Page 2

Elias realized his mouth was open and snapped his jaw shut with an audible click. He watched as the curvy, blonde human strode around the stage, her cheeks glowing and her hands gesturing as she summed up her last hour of fascinating theories.

Hayley was a beautiful siren, who stirred troubling feelings in him. Feelings Elias had to avoid but ones he couldn’t deny having every time he watched her. The sway of her hips as she moved, the light in her eyes when she got excited, even her cute smile was mesmerizing.

“That concludes my talk on the Apatosaurus. It was a spectacular time for these dinosaurs, one where they truly ruled planet Earth.”

The crowd applauded enthusiastically, and there were several cries for more.

Elias grinned and applauded along with everyone else. He could listen to Hayley talk for hours and never grow tired. Over the last six weeks, he’d attended every one of her talks. Each had been more interesting, yet more preposterous, than the last. He wasn’t convinced about these dinosaurs. He’d seen a few replicas of bones but couldn’t believe creatures so vast had once dominated planet Earth. When he’d questioned Hayley, she’d answered him fully with a clear commitment to proving him wrong. Her desire to ensure these creatures’ remains did not disappear and become distant memories nobody cared about was inspirational.

Elias enjoyed these events and came to many of the pro-amateur talks in the evening. He liked being around people who followed their passions and had his own love for repairing things. There was nothing more satisfying than bringing some hulking wreck back to life. He also enjoyed small scale repairs and had a growing collection of antique time pieces. He’d wondered about giving a talk on them but couldn’t imagine anyone would be interested.

Hayley’s talks were his favorite. It helped she was so striking, with her long blonde hair and piercing eyes. When he caught her attention, it seemed she looked inside him, as if measuring his worth and whether he was a worthy adversary to spar verbally with over patterns on a dinosaur’s skin. Every time they’d talked, he’d felt he learned more about Hayley. So far, he loved everything he knew about her, and it made him want to learn more.

“Thank you for your interest and attention,” Hayley said. “I’m happy to take questions.”

Elias’s gaze skated over Hayley’s curves. She was so different from the females on his planet. For that he was grateful. She was round and soft, and he couldn’t take his eyes off the way her luscious cleavage bounced around under the fabric of her jumpsuit.

He knew desire when he felt it. Every time Elias allowed himself to imagine being with Hayley, an unpleasant shudder tracked down his spine, and his desire curled in upon itself. He knew why. Self-preservation, and it stank. Elias could be the poster boy for blue balls. He hadn’t touched a female in over a year.

He looked away and grimaced. He was holding back. Every time desire sparked inside Elias, shame also filled him. He couldn’t face it again. He would never enjoy being intimate with a female. He’d written off sex. It was not for him. He had to be content with what he had: his own hand and a healthy imagination, one that featured a hell of a lot of Hayley, naked and panting.

Elias’s gaze returned to Hayley, and his lustful thoughts re-surfaced. He watched as she answered questions and smiled at others in the audience. That smile was a thing of beauty. She was brilliant, beautiful, and unique. How could he not desire her? Hayley must have dozens of men after her.

He shook his head and gritted his teeth. This was the right thing to do, curb his lust and simply enjoy the pleasure of being close to someone so beautiful and unobtainable. It made his balls ache and his chest hurt to know he couldn’t have Hayley, but the other option was, well, not an option.

“Those mating practises are not common among dinosaurs,” Hayley said.

Elias glanced over to the fur-covered alien who shook his head. He’d missed the question; he’d been so deep in his desirous thoughts for Hayley.

“How can you be certain? There were no humans in that time period to make accurate records. The dinosaurs could have mated in any particular way.”

“What you describe is not anatomically possible.” Hayley’s tone was determined and clear. “The tail position and spinal column of those dinosaurs show face-to-face mating would have been damaging. They could have suffocated as their internal organs crushed each other. It’s much more common, as it is with smaller lizard species and many modern-day birds on Earth, for them to mate with one behind the other. The male mounts from behind. It’s the least stressful position on the body and the most successful way of engaging in copulation.”

“You don’t know that. All you have are a few fragile bones and a lot of speculation.”

“We also have species on Earth who evolved from dinosaurs,” Hayley said. “But you’re right; it’s not a perfect analogy. We study these species’ mating behaviors and extrapolate back to the dinosaurs.”

“You’re talking about doggy style,” an alien at the back of the room said.

There were several bursts of laughter. Elias glared around to see who dared laugh at Hayley. He looked back to see her nodding slowly. She was not embarrassed by the comment.

“Yes, many people call it that. That is the typical mating style of Earth dogs. The male mounts the female from behind. It’s also a common position for some aliens. Mehab, for example, typically take their females from behind and hold her in place because it’s dangerous to mate with a female Mehab. Throats have been torn out when the lust becomes uncontrolled.”

Elias shuddered again. He knew about uncontrolled lust. Or rather, he knew what happened when a female of his own kind got out of control during the mating process.

“Yes, do you have a question?” Hayley’s gaze settled on Elias.

Elias glanced to either side of him. No one had their hand raised to ask a question.

She smiled at him encouragingly and nodded. “Your hand is up. Is there something you wish to ask?”

Elias’s heart thudded as he realized his own hand was sticking in the air. Why had he done that? He had nothing he wanted to ask. He’d been too busy remembering his own unpleasant sexual encounter to think of an intelligent question.

“Go on, we’ve got time for one more question.” Hayley’s expression grew curious.

“Oh, well, on the subject of mating behaviors with dinosaurs.” Elias looked around the room. “Did they enjoy it?”

There was more laughter, and he ducked his head. What kind of idiot question was that?