distracted. They hadn’t come here to get laid. Their mission was to bring the Golden Horde technology back to the US and keep Samantha—Dr. Park—safe in the meantime.
Speaking of distracted…
Thor was fascinated by Samantha’s explanation of how she used differences in the Cosmic Microwave Background to map distant galaxy clusters. He didn’t fully understand the science, but he got the basic principles. Samantha had come alive while talking about her work, her pretty face lighting up, her reserve falling away.
“Am I boring you?” she’d asked.
“Not at all.” He admired both her expertise and her passion.
As far as Thor was concerned, intelligence was fucking sexy.
“Hey, Viking.” Jones elbowed Thor, bringing him back to the present. “Kristi asked where you got that big scar on your thigh.”
“I fell on my own knife while on the sea ice in Northeastern Greenland as part of Sirius Dogsled Patrol.” It had been a stupid accident, a tumble on his skis that had cost them hours of travel and put him at risk for infection. “I had to suture it myself.”
Kristi studied it. “It looks like you did a good job. What are those scars on your wrists and forearms?”
“Dog bites.” It had been a hazard of the job. “When one of the females on the sled team goes into heat, the males fight each other. I had to break it up.”
“Ouch!”
“I have heard of this Sirius,” Vasily said. “You are Danish then, yes?”
Thor met the man’s gaze. “Yes.”
Someone knocked on the door. “It’s time!”
Thor stood, anticipating the thrill of stepping into the cold.
“Remember, men, cover your genitals with your hands once we get outside,” Hardin said. “A dick can get frostbite pretty quickly at a hundred and two below. Kristi, you’ll want to cover your, uh, chest. Also, don’t run. The cold air will do a number on your lungs if you do.”
Hardin pushed open the sauna door, and they walked out one by one.
Thor stepped into his boots, dropped his towel, and moved toward the door.
“Check out the size of their dicks,” said a woman’s hushed voice. “Who wouldn’t want that inside them?”
Another moaned. “What about the six-packs?”
“How long are they staying?” asked yet another.
Giggles.
Had they never seen an adult male body before?
Nudity just wasn’t a big deal in Thor’s culture. People went nude on Danish beaches and in public parks all the time—senior citizens, pregnant women, little kids.
Samantha stood alone near the door, bundled into her parka. Her gaze jerked from Thor’s cock to his face, a rosy flush in her cheeks. “Be careful out there.”
Thor couldn’t help but smile, amused. “Thanks.”
He followed Hardin outside, cupped himself with his hands, and hurried down the stairs to the ice, Jones and Kristi behind him. Steam rose off his body, the cold making his skin tingle. Cheering people in parkas and masks motioned them forward with flashlights, creating a guided path through the dark to their goal several hundred feet away—the ceremonial South Pole.
“This feels fantastic!” Kristi shook her head. “My hair already has icicles in it.”
Thor kept a brisk pace, boots squeaking, his breath turning to ice crystals.
“I’m starting to feel the cold,” Jones said. “How about you, Viking?”
“It’s …” he searched for the English word for forfriskende… “refreshing.”
Jones laughed. “Would you listen to him?”
“What does your tattoo symbolize?” Kristi asked from behind him.
It took Thor a moment to realize she was speaking to him.
“It’s just a raven. That’s my middle name. Ravn.”
Thor smiled up at the sky, the aurora blazing around them, the Milky Way stretching into the distance overhead. He wanted to absorb it all—the stunning beauty of the sky, the scent of the ice, the clean air, the sharp tingle of cold against his skin.
There ahead, stood someone waving a flashlight, the flags that surrounded their goal barely moving in the breeze. As they drew closer, Thor saw the marker—what looked like a barbershop pole with a silver ball on top.
The ceremonial South Pole.
Kristi cheered as they circled it and started back toward the station. “This is crazy. I’ve got frost on my pubes.”
They walked faster on the way back, the heat from the sauna largely dissipated, the cold growing uncomfortable. Back to the station, up the stairs, and inside again.
They were welcomed back like heroes with cheers and applause.
Samantha stood just inside the door, worry on her face. She walked over to Thor, spoke quietly so no one would overhear. “It’s Vasily. When you all left, he got dressed again and went downstairs toward your berthing area with the other