Into The Dragon's World - Brittany White Page 0,36

naked bodies were warm, and the rising sun hinted at another hot day.

“Well, in my defense...it has been years.” Brady smiled and played with a lock of Casey’s hair. She flattened her palm against his chest, feeling his heart beating strong and steady, and then slowly traced lower to his stomach, idly circling his navel. He stiffened almost instantly.

“The dragon seems to be waking up,” she said and raised herself up onto one elbow. The smile on Brady’s face was the most contented, most satisfied she had ever seen. He reached up to touch her face, tucking her hair behind her ear, gently stroking her lower lip with his thumb.

I love this man, Casey thought, leaning forward to kiss him softly. He hungrily escalated it, rolling over to hover on top of her. She kept her hand between them, slowly teasing him, and loved the helplessness in his eyes.

Their kiss deepened, but before she could make good on her teasing touch, someone knocked heavily on the door. Brady groaned and raised his head.

“Whatever it is, I’m too busy to care!” he shouted.

“Someone’s come through the portal.” The voice sounded like Dorris’s. “He needs to see you immediately.”

Brady and Casey exchanged an uncertain look. Her heart dropped. Had Evan found the Arch in the cellar of the club?

“I’ll be right there.” Brady rolled out of bed and grabbed his trousers. He dressed quickly, not bothering to button his tunic. Casey struggled into her dress, her hands trembling fiercely. The damn thing was inside out, and she couldn’t find the armholes, and damn it! Why am I shaking so badly?

Brady went to her and helped her get her arms into the sleeves and her head through the opening. With a faint smile, he lifted her long, loose hair over her shoulders and brushed it out of her eyes. Casey instantly calmed.

“It’s alright,” he said quietly, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead. “Whatever it is, it’ll be okay.”

Casey nodded, although she couldn’t shake the dread. This last week in Brady’s world had been idyllic, the happiest she had ever been in her life. Something bad had to happen to balance the scales.

Brady held her hand tightly and led her to the door. Dorris stepped aside as Brady and Casey passed, giving Casey a small smile.

Casey’s stomach churned and she felt like she might throw up. She fought the urge, flattening her free hand against her belly as Brady led them down the winding stairs. A wave of fatigue suddenly hit her, stopping her in her tracks.

Brady immediately turned to her. “Casey? Are you okay?”

Casey said nothing but nodded. This wasn’t the first morning she’d woken up nauseous, she realized. Or with aching breasts.

She could suddenly feel the blood draining out of her face.

Oh…! she thought, eyes widening.

“Casey?” Brady studied her closely.

“I’m fine,” she said, quickly forcing a smile. “All good here. I’m okay.”

Brady looked at her doubtfully, but said nothing else for the moment. They continued down the staircase, Casey taking extra care with her footing.

She couldn’t be pregnant, could she? Not after just a week...even if it was a week of almost constant sex...unless it had happened in the other world. They’d used no protection, obviously, but that hadn’t stopped them. The thought of pregnancy had never entered her mind. Besides, could a human woman even get pregnant by a male shifter?

Apparently so.

It didn’t take her long to realize that she couldn’t tell Brady yet. He’d told her of all the women, shifter and human alike, who had tried to trap him into marriage. She couldn’t live with the thought of him believing that of her. She was with him because she loved him. Surely he would know that, wouldn’t he?

She just didn’t know how he felt about her. Liking her wasn’t enough. Being fond of her wasn’t enough. She wanted love. She wanted him to love her as fiercely and completely as she loved him.

She lost her train of thought as they entered the courtyard and saw Zack and Jasmine standing by the Arch. She ran to Jasmine and hugged her tightly. Zack simply nodded a greeting to Brady, who nodded back.

“What’s going on?” Brady asked.

“We think Evan Wallace might be gone.” Zack folded his arms over his chest and shrugged. “There’s no sign of him at his apartment or at the college. It looks like he left in a hurry.”

“And he hasn’t been back to the club, either.” Jasmine held Casey at arm’s length and smiled. “Something here is