Page 8 of Surge of Heat

She glances at Aydan as if in disbelief that we’re still not done, but Aydan doesn’t notice. “I’ll take the Dr. Pepper and the Mighty Meat Slammer too, along with the All That Meat Omelet, and the Classic Cheeseburger and Fries.”

The waitress stops staring and starts writing. She scribbles for a full minute before she glances at us again, probably noticing how dirty and banged up we look. “Okay, uh, that will be right out.”

When she goes behind the counter, my gaze moves back up to the TV, and I see Evander and the green dragon fighting as the helicopter films them from a distance. Watching it from this angle, I see things I hadn’t been able to from below. The greendragon crashes into him from behind, and an already-injured Evander goes tumbling through the sky before smashing into the earth.

I cry out, then press a hand over my mouth. The video continues, from afar, for a long minute, but Evander doesn’t get up. Then, it switches to a reporter.

My throat feels tight. My body feels hot. I’m not sure I can breathe. The aching in my chest changes to a painful twisting.

“If it killed him, it saves us some trouble,” Aydan says.

My gaze swings to him, and I realize he’s been watching me. “Don’t say that.”

“Why?”

I shake my head, unwilling to tell him how I feel. I know he’ll just be an ass about it.

“Come on, say it! We all know it!”

Words come exploding from me. “What the hell do you want from me? I care about him, okay? Is that such a terrible thing?”

For a second, I think he’s going to break the damn table, but then he slides angrily out of the booth and stomps off. I don’t take a breath until I hear the door jingle and shut behind him. Upset, I don’t even bother to look at where he went. Instead, I slide closer to Granger, and he immediately wraps an arm around me. I snuggle into his big frame, feeling tears slipping onto his shirt.

Inhaling deeply, I’m surprised by his scent. There’s the coppery scent of blood and dirt, but there’s alsohisscents. Of soap and books. It puts me at ease. Like some part of me knew this scent was his, even as children, and now I connect it with him and safety. All things Granger. All things I love and feel safe with.

“I’m sorry you’re going through this,” he says, and his voice vibrates through his chest.

“Th-thanks,” I say, followed by a sniff.

One of my tears falls on the arm that’s in the sling. I reach down and rub it away, then keep my hand on his. “I’m sorry you got hurt. But thanks for coming after me.”

He kisses the top of my head. “I’m always going to come after you like a hostile NPC with a vengeance.”

A hostile NPC, meaning a nonplayable character in a video game, like the damn wolves in Minecraft. You attack them, and they won’t stop coming after you until you, or they, die. Which is nerdy as hell. But also super sweet.

“Same.” I lean up and attempt a smile. “Dragon or no dragon, I’m always going to be there for you guys.”

His expression softens, and he uses his thumb to wipe away a tear on my face.

I sigh. “What am I supposed to do about Aydan?”

He drops his hand and looks away in a rush. “You know how… protective he is of you.”

“Yeah, I know. The guy has shown his ass enough times when it comes to being protective of me. But the thing he doesn’t understand is that this stuff with Evander and I… it’s dragon stuff, not human stuff.”

His gaze swings back to me. “Are you sleeping with him?”

The question catches me off-guard. Why does it matter? I’m about to bark exactly that, but then I remember this is Granger, not Aydan. He’s not going to be an ass about it. “Yes.”

His shoulders slump, probably because he’s thinking about how bad all of this is when it comes to the angry guy probably pacing outside. “That does… complicate things.” He hesitates. “If he survives the green dragon, are you going to keep sleeping with him?”

I don’t want to consider the possibility that he’s not okay. He has to be. I rub the spot over my heart again, aching to see Evander. I need to know that he’s okay, despite the fact that my human-self still doesn’t quite trust him.

“Honestly? Probably.”

He inches away from me. “Aydan isn’t going to be able to handle that.”

The waitress drops off our drinks, and I take a deep breath, speaking in a softer voice. “Granger, you don’t get it. Since I’ve become a dragon, everything has changed. My needs. My wants. It’s hard. I mean, Evander smellssogood, you have no idea.”

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