Page 34 of Surge of Heat

I hug him tighter. “So, who do I choose?”

“Well, let’s eliminate options. You don’t want to choose neither of them, right?”

“As much as you’re tempting me to just start banging you, that probably won’t solve anything, right?” I say with a laugh.

He swallows hard. “Right. So we’re eliminating the option of neither of them. What about Aydan? You can’t just choose him because he’s not a dragon, can’t protect you, can’t hide you, and you have a biological need to be with Evander. And you can’t choose Evander because you don’t trust him or love him, and you can’t give up the man you do love. Is all of that right?”

“Yes,” I say, tears pricking my eyes.

“Then the only logical option is to choose both of them.”

I frown and slowly look up into his big brown eyes. “You… you can’t be serious.”

He shrugs. “Why not? This is a brand new world for you. Traditional ideas are not meeting your needs. You need your scent covered. Regularly. Why not have two men to do that? You need one man for protection, and you want one man for love, so why not have both?”

I look out over the ocean, trying to find the words to argue about how insane this idea is, but on paper, logically, Granger is talking some sense. “Let’s say this is a good idea. How do I possibly get them on board?”

He’s staring out over the ocean too. “You ask them. You lay out the facts. You make it clear that if they don’t agree to this, you’ll be choosing one of them, and you can’t promise one of them who will be chosen. I doubt they’d be willing to risk losing you. You’re too… valuable for that.”

“Valuable, huh?” I ask, trying to ignore the rest of it.

“Like a diamond,” he says, his gaze finding me and his lips quirking. “Like a diamond vagina ring that they must keep for themselves. My precious.”

I laugh and shove him over, climbing half on top of him. “Don’t talk about my diamond ring vagina!”

He’s laughing right back. “My precious.”

“You are such a nerd! Smeagol!”

“Sam!” Evander’s shout is filled with anger.

I turn to see him storming toward us, fire in his eyes. Climbing off of Granger, I race toward him and try to stop him, but he’s charging at Granger.

“Stop it! Stop it right now!”

Granger is on his feet, hands raised to show he doesn’t mean harm. His skin is pale.

Evander keeps going, pushing me back, and I grab ahold of his shirt and shake him. “Leave him alone! You so much as touch a hair on Granger’s head and I will never speak to you again!”

His dark eyes are wild as they meet mine. “You were on top of him! You fucking smell like him!”

“We were just goofing around! He’s my friend! One of my best friends! Nothing romantic has ever happened between Granger and I and it never will, but if you touch him, nothing will ever happen betweenusagain either.”

Those dark eyes of his meet mine, and his hands slide to my waist. He pulls me roughly against him and then kisses me. Hard. My thoughts disappear as his hot mouth consumes mine, his tongue caressing mine. He starts to rub me against him, and I feel his erection. My control starts to slip, and I jerk out of his arms, not wanting Granger to endure the sight of the two of us fucking in front of him.

“Come back here,” he growls.

“Not a chance,” I say, taking another step back.

Granger is suddenly at my side, fists clenched. “Are you okay?”

I want to touch him. To reassure him. But I know Evander will snap. “I’m okay.”

Evander crosses his arms in front of his chest, looking menacing. “Well, I just came here to tell you that two dragons have changed their flying patterns and are now headed in this direction. We need to cover your scent.”

“Damn it.”

His voice gentles. “Come on. We’ll take care of this.”

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