It took long minutes for Autumn’s heart to calm enough that she could hear anything beyond the deafening pounding of the blood in her veins.

“Mmngh.” She made a sleepy, garbled sound as she finally opened her eyes again and managed to roll to her side.

Damon was still sitting next to her, beaming like the literal cat that had gotten the cream.

And did he ever...

She felt herself flush as she remembered the playfulness of his tongue.

No matter how gentlemanly and serious he’d appeared, he definitely knew exactly how to drive her insane with pleasure.

And he’s very, very good at it...

With an exhausted sigh, she finally managed to sit up. She couldn’t stop smiling, even as she had to brush her tangled hair out of her face. She really needed a shower now. And maybe another coffee. But first...

She boldly pressed her hand to the front of his jeans. Even through the fabric, she could feel that he was achingly hard.

“You don’t have to,” he said hoarsely, only his breathlessness giving away his own need.

“I know,” she said and tilted her head at him, strangely reassured by his answer. Maybe he wouldn’t mind too much that she wasn’t as experienced as he’d been? “But I want to.”

Determined, she opened his zipper before he could protest. And it didn’t need words to understand what he needed when his hard length immediately pushed demandingly against her hand.

Wow.

He really was as huge as he’d felt. She had to swallow when she imagined him inside her. The thought was intimidating.

She’d only been with two men so far, and neither had come anywhere close to his size.

But on the other hand, neither of them had ever made her feel as Damon just had. It wasn’t that she hadn’t liked sex—it had been good, but mainly because she liked the sensation of being so close, and the cuddling afterward. She’d never come from it alone.

But then, neither of them had ever gone down on her, the way Damon had...

His appreciative groan brought her back to the present.

“Is that good? Tell me if I’m doing it wrong,” she said, watching his face in amazement.

His eyes gleamed with that metal sheen again, and she could almost taste the energy vibrating through the room. It sizzled against all her nerves—almost as if she could feel an echo of his pleasure.

The sensation made her gasp and tighten her fingers around him, which in turn sent another shiver of his pleasure through her.

“It’s perfect,” he said hoarsely. He licked his lips, then reached out for her.

As she stroked him, he ran his fingers through her hair, gently brushing it out of her eyes. Then his hand trailed down her back, pulling her against him as his tongue delved deep into her mouth once more.

This time, she could taste herself in his mouth, and it made her moan even as he throbbed against her fingers.

Gently, she brushed the pad of her thumb against the tip of his shaft. A drop of wetness had already appeared, and she smoothed it all over the crown as he groaned into the kiss.

His cock was hot and smooth, silky and hard at the same time. Even though the thought of all of it inside her was still a little daunting, she loved the way he felt in her hand.

Everything about him was so intense. Even now, she could feel little zings of pleasure bursting inside her every time she tightened her fingers around him.

In her past, sex had been a pleasurable thing to do in the evening, after dinner and a movie. Ten or fifteen minutes of intimacy, and then her boyfriend had rolled to the side and she’d fallen asleep cuddled against him—happy, or so she’d thought.

But with Damon, sex was so much more. Every gasp and every groan she drew from him made something inside her sing. Every time he looked at her, she felt as if she could see to the bottom of his soul.

Dragon or no—sex with Damon wasn’t just simple, comforting intimacy. It overwhelmed her, it set every single nerve in her body aflame. When she looked at Damon, she felt as if she knew him—and he knew her.

Not the small, simple things, which they’d find out about each other in time: favorite movies, favorite food, or whether he liked to sleep in on Sundays.

But he already knew the important things about her, which no other man had ever bothered to find out about. For some reason, it felt as if touching him meant baring her soul to him. With his gorgeous, metallic eyes, she felt as if he could see the deepest bottom of her heart, all her secret, hidden desires.

And in turn, she could see him, too: the deep sense of loyalty and duty that ran through him like a vein of metal through a mountain. The hidden well of humor, his love of nature—and there, buried deep in his heart where even his friends couldn’t see, a small, black spot of loneliness. The desire for a family, and a wealth of love that had been hidden away for far too long.

And there was fear.

Fear for me, she thought in amazement. And love for me. A love as strong and deep as the earth, bright like metal and sharp like steel...

He gasped her name against her lips when he came, the wetness of his release dripping hot over her hand as his strong body arched against hers.

Again she imagined him on top of her, inside her, and muffled her own, breathless moan against his lips.

Yes, she thought silently, longing to be his completely. Yes...

Another shiver went through him, as if for some reason he’d heard her thought.

But instead, he straightened carefully, his lips quirking.

“Now we really need that shower,” he said. “And food.”

“An excellent plan.” She couldn’t tear her eyes from him as he got up, watching breathlessly as he stripped right in front of her.

He really was as fit as he’d seemed, his body rippling with muscle. His shoulders were broad, his abs making her mouth water as they kept flexing with every breath he took. And despite the danger they’d barely survived, all she could dizzily think was that they’d have all day in this cabin before his friends could possibly find their way here.

Unless...

“Are your friends dragons, too?” she asked when they’d made it into the shower.

The bathroom was as impressive as everything else about this luxurious shack.

It looked as if some eccentric billionaire had decided that he wanted to build a humble hut fitting perfectly into the sparse, Icelandic landscape. From a distance, it probably didn’t look any different to most sheep sheds in this country.

But on the inside...

The bathroom held a huge, walk-in shower. Instead of a shower head, hot water came pouring down at them right from the ceiling, and more hot water was sprayed at them from holes in the wall to her left and right.

At first, she’d gasped in surprise. Back at home, she was lucky if she could get warm water, given that she got up for work at the same time as everyone else in her shitty apartment building with its ancient pipes.

On the other hand, she could afford her rent.

This place... She wouldn’t even be able to afford it as a holiday home for a weekend.

“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 more 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.”

“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.

“Food,” she reminded him when he finally pulled back. “And talking.”

Her need for him still made her feel dizzy, and she wanted nothing more than to pull his powerful body over hers—but there were so many things she didn’t know yet.

Damon nodded in agreement, raising a hand to rake it through his wet hair. His shirt was clinging to his chest, which was rising and falling rapidly now.

The sight sent another jolt of desire through Autumn. To think that she’d done that to him...

She wanted to fan herself at the sight, or pull that shirt straight off his muscles again. Instead, she forced herself to turn away, determinedly leading him back into the cozy living area.