Free Burning for the Dragon: BBW Dragon Shifter Paranormal Romance (Fated Hearts Club Book 1) by Cecilia Lane

feet
hit the ground several inches further than she anticipated. She caught herself
on the nightstand, where loose coins and his phone jangled together. Another
peek at Luca showed he still hadn’t returned to the world of the living.
    With a huff, Penelope draped one of his shirts over her
frame and buttoned a small handful of buttons. She smiled at her own
reflection. Sex goddess didn’t begin to describe how messy her hair looked. The
braid had only partially come undone, but strands of hair were sticking up all
over. Fucking for the good of girlkind looked good on her.
    She stomped out of the bedroom and through the main room.
The view was as impressive as she imagined the night before. The glass panes
ran from floor to ceiling and ran the length of one entire wall. She wondered
if they were on the top floor of the building. The city spread out below the
building and even the next highest skyscraper was still lower than Luca’s
apartment. His dragon probably liked the view, too.
    She trailed her hands down the rich leather of his huge,
comfortable couch. It was definitely something that would be featured in style
magazines of the rich and famous, but it looked like it was well used. The
magazines always appeared so staged and uncomfortable, but she could imagine
Luca chilling on the couch with friends gathered around to watch the large television
mounted on the wall.
    The open floor plan tucked the kitchen away in a corner. A
breakfast bar topped with a thick slab of granite, if her supermarket magazine
browsing had taught her anything, cordoned it off from the rest of the space.
The cabinets were a dark, rich red that matched the heavy furniture of his
living room. All the appliances were shiny silver and black. While her fridge
clunked and hummed in equal ferocity, there was utter silence in his kitchen.
    For once in her life, the rich lifestyle didn’t intimidate
her. She didn’t feel anxiety creeping up her spine and ready to sink sharp
needles into her mind. This was all Luca, and Luca was wonderful. They were at
opposite ends of the financial spectrum and it didn’t bother her.
    The only thing that bothered her was the sheer number of
cabinets she needed to look through to find a frying pan. She wondered just how
often he ate out because most of the cabinets were bare of food or cooking
implements. Perhaps she’d be able to talk him into having more meals at home
and owning more than one large pan.
    The thought gave her pause as she searched through the
fridge. She’d gone home with him expecting it to be a one-night deal. She hoped
for more but made her peace with the likelihood that she wouldn’t see him
again. Now she was planning their morning breakfasts and evening meals.
    He had called her his mate… She didn’t know much about
shifters, but he said the word in such a charged way that hinted at much more
than a casual night together.
    The fluttering butterflies in her stomach took flight at the
possibility of more with Luca. Sexy, wonderful Luca.
    She’d just finished putting a carton of eggs on the counter
when the jiggling of a door handle caught her attention. She glanced back to
the bedroom, but the door remained closed. The front door, however, opened wide
and let in a striking woman. Penelope froze with the fridge door open behind
her. The cool blast of air offset the heat in her cheeks.
    She was tall. Penelope was short. She looked like she could
take down ten black belt martial artists with the flick of her hand. Penelope
was…. well, curvy. Big and curvy. She knew her anxiety magnified her
perception, but she was sure the other woman could easily fit into one of her
pant legs.
    If she’d been wearing pants. Her fingers quickly worked at
the rest of the buttons of Luca’s shirt. Thankfully he was taller than her, and
though the material strained around her bust, it hung to her thighs so there
was no chance she’d be flashing the newcomer.
    The door of the fridge shut behind her. Penelope