Total pages in book: 57
Estimated words: 55099 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 275(@200wpm)___ 220(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55099 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 275(@200wpm)___ 220(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)
Mistress Penelope Darling has spent the past ten years cherishing the Mclean House community she once founded with her closest friends. All of them gay men, most of them viewing her as a bossy little sister to be reckoned with. She’s also been in a loving relationship with her girlfriend—or so she thought.
After finding out her sub cheated on her, Penelope gets rid of everything. Her home, all the knickknacks, every picture…the girlfriend, of course. Her new plan is to never, ever be in a relationship again. She’s going to be a for-the-night Domme. Good for casual fun and friendship. That’s it.
Enter Nora Lilja. A new member. A ballsy young woman. A primal brat. A breath of fresh air with an angel on one shoulder and an irresistible devil on the other.
Penelope surrounds herself with friends and distractions. It’s a big month, with parties and events to plan. A cute newbie won’t break her resolve. Even when that girl turns out to be very, very persuasive, going so far as to claim she doesn’t want Penelope for the night.
She wants a shot at forever.
____
The Game Series is a BDSM series where romance meets the reality of kink. Sometimes we fall for someone we don’t match with, sometimes vanilla business gets in the way of kinky pleasure, and sometimes we have to compromise and push ourselves to overcome trauma and insecurities. No matter what, one thing is certain. This is not a perfect world—and maybe that’s why the happily ever after feels so good.
The characters in the Game Series cross over in multiple books, as we follow not only new love interests but the background friendships and dynamics of a thriving kink community.
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
CHAPTER ONE
Penelope Darling
“Honey, I love you, but I’m never helpin’ you move again.” Reese draped a sweaty arm around my shoulders, and I chuckled breathlessly. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’mma take off all my clothes and jump in the pool.”
“Sounds cold.” We’d just opened up the pool a couple days ago.
Reese smirked down at me. “That’s why God gave me eight inches of dick. There’s room for shrinkage.”
Ugh. I made a face and shoved at him, and he laughed.
While he jogged off to cool down on the other side of the house, I trailed up the porch steps and reached River as he lit up two smokes.
“You weren’t kiddin’ about a fresh start,” he noted, handing me one.
“It’s all or nothing.” I nodded in thanks and took a drag, glancing over at my truck.
It was full, and that was the last of it.
The condo had been sold. All the furniture too—or donated. And I’d emptied my cabin out here at Mclean as well. New shit was arriving tomorrow.
I exhaled some smoke and felt a sense of peace settling over me.
Definitely a fresh start. Great timing too. Spring was giving way to early summer, and the football-field-sized front lawn was bright green and dotted with white and yellow flowers.
Coincidentally, I was also in between jobs. I started my new position in a month, and until then, I was just gonna enjoy some time off.
“So what’s next?” River walked over to the seating area, and I followed and aimed for the other sofa. “You gonna try to find a new condo right away?”
I’d thought about it, but… “I think I’ll ride out the summer in the cabin.” Besides, it was my turn next to help River, Reese, and Shay move in to their new house up the road in a few weeks. It’d be nice to be close by for that. And honestly, I didn’t wanna be alone anymore. I’d had months of moping and raging.
Ella was out of my life, and now I was ready for barbecue nights, pool days, and events.
I wanted to live again.
I wanted to be close to my friends.
“It’ll be a good summer.” River leaned back and kicked up his feet on the dusty coffee table. “The brats are on crack. We won’t be bored.”
I grinned and took another drag.
I’d heard about the brat shenanigans. River, Reese, and several others had just come home from a cruise, and the Tops were all up in arms about something the brats had planned. No one knew yet, though River had a solid theory he’d shared with me.
We fell into a comfortable silence, and I reveled in the serenity. This was the right move for me. Fuck love and relationships and all that nonsense. I was going to spend this summer—and presumably the rest of my life—just chilling with my second family here at our kink haven. A big, three-story Victorian filled with torture devices and bright, sadistic minds.
In a way, the seven men I’d started this community with were all my brothers. We were completely different and yet all the same. Greer was the big oaf, the gentle giant, the former Marine, the Master who got on my case for smoking occasionally. Macklin was everybody’s little brother, who was also one of the kindest. River and Reese were my partners in crime. River and I could sit like this and do nothing. Reese took me to the shooting range when he felt I needed to blow off some steam.
Lucas was the fusser. He took me out to lunch and brunch and coffee dates to check up on me. His man Colt sent me memes, Spotify links, and actual steaks.
And Lucian…the stiffest of them all. The high-protocol Master who’d turned into a teddy bear since getting together with his foursome… He was kinda like Lucas lately, actually. In his own way.
I didn’t need anybody else, did I? I had them and their partners.
“Are you gonna be here this weekend?” I asked, putting out my smoke in an old coffee mug.
River made a face. “I don’t know. I have half a mind to distract Reese and Shay with a hike or somethin’.”
Yeah, that sounded like him. Not only was it Easter this weekend, but some members had decided to host a play party for kinksters interested in exploring new fetishes. Events like that attracted newbies and people on the prowl for hookups and eternal love.
“You?” he asked.
I blew out a breath. “I’d like to say fuck Easter and the bunny it rode in on, but I signed up to cover Lucian’s DM shift.”
Lucian had finally realized he was completely burned out a few weeks ago, so we’d come together to remove him from monitor duty. He wasn’t allowed to host events for a while either, including our monthly Game.
“Have fun with all the newbies,” River drawled.