I slumped through the doorway, shivering in delight at the warmth that filled Alys’ home. All of a sudden, I felt incredibly drained.

  It had been a mostly enjoyable evening. Walking with Alys by my side through the miniature town created by the caravan’s stalls, coaches, and wagons had been a delight. The meeting that followed, however, had left me feeling hollowed out.

  I groaned like some undead creature and started to stagger towards my corner, ready to fall into my pile of blankets and sleep.

  At least the delightful familiarity of Alys’ home made all the unpleasantness seem distant and irrelevant. What did the royal surveyors matter? Especially when I was here, under the same roof as the dragoness I’d come to care about with shocking speed? I just wanted to sleep and let any lingering worries dissolve into pleasant dreams.

  Maybe I’d even dream about the bathroom for which we’d just purchased materials. A proper bathroom, out here on the frontier, so I could stop dipping myself in the frightfully cold river water…

  “I think I am going to pass out and pretend that meeting never happened,” I declared with conviction. I didn’t even want to sort through all our purchases and start making plans for the aforementioned bathroom. No matter how much I longed for it to be up and running quickly, everything could wait until tomorrow.

  Or so I thought.

  I heard the clack of the wooden food container being set down on the table, and then I felt Alys grip the back of my shirt. Showing off that draconic strength of hers, she lifted me up a few centimeters off the ground, just high enough to kill my momentum.

  “And where do you think you are going?”

  “To… my bed?” I tried to look over my shoulder at her, but it was quite awkward for me to do so in my current state.

  There was a pause before she sighed, slowly turning me a little so our eyes could meet.

  “I had a wonderful time today, before we were interrupted. I want to feel cozy, comfy, and relaxed.” She narrowed her eyes further. “And, for whatever reason, you make me feel that way. So, I want to cuddle. Will that be a problem?”

  “No, my lady dragon,” I answered with full sincerity, and a smile that might match Nasha’s in intensity.

  “Good. Follow me, then.”

  She put me down and started up the stairs. I followed, obviously, enchanted out of my weariness by the happily embarrassed lashing of her tail.

  Though I had visited the second floor of Alys’ home several times by then, I still found the space interesting. A variety of nests were scattered throughout the room. One consisted of a pile of pillows arranged inside a circular wooden bedframe. Another frame was pushed against the room’s darkest corner and overflowing with blankets. There was even a proper ‘bed’, in the most classical sense, in another corner.

  Besides the various smaller nests, the room had three main features. First was a massive wardrobe that took up an entire half of one wall. Second was a truly large nest in the center of the room, filled with a collection of everything soft, from blankets to sheets to pillows. Finally, a gargantuan wooden chest with a hefty lock was situated right next to this large nest.

  Alys had equipped the space with a lovingly crafted sleeping nook for every mood and occasion. She had gone out of her way to meet her own napping needs.

  It endeared her to me all the more.

  My dragoness paused once we were both in the room, then pointed towards a corner. “I know you carry all your things with you, so I know you’ve got your sleeping clothes in that bag of yours. Face that way while changing, and don’t you dare turn around to peek at me, got it?”

  “Why yes, mistress. So long as you don’t take any peeks yourself,” I purred in reply.

  She grumbled a bit, but she nodded all the same as she went for the wardrobe. I averted my eyes immediately, intent on following her command faithfully.

  My sleepwear was a bit… boring. I had nothing specific or special that could qualify for the term. I’d been sleeping in a simple shirt and my most comfortable pair of pants since I left my former home. Maybe I should have bought something from the caravan, but… there had been several other matters occupying my mind.

  As such, it didn’t take me long to be ready for bed. Then I was treated to the odd torment of listening to fabric shift and rustle behind me. I soon had to admit that though I would never break her trust, a part of me was tempted to sneak a peek at Alys.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  “You can turn around now,” she finally declared. I let out a huff of relief as I did just that.

  Not that the sight before me affected me any less. Alys was partial to some kind of odd toga-like outfit, formed out of a single long roll of fabric wound about her body in a way that covered her fully. Yet the fabric did shift around when she moved, occasionally offering the slightest glimpse of the scales underneath.

  I may have stared a little, if the flush that settled on her face was any indication.

  “What?” she asked defensively, even as she continued moving with determination towards the central nest.

  “Nothing. Well, not nothing.” I paused, briefly gnawing on my lower lip. “You are beautiful.”

  She almost tripped, but caught herself quickly enough to regain her footing. She then sent me a look I couldn’t quite decipher, followed by a huff.

  “Just get in bed.”

  “If that’s where you want me.”

  I couldn’t keep the teasing lilt out of my voice. In fact, I was starting to realize that I defaulted to such behavior whenever I felt embarrassed or unsure about how to proceed. I would need to work on this. I didn’t want to appear like I was making light of her feelings.

