Dragon's MatchMate Agency: A Paranormal Romance Boxset

by Maia Star

  Luckily for me, my now ex-boyfriend is completely out, and as I pick up my suitcase, I smile to myself. Opening the front door, I sprint down the road, aiming to ring the doorbell of the first house I come upon and call a taxi, maybe even the police.

  For the first time in over a year, I’m smiling.

  Chapter Two

  Hayden

  I’d like to think that I usually don’t have any trouble when it comes to women. Not only am I handsome enough to earn glances from random women on the street nearly every day, but I’m also savvy enough to carry on conversations on the fly. I can make people laugh easily too.

  Yet when I think I have it down how to deal with the opposite sex, I usually realize that I’m wrong altogether. This is another one of those times.

  As I grab her wrist, Abby spins around, winds up her arm, and sends her hand flying into my face. Her palm connects hard with my cheek, and my head snaps to the side. Her slap stings, but I’ve had worse, so I turn back to her, still wearing that classic smile of mine. But Abby is fuming, and I swear I see actual smoke come out of her nostrils.

  “Would you stop it?” she says, her face a mixture of anger and pain. “Just stop touching me!” She rips her wrist from my grip.

  “Come on, Abby,” I say, opening my arms. “Don’t be like this. I thought we were having fun?”

  She snorts as if she’s looking down on a child. “Yeah, we were for these past few months. When we officially got in a relationship a few weeks ago, I was beyond ecstatic. I mean, look at you!” Her eyes roam the landscape of my body, my shirt just barely able to hold in my lean, defined muscles. “You’re freaking hot as hell. You’ve got a gorgeous smile. And you’re pretty funny, even kind. But…” her face scrunches up again. “You’re a shifter.”

  Running a hand through my short blond hair, I glance up and down the street, seeing people watch our little exchange from a distance as if they’re watching a reality TV show. “And? What difference does it make? I’m a dragon deep down, so what? You know some people actually get off on that fact alone.”

  Abby snorts again, her gigantic purse dangling from her skinny arm. That snort of hers is beginning to get on my nerves. “Please, anyone who does is a freak. Besides, you kept your nature a secret from me.”

  My eyes twitch, and I sigh, looking up at the blue sky. A warm breeze rustles my hair. It’s such a perfect day out, and yet I must deal with this. Damn it all.

  “Are you listening to me?” Abby says, cocking her head. “I guess not. Whatever. We’re done, so I don’t have to deal with your bullshit anymore.”

  I want to glare at her, to flash a look of anger and instill fear in her for the hell of it, but instead, I just smile back at her as she turns and walks away. I look her up and down one more time, my eyes lingering on her sashaying hips.

  “Damn,” I whisper to myself as I turn away. My new record for losing a girl is two weeks into a relationship now. Abby is beautiful too. I guess everything I gave her simply isn’t good enough.

  Or, maybe she's right, and hiding my true nature from her was a real asshole move.

  Scratching my head, I turn the corner and peer across the street to a raised area with tables and servers walking around. I spy a black-haired man with glasses sitting next to a bulky man with pale hair and a well-groomed beard. Both are busy scarfing down their scrambled eggs, ham, and biscuits and gravy. As soon as the duo glances up, their mouths full of food, they wave at me.

  I quickly cross the street and jump over the fence surrounding the raised area. A server clad in black and white nearby gapes at me. “Sir, if you want a table, you have to go through the front door.”

  “It’s no problem!” I say, pointing at the two guys. “I’m meeting people.”

  “Sure…”

  Clapping the server on the back, I waltz over and plop down in a seat across from the two. Neither speak, still chewing all the food they stuffed in their mouths. Rolling my eyes, I point at the bearded guy’s mouth. “You got some crumbs tucked into that hair of yours, Sven.”

  Raising a brow, he runs two meaty fingers through his beard but misses the crumbs.

  “No, no...more to your left. No...ugh, never mind. Just keep eating.”

  The guy with the glasses licks his fingers clean, wiping them on a napkin. “You’re too nice, Hayden.”

