“I thought it was good to be the king,” Casey said, returning his smile.
“It is...but most of the time, it’s definitely not.”
Before Casey could respond, a shrill screech tore through her mind, forceful enough to make her stagger. A dragon, smaller than Elana’s dragon form but still at least ten feet tall, swooped in through one of the huge windows, landing by Brady’s bedside. It was slender with delicate lacy wings, a whip-like tail, and ice-blue scales.
Brady! Where have you been? Mommy and Daddy have been driving me crazy! Daddy has arranged for me to be married to Mikail from the Ralian territories, but I refused to be traded off like…
The high-pitched female voice stopped, and the silence was almost as jarring as her screaming thoughts. The dragon whipped around, tail flicking in warning. Its eyes narrowed as it leaned in close to Casey, sniffing her hair.
What are you? The voice nearly dripped with distaste.
Stop it, Alix. Brady’s voice now. She’s with me.
Alix turned back to Brady and shifted into human form. Casey could see the family resemblance. Alix had their father’s ginger-blonde hair and pale eyes. She was shorter than Casey, small-framed with a gymnast's athletic build. She looked like a heavy wind could knock her off her feet, but Casey had a feeling that anyone who thought she was a lightweight would regret it.
“What’s going on, Brady?” The suspicion in her voice was unmistakable. She looked back at Casey, a hard stare that Casey matched blink for blink. “Who is she?”
“She’s my friend. Casey Donahue.” Brady held his hand out to Casey and she half-ran to rejoin him at his bedside. She had a feeling Alix would fire-blast first and ask questions later. “She’s human.”
“I can smell that much.” Alix’s nose wrinkled in distaste. “You realize she doesn’t belong here.”
“I realize no such thing.” Brady smiled up at Casey, who managed to give him a faint smile in return. “She needs help and we’re helping her.”
“You’re helping her, you mean.” Alix folded her arms over her chest. “I want no part of this.”
“Alix can be a little difficult,” Brady said to Casey. “And spoiled. And obnoxious—”
“Stop it, Braydon!” Alix strode over to the window again, almost stomping her feet. She climbed onto the windowsill and turned to face him again. “I’m happy you’re home and that you’re alright, but don’t expect me to do anything for a...a human.”
With that, she leapt out of the window. A moment later, her dragon form reappeared, gliding gracefully away from the castle.
“I don’t know about you,” Casey said as she looked down at Brady again, “but I think she likes me.”
18
Brady
By the next morning, Brady’s wounds had healed enough for him to leave his bed and dress. Traditional clothing—pants, tunic, shoes—had been laid out for him. He groaned at the sight of the shoes. Those he hadn’t missed. Shoes for males were like socks with a wooden sole attached. Over time, if the shoes were worn often enough, they would mold themselves into the shape of the wearer’s foot, making them slightly more comfortable. Slightly.
A few attendants brought up a tub and filled it with hot water for his bath. He watched them work, feeling horribly useless and spoiled. He’d been away for a long time; he’d forgotten how his family had others to do menial or physical tasks. He thanked the servants profusely and they looked at him as if he had lost his mind.
Once he was soaking in the tub, he allowed his mind to turn to Casey. She seemed to be handling the weirdness of crossing into another dimension surprisingly well. The first time he had gone into her world, he had been almost overwhelmed by the sights and sounds and non-stop frenzy of New York. It had taken him months to get his footing. Casey, though...she bounced back pretty quickly.
He smiled at the thought of her. He had never known anyone quite like her. In this world, females who tried to match with him tended to be more interested in the prospect of becoming the future queen than in being his mate. In the other world, the women he had met were nice, some had been absolutely gorgeous, but none of them had given him that deep feeling of connection that he felt with Casey, especially so soon after meeting. Not even Savannah.
His pleasant mood darkened at the thought. He had believed Savannah was his life mate. She knew he was a shifter, but it didn’t matter to her. They had argued, as any couple did, and they had made up and made plans and expected to create a future together. He’d loved her more intensely and truly than he’d believed possible. After her death, he had felt gutted. He’d allowed his guilt over being unable to save her fester and grow to fill up the emptiness. He had mourned Savannah longer than he had loved her.
His attraction to Casey made no sense to him. Yes, he found her beautiful and sexy, but there was something deeper than that. She made him laugh. She wasn’t impressed with him or overwhelmed. She didn’t care who he was or what he had. And she had barely batted an eye at his shifting, which would, admittedly, be a deal-breaker for a lot of women. She accepted him. More than that, she seemed to genuinely like him.
He wanted more than that. He wanted her to love him.
Suddenly, he couldn’t get out of the bath or dress fast enough. He needed to see her again, to make sure she was alright.
“You’re up!” Casey smiled and immediately threw her arms around his neck, standing on tip toe as she hugged him as tightly as she dared. Brady winced but said nothing. He wrapped his arms around her and closed his eyes. This was what he needed.
After a few moments, Casey leaned back a little. “Oh, my God...your chest! I’m sorry...does it hurt?”
