And he couldn’t have found a better woman to share with his best friend than Audrey.
Penelope couldn’t help but smile as she watched the three of them cuddling and kissing in a corner. She was a little surprised they weren’t having sex or doing a public scene. Janae saw her watching and leaned over.
“Audrey invited Anthony’s mother, so they’re keeping things a little low-key tonight,” she said with a knowing smile.
Penelope laughed. Audrey was nothing if not inventive. She was one of the coolest girls on Dragon Isle. She was a photographer, but she was always willing to help people out in a pinch. Though Audrey was human, she had been raised on Dragon Isle by her adoptive dragon shifter parents.
Now she was mated to not one, but two dragonmen.
Penelope was so happy for her friend.
And not at all jealous.
And not at all wishing she was the one riding happily into the sunset.
“What’s wrong?” Janae said, looking at Penny with a questioning look. “Are you feeling sick? Stressed? What’s going on, girl? Talk to me.”
“How do you know something’s wrong?” Penelope raised an eyebrow. “You aren’t a dragon.”
“No,” Janae smirked. “I can’t smell you, but I can read you like a book, Penelope Alchemy. And girl, something’s got you all up in knots. It’s a man, isn’t it?” Janae leaned forward excitedly and Audrey rolled her eyes.
“Don’t be a gossip. Nothing’s wrong.”
“Mmhmm,” Janae said, obviously not believing her. “Does this have anything to do with the hottie at the bar?”
“What?” Penelope whipped her head around. The bar toward the back left corner of the room was filled with dragons and humans alike trying to get drinks, but one man in particular stood out.
One very tall, very dark, very muscular, very tattooed man.
And he was staring at Penelope.
“Miles,” she whispered.
He smiled on cue, nodded, and looked away.
2
“Miles?” Janae asked, peeking over. She leaned so close that her cheek pressed against Penelope’s. Penelope tried not to breathe in the scent of Janae, but she couldn’t help herself.
“You smell delicious,” Penelope said suddenly, looking at Janae. Janae blushed and glanced down. She was wearing a corset similar to Penelope’s with matching boyshorts. By dungeon standards, it was fairly modest, but they were both showing much more skin than they usually did.
As a shifter, Penny was used to be naked around other dragons, but she had never been naked around Janae. Suddenly, she wanted to be. She wanted to see what her friend looked like without the fabric covering her body, to see what she looked like when she was in the throes of an orgasm. Penny wanted to see what Janae looked like when her little nipples were hard and excited.
She wanted to touch her.
A wave of embarrassment washed over Penelope, but Janae missed it.
Luckily, her ability to read people wasn’t that good.
“Thank you,” Janae said, blissfully unaware of Penelope’s sudden arousal. “I’m a little nervous coming out here tonight, honestly.”
“Why?” Penelope asked, surprised. “You’re beautiful. Just look at you.” Janae had frizzy brown hair that she kept long. Today it was tamed and straightened and hung to the middle of her back. Her big eyes were bright and gorgeous, and, since having her son, she had filled out. She wasn’t as slender as she once was, but now she was curvy and womanly. Her breasts were heavy and full and her hips were wide.
“Penny,” Janae protested. “No. I’m fat now.”
A gasp sounded from beside them and they turned to the woman standing there. In full fetwear, she was wearing knee-high stiletto boots, a leather mini skirt, and a matching leather bra.
Definitely a Domme.
“Do not let your Dom hear you say that, darling.” The woman said. She eyed Janae up and down. “First off, you’re fucking beautiful. Look at those tits. You have no idea what I could do to them to make you scream and come at the same time.”
Janae’s mouth dropped open.
“Second, you’re in a dungeon, honey. If a Dom hears you talking down about yourself like that, you’re going to get a spanking.” She winked. “Or worse.” She kissed Janae on the mouth, then walked away, swinging her hips as she left.
“She kissed you,” Penelope said, but Janae was staring, open-mouthed, at the woman walking away.
“Who was that?” Janae asked.
“Renee,” Emerson said from behind them. The two girls turned and looked at Emerson, who held out their drinks. “Here you are, ladies.” He handed them the cocktails. Janae downed hers in one gulp, then handed the empty glass to Emerson.
“She kissed me,” Janae said, surprised.
“Renee kisses everyone,” Emerson said.
“Even you?” Janae’s eyes narrowed.
“Not me,” Emerson said innocently. Penelope fought back a laugh, but Janae frowned. She turned back to Penny.
“I’m going to need that,” she said, and took Penny’s drink, finishing it, as well.
“Hey!” Penny protested. With a sigh, she turned back to Emerson. “Permission to go sit at the bar, Sir?” She said, holding her handcuffed hand up. “I’ll stay there and you can enjoy some alone time with your wife.”
Emerson hesitated for a second, but nodded and freed her.
“Stay at the bar and don’t leave with anyone,” he said. “Not even to scene. If someone wants to play with you, they can negotiate with me.”
Penny nodded and scampered off without a backwards glance. She was jealous when Renee kissed Janae, and what was that about? Penny had never really been into girls, but suddenly, she wanted to try everything.
