Talia woke up the next morning to see Alek sleeping beside her, looking oddly angelic as he did.

His pale hair was loose, framing his face like a halo, and his muscled body was bared from the chest up. She didn’t know how he wasn’t cold when he wasn’t completely covered by blankets. It was definitely a chilly day. She vowed to turn the thermostat up.

She stretched and walked over to her dresser to pull on clothes for the day, letting Alek sleep in.

Yesterday was still so confusing. The date, which she’d originally gone on to humor him, had been amazing. Each kiss with him held more meaning than before.

And then she’d been totally unprofessional in her lab, though she dared any woman to try and examine a nearly naked Alek and resist temptation.

Except the thought of anyone else with him made her heart instantly ache.

She pressed a hand to her chest and remembered the way he’d handled her, touched her. Despite the way he’d always been egotistical, quick to fight, and almost brutish in his movements, with her, he’d been gentle, passionate, sweet. Almost… nervous, as if he were afraid he might hurt her.

She was truly becoming more confused by him every day and confused by her own feelings toward him.

She wasn’t stupid. She knew that the way she’d reacted to him sexually had to mean there was more than lust for him in her heart. She wasn’t someone to just get swept away by a pretty face or a deft pair of hands. Sex had to mean something. So what had sex meant with Alek?

He intrigued her, drew her in, but at the same time, her brain knew she should be keeping her distance. What if there was something wrong with him? What if he’d woken up but wouldn’t be able to live long in this world? She realized now that she was being delusional in just trying to live in this fantasy world with him. She needed to help find out where he belonged.

What if he needed medical care? What if he…?

He seemed healthy enough, despite being quite a few hundred years old.

She bit her lip, watching him stir in his sleep and turn over. Why did he call himself lord of winter? Why did his friends bow at his feet?

All of it bothered her, and she knew if she wanted to know more, she would at least have to trust one other person.

She picked up her phone to send a text, and when she got her reply, she smiled. If there was anyone in this world she could trust, it was Iris.

She woke the lord of winter and resisted the urge to shower with him, instead showering first and letting him take his turn while she made breakfast.

When they were at the table, eating, she frowned when she got a text. This one was much more unwelcome than the one from Iris.

Dr. Henrick: I got your emails. I’ll be back earlier than I thought. See you soon.

She sighed, putting her phone away before Alek could see it. At first, when Alek had emerged from the ice, she’d been freaked out and wanted to tell her mentor immediately. Had wished he’d come home so she would know what to do.

But now things were much more personal, and a part of her, most of her, wanted to protect Alek from any contact with Dr. Henrick.

When she’d first seen Alek, she’d thought this could be the discovery of a lifetime. Now she no longer cared, which was odd for someone who’d been waiting for exactly this type of a breakthrough her entire college career.

She sighed as she slumped with her cheek in her hand, thinking over her options.

Alek looked up at her curiously. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m just… Things are complicated.”

He nodded. “I know.”

“I was supposed to just study you. And my mentor, the one who found the ice you were in, is coming back.”

“What will happen?” Alek perked up slightly.

“I don’t know,” she said. “I’m worried about even telling him about you. Science is his life.”

“He doesn’t already know?”

“I don’t know. He never said anything when he sent me the ice.” She tapped her fingers on the table. “But I want to know more about you first. Are you willing to submit to some blood tests? I have a friend who can help with that, and I know she’ll keep our secret.”

“Why would you want to test my blood?”

“I just… Nothing in the ice we found explains how you got here. Why you’re alive. A part of me is worried about you. What if there’s something I’m missing? What if there’s a better place for you to be?”

He reached over and took her hands in his, and she was glad both his friends and her roommates hadn’t gotten up yet. “I want to be right here.”

“But what if… what if something’s wrong with you?”

He frowned. “I don’t think there’s something wrong with me.”

“But no one has ever lived this long. I just… want to know a bit more, if I can.”

He thought about it for a second. “Yes, your friend can have my blood. But promise me you will come to me first about anything you find in it.”

“I promise,” she said, squeezing his hands lightly. “You’re not just an experiment to me. You’re my friend.”

He frowned at that. “That’s not what I want to be.”

She smiled ruefully. “Is it bad that I agree? I want more as well. But we have to be careful with this.”

He considered that thoughtfully. “I suppose.” She guessed that was a big leap for him, because she got the feeling that he usually wasn’t careful about anything. He seemed like the type to act first and think later.