  This time, though, it was her retort that made my cheeks red, simple as it was.

  “I do.”

  I moved over to the edge of her nest, lingering for just a moment in front of what was essentially a pit of comfort. Then I just let myself drop into it. Alys giggled at my nonsense in that rumbly way of hers, and I didn’t let myself hesitate further as I crawled closer to her and plopped down into the bedding.

  It really was delightfully soft. Best of all, I didn’t even need to search for a blanket in the mess. Alys radiated heat, though not to the point of discomfort or in a way that would make me sweat the entire night. Her presence always caused me to feel comfortably toasty.

  That didn’t change even when she reached out and pulled me to her side. It only deepened the heat in a rather delightful way, while also allowing me to feel the thrum of her heartbeat echoing into me from where my body was touching hers.

  “What is with you trying to keep a distance, hrm?” she rumbled, amusement dancing in her beautiful, silver-flecked golden eyes. As always, she behaved with much more confidence when there was no one else around. “The last two times we did this, you were awfully clingy.”

  “I was only clingy when I fell asleep!” I protested. “Well… all right. Maybe a little before then, too. But I was exhausted the first time, after we fought that abomination. And the second time, you kidnapped me into your bed like the brutish dragoness you are.”

  I sniffed imperiously and thrust my nose at the ceiling, playing up the entire thing to make it blatantly obvious I was just teasing.

  “Not apologizing for that,” she huffed right back at me. “I needed cuddles that day.”

  She didn’t elaborate, and I didn’t push her. If she wanted to tell me what had been bothering her that day, enough to drag me up here for the little extra comfort I was more than willing to provide, then she would do so.

  “Hmph. Fine. I’ll just make myself comfortable, then,” I declared as I snuggled right up against her, much to her obvious amusement.

  She did shift, though, lifting me ever so briefly so she could extend her wings fully. Then she wrapped them around us in a move she hadn’t tried before. We were almost cocooned, but it didn’t feel claustrophobic. In fact, it felt… nice. Like we were safer, somehow? Or like the moment was even more private? It was hard to describe, but I most certainly liked it.

  “Isn’t that going to make your wing hurt? I’m lying on top of it.”

  “No, you are not heavy enough to hurt me. I am a draconian. A ‘dragon in human skin’, or whatever term they used to refer to us in the past. You would need to put actual effort into damaging my wings.”

  I’d known all that already. I had read several books on her people’s physiology over the years. I still thought it best to check, seeing as I hated the idea of hurting her by mistake.

  I did take a moment to gently run my fingers over the membrane of her wing, making her shiver.

  “Sorry, does that feel uncomfortable?”

  “No. A little ticklish, maybe. I’m just not used to someone touching my wings.”

  “Ah. Sorry again.”

  “I didn’t say I wanted you to stop. It felt nice.”

  I snickered, shifting a little so I was lying on my side and propped up on my elbow. I was worried about that putting more pressure on her wing, but she didn’t even react to it, in contrast to the soft touch which had just elicited such a marked reaction.

  I hesitated just for a moment, buffeted by doubt and worry she wouldn’t like it. But in the end, I reached into my pocket and retrieved the bracelet I’d bought for her.

  I didn’t have a proper jewelry box to hand it to her in, or any sort of wrapping. It was also rather abrupt, seeing as I had no experience with gift-giving. But I wanted her to have it, and I hated the idea of waiting for some ‘perfect’ moment.

  “Here. I got this for you. I thought it would complement your scales nicely, and… well, I quite liked the design and…” I cut myself off at the realization that I was about to start rambling. “Well, I just wanted you to have it.”

  She hadn’t said a word yet. When I chanced a glimpse at her face, I realized she was staring at the bracelet like she wasn’t certain it was real. Like it might disappear at any moment.

  That expression shattered my ridiculous worries about her scoffing, saying she hated it, and throwing it aside.

  Silently, and a little awkwardly since I had my full weight on my elbow, I took hold of her hand and slipped the bracelet over her wrist. It settled there rather nicely, just tight enough so it didn’t slide all over the place and yet loose enough not to dig into her scales.

  “Do you like it?” I couldn’t help the question, seeing as she still hadn’t said a word or let her gaze move from the bracelet.

  When her eyes finally found mine, I almost gulped and looked away. Almost. I was far too drawn into those molten pools of gold to tear myself away willingly.

  “Yes,” she rumbled softly. “Yes, I do. I like it a lot.”

  I couldn’t find the words to say anything in response. Then her hand found its way to my collar, abruptly pulling me much closer to her as she grumbled accusingly, “You can’t just gift me something this nice out of the blue. I wasn’t ready.”

  I was opening my mouth, hopefully to say something witty and appropriate for the moment we were having, when she jerked me forward to close the remaining distance between us.

  Our lips met, and I certainly wasn’t going to complain about not being able to say anything for quite a while after that.