That was a new feeling.
For years she’d been absorbed in her books and her work, hiding away from the world, hiding away from everything.
For years she’d been so focused on simply getting through each day that she hadn’t allowed herself to feel anything at all.
And now she wondered what she’d been missing. She meandered over the bar, not going directly there as she had promised. She sneaked a look over her shoulder, but Janae and Emerson were so busy making out they wouldn’t notice her for awhile.
Penny looked at the different stages set up around The Dungeon. There were so many different scenes going on, so many different elements of play, that she felt a little overwhelmed.
She went to the stage closest to the bar. The stage was really just an elevated platform, but everyone respected the space and stayed far enough back for the couple to play together in peace.
A man was walking around a woman and whispering to her, taunting her. She was standing in the middle of the stage, bending over, grabbing her ankles. Penny could see the woman’s entire backside, including her bare pussy.
“You were a naughty girl today, Miss Kensington,” the man said, raising his voice. The audience murmured in agreement. “And what happens to naughty girls?” He turned toward the audience.
“They get spankings!” One man called out.
“Yes,” the Dom agreed. “They do get spankings.”
He slapped the sub’s bottom, but she was silent and didn’t move. Penny wondered how much self-control that required. She’d never been spanked before. She’d never done a lot of things before.
All that was going to change, though.
That’s what tonight was about: taking new chances and being brave. She wanted the chance to explore her world, to discover who she really was. Penny was in her mid-20s. She was too old to be worried about things that might have happened or that shouldn’t have happened. She was too old to be scared. She was too old not to take risks, not to take chances.
The man continued spanking his sub. Soon her bottom turned pink, then crimson, but he kept going. The woman spread her legs and Penny gasped. Her pussy was soaked: completely, utterly soaked.
“She likes it,” Penny whispered, surprised
.
“Of course she likes it,” a voice said from behind her. She tried to turn around, but strong hands gripped her waist, holding her in place.
“Miles,” Penny said. “I thought you were at the bar.”
“Don’t fuss at me unless you want your Dom to find out you disobeyed him,” Miles said.
Penny stayed quiet.
She might want to try a lot of things, but she didn’t want her boss to spank her up on stage. Not today. No, thank you.
Emerson was wonderful as the clan leader of Lostfallen, the dragon clan that lived on Dragon Isle. He was strong and brave and stubborn, but he was also strong and brave and stubborn. He was good. He was fearless. He was wise.
He also wouldn’t hesitate to spank the hell out of Penny’s ass if he thought it would teach her a lesson.
And while she wanted to experiment a little and learn more about herself, she didn’t really want to do it with him watching over her.
Not like that.
“Tell me, darling,” Miles said, still holding her firmly in place. His hands stayed put. Penny wasn’t sure if she was relieved or disappointed they didn’t wander up to cup her breasts. She was aroused, as many of the people and dragons around her were. She wanted to be touched. “Is this your first time in a place like this?”
“Yes,” she said, her voice breathy and needy. She hated how whiny she sounded, how horny, how aroused. Even as a human, Miles could probably tell she was wet watching this scene.
“And what brought a sweet little dragon like you into a place like this?” He nipped at her ear and she groaned. “Are you ready to play with the wolves?”
“I…I wanted to see what it was all about.”
“Is that all?”
“I wanted to see…if I would like it.”
“And do you like it, Penelope? Do you like watching this poor sub get her bottom reddened by her Dom? Do you like the way he has her bent over, exposing herself to all these strangers? Do you like how wet she is for him?”
“Yes.” Her voice was a whisper.
“Watch.”
Fully reddened, the Dom rubbed his sub’s obviously sore bottom. Then he pulled her to her feet and kissed her thoroughly. Despite watching the previous scene, Penny had never seen anything quite as erotic as that kiss.
She missed it, she realized. Not just kissing, but being the one someone wanted to kiss like that. She missed being the center of someone’s world, of holding their heart in her hands.
She missed feeling like she was important and special.
She missed all of it.
When Miles had left her years ago, he hadn’t even said goodbye. She had promised herself then that she would never date a human. Not again. She had loved him deeply and he had broken her heart, damaged her in ways that could never be repaired.
The Dom kissed his sub like she was the only girl in the world, like she was the only one he could see, like he had eyes only for her.
Would Penny ever find someone to look at her like that?
Suddenly, Penelope wasn’t aroused anymore. Suddenly, she was sad. She pulled away from Miles and turned around to face him.
“I’m going to go now,” she said firmly, leaving no room for argument in her voice. She didn’t want him to ask her to stay. She didn’t. She needed to get out of here before she spent the whole night watching other people play and touch and kiss and be close to each other.
His face fell and he looked confused, maybe even a little hurt, but he didn’t stop her as she left to find Emerson, to tell him she was going home. She was done.
This place wasn’t for her.
Miles let her go. Of course he did.
This time was no different than last time.
It just hurt a little less when he didn’t chase after her.
3
Penny was even more gorgeous than Miles remembered. As a teenager, she had been hotter than hell, but now? Now she was a timeless beauty.
