Burning for the Dragon: BBW Dragon Shifter Paranormal Romance (Fated Hearts Club Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

to hiding in her studio apartment, that no one would want her
looking the way she did. But his eyes didn’t leave her face, except to journey
down her body. Heat followed his gaze, as surely as if he’d touched where his
eyes looked. When he changed direction, she couldn’t help but notice the lust
written on his expression. It made her nipples pebble in her uniform shirt and
hope grow in her heart.
    What had Vera said when convincing her to go to the club in
the first place? She’d be fucking for the good of girlkind? She’d do just about
anything to sink her teeth into Luca at that moment.
    “If you two are done eye fucking each other, I know what
she’s going to say.”
    They turned to the voice. Penelope blushed again. She’d
forgotten Blanca was even there. “You do?”
    Blanca waved her hands like she was smacking Penelope in the
head. “Chica, you’re going.”
    She turned back to Luca. His eyes met hers and the world
seemed to drop away again. “I… I’d love to. We’ll need to get a sitter, of
course. But you have that covered, right? You did say you’d provide for the
full children.”
    Luca laughed. “Absolutely. How about you give me your
address and I’ll pick you up tomorrow night?”
     
    ***
     
    “I can’t believe you gave him my address.” Vera groaned from
her bedroom.
    Penelope eyed the dress Luca had sent to her work. It looked
gorgeous in the box and on the hanger. It looked like something she’d never,
ever wear. It was too edgy, even for Vera’s tastes. It was not Penelope
Minett .
    But he’d sent it, with a note asking that she humor him and
wear it for their date. She recognized the brand as something so far outside of
her price range that she never thought she’d be within touching distance of one
of their dresses. Humoring her date and not her usual style aside, she wanted
to wear the thing.
    “I didn’t want him to know where I lived in case he turned
out to be psycho.” She didn’t think there was a chance of that, but she
couldn’t be too careful. The news always said it was the unexpected ones that
turned out to have murder rooms in their basements. Not that Luca would need
one. He could just roast her with one, fiery breath of his dragon.
    She also didn’t want him to see where she lived in squalor.
The building didn’t have a doorman or interior halls or security cameras. It
was a dump on the outside, and little better on the inside. A man like Luca
would run as fast as he could to get away from that.
    “Oh, but it’s okay he knows where I live? Thanks!”
    “You need to buzz to get into your building. Mine is not so
secure.” She couldn’t help the resignation that entered her voice. She’d lived
in a nice place before the split with her ex. Before she’d been forced from her
job. Before everything went to shit.
    “Penny… It’s going to be okay. You’ll bounce back. You
always do.”
    “I’m just tired of it, you know? Don’t get me wrong, this is
nice. More than nice. It’s fantastic! But I’m tired of getting my hopes up and
then having them crushed again. I keep telling you that cats would be easier.”
    “Well, in that case, let’s just call Luca up and
cancel—”
    “Don’t you dare!” Penelope shouted.
    “Life is about taking risks. You fail, that sucks. But you
still need to dust yourself off and try again.”
    “Wise words, Vera. And here I thought you were just a
sex-crazed bimbo.” She made the last few adjustments to the dress and zipped up
the back. She didn’t look or feel like herself. But maybe that was okay, she
told herself. Maybe it was okay to be a different Penelope for the evening.
“Okay, I think I’m ready.”
    “Let me seeeee!” Vera squealed.
    Penelope exited the bathroom to the sounds of Vera bouncing
up and down on her bed. It wasn’t quite the drumroll she wanted, but it’d have
to do in a pinch.
    The dress fit like a glove against her upper half. The upper
neckline was all lace in the same deep