“I have experiments to run. On her.” He peered blearily at L’ren.
“Not tonight. Commander T’ngorzul has agreed to give her a shift to recover from her injuries.”
“No experiments?”
“Not tonight.”
With an aggrieved sigh, S’kran went to his workbench. Conversation would be impossible in his presence.
“Will you come with me, L’ren? I wish to talk to you.”
“What if I don’t want to talk to you?” she said bitterly, then hunched her shoulders again.
“Do you wish to remain with the medic?”
After a quick look at S’kran, who was now frowning at the two different bottles in his hands, she shook her head. “No, I don’t.”
“Then come with me. You have my word of honor that I will not harm you.”
His hearts pounded as she hesitated for a long moment, but she finally sighed and nodded. “Okay.”
“Thank you, my L’chka.” The word slipped out unintentionally, brought about by her presence and her trust, however reluctant.
“Your what?”
“I believe you would say, my lady.” It was not a literal translation, but it was close enough.
“Huh. No one’s ever called me a lady before.” A smile flickered across her face, turning her quiet beauty radiant. “Let’s go, my monster.”
“Monster?” He recoiled as the word translated.
“I didn’t mean it in a bad way,” she said quickly. “Just when you came swooping down out of the sky like that to rescue me, that’s what I thought you were. My own monster, come to save me.”
He considered, then bowed his head. “Then I am honored. Will you allow me to assist you down from the table?”
The brief smile reappeared. “Since it’s almost as tall as I am, I suppose that would be a good idea.”
He stepped closer, his senses swimming with her scent, her warmth, her closeness. As he reached for her, she looked up at him, her strange human eyes dark and earnest. “Don’t betray me again, my monster.”
“Never, my lady.”
Chapter Five
As Lauren followed T’saran out of the cluttered medical lab, she hoped she wasn’t making a mistake. She found she believed his explanation, believed that he hadn't wanted her to end up as part of his commander’s plans. The knowledge that he would have taken another human woman should have disturbed her more than it did, but she wondered if the Yehrin considered humans as anything more than a primitive species. And were these alien invaders really coming to conquer Earth? It seemed impossible, but looking at the tall, broad figure in front of her, horns sweeping up above his head, and remembering how easily he had eliminated her attackers, she shivered.
The spaceship, on the other hand, did not seem very threatening. The dingy metal walls and scuffed floor bore more resemblance to a rather dirty industrial building than any type of advanced technology.
When they reached an intersection, T’saran paused to look in both directions before leading her to the left. She would have asked what he was doing, but she could see the tension in his shoulders. In her experience, a tense man was an angry man. He had yet to lash out at her, but she didn’t want to push him. Another intersection, another pause, then he ushered her quickly through another door.
Unlike the rest of the spaces she had seen, his small cabin was almost compulsively neat, and clean white paint covered the walls. A neatly made bed occupied one side of the room while a row of cabinets filled the other, but her eyes were drawn beyond them to the window that dominated the rear wall. The moon floated just outside; every detail perfectly clear.
“Is that really the moon?”
“Yes, that is your moon.”
Her knees weakened as the full impact of her predicament slammed into her. Despite his alien appearance, despite the revelation that she was on a spaceship, some part of her had remained skeptical. Looking at the moon floating in front of her now, seeing it as she had seen it in countless movies, made it only too clear how far away she was from home.
She reached out a trembling hand toward the window and felt herself sway. T’saran wrapped her in his big, warm arms before she collapsed and led her to the bed. She sat down gratefully, her knees still feeling unsteady. He stepped back, and she found she missed the warmth of his touch.
“What’s going to happen to me?” she asked.
“S’kran is going to examine you. He will not hurt you,” he added quickly.
“And then what?”
He hesitated, then his face hardened. “I will return you to your planet.”
“Really?” She wanted to believe him, but... “Even after your commander just told me an alien invasion is coming?”
After a brief pause, he sighed and sat down next to her. The bed suddenly seemed a lot smaller, and she was acutely conscious of his warmth and a faint spicy scent.
“Do you think your government would believe you?” he asked.
“Believe a waitress from a crappy diner in Philly? No.” Despite her conviction, she remembered the commander’s cruel face. “But do you think your commander will be willing to take the chance?”
“I will not give him the opportunity to object,” he said firmly, but she had an uneasy suspicion that it was not quite that simple. Still, she went along when he changed the subject away from her return.
“Why do you not think your government would listen to you? Is a waitress not an honorable occupation?”
“Honorable? I suppose it’s honorable enough.” Better than selling myself on the streets. “But the diner wasn’t an… ideal job. I didn’t have a lot of choice because I have no other skills.”
Her father had arranged for her to marry Adam straight out of high school. She hadn’t objected. His boyish good looks had made
