When they entered the lab, Talia tried to let her professional, scientific demeanor take over.

She’d had more fun than she had in a very long time, eating dinner and then skating with Alek. It was a welcome break from thinking about things like papers and deadlines and scientific mysteries.

And then that kiss… It had swept her completely away, the snow falling softly around them, his hands and lips so warm. His touch patient and welcoming, seemingly happy to stop at just a kiss.

She’d had a few sexual encounters. Awkward, stumbling situations where the man couldn’t wait to get his rocks off and get dressed.

As a result, she tended to avoid dating and romance in general, preferring to focus on her lab.

But Alek was so different. He defended her to anyone who threatened her, acted as if they somehow didn’t look odd together, and when he wasn’t talking to her as if she were some kind of peasant, he could be really… kind.

He walked into the lab behind her, hands clasped behind his back, surveying the newly clean surfaces. His hair was loosened in its ponytail, slightly windblown and damp from snow. Little specks of moisture dotted his handsome features, and his broad shoulders were squared as she stared at the lab around him.

He nodded when he seemed to be satisfied with what he saw.

“Here,” she said, bringing over a chair. As he sat in the chair, spreading his legs and taking on a languid, masculine posture, she felt warmth pool deep inside her.

Dammit, had bringing him here been a mistake?

After that kiss, she’d decided it was time to remind them both of the true nature of their positions. She was to study him, nothing more. She could check a few things, though she wasn’t a doctor and wasn’t ready to take him to one yet. After watching him arm wrestling, she was pretty sure he was at least somewhat different from the men of modern times.

Or perhaps he was just oddly strong and would have been if he was born in this time, too.

She grabbed a stethoscope her friend had lent her and rolled a short stool over so she could listen to his heart.

He remained relaxed, his muscled arms resting on the arms of the chair, his legs spread open so she could roll between them.

He raised a blond eyebrow as she put the stethoscope in her ears and raised the end that she would place over his heart.

“Will it hurt?”

“No,” she said. “Of course not.”

He nodded. “It’s fine either way. Whatever you need from me.”

Her heart began to pound even harder. He was so different with her now than he had been when he emerged from the ice. He… listened to her. Trusted her like no one ever had.

He didn’t know anything about her world or what she was doing, yet he was here in her lab, letting her do whatever she wanted.

She let out a sigh and dropped the bell of her stethoscope to unbutton his shirt.

He let out a little gasp when her fingers brushed the warm, velvet skin of his upper chest as she undid the buttons. His clear blue eyes grew heated, and he watched intently as she fully undid the front of his shirt, pulling it open so she could have access to his heart.

And so much more, she couldn’t help but notice, following a pale trail of hair down from bulging pecs the size of her head to rippling abdominal muscles to the edge of his jeans, held up with a belt.

His waist was trim, hard, a contrast to his hulking shoulders, and his skin was pale but healthy, an undeniable glow to it, almost as if he shimmered.

Or was that simply a fine sheen of sweat? She looked up to see him watching her somewhat nervously, as if unsure of what was going on.

She took a deep breath and pressed her stethoscope to his chest, reminding herself to focus.

His heart sounded normal, like any human heart… but right now it was racing.

Just like hers.

She pulled back and took the stethoscope out of her ears, quickly setting it aside.

She reached for his hand, noting the largeness of the palm, the smoothness of the back of it, the long, deft fingers with perfect short nails. A little shiver went through her as she realized his hands were still somewhat cold. Perhaps from being in the snow.

Without thinking, she brought his hand up in both of hers to blow on it, to warm him up, and when she breathed warm air over his fingers, he jerked back, pulling his hand away.

“What was that? Why are you doing it?”

“Sorry,” she said, feeling a deep blush over her cheeks. She hadn’t meant anything by it, had just wanted to help, but she could admit the motion had been undeniably intimate.

Based on the pink tinge just beneath his high cheekbones, he agreed.

Not that she’d thought he would object, given the multiple times he had kissed her senseless.

He looked at his hand, and his gaze went from heated to languid. Twin blue fires looked up at her, making her mouth go dry. “What else would you like to examine?”

She swallowed. “I need you to take your shirt off. Your jacket. Everything.”

He nodded, standing slowly, never taking his eyes off her as he slowly shrugged out of his jacket, then his shirt, and placed both on the counter next to him before taking a seat back in the chair.

She stood, trying to remain calm. What had she been doing? Oh yeah, she needed to check for ancient tattoos or any markings. Any injuries as well. Any clue to why he was different, since she hadn’t yet found anything in the ice.

He sat languidly in the chair, as relaxed as could be, as she circled him slowly, noting every clean inch of his skin.

Despite his calm posture, she could sense energy radiating from him. Something raw and primal that she could also sense from within herself.

She gulped as she finished her perusal. God, he was beautiful shirtless. Perfect in every curve and hard angle. Huge and refined, handsome and masculine. Smooth yet rough.

Had nature somehow created and then hidden the perfect creature? After examining him, she was even further from understanding what he was.

She bit her lip as she looked at his pants, still hiding the rest of him. Should she ask? It wouldn’t be proper.

