Page 40 of Surge of Ice

I shake my head, feeling embarrassed. “You don’t even know the me in this lifetime. I could be someone you don’t even like.”

He laughs, like that’s the funniest thing I could’ve possibly said. “Samantha, do you truly think I have loved you each and every lifetime, for more lifetimes than I can count, but this time I will not? Do you know how silly you sound?”

And it does sound kind of silly when I say it out loud. Still, I say, “If Aydan was here, he would tell you I’m stubborn, unorganized, temperamental–”

“No, if Ayden were here he would tell me that you’re beautiful, smart, kind, and that he loves everything about you. Then he would punch me for the thoughts I am having about you right now.”

Boy, is it hot in here?

I keep my focus on the road.

Time ticks by. Random cars have been abandoned in the middle of the road. I pass a building that’s still smoking, but where the flames seem to have been put out. My hands clench the steering wheel more tightly, and my eyes dart around the street. I feel like I’m walking into the mouth of a monster.

“You will be okay. I am here to protect you. I will not allow anything to happen to you,” Zane says. Reaching forward, he takes my hand and holds it between us on the middle console. “We shall rescue your friend and return to your home, safe and sound.”

For some reason, his touch calms something inside of me, something so deep and powerful that I shudder. “How do you do that? Is it an ice dragon thing?”

“Do what?” he asks, lifting a brow.

“Make me feel calm.”

He smiles. “I make you feel calm because I am your mate. We are connected. The cool ice that runs through my veins flows through you when we touch, through our connection.”

I sigh. “Biology again.”

Of course it is. I mean, I kind of already knew that deep down. Zane feels like he belongs to me, and I feel like I belong to him. I think even Aydan and Evander know. For them, they’ve been as close to relaxed as they can be with me around another man.

Whatever this is between us, I can’t fight it forever. Inevitably, we’re going to end up together. I just want it to be, ideally, when the guys feel as comfortable with him as I do. The last thing I want to do is hurt Aydan and Evander.

I can be patient.

Glancing over at him, I see his gaze blazing as it runs over me, and something inside me tightens. My breath comes in and out faster and faster, and Zane groans, his hand tightening around mine.

“Do not. Not yet. Not until you are ready. Because once things start between us, I will not be able to stop them,” he says, his words husky.

For the millionth time this trip, I focus back on the road, steering around another abandoned car. More cars drive on the opposite side of the road, trying to get as far from this end of town as possible. I don’t blame them.

We come to another smoldering building. The fire crews must have been busy out here, even though the mostly brickbuildings probably helped control the fires more than anything else.

Turning a corner, I slow, feeling uneasy. The shop windows have been smashed in along the entire road. People are climbing in and out of one shop after another, creating another problem on the already chaotic street. On the bright side, I spot a store called Cliterishous, an adult toy shop, and I remember it. We’re getting close.

“Of course,” I mutter.

“What?” Zane asks.

“The people have taken advantage of the fact that the cops are busy with other problems to rob the shops here.”

He stares. Confused.

I try to think of the right words. “People are… stealing and causing problems.”

“Disappointing but not unexpected,” he says quietly.

Sweat trails down my back. “In these kinds of situations, I feel like humans end up becoming more dangerous than anything else.”

Zane chuckles. “You forget you are a dragon, not a human. Should there be a problem, you will shift, and you will destroy anything that would seek to bother you. With me by your side.”

“I like the sound of that.”

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