Sevda’s brain was as scrambled and battered as her body. She was cold, bruised, and exhausted from her ordeal in the water. Now her only choice was to go with a giant of a man with a surly disposition to a cabin that shouldn’t even be here, on a world that hadn’t even been cursorily investigated yet.

Where the hell had he come from, and why was he way the fraxx out here? He’d pulled her out of the river, so she had at least one reason to trust him, but there were too many unknowns to be sure.

Then there was the other issue: he was hot as hell. A man that grumpy shouldn’t be sexy, but he was. He had a full beard, but it didn’t completely hide the fact he had several small scars on his face. There was a streak of white in his hair, but instead of detracting from his looks, it gave him character, and an air of danger.

His skin was deeply tanned, and his sun-streaked brown hair fell halfway down his back. There were callouses on his hands, too. She’d felt them snag on her clothes when he’d held her, and again when he passed her the blanket. This was a man who spent a lot of time working outdoors and had the body to prove it. She had been wrapped around him only a few minutes ago, and he was solid muscle and strength. Exactly the kind of man that made her weak in the knees - and in the head, apparently. The last thing she should be thinking right now was what he looked like under the heavy leather rain gear he was wearing, or what those calloused hands would feel like on her bare skin.

“I must have hit my head on one of those blasted rocks,” she muttered to herself as she got to her feet. She was still half-frozen and bone-tired, but her legs were steadier and her teeth had stopped chattering. She was good to go.

“What was that?” Raze asked glancing over his shoulder.

“Nothing.” She looked up at the sky and noted with some relief that the thunder and lightning seemed to have stopped while they were talking. “Looks like the storm is weakening.”

He barked with laughter. “Not even close. That was the opening salvo. If we’re lucky, we’ll be undercover before the next one hits. If not, well, we can’t get much wetter than we already are.”

He set a brisk pace, and she had to scramble to catch up. She could have asked him to slow down, but she had a little pride left, and it wouldn’t let her ask for any more favors. She owed him too much already. Besides, the sooner they got out of this weather, the happier she’d be. The wind was an icy knife that cut right through her, stealing what little body heat she had left.

They walked in silence for a while, but then he surprised her with a question. “How long do I have before I need to move on?”

She had been focusing all her energy on putting one foot in front of the other, and it surprised her how difficult it was to hold a conversation at the same time. “Hard to say. I was only supposed to do scans from polar orbit and move on to the next planet. I send the data as I finish each scan, and someone back at HQ reviews it all and figures out which planets are worth mining for resources. Usually, it takes about two years from first scans to a final decision, but that can change if the planet has exceptional value.”

“And does it? This one, I mean. You’ve seen the scans, right? And what are you doing down here if you were supposed to stay in orbit?”

“I saw the first three hours of data. Then my ship was shredded by a micro-meteor swarm and I had to land to make emergency repairs.”

“You really have had a lousy day, haven’t you?”

She snorted with bitter laughter. “You could say that, yeah.” As if to emphasize the point, she stumbled over a rock and went down in a tangled, sodden heap.

“Fraxx.” Sevda tried to stand, but her body didn’t seem to want to cooperate. Suddenly all she wanted to do was curl up and nap for a little while. A little rest and then she could start walking again.

“That’s it. You’re done.” For the second time that day she found herself in Raze’s arms, and this time she was too tired to muster any kind of protest. To be honest, she was damned impressed he could lift her at all. Most men couldn’t have done it. She was starting to suspect there was more to her rescuer’s physique than just a lot of time spent outdoors.

“You sure you want to touch me? All this bad luck might be contagious.” Her words came out a little slurred, and she frowned in frustration. What was wrong with her? Maybe she had hit her head on a rock during her involuntary swim.

He looked down at her with an odd half-smile. “I’ll take my chances. You’re in no shape to make the rest of the hike before the next storm hits.” He settled her into his arms and started walking along the narrow trail that seemed to lead straight up the mountain.

One look at the trek they had to make, and she knew he was right. She didn’t have the strength for that kind of climb. “You live way the hell up there? You really must not want visitors. “

“I don’t.”

“Don’t you get lonely?” She gestured to her bruised cheek, then frowned when she noticed that her hand was still shaking. “What happens if you were seriously hurt? Don’t you have a family or friends who worry about you?”

“If I got seriously hurt? I’d heal, or I’d die.” He shrugged slightly, using the movement to shift her in his arms, so she was snuggled in tight to his body.

It was both distracting and comforting to be in such close contact with him, and because of that, it took her a moment to notice that he hadn’t answered her second question.

“So, you’re indifferent to your survival. No family then?” She had guessed the answer already. People with families didn’t choose this kind of life.

“Nope.”

She waited to see if he was going to say anything else, but apparently, that was all she was getting. Instead of trying to continue the conversation, she shut her eyes and tried to rest. There was no way he could carry her the whole way, and she was going to need all the energy she could muster once she was back on her feet.