As if reading her mind, he simply raised an eyebrow and then bent to undo his belt and kick his pants off.

She had to smile when he also removed his shoes and socks.

Now he was just sitting in her lab, muscular thighs spread, perfect calves displayed. God, even his feet were perfect.

He was wearing black boxer briefs, much to her relief, as she didn’t know what she would do if he was naked.

Without her being able to stop them, her eyes trailed up to just below his waist.

Damn. He was huge… and hard.

He blinked at her frankly. “Ignore it. It is normal when a female is perusing me.”

She swallowed. “Easier said than done.”

He laughed, shaking his head. “I would usually remind you that I’m no normal male, but I somehow don’t feel it would be welcome.”

She pulled her gaze away from him with great reluctance. In this case at least, his egotistical statements would be totally justified.

He seemed to know it, too, as he put his hands behind his head and leaned back for her, all masculine perfection on display.

She fought the urge to lick her lips as she stared at him. Her body was on fire. The polite, logical scientist had vacated the building, leaving her flailing in her innate, feminine response to his strength.

His gaze was calm as his eyes met hers. “What do you want of me?”

She didn’t think her throat had ever been drier. Still, he wasn’t afraid, so why should she be? She looked at his face, at his hair, and then gestured to his ponytail. “Untie it.”

He kept his eyes on her as he pulled the elastic away, letting waves of beautiful pale hair cascade around his face, framing it.

Somehow, it only looked more masculine, his expression defiant as if he dared her to say anything about his hair.

Instead, she got back on her stool and slid over to him, gliding between his legs so they were almost eye to eye, with her only a few inches shorter than him.

She reached up and caught a lock of his hair, studying it as it glistened in the light, unlike any hair she had seen before. Then again, she’d never met a natural platinum blond. He stared at her curiously.

She couldn’t resist running both hands through the lush locks, grazing his scalp with her hands as she felt for any differences to current humans.

He let out a low groan, and she was surprised when his hands caught her wrists in a gentle but iron-firm hold. Like he was holding glass, not wanting to drop or break it.

She met his eyes, feeling the fire burning inside her and between them. She’d long stopped being a scientist studying a subject, and she felt terrible for it. Somehow, she’d become just a woman looking at a man she wanted desperately.

He rolled his soft, curved lips together, and his eyes fell to her mouth. “I can’t hold back much longer. The way you look at me. The way you touch me. I’m at my limit.” His voice was hoarse, raw, honest. As always.

She had to give him credit for that.

She cupped his cheek, and he sank into it with a little growl. “We shouldn’t,” she said, feeling her body actually ache in disappointment at what she was about to turn down.

His hand reached up to cup her face. His touch was warm, strong, comforting. As it had been when they were skating and when he’d kissed her in the snow.

If this was some kind of twisted fairy tale, she wasn’t sure what to do next.

When he leaned forward, she was helpless to resist him, and when his lips met hers, there was just a hint of the taste of snow. As if her body remembered their last kiss or as if there was the slightest bit of cold to his touch.

It quickly melted into searing heat as he came closer, reaching around her to pull her stool forward so she was right up against him as they kissed. Both arms surrounded her, trapping her with the sheer size of his body, protecting her with the strength of his arms.

She sighed into the kiss, and his tongue swept inside, playing gently at the seam of her lips before going deeper, more urgently.

Her tongue met with his tentatively, returning the kiss. She enjoyed the situation as they tussled together, warm and wet and exploring, her hands in his hair, his arms capturing her.

She didn’t know who was trapping whom at this moment or what boundaries they were crossing with this act. But she didn’t care. It just felt right with him, as if both knew it was where they were meant to be.

She pulled back from the kiss, her lips swollen and heated, her heart yearning for more, and got close to whisper against his ear. “I want you.”

He let out a hiss as he bit his lip. “I don’t want to hurt you. Right now, I don’t even know who I am.”

“I know,” she said, dragging both hands down to rest on his hard chest muscles, enjoying the silky skin. “It’s probably not what we should be doing at all. For either one of us. And yet…”

“I want you, too,” he murmured frankly, pushing his hair back behind one ear. He looked like some kind of ancient warrior awakened from eternal sleep.

Maybe he was.

All she knew was something deep in her wanted to have him, and she wasn’t sure she could resist anymore.

“You won’t hurt me,” she said softly. “I know what I’m doing.” This wasn’t leading to some happily ever after. They weren’t even from the same world.

Yet somehow they had some sort of feelings for each other and an attraction that couldn’t be denied. So wasn’t that worth taking a chance? Even if just for one night?

He nodded at her, seeming to agree. Heat flashed in his perfect blue eyes, and he put both hands on her hips, pulling her flush against him. “We’ll try, then. And I would never want to cause you harm, so tell me if you want me to stop.”

She pressed her hips into him hungrily, sinking her hands into his chest as his hands ran over her back and hips, keeping her close to his hard length. His hard everything.

Somehow, she didn’t think wanting him to stop would be ever be a problem. Never wanting him to stop? Yeah, maybe.