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

surveyed her options.
She wouldn’t go racing naked into the street, but she needed to get home.
    “Penelope, please open the door. Let’s talk about this.” Luca’s
voice was thick with emotion even through the door.
    She glanced down at the shirt she wore. If she could
unbutton the top and wiggle her arms out… Thank God for DIY.
    She fastened the shirt around her top and twisted the
dangling sleeves around her waist to tie in a bow at her back. Anyone looking
close enough would see a walk of shame outfit of epic proportions, but it would
get her home without a public indecency charge.
    She planted her feet in her heels and took a few quick
breaths of courage before opening the door. She ducked under Luca’s arms braced
against the frame and made a quick dash for the door.
    “Penelope!” Luca called after her.
    “Oh, Luca, let her go. Clearly, she’s not worth your time.”
The woman’s tinkling laugh made her ears red.
    Penelope wanted nothing more than to turn around and give
them both the finger and an earful of foul language. She just didn’t trust
herself to get through her speech without her voice cracking and tears
streaming down her face. She was already a mess; she didn’t need to add mascara
lines to the mix.
    She slammed the door behind her and prayed the elevator
would arrive before Luca chased her into the hall.
     
    ***
     
    Alexa blocked his path as he tried to follow Penelope into
the hallway. Maybe he could still talk her down and back into his apartment.
They could throw Alexa off the roof together.
    He pushed Alexa aside and opened his front door just as the
elevator closed. He punched the button to try and force it back open, but the
descending numbers taunted him. Penelope was slipping away as surely as the
elevator sank down the building.
    He stalked back into his apartment. The door shattered
behind him with the force of his slam.
    Luca turned furious eyes on Alexa. She settled on his couch
and hooked an ankle over her knee. Her skirt hiked up in what he was sure was a
deliberate attempt to lure him in.
    How had he ever wanted a life with her? She smelled of
desperation under her thin veneer of confidence. She was all hard planes in
body and soul, where Penelope was soft and good.
    “Get out.” He ordered.
    “You’re not even going to ask me why I’m in town?” She asked
sweetly.
    It’d taken too long for him to figure out that Alexa desired
power more than any one person. She attached herself to the most viable
prospect that would further her own reach. He didn’t care why she was there; he
already knew.
    He’d been worried when she didn’t cleave herself to him at
his brother’s funeral. So many other women of the court had tried to snare him.
She had simply been biding her time. She let him settle in with the knowledge
that he would need to take a mate, and now she appeared.
    She wouldn’t care that he’d already made his decision.
    “Well, since you asked. I’m here to check in on the search
for your mate. You wouldn’t want to make the wrong choice when it comes to
picking our next consort.”
    Implying, of course, that any choice but Alexa would be the
wrong choice.
    “Leave.” He ordered again. He allowed some of his dragon’s
anger to enter his voice. Twin trails of smoke exited his nostrils at the end
of the word.
    Alexa only sighed. “I knew this would happen. You de Rege
boys just don’t know how to find someone worthy.”
    “Do not speak of him.” His tone held more than a hint of
warning.
    He felt too naked under her eyes. Penelope wouldn’t like him
showing off for other women, just as surely as he would be upset if she were in
a similar state of undress in front of other men. His dragon hissed at the
possibility.
    He ignored Alexa and padded toward his bedroom. Reminders of
Penelope were everywhere. Her scent was heavy in the air. Her discarded clothes
were still on the floor. His poor mate had left in such a disheveled state and
he was to blame. If