He offered them escape. He never expected to find a family.

Former trauma nurse Kara Macintosh is a survivor. When she and her non-verbal son Rory are abducted by aliens, she fights with everything she has to keep them together, only to have the pair of them sold to the owner of a brutal asteroid mine. Although her medical skills are enough to keep them alive, it’s a constant battle for survival—until a huge scarred Cire warrior comes to their rescue.

Captain Thraxar doesn’t get involved. Since the future of his race was destroyed by the Red Death, he survives by keeping his distance—from danger, from others, and especially from feelings. Despite his rules, he can’t resist coming to the aid of a beautiful, defiant female and her silent child. He promises to take them to safety, even though safety is hard to find in this part of the galaxy.

Experience has taught Kara to be wary of anyone who seems too good to be true, but Thraxar’s gruff kindness and his patience with Rory quickly start to win her over. Her suspicion turns first to trust, and then to an unexpected passion. When they add a feral alien child to their odd little group, she realizes that more than desire binds them together—they are creating the family she has always wanted.

But danger still hunts them, and claiming their future means confronting the scars of the past. When danger returns, will love be enough to hold them together?