Free When Time Stops: Dragon Shifter Surprise Pregnancy Romance by Anya Nowlan Page A

looked out into the hallway closed.
    After that, yelling had been pretty much useless.
    She’d had a sleepless night, tossing and turning in her admittedly very comfortable room. Considering that her captivity had been spent surrounded by Italian marble, hardwood floors, Egyptian cotton sheets and a small fridge stocked with tasty foods, she had almost felt odd about complaining when her dress for the evening had arrived.
    But that feeling had quickly passed when she realized that she was, in fact, a prisoner, being used in some cockamamie dragon scheme that no one bothered to explain to her.
    Almost feels like home, she thought, thinking about the Evans clan and how her mother, Alicia, had run her life up to this point.
    Out of the frying pan and into the – apparently quite literal – fire. Isobel couldn’t really appreciate the irony, though. She’d thought she’d gotten away from greedy, self-involved dictators when she’d left her mother in the lurch, but apparently that was something that was cursed to stalk after her no matter where she went or what she did.
    “And what am I supposed to do here?” Isobel asked, risking a look at the beast of a man by her side.
    He had been introduced as Flite, another dragon shifter, as evident by the gold he carried in his eyes every time he looked at her. This guy was another one of the very particular specimen of men that made her skin crawl. Admittedly, all of them had been her kidnappers so far, so that probably had a lot to do with it.
    Flite was lighter built than Torren and appeared younger as well. He was somewhat fidgety and looked sullen, but nevertheless he could sure fill out a suit.
    The two of them stopped in front of large double doors, a servant looking at them impassively with his hands on the handles.
    “You are supposed to shut up and look pretty,” Flite said.
    Isobel glowered at him and Flite answered with the cockiest smirk she’d ever seen outside of a high school football victory celebration.
    “What if I scream for help?” Isobel asked, running a hand over the curve of her body in a subconscious attempt to calm her fraying nerves.
    Her hand stopped immediately when she saw the way Flite was following the movement. His eyes flashed deep, solid gold, with the pupils narrowing and elongating at the same time. For a moment, it looked incredibly familiar to her and Isobel swallowed dryly. She knew who it reminded her of, but she didn’t dare think of him at a time like this.
    She didn’t need any additional help to feel shitty about her current situation.
    “No one will come, little one. Everyone here has come to see you and be seen as well. They are all going to be competing for you and will consider you as nothing but a petulant little prize.”
    Flite seemed to consider this for a moment. His smile evaporated and his gaze slicked up to Isobel’s face again, while her hands crossed over her chest where his curiosity had seemed to linger for a moment too long. It felt like he could undress her with his eyes and that it would take little more than that to have her naked and pinned down on the ground, if he so wished.
    “Perhaps in that sense, it would be best if you screamed,” Flite added, leaning into Isobel.
    His hot breath touched her neck and she pulled away immediately, revulsion swirling in her gut.
    “Flite, stop scaring the lady,” a voice boomed behind them.
    Both Isobel and Flite straightened up immediately. Isobel had to turn around to see who it was that had come to her unexpected rescue.
    Like the rest of them, Isobel realized with a hint of amusement, he was impossibly tall and built like a football quarterback. His black suit fit him perfectly and though he was covered completely by the clothing, it was like Isobel could see his tight, muscular form even beneath the fabric.
    It was uncanny, really. Aeon had made her think much the same, like he wore his strength and his prowess on his sleeve at all times.
    His chestnut eyes were