But he’d changed in the days since he’d been awakened. He was no longer egotistical, shouting and swaggering past everything in sight. And he definitely was different with her.

“All right,” he said, finishing his breakfast and standing. “Let’s go see your friend.”

* * *

At the lab, Talia was having a hard time hiding her amusement.

Iris, normally a feisty, matter-of-fact little scientist who cared for nothing but her latest hypothesis, had been rendered speechless by the sight of Alek in her lab. The small black woman with her hair pulled back in a tight bun took off her glasses to walk in a small circle around Alek while he stared down at her, bemused.

“So what am I checking for? Growth hormones? Steroids? Dude is jacked!”

Alek cocked his head. “What is jacked?”

Talia put her hand to her forehead. “Um. Muscular.”

“Oh, that is because it’s my natural state as lord of—” He cut himself off when Talia sent him a warning glare. “Nothing.”

Iris’s eyes widened, the deep brown there glittering in response. “Did he just call himself lord of something?”

“No,” Talia said quickly. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Well, damn,” Iris said, putting her glasses back on as she went to a chair and gestured for Alek to sit in it. “Where do they make them like that?”

Talia bit her lip, not wanting to say, Siberia, probably five hundred years ago.

Alek sat in the chair and put his arm on the pad while Iris tied a piece of rubber above his elbow and began poking for a good vein. She’d have a lot to choose from with Alek’s overly muscular arms.

Talia fought back any traces of jealousy because she was glad her friend was helping her. And this would help Talia get insight into Alek as well. But for some reason, seeing anyone else touch the lord of winter didn’t sit well at all in her heart.

Alek caught her watching and smiled up at her, and she caught her breath at just how beautiful he was. And it wasn’t just his physical beauty, but the way he looked at her. The way he was curious about the world. The way he didn’t let any part of his situation bring him down, even though he could have.

After all, he’d lost his whole world.

“There, I’m done now,” Iris said, putting a bandage over the area she’d drawn from, as Talia realized that while she’d been staring at Alek, Iris had already gotten the blood.

Alek hadn’t even flinched.

When he stood, pulling his sleeve down, Iris came over to them, removing her gloves.

“I’ll have the results probably tomorrow,” she said. “Anything I should be looking for at all?”

“Anything out of the ordinary,” Talia said. “Mainly, I want to make sure he’s in good health.”

“Looks like he’s in good health to me,” Iris said, looking like she still wanted to devour him. Talia wished she could tell her friend she was already involved with Alek, because she knew Iris would stand down.

Right after she chewed her out for getting involved with a scientific discovery. Iris probably wouldn’t let a little thing like love mess with her work.

Talia blinked, watching Alek as he moved around the lab, exploring things. Was she in love with him? Could it really happen so fast?

“Hey, Earth to Talia,” Iris said. “I asked if you had any plans tonight.”

“She does,” Alek said, speaking up. “With me.”

Iris let out a wolf whistle. “Oh man, I’m jealous.” But she nudged Talia conspiratorially. “You deserve this. Go have fun.”

Talia was still blushing as Iris ushered her out the door, promising to call with the results soon.

When she found herself outside in the hallway again with the lord of winter, awkward silence took hold.

“So do you think she’ll find anything?” Alek asked.

“I don’t know,” Talia replied quietly. “I just… wonder if there will be anything out of the ordinary.”

“Well, I already know there will be because I’m—”

“Not ordinary, I know,” she retorted with a frown.

“No, because I’m lord of winter,” he said, his tone teasing.

She couldn’t help but laugh. When they exited the building, snow was lightly falling. “I’m planning to go to the library, do some more research. You can come if you want, but it’s going to be boring.”

He shook his head. “I’ll walk you over there, but then I’ll head home. I have some things to do with my friends.”

She blinked. “You aren’t going to tell them about us, right?”

“No. It’s none of their business. For now at least.”

She let out a sigh of relief. “Okay, good then.”

When they reached the library, he bent down to kiss her on the forehead, something she was coming to expect. It was warm and tender, and she couldn’t help sighing as he opened the door to the library and ushered her in.

“Give me a call if you need anything,” he said.

“That should be my line. You’re the one new in this world.”

“I’m learning quick,” he said. “Though, time in front of the TV helps. It’s like watching moving history.” He put a hand through his hair. “Though, sometimes I feel I was always meant for this time.” He gave her a cryptic smile. “I look forward to seeing you tonight.”

And then he was gone, out of the library and down the stairs leading toward the apartment, leaving her alone with her thoughts and a ton of books.