Into The Dragon's World

by Brittany White

  “Do you not want to do this?” she finally asked.

  “Huh?” He blinked as if coming out of a daze. “Do what?”

  “Help me grab my stuff.” A wave of embarrassment washed over her. It had taken everything she had to even make herself ask him for help. It didn’t come easy to her. She’d rather be told “no” a million times than feel like she was an inconvenience or a chore for someone. Or worse: an obligation. She leaned forward and tapped the driver’s shoulder. “Hey...you can let me out here, please.”

  “Wait! What are you doing?”

  “I’m going home.” Casey opened the car door. “Thanks for the ride.”

  “You’re not going by yourself!” Brady scrambled out of his side of the SUV and stood in front of Casey, blocking her way. “What if your stalker comes back?”

  “So what if he does?” Casey sidestepped him and strode angrily down the sidewalk. They were just a few blocks away from her building. “He won’t do anything in broad daylight, for God’s sake.”

  “Casey! Stop!” Brady caught up to her and blocked her again. “What did I do?”

  Of course, Casey thought sourly. A man screws up and doesn’t even know what he’s done.

  “You haven’t said ten words to me since I got in the car. You’ve been staring out the window like there are a million other places you’d rather be.” Casey shook her head and held her arms out at her sides. “So, what else am I supposed to think?”

  “I’ve got some things on my mind—”

  “Great. Go off in your chauffeured SUV and think about them.” She dodged around him and started walking again. He came up behind her and grabbed her arm. She whirled around, ready to fight. He must have seen the sudden anger in her eyes because he let go and backed away a few steps.

  “Casey, I’m sorry.” He met her gaze with the full force of his amber eyes and immediately, her righteous outrage wavered. “I didn’t mean to make you feel that way.”

  Casey studied him for a few moments. She had the feeling that, for just a split-second, she’d seen the real Brady hiding behind the hard-ass facade. The one that she’d glimpsed the night before. She believed him, even though she wished she didn’t.

  “Okay.” She nodded. “Okay, fine. Let’s just get this done.”

  6

  Casey

  “Casey,” Brady said as he entered her apartment. “I hate to tell you this, but you are a world-class slob. Are you sure this place hasn’t been robbed?”

  Casey looked around her apartment. It was the standard tiny New York City apartment: small bedroom, trifling kitchen, wee living room, and a bathroom that was literally just a water closet. Every flat surface was covered with some kind of garbage—soda cans, fast food bags, crumpled tissues—and anything that wasn’t strewn with trash was littered with clothing. Was she supposed to have a maid service?

  “It’s not that bad.” Casey locked the door behind them. “It’s just lived in.”

  “Yeah, by a wild animal.”

  “Ha-ha, you’re hilarious,” Casey said flatly as she rolled her eyes and went to the bedroom. Brady followed. “You can wait out there, you know.”

  Brady shrugged. “No problem. I’m good here.”

  The proximity of Brady to her unmade bed inspired a whole new round of images. Brady lying naked atop the sheets, crooking a finger and commanding her to join him. Their bodies intertwining in the bright light of day, lazily kissing and touching each other. Her hand drifting down the flat plane of his belly to graze against—

  “Casey!”

  Casey jumped, cheeks scarlet. She had to stop doing that. If she insisted on fantasizing about him, she could at least have the decency to do it when he wasn’t right there looking at her.

  “What? Sorry...huh?” Casey smiled to hide her embarrassment. “Sorry...just kind of...drifted off for a second.”

  “I asked if you think you’ll need new locks on your doors.” Brady crossed the room to the bedroom window. “Fire escape. That’s not good.”

  “It’s not?”

  “It’d be easy for somebody to get into your apartment through here.”

  “So, what should I do? Nail my windows shut?”

  Brady shrugged. “That’s an idea.”

  Casey collapsed onto her bed, falling backward to stare at the ceiling. “I don’t want this to be happening to me.”

  “Pretty sure nobody does.” Brady sat beside her on the bed. “Last night...was that the first time he approached you physically?”

