She takes a deep breath and stops responding to my questions. I’m relieved; a peaceful sleep will help her body heal properly.

So she has come to Attala in order to find a material that will save her home. My heart sinks inside of me. My heart that has felt nothing but disappointment and regret until Margo. Now, it beats strongly and fiercely - for her. Beating away inside of me like it has finally found its purpose to go on. Still, a fear gnaws at me. Fear that the mission that brought her to me is going to be the same one that will take her away. She won’t be able to stay if so many lives depend on her success.

What an incredibly brave, smart woman. And all I can think about is how I need her to be mine. My acute senses notice everything about her. I’m surrounded by her scent. It’s intoxicating. I’d give anything if only I could bury my face in her cunt and lick her nectar like I did in our dream.

Yes, our dream. Because though she made no mention of it, I experienced it with her. After the long excruciating day, I nodded off next to her bed and awoke to her cries of pleasure. My cock was as hard as steel and every ounce of my being wanted to delve into her warm, wet depths. It has been so long since I have been with a woman and once I claim Margo as mine, there will never be another for the rest of my life.

Even now, I’m fighting the urge to crawl in bed with her and caress her soft skin with my hands. My body heat will keep her warm and comfortable because humans were not made for such cold. But though I know she enjoyed the dream and the things I did to her, I don’t know how she would react to my advances while she is stranded out here in a strange place.

She is bound by her duty and it is one of the things I admire most about her. One of the things that I can easily understand because I am bound by my duty and oath as well.

I welcome the interruption when Kjallak appears quietly in the room. I need a distraction or I’ll go crazy tossing things around in my mind all night. Going over every scenario for how things might play out.

“A word, Lodyn?” Kjallak asks quietly.

I stand up and hesitantly follow him out of the room. “Briefly. I can’t be gone long now that the heat is down.”

“This won’t take long.” Kjallak walks down the corridor leading to the main control center. “Branyx is on watch, making a continuous loop between the two main access doors to the ship. If anyone comes knocking, we’ll know about it.”

“Good,” I say, stopping for a moment to look out the small window at the top of the main door. I see nothing but white outside the window. The snow is whipping past so fast it is hard to distinguish anything. The only reassurance I feel is from the fact that the Salthu wouldn’t make it far in a storm like this either. For now, we’re safe.

Kjallak is standing in front of the main control board once I make my way to him. I know what he’s going to say before he says it. The entire board is black, void of any signs of power, except for the red light at the top of the console that is continuously beeping.

“A homing beacon,” I say, my arms instinctively crossing over my chest.

“Yes. She was holding a device in her hand when we left the ship.”

“I saw that.”

“Was it on her when you carried her back to the ship?”

“I didn’t see it, but I wasn’t looking for it either. I’ll check her clothes to see if it’s in the pockets.”

“If not, we need to find it. The ship will probably be covered in snow from the storm by morning. Even though it isn’t ideal, the storm is providing camouflage from anyone looking into that crash. If the Salthu stumble onto the homing device, though, it’ll lead them directly to us.”

“Shit. Yes it will.” Before I panic and assume the worst, I turn and walk back into the sleeping quarters. Margo’s clothes are laid out so they’ll dry. I go directly to them. There’s only a small glimmer of hope as I begin to check the pockets. I already have a bad feeling that it isn’t going to be where I want it to be. Our luck just hasn’t gone that way so far.

I check the last pocket on the coat and it is what I feared. No device. Which means it’s somewhere in the snow for anyone to find. I look over at Margo, still sound asleep bundled under her blankets. If she were awake, I know that she’d be on her feet throwing on her gear to go back out and find it. And I’d refuse to let her go so in order to placate her, I’d go instead.

I don’t want to leave her while she’s healing but I also know that we need to recover the device. Determined to make fast progress so I can be by her side again, I rush back down the hallway. Kjallak is standing at the ready by the front hatch.

“You know me well, Kjallak,” I say, grasping his forearm in appreciation.

