Page 30 of Surge of Ice

“So you are wise and large. Those are valuable traits in a mate.”

Granger blushes. “Uh–”

“He’s complimenting you,” I tell Granger, the words rushing out. “A lot of ladies like their men big and strong.”

“Not any that I’ve met,” he mumbles, his cheeks still bright red.

“Then, you haven’t met the right women,” I say, grinning.

To my surprise, Zane continues. “She is correct. If a tall, strong, intelligent male like you has not found a female yet, it is because he has not come across the right female. With time, you will find a mate.”

There’s so much going on, so much that Zane doesn’t understand, like that Granger isn’t a huge fan of him, and that our society isn’t nearly as simple as it used to be, but the fact that he’s complimenting and reassuring Granger warms my heart. He’s a good guy. I mean, I think I already knew that, but he’s reinforcing the fact that my instincts were right about him.

The elevator beeps again, and Evander exits, looking exhausted. I swear there are bags under his eyes that I’ve never seen before, and a tightness to his shoulders that whispers of stress. I frown, worried about him.

Crossing the room, I pull him into a hug, and after a second, he wraps himself around me, breathing me in. Unable to help myself, I breathe in his scent too, and our sweet moment starts to feel a little less sweet. His hands move over my back, shifting around as if he can’t decide which part of me he wants to touch.

“Okay,” Aydan says, irritation in his voice.

I pull away, feeling embarrassed. “You alright?”

Evander sighs. “I can’t discuss everything that happened, but the government is now aware that I have a relationship with multiple dragons, and that I’m providing them with housing and safe skies to fly in. They won’t be getting much more information from me, including all of our secret identities. That information would be too powerful in the wrong hands.”

“And how did they respond to that?” Granger asks, frowning.

“With a lot of chaos. I can tell they’re trying to figure out what to do with dragons themselves. Are they a new creature that poses a threat to humanity? Are they a tool they can use to gain more control over the skies? Are they beings that they need tolearn to coexist with?” He shakes his head. “None of them have made contact with any dragons. They have almost no data about them, and they suddenly see me as a source of information that they want to acquire before any other government can get its hands on me.”

“Sounds like a government,” Granger says.

“Exactly.” Evander goes and sits on the big couch.

When I go to sit next to him, he pulls me into his lap. I regard Aydan carefully. He doesn’t look happy, but he doesn’t look like he’s going to lose it either, so I relax back. Everyone takes a seat, and silence descends between us for a moment before Zane speaks.

“Humans have always had mixed feelings about the presence of dragons. Luckily, they are not powerful enough to do anything about us.”

“That might be true of the humans you remember. Things have changed,” Aydan tells him. “Humans have a number of really dangerous weapons capable of killing dragons.”

Zane looks shocked.

Granger adds, “For this to work, dragons and humans are going to have to find a way to coexist.”

Evander rubs my hips slowly, already hard beneath me. “The government needs to see proof that dragons aren’t just mindless beasts. If I can show them that dragons are intelligent beings, they’ll have to treat them as such. We need them to do that if we want to stay safe.”

I try not to moan at his erection, which is hitting me in exactly the right spot. “So, how do we prove that to them?”

Looking up, I see Zane watching me like a hawk. I have no doubt that he knows exactly what’s going on between Evander and I right now, and that fact turns me on even more. Hell, the heated way he’s watching us makes me want to put on a little show for him. Unfortunately, we’re in a room full of people.

“Actually,” Evander says, drawing out the word. “I wanted to talk to Aydan about that.”

Aydan looks surprised. “Me?”

Evander nods and grinds himself against me so unexpectedly that I barely have time to swallow my moan. “Yeah. I have a news conference tomorrow to give a statement about the dragons. I was wondering if you’d participate… in your dragon form, so I’m able to show them why dragons shouldn’t just be shot down from the sky.”

“Will it be safe?” I ask, picturing the government pulling some kind of shit.

Evander grins. “Specter Inc. is more powerful than many governments around the world. There will be security in every inch of the place. If anyone tries anything, we’ll be perfectly safe.” He glances at Aydan. “So, you in?”

“I’m in,” Aydan says. “I got you.”

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