Page 72 of Empire of Flame and Thorns

And then he gives my cheek a couple of brisk pats. Exactly the same as I did to him in that deserted room yesterday.

It stuns me enough that I just blink at him in surprise. Then my brain catches up, and I shove his hand away while shooting him another scowl. He lets out a low chuckle. I huff.

Then I let a sly smile curl my lips as I flick a knowing look up and down his body. “Admit it. The real reason why you won’t allow me to get my clothes is because you like the sight of my body in this tiny little nightgown.”

He draws his eyebrows down and lets out a dismissive snort. “Why would the sight of your body elicit any sort of reaction from me?”

“Because I’m hot.”

He rolls his eyes. “And humble, apparently.”

“You’re one to talk.”

“I’m going to take a bath.”

His sudden change of topic catches me off guard, and he uses that moment of stunned confusion to walk right past me and towards the bathroom door. Snapping out of my stupor, I turn and look at him as he disappears into the bathroom and closes the door behind him.

I heave a deep sigh.

Earlier in the day, I briefly entertained the idea that I could steal his sword while he’s sleeping tonight and then use it to threaten him into opening the door and releasing me. However, I was quickly forced to discard that idea. For the same reason that Draven walked into his bathroom still wearing his entire set of dragon scale armor.

Since dragon shifters switch between dragon and human form, they quickly had to figure out a solution to the clothes problem. The shift leaves them naked, which naturally became an annoying obstacle in most situations. So they designed something that would help them get around it.

I don’t know how it works, or if normal civilians wear the same thing, but all shifters who are in the army wear bracers that can store their clothes and equipment. So when they shift into dragons, the armor and sword they were carrying get magically preserved in those bracers. And then when they shift back to human form, their dragon scale armor, and the equipment that was attached to it when they shifted, returns to their bodies.

Where those bracers go while they are in dragon form is beyond me. But I’ve always assumed that they become part of their dragon scales, since the bracers look to be made from the same material.

Unfortunately for me, though, this means that Draven can store his sword inside his bracers while he’s sleeping. Which means that I can’t steal the bloody thing.

While Draven takes a bath, I occupy myself with searching through his room one last time. Just in case I missed anything.

I didn’t. There is nothing in his room that can help me escape. Unless I decide to hurl books at him or try to strangle him with one of the plain black shirts in his closet. Neither option seems to have a high probability of success, though.

The door to the bathroom is opened.

I spin around, getting ready to make one more attempt to trick him into letting me leave.

But the words get stuck in my throat, and my entire brain stops working, as Draven strides through the door and back into the bedroom in only his bracers and a pair of black underwear.

His wings are gone, leaving him in fully human form. And those bracers and that pair of underwear, which is practically nothing more than a pair of tight shorts that end halfway down his thighs, do very little to conceal his lethal body. I can count every ridge of his defined abs and follow every curve of his biceps. Drops of water cling to his messy black hair, and one of them slides down the side of his neck.

He reaches up and rakes a hand through his hair. The move makes the muscles in his arm and chest flex slightly. My gaze drops down to the bulge visible against the front of his underwear.

Heat pools at my core.

Mabona’s fucking tits, did he have to be both hot and well-equipped?

“Now who’s staring?”

A jolt shoots through me. I hadn’t even realized that my mouth was open, so I snap it shut and flick my gaze back up to Draven’s face again.

There is a wide smirk on his lips as he raises his eyebrows expectantly, waiting for me to answer.

My cheeks flush.

He lets out a low chuckle. “So maybe you should consider what dirty thoughts are present in your own head before you accuse me of wanting to stare at your body in thattiny little nightgown.” He mimics those final three words in my voice.

I glare at him.

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