“I’m fine,” Brady said with a smile. In order to let his wounds breathe, he wore his tunic unbuttoned over his loose-fitting trousers. Casey examined his bandages, gently touching the wrappings, the tips of her fingers barely brushing his bare skin. She looked back up at him.
“I thought you were going to die,” she said softly.
“I wouldn’t do that to you.” His smile slanted. “You’d kill me, remember?”
Casey laughed even as a few tears escaped her eyes. She sniffed and blinked the tears away. “Don’t scare me like that again. Do you hear me?”
Brady lost himself in her wide, trusting eyes. If he had wondered even a bit about his feelings for her before, he knew he now had his answer. He realized he would do anything she asked, anything she wanted.
But would she want him?
“How about a tour?” he said and grinned, distracting them both from the intensity of the moment. Casey dipped her eyes and stepped back, nodding. For a fraction of a second, he thought he saw a flash of disappointment in her eyes and wondered if he’d somehow missed an opportunity.
Casey took his arm and smiled. “Lead the way, m’lord.”
Brady somehow remembered his way around the castle. He led Casey through the solar, another open-air room with vast ceilings and almost blinding sunlight. The grand ballroom, nearly the size of a football field, was being quickly decorated by servants in preparation for the celebration. They toured the kitchen and the vegetable gardens and walked along the battlements atop the castle walls. Hours passed like seconds.
Eventually, they found themselves in the throne room, where the King and Queen’s thrones sat atop a small platform. As with all the other rooms in the castle, the ceilings were lofty, with bare wooden beams running high over their heads. Brady was fascinated by Casey’s reactions to everything. He felt as if he were seeing everything through new eyes. Things that he had thought boring and normal when he was growing up were now amazing and incredible. The whole world had changed.
Brady watched Casey as she ran up the steps to the thrones. The thrones were built to accommodate their dragon forms. They were elaborate, complicated creations of wood and stone. Casey was dwarfed by them. There were smaller, human-sized thrones somewhere in the castle, but his parents never chose to use them. They usually preferred to remain in drag
on form. Brady knew that they were only sustaining their human forms now to make Casey more comfortable.
“So…” Brady held his arms out at his sides, gesturing to the room. “What do you think?”
Casey rejoined him. Her once carefully arranged hair hung in tendrils around her face, the braid having long since come loose from the coil atop her head.
“It’s honestly...amazing. You literally live in a fairy tale.” She tilted her head back at the sound of rustling and flapping wings. High above them, a few young dragons playfully glided and wrestled with each other. “That explains the ceilings,” Casey said with a laugh.
They began walking again, leaving the castle. They strolled along the sandy shores of a large lake. Casey glanced up at Brady as she unexpectedly took his hand in hers, interlacing her fingers with his.
Brady’s smile widened. “So, we’re holding hands now, are we?”
Casey lifted their joined hands. “Looks like we are.”
They walked in silence for a while as Brady led her out of the castle compound and through the outer gate. A dirt path led away from the castle, winding through fields and gardens. Brady watched Casey as she took it all in, her eyes wide with wonder.
“This almost reminds me of my family’s farm,” she said softly. “But, you know, without all the dragons and shifters.”
Brady chuckled.
“So, where are you taking me, Prince Charming?”
“You’ll see.”
They entered the woods, where the trees grew so densely packed the temperature dropped a few degrees and daylight faded into shadow. Thick green moss covered the ground and trees. The path was almost overgrown here, but Brady knew exactly where they were headed. He had created the trail himself, marking the trees and clearing the path just enough so he’d be able to find it later.
He hadn’t seen the cave in many years, but it looked just as it had the first time he’d found it. There was nothing extraordinary about it. From the outside, it appeared to be just a jagged opening in the rocks. He hoped nothing had changed on the other side.
“Come on,” he said, pulling Casey into the darkness. He could feel her hesitation, but she followed.
Five steps in, Brady could see the light from the other side. They stepped out of the cave and he could hear Casey gasp in surprise. Just the reaction he’d been hoping for.
The cave led them to a hidden grotto. A small but graceful waterfall cascaded into a shallow pond that trickled out into the main lake. In the center of the pond was a huge rock island basking in a spotlight of sunshine. The island and the shores of the pond were covered with soft, pillowy moss dotted with small white flowers. The only sound was the rushing of water.
“This is beautiful…” Casey’s voice trailed away as she looked all around. She let go of his hand and began exploring.
Brady sat down on the shore, resting his forearms on his bent knees, smiling. “I spent a lot of time here when I was younger.”
Casey turned to him. “I don’t think I would have ever left.”
“This was the only place where I could truly be alone, without anyone watching over my shoulder to make sure I was performing my ‘princely duties.’” He shook his head and chuckled. “After so many years in your world, that sounds so bizarre to me now.”
Casey rejoined him, gracefully lowering herself to the ground. “You are a very interesting man, Brady...oops, excuse me...Braydon Markonian.”
“You’re just saying that because I turn into a dragon.” Brady’s smile slanted. They gazed at each other for a few long moments, saying nothing else.
Nothing more needed to be said.
She leaned towards him, eyes sparkling, and pressed a quick kiss against his lips. He smiled and touched her cheek, cupping her face in his hand.
