, and she snorted.

“A few, over the years,” she said. “Nothing that lasted. Nothing that felt real, until…”

“Until?”

She rubbed her thumb over his tail, stalling. “His name was Felix. He’s gone now.” That was as much as she could bear to admit.

An uneasy silence fell between them, filled by the sounds of the forest waking for the night.

“I am sorry,” he said at length. “For your loss.”

She grinned, letting her head fall back. “Funny.”

He canted his head at her in confusion, brows furrowing.

“We say the same thing on Earth when someone dies,” she explained. “You know, cause you don’t really know what to say and nothing would make it better, anyway? So, you just say sorry.”

“I see. Yes, it is the same for us. We have seen much of death, but still… I am not always sure what to say.”

He looked down at his hands, cleaning bark from beneath one claw with another. She sensed there was something more he wasn’t saying, but she let it lie.

“I haven’t seen any women down here,” she said.

He hummed. “You are the first.”

“No pressure, huh?”

He looked askance at the turn of phrase, and she shook her head, smiling wearily.

“Lucky you guys aren’t a bunch of domineering pervs,” she murmured. “We had a lot of those back on Earth.”

“What is a ‘perv?’”

“You know what? Don’t worry about it. I don’t even wanna plant the seed.”

He nodded, though his expression was dismayed.

“Your men are stupid,” he said suddenly, startling a laugh out of her. “I have not known you long, but it is clear to me that you are not ‘less’ than anyone. You are brave, determined, and competent. You leapt into battle to assist me against impossible odds. I cannot imagine how anyone would believe you undeserving of respect.”