Into The Dragon's World - Brittany White Page 0,33

every day since.

He dipped his head in acknowledgement and grinned, hesitating only a moment before going back to his axe to split more wood.

Casey sighed as she watched him work, his bronzed skin glistening in the sun. Never had she felt such a connection to a man. She had never allowed herself to get so close. The men she knew would have used her up until she was completely drained, then tossed her aside like so much garbage. She meant nothing to them except a means to an end. She had long since decided that those days were over. She’d rather be alone for the rest of her life.

But now, Brady had changed everything. He had changed her.

Love or lust?

Love. Definitely love.

The night of the celebration, the skies were clear and lit by the glow of three small moons. The party had outgrown the confines of the Great Hall, as every person in the village joined in the festivities. Lanterns and torches dotted the garden as everyone ate and danced and laughed. Some of them had taken on human form in order to dance to the drum and pipe music. Elana and Gareth were in their dragon forms, poised upon their gigantic thrones, and dragons of all shapes and sizes filled the air inside and out.

Casey entered, her hair freshly washed and braided by Dorris, wearing a sapphire blue tunic dress. She spotted Brady instantly. He was talking to old friends, laughing as he drank the sweet red wine that was so popular in the village. He wore a buttoned gray tunic and black trousers, the same utilitarian uniform as all the other shifter men, but to Casey, it was as if a spotlight shone down on him, singling him out from every other person in the world.

He looked up and caught her eye, and after saying his goodbyes to his friends, made his way through the crowd towards her. Casey felt a pull deep inside, an invisible bond with Brady that both thrilled and frightened her.

As Brady stood before her, he was silent for a moment, allowing his gaze to take her in from head to toe. Casey did the same and wondered if he was feeling the same hunger as her.

“You look beautiful,” he finally said.

Casey smiled as she looked up at him. “You, too.”

The musicians on the stage began a slow, mournful tune that drew dozens of shifter couples into the middle of the room.

“Would you like to dance?” Brady asked, extending his hand.

Casey nodded and Brady led her out to the floor. He wrapped his arms around her waist as she rested her forearms on his shoulders, lazily tangling her fingers in his hair. They swayed in time to the music, bodies pressed together, faces only inches away from each other.

“This feels like junior high,” Casey said, smiling. “The old shuffle-and-sway.”

Brady’s hands slid down her back, stopping at the very base of her spine for a moment, then dipping lower to flatten against her buttocks for a heartbeat. He kept his gaze locked on hers, silently watching her reaction. Your turn.

A small smile curled at the corner of her mouth as she pulled her hands away from his shoulders and rested them against his chest. She hesitated for a moment, then allowed her right hand to fall between them, ever so slightly brushing against the front of his trousers. His eyes widened slightly at her boldness even as he grew hard against her palm, straining against the scratchy material.

Again, Casey felt shocked by her own recklessness. Anyone who cared to look could see exactly what she was doing, but she didn’t care. All she wanted right then, at that moment, was to see the rise of desire in Brady’s eyes.

Satisfied that she had his full attention, she gently stroked the length of his erection, watching him struggle to remain unruffled. He half-closed his eyes and whispered into her ear, “You’re killing me right now.”

“I know,” she whispered back, leaning back slightly to smile up at him again. “What are you going to do about it?”

He stopped swaying and released her, taking a few steps back. The tunic was almost long enough to hide his erection. Without another word, he quickly walked out of the Great Hall, leaving a whispering, gossiping trail behind him.

Casey could do nothing but watch him go, humiliation and anger warring for control.

What the hell just happened?

No one knew where he had gone.

He wasn’t in the solar. Or the kitchen. Or his bedroom.