Mated to the Earth Dragon (Elemental Mates 2)

“Two dragons, one griffin,” Damon said, squeezing some shower gel into his hand before he began to run them up her body.

It sent another tingle of heat straight up her spine, and she had to swallow back a moan before she could speak.

“You’re serious?”

“Very serious,” Damon said. “One of them’s the dragon of water. I don’t like him much—but he’ll be good to have around against this enemy.”

“What’s a griffin?” Autumn asked next, trying not to let the touch of Damon’s fingers distract her from what was at stake.

“Imagine a creature that’s half lion, half eagle.” Damon trailed his wet, soapy hands around to her front, his thumb skimming past a nipple so that she shivered. “It’s a mythological beast—just like a dragon. And mythological shifters are the rarest of all. Which is probably for the best, since we’re also the most powerful. It’s easy enough to keep a pack of werewolves under control, if you have to—but a flight of dragons?”

His hands fell away, and Autumn watched as a crease appeared between his brows.

Damon was worried. What did that mean, if someone as powerful as a dragon was worried?

“There were several of them attacking us last time,” she said slowly. “So that’s bad?”

Damon nodded. “Hasn’t happened in a long, long time. We thought fire dragons were extinct, ever since the Middle Ages. But it turns out that they’ve been in hiding all this time. And I don’t like the thought of them all working together. That’s never happened before. Family is important to us, yes—but we don’t simply form large factions like that. We’re too jealous of our treasures for that to work.”

“Lucky for us humans,” Autumn muttered. “A group of angry dragons sounds like a terrifying army.”

“And one we’ll have to deal with.” Damon grimaced. “We need mor

e information about them. We need to know what changed...”

Autumn shook her head, allowing the hot water to run over her face.

It felt good to be warm and clean—and most of all, it felt good to be with him. Even now, it felt like there was a gentle thrum vibrating beneath her skin, reacting to his closeness.

Determined, she forced herself to ignore it, reaching out for the shower gel herself.

Amused, he leaned back and let her run her soapy hands all over him in turn—and that in itself was enough to banish all thoughts of angry dragons for her mind.

His skin was hot and slick. His muscles really were rock-hard. They flexed beneath his skin when she touched him. Fascinated, she kept running her fingers up and down his abs, feeling the way the ridges and valleys contracted.

She swallowed as her fingers brushed against the small trail of hair leading downward. It was crazy to want him again, so soon after what they’d just done—but still, her body throbbed with need at the thought of him inside her, claiming her for real.

When she looked up, she saw that his eyes had gone that shade of molten metal again. It wasn’t scary at all—instead, it made her want him even more, his own desire tugging on her like an invisible ribbon that bound them together.

She took a deep breath. They’d have all evening, surely, before his friends could make it here...

“I lied about that plane,” Damon said with obvious regret. “They’re flying in as dragons. They could be here in an hour or two.”

“Oh,” Autumn said, relieved that he seemed just as regretful about that fact as she was.

I guess we can’t just take the car to the closest shop and get a pack of condoms then.

Damon’s lips quirked, as if he knew what she’d been thinking about.

“How do you do that?” she demanded, playfully hitting his broad and very wet chest.

“Do what?” he asked innocently.

“Know what I’m thinking!” She frowned all off a sudden. “Can dragons read minds?”

Which still wouldn’t explain how she sometimes felt as if she knew what he was feeling...

“No,” Damon said slowly, then turned off the shower. “Dragons can’t, not generally.”