Page 6 of Surge of Heat

He’s about to say something, when my phone starts to ring. I yank it out of my back pocket, see the unknown number, and answer, hoping against hope that it’s Evander. Somehow.

“Hello?”

Aydan leans over and clicks the speaker button on, but I’m so focused on the phone that I don’t even glare in his direction.

“We’re looking for Captain Evander Pierce.”

“Who is this?” I ask, my hand tightening around the phone.

There’s a moment’s hesitation. “Specter Inc.”

I release a slow breath. “This is… uh… the female dragon. The green dragon ambushed us. Evander stayed behind to fight it but should be following me shortly.”

Another pause. “Understood, but we have important information for you before you arrive at base. We’ve done as Captain Evander requested and looked into as much as we could determine about dragon females and males scenting them. Technically, all of this is a hypothesis, but it’s the best we could do.” Another pause. “Female dragons can be scented by dragon males from a long distance. We’re thinking over continents and oceans, if that gives you any indication of just how powerful a female’s scent is to the males. We suspect that because dragons were so rare, this was a biological necessity to continue the race. What’s more, female dragons’ scents should be stronger during ovulation.”

Granger waves for the phone to come closer. “So, how do we hide her scent?”

The person on the other line clears his throat. “That is private information.”

I roll my eyes. “Evander is going to be annoyed as hell when he hears that you’re allowing one of the only dragons on earth to remain in danger when you could help me.”

“But the people with you–”

“Are helping keep me alive, and they can only do that with all the information.”

There’s a loud exhale of breath. “You’re right, of course. We do want you to arrive here safely.” Another pause. “Well, it seems that a male is able to conceal her scent with semen, essentially by making her smell like the other male. This method of concealment would work best with another dragon, because their scents are so strong, but could also work with a human male if… done enough. We believe this is how female dragons were kept safe: by having a male dragon essentially claim her and keep her scent concealed beneath his.”

The car is drop dead silent.Drop. Dead. Silent.

Granger is beat red. “So, her scent has to be concealed with someone else’s? Would perfumes or cologne be enough?”

“That’s a negative,” says the man on the other end. “Well, to clarify, itdoeshelp to conceal her scent, but not enough, depending where she is in her ovulation cycle. At certain times, yes, other times, not at all.”

“Where are you in your ovulation cycle?” Granger asks me, then goes an even deeper shade of red.

“I have no idea,” I say, wanting to melt into the seat.

Granger sighs. “So, we just need to plan for the worst, which means, uh, a man needs to… cover her with his scent? That requires sex, correct?” he asks, like we all need the clarification.

“Uh, affirmative,” the man says again. “At least that’s what the research shows. Once we have blood samples and imaging, we may be able to figure out a less… invasive way of covering her scent, but that’s all we have for now.”

This is horrifying.“Thanks for letting us know.”

The man continues. “It should be made explicitly clear that we don’t want to lead angry dragons right to our base. And I mean dragons. There are reports coming in from all over the world of dragon sightings. The female dragon, that is, er, you, may find yourself pursued by multiple males. With this information, and accepting how dangerous dragons are, there is no way you should arrive on base without your scent being properly masked.”

Properly masked? Hell.“So, uh, how long does it last? You know, if a female’s scent has been covered? How often do I have to… do it?”

Granger and Aydan are both staring at me.Hard.

“That’s hard to determine without the evidence we require from blood and other bodily fluids. This is all speculation. So, we’re only guessing, but it seems likely the female should plan on being properly covered shortly before coming to base. Enough of a distance away that the male dragons won’t know exactly where to look.”

I refuse to look at any of them, so Granger answers, “Got it. We’ll, uh, take care of it.”

“We’ll be sending our coordinates to you shortly. And please pass on this information to the Captain. We’ll be here waiting for you.”

The call ends. Silence descends. I slide my phone back in my pocket and stare out the window at the trees passing by like there’s nothing more important than those trees. But it’s hard to pull off when I can feel Aydan’s gaze burning into the back of my head.

“So how long has it been?” Aydan asks, his voice dangerously low.

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