Jude knows he isn’t relationship material. The entire population of Mars made it abundantly clear he’s damaged goods, and he agrees. His issues are why he works a remote job flying around the galaxy prospecting for metals, and why he ruthlessly quashes any feelings for Cal, his surveying partner.<br><br>Cal has been looking for an opening to suggest he and Jude could be more than friendly coworkers. When they crash on a tundra planet, the men have a lot of free time, and they put it to good use having sex. It’s fun, but Cal wants Jude as a boyfriend, not a friend with benefits.<br><br>Marooned on a hostile world, with Jude’s demons rearing their heads, Cal’s first task is to keep the two of them alive. His second is to convince Jude that, no matter how much he’s suffered, romance can still be in the cards.

Snowed In: Jude and Cal

“What else do we have to do out here? There are only so many times I can beat you at chess.”


“I’ll win one of these days.” Jude’s chess game was improving, though admittedly it still had a ways to go if he was going to be Cal’s equal. “Speaking of being thorough, steer us past that big rock to port, will you? I want to get a good scan.”


“And if it’s something that’ll earn us a bonus, I get my share, right?”


Jude wouldn’t actually stiff Cal out of a bonus. It was a shitty move to pull on anyone, not least a crush-worthy friend. And, he reminded himself, he wasn’t supposed to think of Cal as crush-worthy. Sexy was one thing. Nothing wrong with appreciating a good-looking guy, and what Cal didn’t know about Jude’s fantasy scenarios wouldn’t hurt him. Feelings were another matter entirely, and Jude obviously needed to work on his compartmentalization later.


Chapter 3