Page 60 of Surge of Heat

“I still beat you on those tests.”

“By barely anything.”

I lift a brow. “By enough that it counts.”

Aydan gives a little shrug. “I have the kind of strength that allows me to be fast too. You’re like a tank.”

“Tanks are capable of a lot of damage.”

“Until they get one wheel off the road, and then they’re useless,” he says. “Have you ever seen those stupid tanks on their side? They’re not all that impressive then.”

Dr. Duncan continues, like he’s not listening to us at all. “Now, to test you as dragons.”

“As dragons?” Sam sounds nervous.

Dr. Duncan lowers his clipboard. “As an institute that specializes in dragons, we’re equipped with military-grade protection, including air protection. The system isn’t perfect, as we’ve already seen. It wasn’t even armed when you first got here, but it’s armed and at the ready today. If the green dragon gets anywhere near our base, we’ll take care of him.”

She nods and wraps her arms around herself.

I’m about to reach for her when Aydan pulls her against him. She melds into his body, sighing, and every muscle in my body tenses. Even though she smells like me, I don’t want her anywhere near him. If she’s upset, or worried, she should be in my arms, not his.

Dr. Duncan heads for the elevator and holds it open so we can all go in. Aydan keeps his arm around Sam, and I have to grit my teeth to stop myself from losing it on his cocky ass. Granger is standing beside them, giving me a look, one that says he’s enjoying watching me suffer.

Outside, the air is fresh and cool, instantly soothing something inside of me. I’ve begun to realize that I miss being in my dragon body when I’m human. Sometimes I just start to feel like I’m crammed in this body and can’t breathe.

Near the cliff, there are several research assistants and a ton of gear. They’re obviously here to get all our numbers. I just hope they can do something useful with the information.

Dr. Duncan leads us out to the research assistants, and then rounds on us. “Once you shift, we’re going to clip a couple of monitors on you and see what happens.”

“To see who’s fastest,” Sam says with a grin.

“And strongest,” I tell her right back.

Aydan just folds his arms over his chest, glaring. I enjoy his anger. It means I’m getting to him. Maybe with enough time he’ll decide it’s not worth it and walk away.One can hope.Although, he has held out for her for twenty-some years…

Dr. Duncan continues. “Since you can communicate with each other in dragon form, we’re going to have you all pick one spot to start from, to race, to see how fast you are. And see those boulders on the edge of the cliff over there?” We all look where he’s pointing, and then he explains. “We’re going to have you try to roll some of them into the ocean. One at a time.”

“Got it,” I say. “Anything else?”

“For now, that’s all,” he says.

“Spread out and shift,” Granger says, his gaze clinging to my woman. “And stay close to Sam the whole time, just in case.”

The asshole didn’t need to tell us that. His words basically mean he doesn’t trust us to protect her on our own, which is annoying as fuck. He’s sly, that one. Really sly.

We shift one after another, and I stretch my wings out, feeling good. Feeling free. I let my gaze run over Sam and Aydan. Sam is definitely smaller than us, easily half our size. Everything about her is delicate, including her bones and wings. Aydan, beside her, is nearly my size. The difference between us is smaller than I like, but I do think I’m marginally bigger.

And, hell, even an inch or two difference makes me happy. As long as I’m bigger.

Dr. Duncan and his assistants carefully clip a couple of monitors on our wings. When they’re done, and standing farenough back, I shoot into the sky, feeling the others following me. The air around me is a rush of life, and I feel amazing. Free.

My wings spread out around me, and I dart through the clouds. Once there, I stop and breathe in the world. Sam is already there, spinning around, her scent intoxicating. Her beautiful dragon body calls to me.

And then there’s Aydan. To my surprise, his scent isn’t bad, and I realize it’s never been bad. Not like the green dragon’s, which I detest. In our dragon forms, it’s harder to ignore the fact that his scent is almost… pleasant. Almost, but not quite.

How do we want to do this? Aydan says into our minds.

Sam’s voice comes next.Let’s go far out over the ocean and then race back to shore. The shoreline can be the finish line.

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