Page 47 of Surge of Ice

EIGHTEEN

Evander

The city passesby my window in a blur of movement. Beside me, Aydan taps his foot over and over again, a sure sign that he’s nervous about the news conference. Luckily for him, all he has to do is go dragon. The rest is up to me.

I’m not even nervous.ThisI can handle.

Because this isn’t my first rodeo. From the day I inherited my grandparent’s assets, I’ve been in the spotlight, my every move scrutinized, my every word impacting my various companies. It was a stiff learning curve, and I feel that I’ve mastered it. Even if I never thought I’d be having a press conference to talk about living dragons.

“So, what? Flash them a pretty smile and feed them shit?” Aydan asks next to me.

I give him a serious look. “You’ve done this before?”

He waves me off with a laugh. “That’s what all you guys do.”

It’s hard to deny it. Being rich and powerful means that everyone wants a piece of me. I could spend all my days in litigation just for being honest, so I’m not. I dance around thetruth and commit to nothing, unless I have to. I don’t go so far as to have my attorney read over everything I say before I say it, but I do choose my words with care.

“Do you know the plan?”

Aydan rolls his eyes. “It’s not hard. Wait for your signal, then go dragon. And don’t let them see me in human form beforehand.”

“Right. You got it.”

My thoughts stray where they’re not supposed to: Sam. She’s back at base with fucking Zane, and I don’t know how to feel about it. Zane and Sam ending up together feels like… gravity. Like something I can’t stop no matter how I try.

With Aydan, it truly felt like we were competition, like one of us would win her for our own. Every time I looked at him, I felt this deep sense that it was him or I. Until we’d shared her. Then, it felt like everything clicked into place.

I want to keep fighting him now, but the deep anger is gone. Now, I feel like we’re two dogs fighting over a bone. A bone we’re going to fight over every day, because it keeps us from being bored. It’s a strange feeling, and a big change from before.

All of this is just a lot. Too many relationships changing. Relationships I never imagined happening sliding into place and becoming very important in my life. Even freaking Granger is starting to feel more like my brother than an irritating little bug.

I don’t know what to do with all of this, and it’s driving me out of my mind.

Turning to Aydan, I hesitate. Talking to someone about this would help a lot, but I’ve never been the type to talk about my feelings. It feels wrong. Like wearing a suit that’s too tight.

Those deep blue eyes of his meet mine. “What?”

“Nothing,” comes out automatically.

He lifts a brow. “It’s something.”

I struggle to find the words. “Zane.”

“Ah.” He looks back out the window. “Zane. Right.”

“I mean, we can’t just… let them be together. Right?”

He’s back to tapping his foot. “I kind of want to smash his face in and forbid Sam from being near him, but I saw how well that went with you.”

I snort. “So, what do we do?”

Aydan runs his hand through his blond hair. “Honestly, I think we slow things down between them as much as possible, but…”

He doesn’t say more. “But?”

“But, I mean, don’t you get the sense that he’s telling the truth about us, her, this harem, and him? The more I think about it, the more it makes logical sense. Unfortunately, I’m not exactly driven by logic.”

“Logic? Try your dick.”

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