Into The Dragon's World - Brittany White Page 0,9

The couch seemed to suit you last night.”

“But—”

“And I can always use some help around the place. Do you know how to mix a drink?”

“Not really.”

“Then you can work with Luke at the bar and learn.” Brady’s smile widened. “You’ll be surrounded at all times. He wouldn’t dare come in there looking for you.”

“But I can’t stay there forever.”

Brady shrugged. “He’ll lose interest in you soon. These guys are like cats. They see something sparkly and forget all about what they were doing.”

The offer had caught Casey off guard, so much so that she was actually considering it. Staying at the club might be the best thing for her right now. It would be easy for Evan to find her home address, and now that Brady mentioned it, she could just imagine him creeping through her bedroom window while she slept.

She shivered at the thought and Brady unexpectedly took her hand. His skin felt hot, almost feverish, but his touch was gentler than she had imagined. He leveled that powerful gaze at her again and Casey felt almost dizzy.

“You’d be doing me a favor,” he said, smiling ruefully. “I’d go nuts thinking of you here by yourself.”

“Really,” Casey said sardonically. “You’d go nuts?”

He nodded. “I would.”

Casey took a deep breath and sighed. “Well...I guess I don’t have much of a choice, do I?”

“Not a bit.” Brady gave her hand a soft squeeze and stood up again. “Come on. Let’s get this done and go grab some lunch.”

“Hey, Brady?”

He turned around to face her. “Yeah?”

“I just wanted to tell you that you look really good out of a suit.” She heard the double entendre as soon as she said it, but decided to let it stand. “You know, in case you were wondering.”

Brady slowly nodded. “O-kay. Thanks.”

He chuckled as he headed out to the living room

It took Casey a few seconds to make herself move. Had Brady been replaced by a pod person overnight? Where were the growling gruffness and arctic attitude? Out of the suit, he was a different man. He seemed...kind. And somewhat sweet. And generous. And…

Stop it right now, she thought as she started grabbing sweatpants and t-shirts and stuffing them into the duffle bag. You cannot let yourself start thinking like this. Don’t let Jasmine get in your head and make you think this could be something, because it’s not and never will be. And not only that, what kind of person lets herself get all hot and bothered over a gorgeous man when there’s a freaking stalker hunting her? A stalker that, coincidentally, can turn into a bear at any given moment. What’s up with that?

Taking a deep breath, Casey forced herself to clear her mind. Okay. Yes, she was being stalked by a creeper. Yes, he could turn into a bear at will, which added a few extra problems to the mix. Yes, she was seriously attracted to Brady Markonian, who also turned into a freaking dragon in his spare time, and had to fight off fantasies every time she was around him. And yes, Brady was right. This wasn’t going to be forever. Evan Wallace would soon find a prettier coed to bother and it would be over. She’d be old news. Then, she could go back and finish school and go on her merry little way through life, and Brady could go find a dragon princess and live happily ever after.

Casey took a deep breath and sighed.

She hadn’t expected the idea of that to bother her so much.

7

Brady

It was good to see a woman with an appetite. Brady watched with amusement as Casey made quick work of her steak, eating without reservation or hesitation. So many women he knew would pick daintily at a salad and claim that they didn’t really need a lot of food. It was bullshit, and it was one of the reasons a lot of them didn’t get a second date. A woman who denied herself the pleasure of food would deny herself other pleasures as well, and he just didn’t have time for that nonsense.

Casey popped the last piece of steak in her mouth and leaned back in her chair, groaning with satisfaction as she flattened a hand over her belly. “Oh, my God...that was good.”

Brady smiled. He could imagine her saying the same words in a markedly different setting. “I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

“Oh, yeah. I did.” Casey sat up again, propping her elbows on the table and folding her arms. “So...you’re a dragon.”

Laughing, he took a