Page 50 of Surge of Ice

I laugh, and it eases some of the tension inside of me. He’s right: the only way they’re happy is if I’m lying in bed withmy legs spread. Anywhere else, and they’re too busy playing protective dragon lovers to let me have any fun. Unlike Zane who… just treats me like my own woman.Is that an ice dragon thing?I’m not sure, but it’s nice.

Unbuckling, I climb out of the car. Of course, they’re already there, glaring. Behind me, I can hear Zane struggling with the door, but I keep my focus on the three angry men in front of me.

“Hey–” I say, planning to tell them about Dahlia, but I’m cut off.

“You’re hurt!” Aydan exclaims.

I don’t know what I look like, but it can’t be too bad. “Just some fighting with humans. Nothing too serious.”

“Fighting with humans?” Evander repeats, sounding angry.

But before I can answer him, Aydan starts talking. “Where the hell did you go?” he asks, his jaw ticking.

“Dahlia called. She needed help after the trouble with the brown dragon and the riots. She was trapped and scared.”

She was right to be too.My mind flashes back to her hitting her head, and I flinch. We need to get her seen.Now. Not stand here and have me explain myself like an errant child.

“And you couldn’t take a few minutes to text or call me back that you were okay?” Granger asks, sounding upset.

Confused, I check my phone. Sure enough, it had died. “Sorry,” I say, flashing him the black screen. “But can we take care of Dahlia first and fight later?”

Evander gives me an incredulous look.Apparently not.“So when your friend called you, your solution was to drive across the city, right into danger?”

Zane’s door opens behind me, but I don’t look back. “The dragon was gone. I was fine. Besides, I took Zane with me.”

Yup, that didn’t help. Talk about adding fuel to the fire dragons.

“You barely know this dragon,” Aydan says, huffing. “You can’t just take off with him and trust that you’ll be okay.”

“Listen–”

“Guess what?” Zane calls behind me. I turn to look as he holds up the mess of the cat by the back of its neck. It’s snarling and very obviously not a cute and cuddly kitten. “I found this little girl. She is going to be my pet. Do you want to help me name her?”

I look back at the two men. “Yeah, he’s a dangerous beast. I was really taking my life into my hands by going out with him.” Don’t let him distract you. “But let’s focus on what’s important: Dahlia.”

Aydan’s blue eyes flash with anger, and then he does something I was dreading. He sniffs. And sniffs. And moves closer. “Why the fuck do you smell likehim?”

“My Samantha and I kissed,” Zane explains sweetly. “A lot. It was very nice.”

Aydan has that tick in his jaw again. “He left marks on your neck.”

I shrug and give a helpless look, letting whatever tumbles out of my mouth come out. “It’s a dragon thing.”

Yeah, that wasn’t the right thing to say…

“Dragons can keep it in their pants,” Evander says drily.

I can’t help myself. “I’ll remember that when you boys come knocking tonight.”

Both of them look ready for a fight. Their hands are clenched into fists, and they’re eyeing Zane, which is probably hard to do while he’s cooing at the cat that’s trying to tear off his face.

“Look,” I say. “Seriously, Dahlia got hurt. Can we just take her inside and get her checked over by the doctors and worry about the rest of this later?”

“We can do both,” Aydan says, giving me a look as he opens the back door.

Evander ducks in, and, more gently than I thought possible, picks up Dahlia. I think when the guys actually see her, it clicks with them that I wasn’t just talking out of my ass about her being hurt. Their movements become faster, their expressions more serious. Our group heads for the correct building, tension between us.

Zane puts the cat back in the box. “I also need to tend to my new pet. I don't know what my new cat needs in this house, but maybe you can help. She will need a place to feel safe before she starts trusting me… Oh, and to bathe. She smells… unpleasant.”

---