“It’s the sensible thing to do and you’re always thinking logically.”

He hands me a guard for my face and I slip it on. It’s useful for keeping the relentless snow from being a distraction while we search for the beacon. Before we open the main door, I use the same belt to tether myself to Kjallak. The last thing we need is someone else getting lost or hurt while we’re stranded in the middle of nowhere. And with threats all around us, I can’t afford to lose Kjallak or Branyx.

Branyx is at the door when we leave, wishing us luck as he closes it behind him. The sound of the wind is so strong, I can’t hear the bolts click behind us,. I was being completely honest when I told Margo that I can’t even begin to picture what summer would look like. I wonder if she was hallucinating from the pain medication. Either way, it’s something that would be amazing to behold.

I’m about to turn around and tell Kjllak that I’m going to try to retrace our steps when I realize that he won’t hear me over the storm anyway. Instead, I start walking, knowing he’ll be following close behind.

We were made for this weather, these conditions. I still feel the cold, but it doesn’t have any adverse impact on my body. I’m not susceptible to hypothermia or frostbite. That doesn’t mean I love being out in the snow. Our large bodies are well adept to handle moving through huge snow drifts and we have certain adaptations that assist us. Our boots have a wide base that we can release when on snow and it helps to keep us from constantly sinking down into the drifts.

As we walk, my mind drifts back to Margo. She consumes most of my thoughts lately. Human bodies appear to be so fragile compared to my people. Yes, she has a fire inside of her that rivals any of my brothers but there’s also her delicate physical form. There are five hundred ways she could die on this planet but I still don’t want her to leave. All I can think about is how badly I want to feel my skin on hers. How I want to feel her lush curves under my hands, pull her large breasts into my mouth, and work her over with my tongue.

My thoughts are interrupted by two quick jerks on the tether around my waist. I look back and Kjallak is pointing off to the right where there’s a dim red light glowing under the snow. I give him a thumbs-up and head in that direction.

Margo is officially under my skin. I completely forgot about my purpose out here when I started thinking about her body. I was imagining what my cock would feel like deep inside of her while Kjallak remained focused. This is exactly the reason why we took an oath of celibacy when we joined the guard. Mating is a distraction and as warriors we can’t afford to let these kinds of distractions deter us from the jobs we need to do.

Perhaps when we return to the ship, I’ll have Kjallak take a shift watching over Margo. But just the thought of it makes jealousy flare inside of me. My mating instinct has declared that she will be mine and I don’t know how to fight such a strong desire. All I do know is that regardless of what I choose to do, my life is never going to be the same.

* * *

A few hours have already passed by the time we make it back to the ship. It took much longer than I wanted it to, but we have the device. Then without a second thought, I’m already walking back to the sleeping quarters to check on Margo.

The dim light illuminates her form under the covers when I quietly walk inside. She’s still sleeping but I notice right away how cold it is in here now. Even using the heating cube, the room isn’t as warm as if I would have been here with her.

As I walk over to the bed, I notice that Margo is shaking under the covers, her teeth chattering. My first reaction is to get really pissed at Branyx. He should have checked on her while we were gone, sitting in here to help warm her with his body heat.

But the need to make sure she is warm wins out over chewing out Branyx. Instead I strip out of my damp clothes and make the impulsive decision to crawl into bed with her. I wrap a towel around my waist and recline on the covers next to her, keeping her blanket between us in the interest of propriety. Snuggling close and giving her my warmth is the fastest way to get her to stop shaking.

she exhales a soft moan and curls into my chest. She’s already stopped shaking and her skin is warm to the touch. Her arms are tucked up against my body.

Fuck, it feels so good to hold her in my arms. Somehow I’m supposed to fight this. I’m supposed to choose my brothers’ and my oath. I’m supposed to be a warrior defending his city from the dangers of our planet. I’m not supposed to want this feisty human who has stolen my heart.

But I do.