Mated to the Earth Dragon (Elemental Mates 2)

“But?” she demanded as he wrapped her into the thickest, fluffiest towel she’d ever seen.

“But a mated couple can.”

“Mated?” she asked in confusion, quickly toweling herself dry.

The entire, tiny house was warm and cozy now, but she didn’t like the thought of his friends just flying in on them naked.

“Sort of like being married—but more,” he said as he pulled on his own shirt.

“Super married?” She wrinkled her nose. “Also we’re not married, so how come you seem to know what I’m thinking?”

“It’s deeper than marriage. More binding. More powerful.”

He led her back to the sofa, where she gratefully buried under the blanket in front of the still roaring fire again, watching him kneel in front of her.

The sight of him like that did funny things to her. No man had ever gone down on a knee before her.

Probably for the best, or I wouldn’t be here right now, but still at home. And maybe I’d have a kid or two—but I’d have never met Damon...

The thought was surprisingly painful, given that she’d known him for all of a day.

But then, he’d made quite an impression, what with turning into a dragon.

“Autumn, you’re my mate,” Damon said softly. “Every shifter has a mate somewhere. A soulmate. All your life, you know that there’s a person somewhere out there who’s meant for you. One day, fate will lead you to her. Sometimes it takes so long that you give up hope, or you start believing that fated mates aren’t real.”

“Did you?” she asked softly.

Damon shook his head. “I’m not the type to give up. I knew that one day, I’d find my mate, and I’d know. And if I didn’t—I know my duty to my people and my family. I’d rather have chosen death than losing control over myself.”

“Wait, what?” Autumn said, trying to keep up. “Say that again. Death? Is that—is that an option?

“If we come into our full power, and we don’t have a mate to center us, we become a danger—to ourselves and to others,” Damon explained calmly. “I am the dragon of the earth. I’m immensely powerful. There are only two other dragons as strong as I am. If it had come to it, I would’ve chosen death over the danger of harming innocents with my power.”

“But...?” Autumn prompted hopefully.

“But I found her. I found you.” Damon reached out to take hold of her hand. “I know you can feel it too. There’s a connection between us already. Fate has led me to you. You’re my mate. I’d mate you, Autumn. I’d lay my treasures at your feet. I’d protect you from any harm, if you’d let me.”

“You don’t even know me,” she protested softly, her mind whirling.

Don’t I? a voice seemed to whisper softly in her mind.

When she gasped and stared wide-eyed at Damon, he gazed back with eyes that had gone a bright gold.

“My heart knows your heart,” he said. “And I want to spend my life by your side and get to know everything there is to know about you.”

“Purple,” she said faintly.

Damon blinked in confusion.

Autumn grinned, still overwhelmed by everything that was happening, but filled with too much excitement to care. “My favorite color. It’s purple.”

“Mine’s gold,” he said, then grimaced. “I know, very clichéd for a dragon.”

“I know nothing about dragons,” she reminded him. “You're completely unique to me.”

He reached out to draw her close again. “Purple and gold go well together...”

As his tongue twined around hers, the low throb of heat filled her body once more. Breathlessly, she clutched at him, overwhelmed by the simple contact. Beneath her hands, she could feel his pecs, the broad planes hard with muscle.