Running into her at the club had been pure luck. Miles had gone to relieve some stress, to unwind, to see what things on Dragon Isle were like. He hadn’t been back to the island since he’d joined the military and a lot had changed.
Even Penny.
He had planned to go see her the next week, once he’d settled in, visited with his grandmother some more, and started working on the house.
As was a recurring trend in his life, things hadn’t gone according to plan. He hadn’t meant to see her this soon. No, Miles had planned to meet with Emerson and see how she was doing, find out if she was single, learn about her life a little bit before he told her he was back.
He had left without a word and if Miles were to venture a guess, he’d say he had probably broken her heart.
Judging by the way she had looked at him, he had probably crushed it completely.
Unfortunately for him, there was no excuse as to why he left the way he did. At the time, he was just a kid. He thought he was doing the right thing. He thought he was sparing her the trouble of a harsh goodbye, that leaving without telling her would be easier than seeing her cry.
But she had written to him.
And the ink had smeared with her tears, tears she had cried while writing to him, and that made Miles stay away even longer.
He couldn’t bear knowing he had hurt her so deeply, crushed her heart in his hands. He hated knowing he was the reason she cried.
Even his grandmother hated what he had done to her. She had told him so many times. Miles’ grandmother was an old woman. She wasn’t his real grandmother. She was his stepgrandmother. That’s how he grew up human with a dragon for a grandma. His old pops had remarried after Miles’ biological grandmother passed away. Grandma Thurman had lost a husband of her own and Pops had fallen hard for the dragonwoman. They had lived happily on Dragon Isle for many years before he passed.
And that’s when Miles had visited the island for the first time.
At 18, he hadn’t planned to meet anyone new on the island. He hadn’t expected to run into Penny at the funeral or to find her crying over the old human.
She had, though.
She had cried hard for Pops.
Miles and Penny had struck up an unlikely friendship during his time on the island that summer and when it was time to go home, Miles had begged his parents to let him stay.
“Just a few more weeks,” he promised. They had conceded and he had spent every moment possible with Penny. Oh, he’d fallen hard for her.
But he’d left out the one little detail that changed their lives, that broke her heart when August 17th rolled around.
Before Pops died, Miles had enlisted in the United States Army and he had to leave for basic training.
There was no escaping it. He had already signed all of the necessary paperwork, made plans to leave, had made commitments.
He had to go.
Six years was a long enlistment. Too long. He hadn’t re-enlisted when his time was up. Not that he didn’t love his time in the military, because he did. Miles had been a good soldier and a great friend to all of his army buddies, but he was ready for something new, something different. He was ready to settle down by the time he returned to the island.
Penny had been so perfect when he’d known her, and time had been kind to her. She was just as gorgeous now and from what Miles could tell in the short time he’d seen her, she was still a softie at heart.
Miles had big plans for Penelope Alchemy.
She didn’t know it yet, but he was going to make it up to her.
He was going to make it all up to her.
He watched as she pushed her way through the club and went back to Emerson. Fucking Emerson. Miles wanted to punch the bastard for being the one who brought Penelope to a place like this.
Oh, sure, Emerson had a mate and a kid and blah blah blah.
Still, his hands were on Penelope and Miles hated that. He hated knowing that Emerson was around her every day and could hug her, touch her. He hated that Emerson knew all abou
t Penelope’s problems and he didn’t.
How could he?
He had been gone for what seemed like ages.
Part of him had expected to come back and find her married with a family of baby dragons. He had pictured her having a sweet, but simple wedding to the man of her dreams. Maybe she would wear purple, just to be different. Maybe she would wear white. He wasn’t sure.
He had been surprised to find her without a mate at the club, though. He had been surprised to see her there at all.
BDSM had become a part of Miles’ life while he was in the military, but he’d been prepared to give it up for her if that’s what she needed. He’d been prepared to live vanilla, to have plain, regular, sweet, romantic-style sex if that’s what his girl needed.
Seeing her at the club, though?
That had made him harder than he’d ever been. Maybe he’d be able to have her and the kink, too. It would be unexpected, but fantastic. From what Penelope had said, this wasn’t her usual scene, but he could show her, teach her.
He could tie her up and spank her until she cried and begged for more. He could redden her skin, make her nerves light up, then kiss every inch of her sweet little body.
He could do so many things to sweet Penelope.
But first, he had to prove he had changed. She had left so suddenly that Miles knew something had to be bothering her. The couple on stage had barely begun. In fact, the Dominant had been kissing his sub and holding her close, making sure she was ready, when Penelope had fled.
What was that all about?
Maybe she’d had a bad experience with a Dom before or maybe Penelope was caught off guard by the tender moment.
Having been in BDSM clubs before, Miles knew that many times, scenes could get incredibly personal and close.
Was Penelope scared?
He watched as she spoke briefly to Emerson before leaving the club completely. He didn’t like the idea of her flying home on her own, but Penelope was tough. She’d be fine. She’d grown up on the island and knew it inside and out.
Dragon Isle Boxed Set, Books 4-6: Lost to the Dragon, Beware of Dragons, and Catching the Dragon Page 18
