Mated to the Earth Dragon (Elemental Mates 2)

“It is,” Damon agreed, quietly settling down on the sofa next to her. He pressed a cup into Autumn’s hands, then took a sip of his own coffee. “I’m sorry I dragged you into this. I didn’t know this would happen. I came to Iceland to look into rumors of strange dragon activity—but these fire dragons have been hiding for centuries. And now they were attacking in broad daylight...”

Damon fell silent, staring into the flickering fire as well. Even now, it sent a shiver down his spine to think of Autumn surrounded by the flames. If he hadn’t been there to shield her...

“How many of you are there?” She put down her cup, turning to watch him.

The fire made her hair gleam, and Damon felt nearly overwhelmed by the need to pull her into his arms again, to reassure himself that she was safe and whole, and wholly his.

“Dragons? More than you think—less

than you fear.” He flashed her a small smile. “But there are more of us shifters. Werewolves, for one thing.”

“Werewolves,” Autumn echoed, looking at him with disbelieving eyes.

“Always a bit rash, hard to control. That’s probably why you humans always had legends about them.”

“Uh huh,” Autumn muttered, looking pale again.

“But there’s a lot more of us you don’t know—bear shifters, lion shifters, deer shifters. Just last week I talked to a parakeet shifter in New York.”

“You’re kidding,” Autumn said.

Damon flashed her a grin and shook his head. “I’m dead serious, I promise.”

With a groan, Autumn grabbed a cushion and buried her face in it.

“This is all so complicated,” she said, her voice muffled. “I don’t want dragons attacking me!”

“Sorry for that.” Damon reached out—he’d planned to pull down the cushion a little, but for some reason, his hand seemed to have developed a mind of its own. He swallowed as he watched it gently touch Autumn’s auburn hair. The strands of her hair were as soft as silk.

A moment later, she slowly lowered the pillow. They looked at each other for a long, tense moment.

“Sorry,” he said again at the same time as she said, “It wasn’t your fault.”

They stopped, laughing, still looking at each other.

Damon still hadn’t been able to force himself to stop playing with the soft strands of her hair. He couldn’t look away from her, irresistibly drawn towards the way her eyes gleamed in the light of the fire, her cheeks flushed from the warmth.

A moment later, they were in each other’s arms.

Autumn gasped as her mouth opened beneath his. He gently nudged her lips wider apart with his tongue, and then he slid inside, tasting her fully as she wrapped her arms around his neck with a moan.

She fit against him perfectly. Even with the blanket between them, he could feel the softness of her breasts against his chest.

Her hair brushed his cheeks, and he buried his hand in her locks again, holding her gently in place as he explored her mouth with all the passion of a man who’d waited for this moment his entire life.

The dragon within vibrated with energy and impatience. And once he was mated, he’d be stronger than ever before—an alpha dragon, in full control over his element.

Still, right now that was the last thing on his mind. All he could think about was the way Autumn fit against him as he ran his hand in appreciation down the soft curves of her body.

He wanted to spread her out before him and worship her, drive her wild with pleasure, claim her...

“Yes,” she gasped when he broke the kiss, her voice breathless with need.

There was still so much he needed to explain to her about his world. But right now, all that mattered was the way she felt against him, the seductive scent of her skin, the heat of his arousal.

The power that connected them was stronger than an earthquake, hotter than the molten core of the earth. No matter what the rational part of his human mind thought, the need for his mate was a force of nature that couldn’t be resisted.

He slipped from the couch, then pulled her down into his arms again for another kiss that left her breathless. Between his legs, his arousal was pounding. He’d never been this hard before—he’d never wanted anyone or anything so much before. He wanted, he needed to claim her, to make her his mate.