Falling Away Penelope Douglas Novels & Stories

Like rain on ash and something sharp beneath. Penelope ran her fingers over the edge of the desk, breathing in the stillness. It should’ve comforted her. But it didn’t. Because she wanted him. Okay, maybe she’d denied it to herself before—but she did. And he didn’t want her. She had to acknowledge that, even if it hurt. That the mate the Moon Goddess gave her didn’t want her. “How long do you plan on lurking at the door, angel?” came a low voice from the shadows.

When Larissa got up in the morning, she saw Caspian, Rio, and Dylan laughing at their phones. "What are you watching?" Larissa asked curiously. Dylan showed her his phone. "Larissa, look at Penelope stripping. She was screaming that it itched! My eyes!" Rio chuckled. "Women become tigerish past their 40s, after all!" Larissa quirked a smile. She was certain it was because Vincent had sprinkled Crawly Dust on Penelope. But she hadn't expected Penelope to be so open-minded. Instead of taking a shower and getting changed, she would rather put on a strip show on the streets!

"It's manipulation." "It's salvation," Diana countered. "From death, disease, human weakness..." "And free will?" Penelope challenged. "A small price for paradise." The suppressant began wearing off. Penelope collapsed, her veins brightening again. "Tick tock," Diana taunted. "Choose quickly. Security's almost there." Christopher caught Penelope as she fell. "We need to go. Now." They fled into the night, but Penelope's condition worsened. By dawn, she could barely walk.

So …human. “You’re very honest,” he said finally. She looked away quickly, “Only when irritated.” “Hm.” Another stretch of silence followed and Penelope went back to her keyboard. Rain hammered harder outside now, thunder rolled again. And somewhere during the next hour, exhaustion finally caught Penelope completely. Her typing slowed. Then slowed more. Until eventually, she stopped. Calvin noticed immediately and he looked up from his documents. Penelope had fallen asleep at her desk. One cheek resting against folded arms and her hair slightly falling across her face.

Noel led Penelope with a hand on her waist to a table. It was hard not to gawk when they were sharing their table with Margaret Freeman, a popular holder of one the seats in the British Parliament, Diane Hickenlooper, a Class 1 US senator, Lazaros Plapoutas, a Greek socialite, a handsome man with a charming smile who held Penny's hand and her gaze a second too long, and several others, some of whom she did not even recognize. There was an air of importance and wealth around them and suddenly she felt insufficient even after all her efforts at creating a comfortable life for herself.

Focusing on the unusual chores at hand, she turned and returned inside to change for the evening's plans. A few hours later, she was seated in Damien's spacious penthouse suite study, her heart pounding with trepidation. The space was warm and intimately lighted, with rich leathers and polished wood conveying an impression of old-world male sophistication. Damien sat across from her, his tall form looking deceptively relaxed in a high-back leather chair. Even in repose, he exuded a dynamic, coiled force, like a tiger poised to attack at any moment. Anna sat between them, her aides' precise professionalism providing a grounding link to reality in the midst of the heightened atmosphere. She wa

Daisy said. “Mom? What!!” Gabriel and Wendy protested. “Yes, it’s hospitality.” Daisy said and turned to leave. “Save it! I’m not hungry. Whenever you are ready to see Minx again, tell Wendy to summon me.” Penelope said and disappeared immediately. “Wait! Wait!” Gabriel shouted but it was too late. Penelope had gone. “That’s a great step. We know who has Minx.” Oliver said.

The words struck like blades, Penelope’s face flushed with embarrassment, her chest rising and falling in laboured breaths For a moment, she stood frozen, unable to mutter a comeback. Then, with blazing eyes, she turned sharply and stormed towards the exit of the mall, Her gaze landed on Ava, standing a few steps away, Penelope’s lips twisted in contempt, her voice dripping with venom, “An apple doesn't really fall far from its tree. Like mother, like daughter, pathetic.” Without waiting for a response, she swept past, the automatic glass doors sliding open and closing behind her with a hiss.

And again. Penelope. Her ally. Her friend. Her co-conspirator. Vivienne had looked her straight in the eyes. And Penelope had walked away. Isolde didn’t knock. She stormed through the side entrance of the brownstone where Penelope kept her private apartment, an unassuming façade in Gramercy Park, charmingly deceptive, much like the woman herself. Penelope sat barefoot on her windowsill, wine in hand, as if expecting her. “You watched it,” she said simply, turning her head but not rising.

He needed to leave the clutches of the man who had something out for him. "Nervous." Vallas asked Penelope from beside her, he had been watching her just as she had been watching the passing scenery. "No. Just mystified by everything which I am seeing." Penelope didn't take her eyes off the window. What she had said was the truth but it was also true that when she started to stare out of the window, she had already calculated the distance it would take for her to fling herself out if she needed to make a quick escape.