“Erupting,” Braeden corrected. “The hot magma just needed a way out. It didn't make the mountain explode—well, I guess it might have taken off the top. But their caves are deep below the earth. And they’re fire dragons. They'll have to work hard to keep the magma from flooding their tunnels, but they’re attuned to fire. It will keep them busy for several days—but they're not dead.”
Alyx shifted, looking towards the window with a new frown on her face.
Braeden sighed internally. He'd done it again. Now he'd made her worry once more.
“You're safe here. I promise.” He hesitated for a moment, but then moved closer, despite his state of undress. “I know you think I'm a fire dragon just like them, but I'd never let them harm you.”
“I changed my mind about you,” she said and patted the bed by her side.
After a moment, Braeden eagerly sat down, his dragon curling around himself in joy at their closeness.
“You got me out of that place. You put yourself into danger for me. You ended up nearly dying. That makes you an okay guy in my opinion, fire dragon or not.”
Braeden found himself laughing. “So what does it take to go from okay to great?”
Alyx grinned at him, her eyes gleaming mischievously. “Oh,” she murmured, “for one thing, that show I just got.”
She rested a hand on his leg, and Braeden saw her eyes widen when, at the touch, heat surged through him. Did she feel the same? She was no shifter—but they were still mates.
As if to test the strange sensation, she ran her hand slowly up his thigh.
Braeden felt desire pound through him, a surge of heat hot enough to melt metal sizzling through his body.
Alyx's eyes were wide and dark, her mouth slightly open as she stared at him.
She licked her lips. “Also, please don't take this the wrong way. But you're... I think...”
She fell silent.
Braeden could barely think, his entire body on fire with need for her. But even so, a part of him couldn't help but feel warm amusement. His mate, this strong, courageous woman who'd survived weeks in a fire dragon lair, who'd made him blush when he'd rushed buck naked into her room, was now speechless.
She was feeling the same thing. There was no doubt about it.
“I think you're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen,” he said hoarsely, covering her hand with his own. “The most courageous and resourceful too. And the most eloquent.”
For a moment they grinned at each other, despite the heat that kept rising until Braeden thought he'd die if he didn't get to kiss her.
“I don't know about you,” she then said, with just a hint of breathlessness, “but I thought I was going to die down there, and I'd really, really like—”
He didn't even let her finish the sentence.
He took hold of her face, his hands cupping her cheeks. Then his lips were on hers, and her moan was the sweetest thing he'd ever heard.
He tasted her, hungry and desperate, her mouth opening for him while her arms came up around his shoulders.
Everywhere they touched, his skin felt like it was on fire. He was so hard he heard himself distantly groaning as he tumbled her onto the bed, but she held on to his shoulders, urging him on.
“Yes,” she moaned, arching so that her tempting breasts pressed warm and soft against his chest. “Come on.”
He grabbed hold of her shirt and drew it up. She wore no bra, and he felt his breath get stuck in his throat at the sight of her.
Her breasts were large, her nipples perfectly round circles of dusky skin. He brushed one with the pad of his thumb, and she moaned again.
That was all the encouragement he needed.
The sounds that spilled from her lips drove him into a frenzy of need. He pressed his lips to her skin, kissing his way down from her throat, caressing the soft, generous breasts while she gasped beneath him.
When he drew her nipple into his mouth, the bud was already erect, and he teased it with his tongue while his hands cupped her breasts.