  “Yeah, if you mean attacked me.” Casey rolled her head to look at Brady. “He was my English professor. I had no idea he thought about me like that.”

  “Some guys don’t need a reason.” Brady looked around the room. “I don’t think you’ll be safe here.”

  “I haven’t got much choice.” Casey sat up again, trying not to notice the warmth emanating from his thigh as it brushed against hers. “I can’t just move in with Jasmine. I mean, I love her, but we’d kill each other after a week.”

  “Stay at the club, then.”

  “Wait...what?” Casey twisted on the bed to face Brady. “No…”

  “Yes.” Brady smiled faintly. “You can sleep up in the office. 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 sip of wine before replying. “Yes,” he said, still smiling. “I’m a dragon shifter.”

  “Is it like being a werewolf or…?”

  “Not really. I don’t do the big transformation scene they do in the movies.” He flexed his hands over his plate. Casey watched with huge eyes as he did a small shift, allowing his hands to take on the appearance of a dragon’s claws, black talons and scaled flesh. She looked up at his eyes again, more fascinated than afraid. He shifted his hands back to human form.

  “How did you do that?” she asked. “That’s amazing!”

  He shrugged. “Just born that way, I guess.”

  “So, it doesn’t hurt when you shift?”

  “Not really.” His smile slanted. “It actually feels great. I mean, don’t get me wrong. I like my human form as well, but as a dragon…” He shook his head slightly. “I feel like I can do anything.”

  “Do you have to take your clothes off first, or do you just Hulk out and tear everything up?”

  Brady shook his head. Where were these questions coming from?

  “You can take off your clothes first, if you want.” Brady’s smile grew a little. “But the change is...I don’t know. Like a total transformation. It just happens, and when it does, it’s like the dragon comes out of my body and my human form goes in. My family just explained it as ‘magic’ and let it go.”

  He felt the weight of Casey’s gaze as she studied him. Trying to see the dragon in me, he thought. He couldn’t quite believe he was talking about the subject so frankly, especially with someone he barely knew. Most people were uncomfortable with the idea of shifters. It scared them because they didn’t understand. To him, shifting was as natural as breathing. It was still him, but in a different form.

  Casey seemed to understand that. And it didn’t scare her.

  “What do you look like as a dragon?” she asked, propping up her chin with her hand.

  Brady laughed again. “I don’t know. It’s not like I have a mirror close by when I change.”

  “Good point.” Casey slowly smiled. “Can I see it?”

  Brady’s brows shot up. “See what?”

  “Your dragon.”

  He shook his head, smile turning rueful. “I don’t think—”

  “Yeah, you’re right.” Casey frowned at herself. “That’s a personal thing, isn’t it? I know Jasmine doesn’t like me to see her in panther form. She’s afraid I’ll be scared of her, but how could I be scared of Jazzy? I mean, I know it’s just a natural thing for you guys, but I’d really like to see what happens and…” Her voice trailed away. “I’m rambling, aren’t I?”

  “A little.”

  Casey took a slice of bread from the basket, nibbling at it as she studied Brady with bald fascination. Brady felt as if a spotlight was shining on him, but he simply smiled and waited. He knew more questions were coming, and for some strange reason, he didn’t mind answering them.

  “Are you really a prince?” she finally asked.

  Brady nodded. “Yes.”

  “And? I need details. Like, do you live in a castle with servants? Do you walk around as dragons or humans? Do you have a huge room filled with gold?”

  “That’s a stereotype,” Brady said with mock annoyance. “We keep our mountains of gold in banks like anyone else.”

  Casey closed her eyes and placed her hand over her heart. “My deepest apologies, my liege.”

  “Cut it out, peasant.” Brady laughed. “But to answer your questions...yes, I guess you could call my family’s home a castle. It’s left over from the wars centuries ago.”

  “The wars?”

  “It was over a thousand years ago. The different regions decided that their own pieces of real estate weren’t enough, so they tried raiding others. Supposedly, it went on for hundreds of years until somebody decided to divide everything up evenly. So far, it’s worked.”

  “So far,” Casey repeated.

