Page 26 of Surge of Ice

I laugh. “Trust me, elevators are more fun.”

Zane returns my smile, loosening his grip on the wall. Near us, Aydan, Granger, and Evander stand tensely. Like they might need to rescue me from Zane at any moment. I don’t know why their caution amuses me. It’s just hard to see Zane as threatening, although logic says I should be careful around him.

The elevator dings and the doors part into the cafeteria. Everyone files out, but Zane lingers in the elevator, glancing atthe big cafeteria with shocked eyes. My heart aches for him. I don’t remember the Iron Age, but I imagine things are a lot different right now.

“This is a room we eat in. There are people who make the food and put it under hot lights, to keep everything warm, and then we pick what we want and fill up our plates. You’ll like it. I promise.”

Still, he looks worried.

Unable to help myself, I take his hand. His skin is cold. Surprisingly cold. “Come on.”

“Sam…” Aydan says, a warning in his eyes as his gaze clings to where we’re touching.

“It’s just my hand,” I say, rolling my eyes and tugging Zane forward.

He curls his hand around mine, and it’s strange how much I like his cold skin against my warmer skin. We, very slowly, emerge from the elevator. Everyone is watching Zane, as his gaze moves from the lights overhead, slides to the plastic tables and chairs, and then moves to the food area in the back.

“I’ve never seen a room like this,” he admits slowly. “It’s a bit overwhelming.”

“Just focus on one thing at a time.” I pull his hand, and he lets me lead him to the cafeteria line.

There are a few people scattered around the room, including two female scientists who are not-so-subtly ogling Zane. I look between Zane’s nearly naked form and the women, frowning. He’s a good-looking guy, seeming to belong on a surfboard rather than in a cafeteria. Still, it bothers me more than I would have expected to see them staring at him.

Am I… jealous?I try to shake the feeling away, but can’t.

Taking a deep breath, I force a smile and hand Zane a plate on a tray. “Here you go, just follow me.”

My men grab their own plates and trays, crowding around us, almost like they’re trying to squeeze between me and Zane. Tension sings between them, which I do my best not to increase by making sure to keep a little space between Zane and I. The last thing we need is a big brawl in the cafeteria.

Turning to the food, I see that it’s seafood day. Lobster, crab, shrimp, muscles, mashed potatoes with lobster on top, seafood linguini… it’s all set out, looking incredible. I instantly go for the lobster and start loading up my plate with a little of everything. Behind me, Zane does the same, only more slowly. Granger, Aydan, and Evander follow behind him until we all have our food.

We choose one of the largest tables, then sit down. I don’t fail to notice that Aydan and Evander take the two seats next to me, forcing Granger and Zane to sit across from me. I lift a brow but don’t say anything further. For them, Aydan and Evander are actually doing pretty good.Maybe because they’ve learned to share.I smile, but try to hide it behind a bite of lobster.

Dr. Duncan and Dr. Abigail grab food too and sit at a table near us, staring at Zane. Which would be mildly annoying if the guards weren’t staring at him too. Everyone seems ready for him to lose it and go dragon. As much as I don’t blame them for their worries, my gut says we won’t be having any problems with Zane, and my gut hasn’t steered me wrong so far.

For the most part, we eat in silence while Zane inspects the room and the people in it. He sniffs a lot, which makes me sniff too in reaction. I breathe in all the scents of the room, the people, the food, but the scents that dominate my senses are those of the four men in front of me. All of them smell amazing, but in different ways.

“So, you’ve lived past lives?” Granger asks Zane, without looking at him, as he pokes the food on his plate.

Zane smiles. “I have not lived past lives. When Galiah, the great mother of the earth, the sky, and the dragons, gave birth to each dragon, she asked us whether we wanted one long life or smaller lives. She asked if we wanted to rest or if we wanted to be reborn. And each dragon made the choice for themselves. I do not remember those days, but the stories of our births are told by all the… Sleeping Dragons. I, of course, chose one long life, and the rest of my harem, and my mate, chose smaller lives. Had I known at birth what those close to me would choose, I may have decided otherwise.”

“So, you just… fall asleep every so often?” he asks, spearing a shrimp.

Zane’s smile vanishes. “No, I wait for their deaths, and then I go to sleep. A life without them is a bleak and terrible thing. My harem is my family, my best friends, and my mate is my whole heart.”

“Okay.” Granger seems to dismiss his sweet words, but it’s harder for me not to think about them. He goes to sleep when we die? That must be sad. I can’t imagine living like that. “And you just wake up when they do?”

Granger is trying to hide his disbelief, and failing. He doesn’t believe Zane. He doesn’t like him or trust him. I try to catch Granger’s eye, to silently tell him to stop, but he won’t look at me. Probably because he doesn’t want to see what I’m thinking.

“Dragons are magical creatures. Many things about us do not make sense to the ears and the eyes. One thing that always happens is that we dragons find each other. Every time. We Sleeping Dragons seek out the others and we awaken them, reminding them of what they are. Or, the Awakened Dragons find us and pull us from our slumber. Every time. Well, most times. Some lifetimes a dragon will slumber through, but not usually.”

“And you find Sam every lifetime?” Granger asks him pointedly, and he doesn’t look happy.

I glance at Aydan and Evander. They look as happy as can be with Granger’s relentless line of questioning.The bastards. They’re enjoying this.What makes it worse is that Zane seems to be oblivious to the hostility beneath Granger’s words.

The ice dragon nods. “I’ve known her every lifetime. Every lifetime she’s my mate. Every lifetime we have the same harem.”

Granger drops his fork, looking irritated. “You understand why we find that hard to believe.”

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