“You are just…” His voice trailed away. “I have no words…”
Casey unexpectedly rose onto her knees and hitched up her tunic as she straddled Brady’s lap. He could only sit there, surprised by her actions, and gaze into her eyes. She straightened up, forcing him to tilt his head to look at her, and ran her fingers through his hair, her touch gentle. His entire body shivered, causing her to smile slyly.
She lowered her head and gave him another gentle kiss on the lips, this time opening her mouth slightly. He responded in kind. The tip of her tongue slipped over his lips and he realized she was tasting him. She sat back down until her rump was pressed firmly against his arousal and gave a little wiggle. He moaned into her mouth and she raised her head again to look into his eyes.
It was all he could do not to rip the dress away from her and roll her beneath him. Every move she made against him was sweet agony. He could see that she knew exactly how she was torturing him and was enjoying every second of it. But that was fine. He could play that game, too.
High-pitched laughter echoed through the grotto and Casey froze, looking around for the source. Brady cursed to himself. Damned young ones had discovered the place. They’d be coming through the cave in a few seconds.
Casey looked down at him again and sighed. “Well...that was fun while it lasted.”
She stood and extended a hand to him. He smoothly rose, keeping her hand in his. Now that they were apart, he felt as if he had been doused with cold water. He shouldn’t do this. He almost felt as if he was betraying Savannah. Their physical attraction to each other was undeniable, but he didn’t know if he would be able to give her everything else that she needed. Part of him wanted to pull away from her, to stop the train before it went off the rails. The other part wanted to blast off full steam ahead.
Neither extreme seemed to be a viable option at the moment.
As he’d expected, a group of three children raced out of the cave, stopping short when they saw Brady and Casey. They immediately shifted into their other selves: a dragon, a bear cub, and a lion cub.
“It’s all yours, kids,” Brady said as he smiled and led Casey by the hand.
19
Casey
It was a dream. It had to be a dream, because nothing in life could be as perfect as the days following that kiss in the grotto.
Her boldness continued to surprise her. She had never been so forward, so confident with anyone. Every touch seemed natural, easy. He had seemed so tentative at first, as if he couldn’t quite believe that she was taking the lead. Casey couldn’t quite believe it either. Never had she ever felt so...aroused? Attracted? Horny? She felt like she became a different woman when she was with Brady, a woman with no shame, no hesitation, no limits.
After making love in his office, Casey had felt slightly awkward with Brady at first. She had shown him a part of herself that she kept hidden away, even from herself. She didn’t know what might happen if they found themselves alone again. The intensity of what she had felt scared her a little. She needed time to process everything.
At night, Brady walked her to her quarters and gave her a brief kiss at the door. He didn’t ask to come in. He didn’t ask her to join him in his chambers. She knew he was holding back for her benefit as well as his, but it didn’t make things any easier. To distract herself, Casey found herself adjusting to Brady’s world quickly, shocked that she didn’t miss all the bells and whistles of 21st-century life. The last few years had been a marathon for her, between work and internships and classes. Being here with Brady, she felt as if she could finally catch her breath.
Living among shifters had a bit of a learning curve, but Casey eventually grew accustomed to communicating with them mind to mind. In human form, they generally spoke aloud, but most of the shifters preferred their natural forms. She knew that no matter how long she might live, she would never tire of watching a shifter change forms. She had no other word for it than magic.
Something about Brady was changing, too. The longer they were in his world, the more comfortable he seemed to be with expressing physical affection in small ways. He would stop what he was doing to give her a kiss on the cheek or touch the small of her back as he passe
d by. He seemed to be as confused as she was. More than once a day, they would catch each other’s eyes and everything else in the world would fall away. She knew that he was remembering their time together as vividly as she was.
But neither of them acted on it.
It frustrated Casey to no end. As much as she wanted to be cautious and take her time, she also wanted to make love to him again. She needed an answer about her own feelings: did she love him, or did she just lust after him?
Or both.
She found herself assisting the Queen and Alix with decorations for the Great Hall on the morning of the celebration. Garlands of exotic flowers Casey had never seen before draped the tables and walls. Long banquet tables stretched from one end of the room to the other, laden with breads and fruits and vegetables. A small stage was set up to allow for live music.
Casey was grateful to have something to do, something that would keep her hands busy and her thoughts away from Brady. It wasn’t as if she was purposely avoiding him. She just sensed that a little time apart would be good for them. Absence makes the heart grow fonder and all that.
The only problem seemed to be Alix. Brady’s younger sister absolutely despised Casey, or so it felt. She had shown up for decorating with an attitude—apparently, her friends were going swimming at the lake, but the Queen was forcing her to work like a common servant—and it only got worse once she spied Casey.
Casey kept a respectful distance from Alix whenever possible, choosing to help the kitchen workers bake bread and cakes rather than be on the receiving end of her ire. It wasn’t until she was in the Grand Hall arranging flower garlands that Alix decided to let loose.
“What are you doing?” Alix asked as she approached Casey.
Casey glanced down at the flowers. “Working on a garland. What are you doing?”
“What do you want with my brother?” Alix stared her down.
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