Page 1 of Surge of Heat

ONE

Samantha

I awake,held tightly in the arms of a man I feel unbelievably comfortable with, for reasons I don’t understand.Evander.Dawn has arrived, illuminating the outside world through the curtains. It’s a reminder that we’ll need to be awake and moving soon. I’m naked and absolutely satisfied from the night before.With Evander.I want to snuggle deeper into his arms. I want to pretend the whole world doesn’t exist outside of the two of us, but when my thoughts slip to Aydan and Granger, every muscle in my body tenses and any chance I had at pretending is gone.

It’s tricky to slip out of Evander’s arms. He’s holding me like he wants to make certain I can’t get away from him, which shouldn’t be so hot, but it is.It’s got to be a dragon thing, because I was never like that about possessive men before.Now though, I’m not exactly human. More animalistic needs are rising inside of me that are hard to control.

Going to the fire, I find my washed and dried clothes from the day before. Unfortunately, they’re still cut to ribbons from my attack and stained with blood. I could try to wear the man’sclothes from the cabin, but they’re definitely not the right size. So, I sit down with a pair of scissors and turn my shredded top into a kind of halter top. It has sleeves, but it’s cut off right below my breasts. And I turn my shredded and blood-stained jeans into shorts. When I’m done, I put them on, knowing that it doesn’t really matter how I look, as long as I don’t attract attention in public, but glad they look half-decent.

Feeling a little better, I try my best to fix my curly red hair with my hands. But it’s like combing out a rat’s nest, and just as much fun. I stare at my reflection in the mirror, and my gaze moves from my tangled hair to the marks that cover my throat. My cheeks heat. I want to see Granger and Aydan soon, but there’s no denying exactly what the marks are, and I’m horrified imagining my best friends seeing them.

Looking away from the mirror, I decide to stop putting off what I have to do. Glancing at Evander, checking if he’s still sleeping, I pull out my phone from behind the plant and text Granger and Aydan.

I’m still in the cabin. How close are you? Are you okay? I think we’ll be leaving here soon to head to Specter Inc. If we don’t meet up at the cabin, we might have to meet up there.

The message goes out, thanks to the signal booster in the cabin, and I try to think about what else to say. I have no idea where they are on the mountain. They were near the town the last time we spoke, but the green dragon was in that area too. They’d have to leave carefully if they wanted to make it out safely.

I don’t know if they’re still in the town, if they’re on their way here, or if they’ve somehow missed this cabin and gone right past it. And with the shitty connection on the mountain, it’s unlikely they’ll get my message any time soon, but at least it’s been sent.

“Are you trying to contact the non-boyfriend again?”

I drop my phone, scramble to pick it up, and then I’m standing, eyes locked with his. His gaze is a mixture of jealousy and anger, and I don’t like it one bit. I know my dragon-side seems to think this man is mine and that I’m his, but I’m a human before I’m a dragon, and I don’t like being controlled one bit.

“It’s none of your business.”

He lifts a brow and rolls onto his back. The blanket shifts lower, only covering his waist and legs. I hungrily drink in the sight of his eight-pack, his hard chest, and his huge, tattooed arms. The gray dragon that covers one of his biceps stares back at me, his gaze as cold as Evander’s.

“Can I use your phone?”

I clutch it harder. “Why?”

“Got to get in contact with the base.”

I bite my lip, debating. We’retechnicallygoing there now. I’mtechnicallytreating this man like someone I can trust, since I’m giving myself to his scientists and praying they won’t dissect me into pieces, but some part of me doesn’t want to give up control of my phone. It’s my last lifeline to Granger and Aydan. Besides, the last time Evander got ahold of it, he didn’t give it back.

“Seriously, Sam, at some point you have to trust me. At least a little bit.” Yet, his expression is still hard to read. I’ve realized this man tends to keep his emotions carefully locked away, which doesn’t exactly encourage me to trust him more.

Yet, I did spend the entire night fucking him, letting him twist me into positions I’ve never been in before. Even now, the room smells like him, us, and sex. It makes my nipples harden, which is frustrating as hell. I willnotlet this man have power over me, but I also won’t cause problems between us for no reason.

“Promise you’ll give it back?”

He raises an eyebrow. “Yes.”

I sigh and decide the hell with it, then climb onto the bed and hand it to him. He snags it, but a hand snaps around my waist too and pulls me closer. He breathes in my scent like a man desperate for it, and groans, sucking on the soft skin at the base of my neck.

My heart hammers. “Evander…”

He stops sucking but doesn’t let me go. There seems like a long minute when he’s debating what to do with me before he releases me and rolls off the edge of the bed. As I stand, my gaze is drawn to his rather large erection. So, I guess it’s clear what he had on his mind.

Without glancing in my direction, he types out his text, so I recline back, letting my gaze drink him in. There’s so much I’m curious about. Do all dragons look like him? The green dragon hadn’t. I don’t recall the size of his dick, but I wasn’t impressed by him. And this undeniable attraction between us, does it mean that he and I are compatible as humans, or just that our dragons want to bone constantly?

My phone chimes.

“Base says they have everything ready for us. We’ll be good to go once we reach them.” Then, he clicks away on the phone for a few more seconds before he lowers it, and our gazes meet. Before I can move, he’s back on the bed, pinning me down to the mattress, my arms above my head. “You didn’t have to get dressed.”

“I thought we were leaving.” My words come out breathless.

“There’s no timeline.” He’s breathing in my scent again, his hard length pressed between my thighs.

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