Page 30 of Surge of Heat

“So, what’s the plan today?” Granger asks, flashing them a smile.

Evander folds his arms in front of his chest. “For one, we’ll be working with Dr. Abigail and Dr. Duncan exclusively moving forward. I was told Dr. Griffin might not be the right person for this job, so I don’t intend to have him on this project from now on, and Dr. Williams has returned to the institute to run things from there.”

Dr. Duncan looks from me to Evander, and I get the sinking feeling they didn’t tell him exactly what Dr. Griffin said to me. Had they, I get the feeling Dr. Griffin would have received the beating of a lifetime.

“You ready, Sam?” Dr. Abigail asks with a smile.

I return her smile. “I think so.”

“Everyone else?” she asks.

They all nod.

Dr. Abigail clicks a remote and switches on a screen that has Evander and I listed next to each other, my school picture and Evander’s military ID picture at the top and then different sections down below. They must have gone into my medical record, because it lists my weight, height, and blood type. Then there are a lot of empty sections.

“Today will be a day of testing. We need blood work, x-rays, MRIs, and ultrasounds. Once we get all the information we need, we can put together a plan on, not only how to help the both of you, but how to help the world protect against the aggressive dragons that are being awakened.”

Suddenly, a hand rubs down my back. I turn and look up into Aydan’s eyes. “You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.”

I want to lean in. To bury my face in his scent. “I’m okay. I’m going to do this.”

“Are you sure?” His concerned expression makes my heart ache.

This time, I almost lean and kiss him, but I stop myself at the last possible second, feeling Evander’s gaze boring into us. “I’m sure.”

Turning away, I ignore Evander and say, “Where should I get started?”

A few minutes later, I’m on an examination table with Evander beside me. Dr. Maveric came in and took our blood samples, with Dr. Abigail and Dr. Duncan close by, and then hurried back out to get the next test setup. I can see Aydan and Granger sitting at the couch in front of the huge TV, watching the dragons move across the map.

“So, is this how it’s going to be?” Evander asks.

I try to ignore him.

“I didn’t tell you one thing, and you’re just going to shut down?”

I hope the doctors don’t take too long. I want to be out of here as fast as I can.

“You know what I think? I think you’re looking for an excuse to get mad at me so all this can be simpler, and you can just choose your non-boyfriend over me.”

I slide off the table, but he’s there in an instant, trapping me between the table and him. I glare up into his dark eyes, wanting to say a thousand things, but also wanting to make him stew. Answering him seems to be what he wants, so I don’t want to give it to him.

“And now you’re going to run away? You don’t strike me as a coward.”

I shove at his chest, but he doesn’t move an inch. If anything, he slides closer, leaning down and breathing me in. “What are you doing to me, Sam?” he murmurs.

My body tightens, and my breath comes in and out in a rush. “Move.”

“Not a chance,” he answers without hesitation, and now he’s pressing himself against me, and I become intimately aware of the fact that he’s aroused.

“You lied to me. I can’t trust you.”

He ducks down further, his breath hot against my neck. “I thought things were complicated enough. I was just trying to keep them simple.”

“Nothing about this is simple, but it gets a hell of a lot harder when I can’t trust you.”

He rubs his lips against my neck, and my knees almost buckle. “Okay. Trust is important to you. Understood. I’ll be honest from here on out.”

“Evander…”

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