But she couldn’t go on spending her life distrusting everyone. She wouldn’t allow her asshole of an ex to do that to her.
“And I would like that very much,” she added, swallowing. “Dinner, I mean.”
“Wonderful.” Gallantly, he took hold of her arm again as he led her towards the waiting bus. “And I’ve traveled here occasionally—it’s a good country if you’re interested in rock. Or mining.” He laughed softly. “But right now I’m really just another American tourist.”
“Just like me.” She felt a smile warm her face. “I've been planning this trip for ages. I have three days in Reykjavik before traveling on to the north. A friend of mine has a farm there, and I’m going to stay with her and her husband for a week.”
She couldn’t even say why her plans suddenly filled her with disappointment.
Nothing is going to come of this, she told herself firmly.
She wasn’t going to miss out on a week of dating the most gorgeous man on earth, because that sort of thing didn’t happen to people like her.
One dinner. Because he’s an American tourist like me, and he’s probably feeling lonely and doesn’t like spending his evenings alone.
And then she’d go on another bus tour tomorrow, and he’d go on doing whatever he’d come here for, and they’d never see each other again.
Still... that didn’t mean that she couldn’t enjoy the one evening she’d get.
Once she’d changed into a pair of ugly but warm, waterproof trousers, which Sarah’s grandmother had apparently packed just in case their bus broke down and she’d have to hike to safety across glaciers, Autumn finally had time sit down and sip some of the hot chocolate they’d been offered.
To her amazement, Damon still hadn’t walked off. Instead, he was sitting peacefully next to her, waiting for his turn to sip hot chocolate out of the tiny cup they had to share. In the bus, he’d pulled off his warm, woolly sweater and used it to towel off her hair, despite her protests.
“Now you’ll be all damp and chilly,” she said, barely daring to look at him, because he was quite a sight.
His bare chest was hard with muscle, just as she’d assumed from the way it felt to be held in his arms. He looked incredible—and not like someone who just spent most of his day in a gym. Instead, he looked
like someone ready to fell a tree or carry wayward sheep to safety through raging mountain rivers.
Or someone who’d rescue hapless and slightly stupid tourists from raging geysers...
“I’ll survive.” He gave her a smile. “A bit of dampness isn’t the worst this country has to offer.”
“Are you doing the Golden Tour as well? You weren’t on the bus with us,” she said suddenly. “I don’t want you to miss your bus because of me.”
“I rented a car,” he said. “I’ve been here before, but even though people nowadays probably claim that it’s overrun by tourists, I still love it. Popular or not—the landscape is stunning. The power of it...”
Power... what a strange word to use. And still, Autumn had thought the exact same thing earlier. There was something so wild and primal to it...
“It’s like the elements of the earth still rule here,” she murmured as she looked out of the window at the stark mountains rising in the distance.
“Yes,” he said after a moment, and when she turned, she found him watching her with something that almost looked like respect. “That’s exactly what it feels like, doesn’t it? Earth, water, air and fire... it all comes together here.”
“It’s beautiful,” Autumn sighed. She couldn’t stop smiling.
For some reason, Damon made her feel at ease—as if it was completely normal that she, boring Autumn who had never even boarded a plane before, should sit in a foreign country next to an incredibly sexy, shirtless viking of a man.
Chapter Four: Damon
He hadn’t wanted to leave Autumn—his dragon hadn’t wanted to leave Autumn—but ten minutes into their conversation, the bus driver had returned, and Damon had found himself kicked off the bus.
“You’re going to Gullfoss next,” he told Autumn, his dragon jealously moving within him at the thought of leaving their mate behind again. “I’ve done the tour before. I’ll meet you there.”
Finding her again at the geyser had been an incredible stroke of luck. The strange feeling at the Blue Lagoon suddenly made sense: his dragon had sensed that their mate was near.
No wonder he hadn’t wanted to leave. They must have barely missed each other there.
A shudder ran through Damon as he contemplated what might have happened if he hadn’t insisted to the council that he needed to return.