At least she’d stopped shivering. That had to mean she was getting warmer, even if she didn’t feel like it. She would rest up for another minute, no more. She wasn’t some delicate flower that needed a hero to sweep in and carry her to safety.

At first, Raze was happy to make the hike in silence. He’d never been much for talking, and he had already spoken more today than he usually said in a month. It wasn’t long, though, before memories started to stir; recollections of the last time he’d carried someone out of this valley. In a few minutes, he would be walking past the graves of his cybernetic batch siblings. They had all died here, on this starsforsaken planet, during the Resource Wars. Cyborg soldiers like him had fought, bled, and died in a series of corporate battles that spanned the galaxy and lasted a decade.

Raze and his siblings were some of the first cyborgs created, and they had been to hell and back more times than he cared to count. They had lost a few of their number along the way, but out of his twenty-five original siblings, all but five were buried here. He carried them here himself, digging their graves and laying them to rest, one by one. It took him three days, and when it was done, he swore that if he survived, he’d come back one day. Back to the only family he had.

The dark memories threatened to drag him down, and he fought to keep his focus on the present. There were no enemy forces hunting for him anymore. No wars to fight. No danger.

No, that wasn’t true. There was danger. The scout in his arms represented a threat he had no idea how to fight. She was also his only source of intel.

“Tell me what you know about Torex’s plans are for this system.” When she didn’t answer, he looked down and discovered his visitor was unconscious. Fraxx. There was no way she’d drifted off to sleep while being carried. Something was wrong.

“Hey, scout. Sevda. This is no time for a nap. Open your eyes for me.” He gave her the lightest of shakes, but she didn’t move. Not so much as an eyelid flutter. He didn’t have much experience with normal human injuries. Cyborgs were built to be stronger, faster, and endure far harsher climates. Climates. Shit.

He took a good look at her face. Even soaking wet and with a few cuts and bruises marring her face, she was still beautiful. She had soft features, golden skin, and dark lashes that fanned her cheeks. But beyond her appearance, something else struck him. Her lips still had a bluish tint, and her skin tone was a little ashy. He had his arms full holding her, so he bowed his head and pressed his cheek to hers. There was no warmth in her face—her skin was as cold as the river he’d pulled her out of.

He thought back to the moment she stumbled. He should have seen it then, but he hadn’t spent much time with humans, and he’d forgotten they simply couldn’t endure the same trials he could.

She was hypothermic. He needed to get her inside, dried off and warmed up, fast.

“You stay with me, Sevda. I’m not carrying another damned corpse up this trail.” He tightened his grip on her and broke into a run.

He made it to the cabin in minutes, despite the slick footing and mud on the path. He pushed himself so hard he was out of breath, which wasn’t something that happened often. He sprinted the last few feet across the cleared land of his farm and got them both under the porch and out of the weather. The rain was still pouring down, but the next wave of the storm hadn’t hit yet. A quick hip bump to open the door and they were inside the welcoming warmth of his home.

He kicked the door shut and jogged across the cabin toward the alcove he used as a bedroom, right beside the woodstove he used to heat the cabin. He placed her carefully on the bed and pulled all the blankets from the far side over her in a temporary cocoon. It wouldn't be enough, but it would stop her from getting any colder. At least, he hoped it would.

“I’ll be right back,” he told her, and moved a few feet away to strip off his wet gear and wring some of the water out of his hair. He was soaked to the skin, but unlike Sevda, the cold and wet didn’t bother him. The nanotech in his blood did more than keep him in perfect health, it helped him regulate his body temperature no matter how extreme the weather was. He tossed his still-dripping clothes into a corner, pulled on a pair of loose-fitting pants and then grabbed an armload of wood from the wood box. Once the fire was stoked, he looked back at Sevda. She hadn’t stirred at all.

Time for more drastic measures.

“You can slap me for this later, but right now, I need you out of those wet clothes,” he said. It wasn’t likely she would hear anything he said, but he had to say it anyway. If his siblings could see him now, they’d all be laughing their asses off. Raze, the silent, stoic one, reduced to a chatty nursemaid.

Once he had the blankets pulled back, part of the problem became obvious. He had been too busy to notice before, but Sevda’s outfit was far too lightweight to provide any protection from the elements, and it wouldn’t have been enough to hold in any of her body heat. It clung to her like a second skin beneath her thin rain jacket. All she was carrying was her comm device and a blaster, both of which he placed out of reach before returning to the task of getting her warm and dry.

He got her boots and jacket off easily enough, but the rest of her clothes resisted every attempt he made to gently remove them. With a grunt of frustration, he tugged open a drawer on the bedside table he’d made himself and pulled out one of the multi-purpose tools he’d brought with him. “Sorry, but I’m about to ruin your outfit, too. By the time you wake up, I’m going to have a list of things to apologize for.”

He cut her out of her clothes as quickly as he could and tried his best to keep his gaze locked on his hands and not on the beauty lying in his bed. It wasn’t easy. With every inch of her skin that he uncovered, his libido paced at its leash like a panther on the prowl. He was doing this to get her warm, not to get her naked. He would keep reminding himself of that until his cock finally got the message.

