Into The Dragon's World - Brittany White Page 0,39

understand why I couldn’t just leave.”

Casey watched him struggle to balance his emotions. Pain at Savannah’s loss. Anger at their argument. Guilt for her death.

“We were arguing when the car came across the median.” Brady blinked and tears trickled from the corners of his eyes onto his temples. “The last thing I said to her was to stop being a goddamn child.”

Casey gently pulled Brady over to her as she laid back on the pillows, urging him closer. He rested his head against her breasts and she held him tightly, stroking his hair, trying to soothe him. She wasn’t sure what to say to him. What she could say to him. Nothing would take away his guilt or his pain.

“I just shut down after that,” Brady murmured. “Nobody mattered to me, and that was what I wanted.”

Casey wanted desperately to ask him how he felt about that now. Was she nothing more than a warm body to keep him company for a while? Had he just felt sorry for her predicament and tried to ease his guilt over Savannah by helping her?

She didn’t want to think about it.

For a moment, she almost said the words. She had never felt love for a man so keenly, so fiercely. What she had suspected in his world was only confirmed now. She wanted him to know how much comfort he had given her, how safe she felt in his arms and in his presence. She wanted to shake him until he understood that Savannah’s death was not his fault, and that even though she was dead, he didn’t have to bury himself, too.

But she couldn’t. There had been too many times in her life when she had told someone how she felt only to be laughed at or ignored. She had thought the part of her that could love someone must have atrophied. Brady had brought it back to life. Brought her back to life.

“Go to sleep,” she whispered, petting his hair in slow, languid strokes. She could feel his body relaxing against her. “I’ll be here when you wake up.”

“Better be,” he muttered, his breathing even and slow. Casey smiled faintly as he began to snore softly.

God help her, she even loved that.

The next morning, Casey bolted out of bed and ran for the bathroom. She barely made it.

After brushing her teeth and rinsing her mouth, she leaned against the sink for a few minutes, closing her eyes as she willed herself to breathe deeply and relax. The morning sickness was getting worse. Soon, there’d be no hiding it from anyone. Her breasts had begun to ache as well, feeling heavier than normal. Maybe some of it was psychosomatic, but Casey could swear that her stomach was rounder than it had been just a few days before. She gently rubbed her belly through the cotton of Brady’s t-shirt. Maybe it wasn’t rounder now, but soon.

“You okay?”

Brady stood in the doorway to the bathroom. He wore a pair of sweatpants, his arms crossed over his bare chest. He studied her with an intensity that unnerved her.

“I’m fine,” she said and shakily smiled. “I think it’s just food poisoning.”

“Mmm-hmm.” He held his hand out to her. “C’mere.”

Brady led her back to bed. She sat on the edge of the mattress and he sat beside her.

“I need to tell you something,” he said quietly.

“Okay.” Casey swallowed hard.

“I’ve noticed that you’ve been...different...since we came back.” Brady turned her hand over in his, stroking her knuckles with his thumb. “And I think I might know why.”

“Really?” Casey took a deep breath. Did he know? Was this the part where he dumped her? She fought to control her nerves, meeting his eyes calmly, betraying nothing.

“I think it might be because…” He smiled. “With everything that’s happened, we’ve never been on a real date.”

“A date?” Casey repeated, half-laughing in relief. “Yes. Right. A date.”

“I mean, I’m not complaining,” he said with a wink. “But I want to do this right.”

Casey nodded. “Yeah. Me, too.”

“So…” He bumped her shoulder with his. “Would you do me the honor of joining me for dinner this evening?”

“Depends.” She returned the shoulder bump. “Are we dining, or are we just eating?”

“Oh, dining, definitely.” He leaned forward until their foreheads touched. “I’ll even wear a tie.”

“How can I say no to that?” Casey laughed and gave him a quick kiss on the nose. “It’s a date.”

23

Brady

Brady gave himself one more once-over while he waited for Casey to finish dressing. Running a hand through his hair,