All Vanessa Williams wanted for the holidays was to escape the demands of her parents’ social schedules and find a comfortable place to work on her book.

Having the opportunity to do so while enjoying the comforts of a cabin on an alien world seemed like the perfect way to pass the season.

Plans change, however, when her shuttle crashes in the inhospitable mountains and she finds herself waiting out the storm in an alien castle with a male whose burning gold eyes promise forbidden pleasures. Mating with an alien would be the ruin of her career and guarantee that she can never go home, and yet the more time she spends with him, the more she can’t imagine any other future.

Jor’ytal has waited many revolutions to feel the call of the a’talynal, the heartsong between himself and a compatible female. That it has happened so close to the Hashavnal, the Day of Joy, feels like destiny calling. His a’talyna is small and human, and although he dislikes the species who have colonized the southern continent of his world, he cannot help but to feel a need to protect her and desire to care for all her needs.

With the storms keeping her within his estate, it is the perfect opportunity to court his mate, even if he must evade her escort to do so. In mixing the human customs of Solstice with Hashavnal, and a solstice tree that goes terribly wrong, he is on the path to win her heart and not even a human delegation whose very presence can steal her away will deter him.