Incognito: Pursuing Penelope
- Author: Anna Leigh Keaton & Madison Layle
- Publisher: Cobblestone Press, LLC (2008)
- Genre: Contemporary Erotic Romance BDSM/Triad
- Series: Incognito
- ISBN: 978-1-60088-242-5
Book Description
Pulled from the raging inferno of Incognito, the recently widowed Penelope Schwartz has hit rock bottom and is the prime suspect in the arson. Worse, her past has come back to haunt her. When the firefighters who rescued her show up at her house, all she can do is cling to them and revel in their tender care.
Joseph and Blake believe in her innocence and offer a gentle dominance that nurtures her lonely heart. But can this inexperienced, natural submissive gain their love forever, or are they like the other men in her past who’ve wanted to own her?
Reviews
"With the ninth release in their popular INCOGNITO series, Madison Layle and Anna Leigh Keaton once again treat readers to the romantic side of BDSM relationships. But PURSUING PENELOPE goes beyond the romantic, showing the very essence of these non-traditional couplings – the nurturing that Dominants provide to their submissives. This is a core element in all of the INCOGNITO books, but it is never more evident than in this story. " * 5 Bookmark Rating - Wild On Books
"Madison Layle and Anna Leigh Keaton have demonstrated you can never judge a book by its cover in Incognito 9: Pursuing Penelope. Penelope has had little experience with love over the years and her background has created the perfect submissive. Joseph and his best friend Blake are men who like to dominate their lovers, while nurturing their lover and supplying a secure environment. They treat the petite woman with kid gloves in some instances, and are rough and demanding in others. And for the first time in the widow’s life, she gets a glimpse at what she has been missing, and is unwilling to let it go. Penelope, Blake and Joseph have a wonderful relationship in and outside of the bedroom. Incognito 9: Pursuing Penelope as a whole brings us suspense, drama, romance and the sex rockets to a seven on the Richter scale. This story is sure to be a pleaser for those who love the genre or have followed the series from the beginning." * 5 Nymphs - Literary Nymps
Honors and Awards
- #1 best seller - April 2008 - Cobblestone Press
Joseph smiled back at her. He was very handsome. She hadn't been this close to a Native American in her life. She liked his neck-his Adam's apple as it bobbed slightly when he spoke. She wanted to lick it. To see if his skin tasted as spicy as he smelled.
"Penny. The dishes?"
With a gasp, she looked away from him and pointed to the cupboard over the counter where the everyday plates and bowls were stored. Her cheeks burned. She should not be thinking about tasting these men. She closed her eyes to get herself on track. They were gentleman who wanted to make sure she was all right. That was all. Nothing more. Just because she'd been having very naughty thoughts about them-both of them-ever since earlier when she'd been so forward as to kiss them-
"What's wrong, Penny?" Blake asked as stepped closer and he laid a big, warm hand on her shoulder.
She could melt. She would melt. Even the innocent touch was welcomed. It had been so long since... She wanted to turn into him. Ask him to hold her the way he had at the firehouse earlier. Only this time, she didn't want him to let her go. Blake's scent was musky and smooth. But then another scent mixed with it, and she knew Joseph stood in front of her, even though she had her eyes closed and couldn't see him. He was spicy and rich. Sandalwood and cinnamon. Heat radiated off their bodies and into her.
A finger touched her chin and gently tipped her head back. She kept her eyes shut as her mind ran into the dark, dangerous, forbidden territory where her fantasies had gone the other night when they both lay with her in bed.
"Look at me, sweetheart," Joseph said, his voice low and silky smooth.
A shiver ran down her arms. She didn't want to open her eyes, to see him looking at her as if she'd gone mental. She didn't want to break the lovely spell their touch and her imagination wove. What was so wrong with staying in this fantasy just a little longer?
"Open your eyes," Blake whispered in her ear as his body moved closer to hers, and his chest brushed against her shoulder blades. "We need to see those lovely eyes."
Joseph's finger trailed from her chin, along her jaw, up to her ear, and then his slightly rough palm smoothed over her cheek. It was the gentlest, sweetest caress she could ever remember experiencing. She leaned into his hand and slowly, so afraid they'd disappear, opened her eyes.
They hadn't disappeared. Joseph stood in front of her, so tall and dark, his black eyes searching her, as if looking deep into her soul. Did he know how bad she was? Did he know all her secret desires? Would they repulse him?
Blake's hand coasted from her shoulder to her elbow to her hand. He wrapped his fingers around hers, then took hold of her other hand in the same way, threading their fingers together. Then he pulled her arms behind her back.
She gasped as the motion thrust her chest out and against Joseph's chest. Her eyelids grew heavy as her breathing sped up. Her cheeks felt as if they were on fire from embarrassment, but she could do nothing to hide from them. From Joseph's deep, penetrating stare.
The aroma of herbs and spices mingled with their masculine scents, but food was the last thing on her mind.
"Do you know what we are, Penelope?" Blake asked. His voice was a soft, gravelly seduction in her ear.
"F-firefighters?" she asked.
The corner of Joseph's lips twitched, as if he was suppressing a smile. "Yes, sweetheart. But we are also members of Incognito."
Her lips parted in surprise. Alarm stirred in her stomach. Were they here to punish her for-
Joseph's gaze never wavered. "You said you snuck in to see what it was. What did you see?"
What she'd seen had both horrified and tantalized her. Though disgust was what she'd expressed when she'd been caught. "Nakedness."
Joseph's left eyebrow raised, and this time the slight curve on his sensual lips spread into a real smile. "Anything else?"
The light caress of Blake's thumbs along the undersides of her wrists was a distraction, but she focused on Joseph's words and the feel of his big palm against her cheek. "Sex," she whispered.
"You saw sex?"
"Yes. A man with two women." She remembered it so clearly. He was on his back on a padded table. One woman had been kneeling over his face, the other over his groin. Both women had been writhing and moaning with pleasure.
"And what did you think when you saw that?" Blake asked.
She'd wished she'd experienced such pleasure before to moan that loudly. Rather than admitting the truth, she licked her lips and shrugged. "I'd never seen anything like it before. I was...surprised."
"And tantalized?" Joseph asked softly as he leaned down closer to her, until she could feel his warm breath against her cheek.
She wanted to shake her head in denial, but she knew Joseph would know she lied.
"Did it excite you?" Blake asked.
She nodded.
"Did you wonder what it would be like to be one of those women?" Joseph asked.
She nodded again.
Blake ran his hands up her arms to her elbows and gripped them, pulling them back farther, thrusting her chest harder against Joseph. "What was it that excited you the most?"
"The freedom," she admitted, not realizing the truth until she heard the word escape her lips.
Joseph raised his other hand to her neck and caressed her thundering pulse point. "Freedom?"
She licked her lips, afraid to voice her true feelings. Afraid... Always afraid. She'd lived in fear her entire life. If she couldn't be honest with Joseph and Blake, who then? Who would listen to her? There was no one else.
"It's okay," Blake said as his thumbs caressed the inside of her elbows. His grip on her arms was tight, yet not painful. She liked it. A lot. Loved being sandwiched between these two big, strong, virile men. "We're not here to judge. We need to know you, though. Know what's in your mind. If you don't tell us...we'll have to leave."
No. She didn't want them to leave. "They just seemed so uninhibited," she rushed to say. "They were free to explore sexual excesses without worrying about what others around them thought or did. I mean, I saw them. They were in a room full of people, and no one else batted an eyelash at them."
"Do you want to be uninhibited, Penny?" Joseph asked. "Do you want to explore sexual excess?"
Yes, her mind screamed.