Page 19 of Surge of Fire

“What do you think she’s planning?”

I tear my gaze from her back to him. “What do you mean?”

His expression is hard to read. “Do you think she’s planning on… entertaining a lot of gentlemen callers over the summer?”

Oh, hell.“Are you asking me if Sam plans to fuck her way through the students here?” He flinches at the anger in my voice, so I try to control it. “Well, it doesn’t really matter what she wants, I’m not going to let anyone touch her.”

Granger sighs.

“What?” I snap, looking back at her. Will has his fucking hand on her knee.

“I mean, we can’t really stop her. She’s an adult. This isn’t high school any longer. We can’t just scare off anyone who takes an interest in our girl.”

I snort. “Says who?”

“Seriously, Aydan, you don’t want to lose her as a friend. What do you think going all caveman on her is going to do?” Granger starts drinking his drink, well, slamming it. Which tells me he’s probably bothered by Sam’s behavior, too.

I take a slow breath. “I’ll try to handle it.”To control myself.“But no promises.”

He nods, and I continue my warpath to Sam with Granger at my side. He’s not trailing me. He’s at my side, like he thinks he’s going to have to stop me from doing something stupid. Which, he might.

“You seriously saved a wolf? That’s awesome,” Will says beside Sam, his hand traveling just a little higher as they share a laugh.

Bro Number One laughs just a little louder. “Your parents must have thought you were crazy!”

“My parents wouldn’t even let me out front by myself!” Bro Number Two exclaims.

Sam’s gaze glides over Granger and connects with mine before her eyes widen, and her smile shifts to one that looksa little more forced. “And here is the rest of the Wolf Pack, Granger and Aydan.”

All eyes turn to us. I nod, but I can’t even pretend to be welcoming. Luckily, Granger is the man when it comes to this kind of shit. “And saving a wolf was just one of the many crazy things we did as kids. I think between the three of us, we have the top collection ofalmostbroken bones and plenty of stitches.”

Almostbeing the keyword. Somehow, we never got too injured as kids. It had to have been pure luck. Not that these assholes deserve to hear about it.

“So how did you three manage to qualify to get into the Phoenix Institute?” Will asks, then clarifies, “I mean, three kids who grew up together, all becoming science majors and getting into an elite program is pretty amazing.”

None of your business, pretty boy.

Sam answers before Granger can. “We actually got accepted from separate colleges… well, me, I'm from a separate college from them. This is the first time we’ve been together since starting university.”

Will is sizing me up. They all are. It’s clear from the looks on their faces they can’t tell if we’re just friends, or if we’re guys who are about to beat the shit out of them for hitting on our girl. I make sure to not reassure them in any way, although Will knows the truth.

“Wow, so you guys went from near-death experiences together to separate colleges to this program, huh?” Will asks, taking a sip of his drink, his gaze shifting from me to her.

“I bet you guys were in and out of the ER as kids,” Guy Number One offers, trying to stay in the game. “I broke my arm as a kid playing football, but that was it.”

“The funny thing is that none of us has ever broken a bone,” Sam says. She shifts on the log, and my gaze goes to his hand. Still. On. Her. Leg.

I bet I could kill him and make it look like an accident. Just push him off the path the next time we’re going into the shaft. Or knock him off the edge of the mountain. There are a lot of ways he could die in a place like this.

Granger catches my eye, and I swear he can tell exactly what I’m thinking. He shakes his head a little, finishes his beer, then grabs my arm and says, “Want another?”

I finish mine, but say, “No, I’m good.”

“Let’s get another one,” he insists a little more.

I shake my head, and he snags my beer and throws both of our bottles out while I focus on Will and the hand that he so desperately wants to have removed. He shifts it a little lower, onto her bare skin beneath her itty-bitty fucking shorts. My pulse picks up, filling my ears.

“So, Will, you going into firefighting?”

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