Page 43 of Surge of Ice

“Yes,” I say, without taking my eyes off of them.

One of the men, a big guy with a long auburn beard answers his little friends. “It looks like this pretty little thing got lost out here.”

“Doesn’t she know that could be dangerous?” another one says, and then they’re all laughing.

I don’t back down. I don’t even blink. “Look, guys, you seem kind of stupid, so I’m going to do you a favor. I’m going to give you one minute to get out of here before we start breaking your bones.”

There’s more laughter. The leader, a man with tattooed teardrops leaking from one of his eyes, studies me. “You really think you and your boyfriend can take us?”

I smile, but I know it’s a cruel smile. “Abso-fucking-lutely.”

Zane takes a step toward them. “You stand no chance against us. We are dragons. We will leave you broken and bleeding, crying for your mothers, but they will not hear your pleas.”

The leader glances at his buddies. “What the fuck is wrong with this guy?” Then he motions for them to surround us.

My gut tightens.You’re a dragon. You’re a dragon. You’re a dragon.“Do you know how to fight as a human?”

Zane doesn’t hesitate. “Very well, although I only fight when I need to.”

“You need to now.”

“I understand.” He tenses beside me.

The leader comes straight at me, grinning, cocky. “Be nice, sweetheart, and we’ll be nice. Okay?”

Sweat rolls down my back, and I count the seconds that pass until he gets close enough. One. Two. Three. Four.

My leg shoots out and strikes him in the stomach. He goes flying back and hits the ground on his back, hard. There, he stays.

“Who's next?” My fists are curled. I’m ready.

Three men close in at Zane’s side, and he moves, almost faster than I can follow. He punches one in the face, then kicks the legs out from under him before he can even fall. The other two, he grabs the sides of their heads and smashes them together, over and over again until they crumple to the ground.

One of the men on my side approaches, I break his nose with my fist, then kick him as hard as I can in the crotch. His scream of pain dies into nothing as he falls to the ground. Around us, there’s whimpering, crying, and some oddly still men scattered around the alley.

Two others remain. They look at us, then the others, and they take a step toward me. Zane is on them like a lion, leaping on top of one, while pulling the other down. He alternates between punches one and then the other until they stop moving.

When he rises from them, he turns to me with thunderous eyes. I step back as he tears toward me, then take a few more steps back until my back hits the wall of the alley. He closes the distance between us, and then his lips are on mine.

They’re cold, like the rest of him, and yet they feel incredible. They’re so good that my entire body turns to jelly as I cling to him, and he presses himself against me, trapping me against the alley wall.

When I part my lips, he takes my invitation, and his tongue dives in, sending goosebumps rising along my arms. His tongueis long and chilly, and conjures up all kinds of thoughts about what that tongue could do to other parts of me.

I rub myself against him, feeling eager, feeling lost to the unbelievable sensation of his body pressed against mine. His cold, crisp scent washes over me, making me feel hot, even though the man himself is cold.

One of his hands moves under my shirt and slides under my bra. My nipples instantly harden from the chilly sensation, and I’m breathing hard, feeling as if I’m coming undone. Zane groans, rubbing his obvious erection between my thighs, and I feel myself growing wet with need.

One of the men on the ground whimpers and begins to loudly cry. The sound shakes me from my stupor, and I push Zane away, then adjust my bra. His eyes are full of need, but also confusion. I imagine it’s not fun for me to be so hot and cold, but he can’t imagine how hard I’m fighting my needs versus my logic.

“We can’t do this. Not until Aydan and Evander are on board.”

“But they will accept this, so why waste time?”

His words are tempting. “Because it won’t feel like a waste of time to them. Come on, we have to get Dahlia.”

To his credit, he simply nods and adjusts his enormous erection.

I swallow hard and try to avoid looking right at it. It’s like the monster in the corner, if I don’t look at it, it doesn’t exist. Instead, I focus on what I should do. I need to call Dahlia and see what’s going on. Unfortunately, when I dial her number, it just keeps ringing.

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