Page 18 of Alien Rescue

He smiled at her, pleased that she liked their dwelling.

“I am a good warrior. I can provide for you, and our small warriors will have good positions in the empire.”

She gave him another look he didn’t understand. “Small warriors, huh?”

Zanr had said it without thinking. Maybe later when she was content, he’d tell her about his status. Before he had small warriors with her, he had to be sure she’d never reject them.”

***

She pointed around her to distract him. “Where did you get all this?” The place was cluttered with figurines and vases and other human paraphernalia.

He stood taller. “I won them for you. I know everything about pleasing a breeder.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yes, I know about clothes and jewels and providing a well-stocked dwelling.”

“That you have,” she agreed.

“I have all the episodes of The Space Ranger. Even the two that were never released,” he said.

What was wrong with her? Why did she find the alien charming?

He led her to the couch and seated her. “We will watch an episode as if we are a human male and his female, but we are a superior Zygin warrior and his breeder.” He walked back to the kitchen, and she heard him grunt. He returned with a bright red box in his hand and sat next to her, and handed her a box with odd white stuff in it. Alien food? “What is this?”

“Popcorn.”

She cautiously ate one. She’d heard of it, but never tasted it. Her father wasn’t one for buying candy, and she couldn’t blame her brother for not wanting to spend time with her, after what she’d done.

He pulled her close and grunted, and the familiar tune started. The Space Ranger appeared.

“The Space Ranger has exceptionally ugly hair,” he said.

This alien was obsessed with hair. She shrugged. “I suppose.”

He touched his ridge. “I have a superior ridge.”

She took a sip of her strange drink to hide her smile. “I see.”

“I am a better fighter than him.”

***

He took her hands in his. “Our leader has provided you with the honor of requesting I present you to him.”

“What exactly do you mean when you say ‘present’?”

“I mean exactly that—I will take you to him and present you to him. He normally only welcomes the breeders of the senior leaders. This is a great honor.”

She relaxed slightly. A welcome from the leader of the aliens didn’t sound so bad. And she might see or hear something she could report back when she escaped.

“When will you present me?” And why did her heart twist at the thought of escaping, of leaving him?

“Now, he is waiting for us. You have to dress in human clothes. The dresses I bought for you will be good.”

She had her doubts about that, but it wasn’t as if she had a lot of choice. She dressed and put on the heeled shoes Zanr had produced with great self-satisfaction. If she wasn’t going to escape, she’d give him a crash course in fashion.

When she emerged from the bathroom, he indicated the chair. “I will do your hair.”

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