He finally got all but her underwear removed, and by then he knew that the fire and blankets wouldn’t be enough. Her skin was chilled everywhere he touched her, and she still wasn’t awake. He lifted her again, holding her limp body against his chest while awkwardly moving back the blankets enough he could get her beneath them.

Once she was settled on the bed, he pulled the covers over her and added the few spare blankets on top for good measure. Then he slid in beside her and pulled her into his arms so her back was to his chest. He tucked her head under his chin and wrapped his arms and legs around her, sharing his body heat.

“And here I never figured I’d have a woman in my bed again.”

A little time later she stirred. “So c-cold.”

“I know you are, sweetling. I’m doing what I can to fix that.” It was a relief to hear her speak again. If she was awake, then the odds were good she would make a quick recovery.

She burrowed under the blankets, wriggling her mostly naked body against his until he was half out of his mind. “Lie still, Sevda. You need to rest.”

“Tired,” she muttered in what sounded like agreement.

“Then sleep. I’ve got you. You’re safe.”

She finally quieted, but the peace didn’t last for long. As her body temperature rose, she started to shiver hard enough he had to tighten his grip on her to hold her still. Her teeth chattered so violently that her next attempt to talk was almost intelligible.

“Wh-wh-at iz wro-wrong wi m-me?”

“Hypothermia. You were in the water long enough your body temperature dropped, and you weren’t dressed for the elements. I’m not used to humans, I forgot you’d be affected by the weather, too.”

“Not, just hu-human. Torski, t-too.”

Well, that explained a few things. Torksi’s were larger than humans and far stronger. They also had a higher body temperature. “So that’s why you’re so tall. I wondered.”

“Hot-t-t blooded t-too.” She managed to twist around in his arms so that she was on her back looking up at him.

Her eyes made sense to him now. He’d thought they were brown at first, but now he’d taken a better look, he realized there was a cluster of black around her iris. All or partially black irises were another Torski trait. Curious, he slipped a hand under the covers and took her hand in his, counting her fingers. Five. Well, she didn’t have all the traits of her alien side, or there would only have been four.

She seemed to know what he was checking, because she bared her teeth, revealing her canines were elongated into prominent fangs. “Got-t the t-teeth, though.”

The first thought that crossed his mind was to wonder how those sharp points would feel raking across his skin. He was still lost in thought when he realized she was watching him intently, waiting for his reaction with a guarded expression. He knew the look. He’d worn it often enough himself while he waited for people to turn away. Sometimes it was the scar on his face that did it, but most of the time, it was the moment they realized what he was: a cyborg. To most, that made him nothing more than a killing machine, a corporate-owned creation with a barcode on his wrist and no soul.

He offered her a confession of his own in exchange. Without a word, he held up his left wrist to show her the barcode imprinted on his skin. Instead of pulling away, she reached up and stroked her thumb across the mark.

“Th-that ‘plains why you’re s-so damned b-big. I wond-dered.” She tossed his own words back at him with a hint of a smile.

He actually laughed at that. “You must be feeling better.”

She nodded, her hand still on his arm. That was the moment she realized her own arm was bare. Her eyes narrowed, and then she started scrambling to put some distance between them, which put her in jeopardy of falling out of bed.

“Clothes!” She managed to get out the single word without her chattering teeth breaking it up.

“You’re not wearing many. No. Now stop flailing before you end up on the floor with a concussion to add to your list of injuries.” He lifted the blanket and pointed out the fact he was still wearing pants. “I’m still mostly dressed, but skin to skin contact was the only way to get you warmed up. I don’t exactly have a med-bay in my cabin. Options were limited.”

“That b-bad?”

He nodded. “You don’t remember getting here, right?”

She shook her head.

“That’s because you were out of it. I couldn’t rouse you, and that worried me. I should have made sure you were warmer before we started walking back to the cabin, but I’m not used to worrying about anyone else, especially not a non-cyborg.”

“Shirt?”

She must have decided that if she kept to single words, it was easier to talk.

“I can get you one of mine. Yours -- uh, I had to cut it off.”

She arched a brow at that.

“Does it look like I get a lot of practice undressing beautiful women out here? I went with the expedient solution.”

“Shirt. Please.”

Something about the way she said it breathed life back into a part of his heart he thought had died the day he buried his siblings.

“I’ll be right back. I don’t promise it’ll be fashionable, but it’ll be clean.” He got out of bed and went to fetch her a shirt, ignoring the part of his brain complaining that he much preferred her to stay naked.

That part of his brain needed to shut the hell up. Naked or swaddled in three layers of blankets, it wouldn’t matter. Nothing was going to happen. Once she could get back to her ship, the sexy scout would fly out of his life. Maybe she’d repay him for saving her life by making sure that his planet stayed off Torex’s radar. All he wanted was to be left alone.

It wasn’t much to ask after all he’d been through. So, why the fraxx wasn’t the universe cooperating?