He grabbed a towel when he stepped out of the shower, drying himself. Then he grimaced, realizing that the only clothes he owned were the dirty, ripped clothes he'd worn when he'd arrived here.

Gingerly, he grabbed hold of his shirt. The bitter smell of ash still clung to it.

Maybe the first thing they'd have to do was to find a place to buy new clothes. There was no way he was going to impress his mate if he looked exactly like one of the fire dragon villains who'd imprisoned her.

Then, from out of nowhere, there was a sudden surge of terror.

It wasn't his own. He knew it even as his heart began to pound in response to the sudden threat, his body flooded with adrenaline.

It was Alyx's fear that had come rushing through the fragile bond between them.

And in the bedroom beyond the bathroom, he heard her cry out.

Without a second thought, he stormed into the bedroom. His element blazed within him, fire crackling along his fingers as he prepared to blast Steele to ash with the full force of the living flame inside him.

It took him a long moment to realize that there was no one there. The bedroom was emp

ty apart from Alyx, who was sitting up in bed and was now staring at him with wide eyes.

“What happened?” he asked, his heart still racing, every nerve in his body prepared for a fight.

“Um. You're on fire,” Alyx pointed out after a moment.

Confused, he looked at his hand, then realized that fire was still dancing along his fingers in bright hues of orange and red.

He took a deep breath to calm himself. The flames vanished as quickly as they'd appeared.

“Uh. Also. You're naked.” Alyx grinned at him, unabashedly staring. “Not that I don't appreciate the view.”

A heartbeat later, Braeden flushed and hastily retreated into the bathroom. Quickly, he slung the abandoned towel around his hips before he returned.

I'm the worst at wooing my mate. The ocean dragon can never know.

Timothy would never let him live it down.

“Aww,” Alyx said, still grinning. “Pity. I was enjoying the view. It's not just your abs that are impressive.”

It took Braeden a moment to realize that she was doing what the humans called flirting.

His dragon preened inside him, curling around himself in smug pride.

Braeden, meanwhile, wasn't quite sure how to react. Netflix had taught him many things—but not what to do when his mate was right in front of him, her cheeks flushed and her eyes lingering on him with blatant approval.

Not that that wasn't nice.

But life in the secret underground fire dragon lairs hadn't exactly prepared him for this. He'd always imagined that he'd woo his mate by bringing her a rare surface sheep, feasting on the succulent meat grilled to perfection with dragon fire.

He'd never imagined that one day, he’d stand in front of his mate in a cheap motel room, clad in nothing but a towel, without even a simple chain of gold to lay at her feet.

On the other hand, Liana had made certain that he didn't start on his quest without a credit card. From what he understood about human treasures, it was almost the same as gold.

Still, presenting his mate with a tiny plastic card seemed hardly appropriate.

“Sorry, by the way,” Alyx said, still smiling at him. “I had a nightmare and woke myself up by screaming. I hope I didn't scare you. Although I have to say, you know how to make me forget my nightmares.”

Braeden released a relieved breath. “I felt a sudden surge of fear, and then your scream—I thought Steele had found us.”

Alyx frowned. “Isn't he dead? There was an entire volcano exploding on top of them.”


Tags: Zoe Chant Elemental Mates Paranormal