Mated to the Earth Dragon (Elemental Mates 2)

“So you admit it,” Damon said. “What’s his name? Where’s he hiding?”

Braeden remained silent.

“They wanted to kill you,” Autumn said softly. “Do you really think they deserve your loyalty?”

Braeden at last met her eyes. “To kill me is to free me. Better to be dead than to be a traitor.”

“But you don’t even agree with what they want! You could have killed me in your cell, but instead you tried to protect me from them!”

“I don’t agree with them anymore,” Braeden said slowly. “And I wouldn’t help their cause anymore, even if I were free. If I were free, I’d want to explore the earth and learn. But I’m still not a traitor. They’re my kin.”

Autumn sighed in frustration as Damon tightened his grip on Braeden.

“You go back into the cell,” Damon said firmly. “We’re not letting you fly around creating havoc all over the earth.”

“I wouldn’t,” Braeden said quietly, his gaze resting on the ground.

Still, he didn’t resist when the chimera ended the audience and Damon took him back down into the tunnels to seal him into his cell.

***

Half an hour later, Autumn and Damon had finally found refuge in a small cave that had been furnished as a bedroom. It wasn’t as luxurious as Damon’s mansion, but it was clearly intended for dragon shifters in human form. There were old, expensive-looking paintings covering the walls. There were also tapestries showing dragons and other mythical beast, which Autumn assumed were genuinely medieval, and the lamps and mirrors were made of actual gold and silver.

It was a cozy retreat for a dragon, but right now Autumn was most grateful for the soft, heavy blankets and the large bed that made her feel as if she was sleeping on a cloud.

“I almost lost you,” Damon murmured against her neck.

He was spooning her, his arms wrapped tightly around her to hold her close. The sensation of his hot breath against her neck made her shiver. Even now, she could feel him against her th

igh, hot and half-hard despite the exhaustion that pulsed through the bond and made her wish to sleep for days.

“Sleep,” she said gently, resting her own hand over his.

Against her back, she could feel the calming sensation of his powerful heartbeat.

Damon was alive. She was safe. Everything would be well.

And they could deal with everything else in the morning.

Damon sighed against her hair, the sound turning into a yawn halfway through.

Autumn bit back a smile, concentrating on the golden glow of the bond that warmed her entire body, now that they were resting skin to skin.

Everything was as it should be.

“I love you,” Damon murmured as he sank into sleep.

Quietly, Autumn smiled to herself.

“I love you, too,” she said, and then she closed her eyes. The smile was still on her lips as she gave herself over to the golden light of the bond drawing her into sleep.

***

“Shit!”

Autumn was woken rather abruptly by a loud crash and Damon’s cursing.

When she sat up, blinking against the last vision of the happy dream about a tropical beach vacation she’d had, she found Damon giving her a sheepish look. He was surrounded by the remains of the nice, golden mirror she’d admired the day before.