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“Inside the chests in this room there should be perfumed solutions made by the humans. Although I find them foul to my senses, you may use them until you no longer smell burning flesh. When you do, I ask that you stop using them. Find one that is to your liking while I fill the tub with water and heat it.”

She walked into the room and then paused to turn around, making him pause as well.

“Thank you.” She gave him a smile to show him just how much she appreciated it. She couldn’t help noticing that the scales around his face appeared a brighter purple.

He said nothing before he left, and Amalia went through the chests. When she came across a perfume that smelled similar to roses, she took it.

Going down the tunnel to the room she previously bathed in, she found him already partially inside. He must have heard her, because he backed out of the small space to allow her in.

“How did all these rooms come to be here?” she asked while stepping around him.

“Dragons find a cave to their liking and then shape it by claw to suit them,” he answered from the entryway. “I liked this one because of the waterfall and stream.”

She dipped her fingers inside the water to find it was warmer than last time and would be soothing.

“How come some are smaller than others?”

She quirked a brow when he sat down on his hindlegs.

“Because I do not need them bigger. Some are just for storage. Some I use when I am not in this form or this size since I can mould myself at will, if I choose to. The larger rooms are the ones I prefer to occupy.”

“Oh, that makes sense.”

Then she stared at him while she stood next to the tub, holding the perfume bottle in her hand. She intended to add a few drops at a time until all she could smell was roses. Since he told her that he found the smell of perfume foul, she didn’t want to saturate herself in it.

“Well? Is the temperature not to your liking?” He motioned his snout to the tub.

“I was waiting for you to leave.”

“We are talking. Why would I do that?” His tone had been nondescript, but she noted the crinkle in the scales around his eyes.

“I will not strip or bathe in front of you!”

He lowered his head to bring himself further into the alcove.

“Why not? I have seen you naked plenty of times. I also changed you when you arrived here.”

She covered her breasts with both arms even though her dress was already covering her.

“You could have told me that you were not some mindless creature instead of watching me! I knew there had been a hint of thought in your eyes.”

“I had not trusted you then,” he said, which surprised her.

Her arms loosened but didn’t fall away. “And now?”

His spiking brows drew together. “I do not know.”

She guessed that was better than him telling her he didn’t.

“Regardless of the fact you have seen me naked, although I was not a willing party to that, I will not prance around naked in front of a maleanything.”

“Dragons have no concept of nudity. Currently, as we speak, I am naked.”

“It is different. You are not human formed!”

He raised a clawed hand to his face to tap at his chin. “I have also never worn clothing around you while I have been human.”

Her face paled, realising she had been holding a naked man when she’d been crying. Then that paleness faded into a roaring red, and she shoved her hands against her face in embarrassment.