Mated to the Earth Dragon (Elemental Mates 2)

The way he talks about his family and his duty... He’d never cheat or run from commitment.

But at the same time, she knew that all of this was just a dream. He wasn’t a simple Icelandic farmer.

He was a highly paid specialist engineer, the scion of some mining corporation going back generations. The sort of family someone like her had never even heard of.

He isn’t going to throw his life away to settle down on a farm with me. Stop dreaming, she told herself firmly.

Still... she had him for today. And this evening, their date. It was way too early to even think about commitment.

Just relax and see where it takes you. He’s sweet. He’d never hurt me. He’s obviously interested. Don't ruin this... Just let it happen naturally, if it does happen.

They’d escaped the huge crowd from the buses, because they’d arrived in Damon’s car. Still, there’d been lots of other people arriving just like them, in their own car and without a guided tour.

As Damon led her into the national park, he chose the less crowded paths when possible. They still passed small groups of tourists every now and then, but for the most part, they could walk slowly and enjoy the breathtaking landscape without being disturbed.

Chapter Six: Damon

Every now and then, Damon checked his phone. He’d tried to call one of the other council members as soon as possible after they’d made their escape, but he still couldn’t reach any of them.

Which meant that they had to be gathered in Sky Home, on the mountain above the clouds, where the signal wouldn’t reach.

Either way, the attack had been strong enough that the chimera would have sensed it. In addition, Damon had hastily texted and sent emails to the dragons of water and air. If they hadn’t shifted right there at Sky Home to fly to Iceland as quickly as possible, one of them would surely call back any minute.

And if they didn’t, that meant that council backup would arrive in a few hours. Either way, they’d deal with this problem. Autumn would be safe.

“Does this sort of thing happen often?” Autumn asked as they slowly made their way up a rocky hill. “I know there are active volcanoes here—but there were no warnings on any of the websites I’ve checked.”

/> “No, that was entirely unexpected,” Damon said.

He could feel Autumn's concern—even though they weren’t formally mated, there was already a fragile connection. How could he reassure her? He needed to explain to her about shifters as quickly as possible.

And then he had to hope that she wouldn’t hold the attack against him. She’d been in danger because he’d been there. If he could show her his true power, perhaps she’d forgive him if he swore that from now on, he’d shield her from any harm.

Perhaps this evening, when they’d be safely back in Reykjavik. He knew that he had a lot to make up for—but if he could show her that he was serious about protecting her, perhaps he could prove that he was a good mate.

With a deep breath, he sent his dragon’s senses deep into the earth once more. He’d kept half of his attention focused on the land even as they’d walked, and everything had been quiet.

Now, once more, every stone and rock was singing out to him, greeting the presence of his mate with warm notes of happiness.

Everything was calm. His mate was safe here.

“But it won’t happen again. I promise,” Damon added. “Trust me. I know about rocks, remember?”

She tilted her head in open amusement. “But if that earthquake was so unexpected, how can you be sure?”

Damon’s mouth opened, and then snapped shut again. He gave her an apologetic look.

“You’re right,” he said. He couldn’t very well tell her that he knew because he was the dragon of earth, the lord over mountain and forest. “But how likely is it that something completely unexpected happens twice in one day?”

Now Autumn laughed. “There’s been more than two entirely unexpected things happening today,” she murmured, the warmth in her eyes leaving no doubt that she was talking about him.

Damon took hold of her hand again, entwining their fingers. “Is that so?” he said teasingly, glad for the distraction. “Then maybe it’s a good thing today ended up so explosive. I wouldn’t have wanted to miss meeting you, not for any earthquake in the world.”

She shook her head slightly, her eyes trained on his. Her perfume surrounded him, a warm scent with a hint of spice beneath. She was so irresistible that he found himself reaching out again, running his fingers through her windblown hair.

“I’m glad, too,” she said softly. “Really. That was probably the scariest thing that ever happened to me, but I’m still glad I came here. I’ve been looking forward to this for so long—and it’s so much better than I imagined.”

Damon swallowed. They had stopped, and before them spread the breathtaking landscape of the national park Thingvellir. Power rose from every rock here. It called out to his dragon, who wanted to spread his wings and circle the land, singing in harmony with every rock and stone.