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“Partners?”
“Mates,” I clarify, using a term he’s familiar with.
My gaze travels down his form. “I’m guessing nudity is rather casual among Dragons?”
He dips his chin.
“If nakedness is not frowned upon in your culture, why do you wear pants?” Heat flares my cheeks, as the question escapes me unfiltered, but it’s too late to take it back.
“Like Wolf Shifters, we conjure the image of clothing.” He shrugs. “I suppose it is something that has carried over from a time when we all used to interact more regularly with each other—humans and Otherworldly beings.”
My gaze drops to his pants. “Are you saying those are not real?”
He nods.
My jaw drops, but I quickly snap it shut, regaining my composure. “Well”—I place my hands on my hips—“if it’s all the same to you, I would appreciate it if you would turn around while I change into my sleeping gown.”
He turns away from me, his tail moving back and forth across the wooden floor as I change.
With his back to me, I take a moment to study him in a way I have not been able to before. There is no denying he is handsome. The firelight shimmers over his silver scales, accentuating the thick cords of muscle across his broad shoulders and back. My pulse quickens at the play of his muscles as he crosses his arms, flexing his very muscular biceps.
I never truly appreciate a male body before, but probably because I have seen none like his. Heat pools deep in my core as I allow my gaze to linger on him.
He tips back his head, scenting the air, and embarrassment floods my veins. With his keen sense of smell, he can probably detect my interest in him.
When I drop my old clothing on the ground his tail stops and he goes entirely still. It’s as if the very air itself is charged between us. A shiver moves down my spine as I stand completely bare behind him, my entire body humming with the tension between us.
How is it that he makes me feel this way? It’s not as if I have never seen a man partially unclothed before. My uncle’s guards regularly practice dressed in the same manner as Aurdyn is now. And yet… I never felt drawn to any of them as I do to him.
Sighing heavily, I force myself to push down my desire, quickly pull the sleeping gown over my head. “You may turn around.”
He spins back to me, and his vertically slit pupils expand. The threadbare sleep gown does almost nothing to cover me. Heat flushes my entire body under the intensity of his gaze, and my heart thunders in my chest.
Is it possible that he finds me attractive as well?
I thought Dragons hated humans and the only reason he is caring for me is because of this bond he insists we have between us… because he thinks it’s his duty.
He moves toward me like a predator stalking his prey and I’m frozen in place as his gorgeous emerald-green eyes lock onto mine. He’s so close, the warmth of his body radiates to my own.
His nostrils flare and hunger flashes behind his eyes, and I find myself wondering if he’s going to kiss me or kill me because, right now it looks as though it could go either way. He moves with a lethal grace that belies his larger form and as he stares down at me, all rational thought leaves my mind. I’m completely mesmerized.
He grasps the light fabric of my sleep gown between his thumb and forefinger, lifting it slightly as he flares his nostrils. My breath catches in my throat as I stare up at him, spellbound. “Wha—what are you—”
“This gown stinks of Dwarf.” He wrinkles his nose. “And the material is so worn, I doubt you’ll make it through the night without freezing to death.”
And just like that, the spell is broken.
“We will have to sleep together.” He motions for me to get into the bed, and then slips in behind me. “Do not worry,” he says, looping an arm around my waist and tugging me back to his chest. “I will tolerate the stench to keep you warm.”
My mouth falls open, but I quickly snap it shut. “Well, that’s certainly very magnanimous of you,” I say, my voice dripping with sarcasm. “Very thoughtful indeed.”
“Of course,” he replies, and I cannot tell if he’s being serious or not.
But it’s late, and I’m tired, and we still have a long journey ahead of us. Drawing in a deep breath, I push down my irritation.
Despite the covers, and the fire burning in the hearth, it’s still rather cold in here and I start shivering.
Aurdyn’s tightens his hold around my waist. My heart pounds as he tucks his knees up under mine and drapes his good wing over me, cocooning me in his warmth and his delicious scent.