  “And as far as our forms, we go back and forth depending on our moods. When I was younger, I would go weeks without shifting into my human form.” His smile turned slightly sad. “Sometimes I miss those days.”

  “What’s your world like?”

  “It’s beautiful.” Brady closed his eyes for a moment, remembering it. “It’s a lot like this world. Greener, maybe. There are no cities like this. Villages and marketplaces, but no cities. No pollution. Technology-wise, I guess you would say we’re still in the Middle Ages. No electric lights or internet.”

  “Oh, my God. No cell phones? No TV?” Casey looked almost horrified at the thought. “How do you live without cable?”

  “We read. We write letters. We actually visit face to face.” Brady chuckled. “It’s a nightmare.”

  Casey gazed at him with those beautiful blue eyes, and Brady suddenly felt like he would tell her anything she wanted to know, just as long as she kept looking at him that way.

  “What about your family? What are they like?”

  Brady shrugged and sighed. “I don’t know...they’re just my family. My father is the ruler of our part of the world. I guess he’s like a king in this dimension.”

  “Fancy,” Casey said as she waggled her eyebrows. Brady grinned.

  “Mother is, well…”

  “She expects you to give her grandchildren and nags you about it at every opportunity?”

  “Exactly.” Brady chuckled. “And my younger sister is a spoiled brat, but I love her dearly. I’m trying to talk Father into letting her take my place as heir, but he’s not too happy with the idea. His beliefs are still a little antiquated.”

  Casey said nothing for a few moments, just gazing at him. Brady felt equal parts disconcerted and aroused. Having her full attention focused on him was almost dizzying.

  “Are you happy?” she asked quietly.

  The question caught him off guard. “Happy?”

  “Do you like your life here in this world?”

  Brady hesitated a moment before answering. “Well...I don’t not like it.”

  “Brilliant answer,” Casey said with a sardonic smile. “I just mean...New York is great and all, but don’t you miss your own world? Your family?”

  “I guess...I do,” Brady said, slowly nodding. “But I was sent here to do a job, so it doesn’t matter if I miss them or not.”

  “You were sent here to manage a nightclub? That’s why you came here?”

 
; “No, it’s not that simple.” Brady sighed and leaned forward, crossing his arms over the table. He hesitated before speaking. He could trust Casey with this, couldn’t he? Not many humans knew about the sub-cellar at Paradigm. They would try to overrun his world, conquer it, enslave it.

  “It’s that serious, huh?”

  He met her gaze straight on. For a human, she seemed to understand him more than anyone else he’d ever known. He saw sympathy in her eyes, a compassion that made him want to tell her everything she wanted to know.

  “I guard the Arch,” he said quietly. “It’s the gateway between my world and yours.”

  Casey’s eyes widened. “There’s a gateway?”

  Brady nodded. “It’s in the sub-cellar of the club. It was discovered...I don’t know how long ago it was. I just know that because it’s on my family’s land, we were given the responsibility of guarding it.”

  “You mean, keeping people out?”

  “Yes. Shifters can come and go freely from there. They feel safe inside the club. If we didn’t watch over the Arch, our world would likely end.”

  Casey reached out and touched his hand. Brady felt a jolt of electricity zip through his body. Her skin was as soft as silk, as warm as the smile in her eyes.

  “So, you’ve given up the life you could have had,” she said quietly, “to protect your family and your world.”

  “It was never a choice,” he said with a slight smile. “What else could be done?”

  Casey fell silent again. Brady wondered if she felt it, too...the sense of being pulled into someone else’s soul. When he was younger, his mother had told him of this, the feeling that you’ve found a piece of yourself that you never knew you were missing. He’d laughed it off as overly romantic foolishness. He’d never believed her.

  But now he did.

  “You’re a good man, Brady.” Casey smiled. “Or dragon. Or whatever.”

  Brady laughed. “Either works.”

  They gazed at each other for a few moments, neither one of them feeling the need to say anything. The fierceness of his sudden need for her shook Brady to the core. He fought the urge to kiss her right then and there, to let his actions say what he had such trouble speaking aloud. Brady sensed that she might feel that way, too.