  I smile. “Oh yeah? How is that, Reed?”

  Reed pushes up his glasses and cracks his knuckles. “We saw Abby dumped you.”

  “From all the way over here?”

  “Don’t play dumb. We all have good eyesight.”

  “Then why are you wearing glasses? To look cool?”

  Reed scowls. “Haha, very funny, joker.”

  Sven swallows the food that was stuck in his mouth and then gulps down a tall glass of milk. “Look, we know you really liked her. She was hot for sure and was actually kind of nice. Well, nicer than I’d imagined, anyway. But she wasn’t meant to be your mate.”

  I wrinkle my nose. “Well, who’s to say? We’ve only known each other a few months. Maybe I would have developed strong feelings over time…”

  Sven leans forward, making the table squeak under the weight of his elbows. “Us dragon shifters need to know who our mate will be, like, right away. You just have to feel it, right, Reed?”

  We both glance at our friend, but Reed is busy staring off across the street, sipping away at the strawberry smoothie in his hand.

  “Reed?” Sven says again. “Pay attention…” But then Sven trails off, his jaw hanging open. I follow both their gazes to spy a woman walking by. Her auburn hair trails behind her in the wind, following the movement of her hips. She walks confidently, yet she keeps glancing all over as if she’s looking for someone. Her amber eyes catch mine and she stops, lips tight, her tan skin contrasting against the light blue blouse that clings to her curvy body.

  She holds my gaze for what seems like an eternity before she jerks back into a speed walk, disappearing into the crowd.

  “That, my friends, is how you discover your true mate,” Reed says, eyeing us.

  Smiling at each other, we all burst into laughter. “As if,” I said. “Fate isn’t real. Come on.”

  Sven’s horribly loud laughter draws the stares of most everyone around us, and even a few people from the street.

  Reed crosses his arms. “Anything can happen, guys.”

  I laugh and lean back, staring back up at the sky. I might be having a nice breakfast with my friends after getting dumped, yet all I can think about is that woman.

  Chapter Three

  Erika

  It’s been a week since I left Maxen and set out for San Francisco. A few hours of walking got me from Maxen’s house to the closest town. There, I had waited, trying to ignore my grumbling stomach, for the only car dealership in town to open so I could buy a Honda Civic. Once the nice old man who owned the dealership opened, I bought a car and was on my way to the big city.

  And now, here I am a week later, walking down the street, hoping beyond hope that Maxen won’t come after me. What worries me is that I know he will at some point. Probably sooner rather than later.

  I’ve been living out of my car, burning through all the cash in my bank account. I had been smart enough to keep a secret account open when I lived with my ex. He’d been too focused on controlling every other aspect of my life that he simply never noticed. Too bad for him.

  Yet all those funds are draining incredibly quickly. There’s still a large amount of money I’ve saved up for just this situation, but I hadn’t realized until now how quickly all that money will burn up. So, I wanted to build a checklist of the things I need to survive. And I did.

  First and foremost, I need to find a job to supplement my income. Next is to find a home, a place to hunker down and start my new life. And, finally, if my budget allows it, to find protection.

  And that’s where I find myself now, walking around the corner, glancing over my shoulder, looking up to find three gorgeous
men watching me.

  At first, I’m awestruck to see those three men stare at me as if I’m a delicious dinner. Have I gotten looks from other weirdos on the streets? Of course, I have. But the way these men stare at me now is different. I can feel their stares look over my entire body as if they’ve fallen in love immediately and are waiting for me to walk over to them.

  Yet after those first few seconds of staring back, my mind turns to paranoia, and I think I’m staring at three men who might have been hired by my ex-boyfriend to find me. I won’t put it past him since that’s just the kind of man Maxen is.

  Jerking back into a walk, I seem to stumble away, those three men watching me like hawks, or maybe vultures waiting to go in for the kill. I begin to hyperventilate, and people that walk by give me concerned or weird looks. Eventually, I force myself to step to the side and into a small park, where I sit on a bench and bend over to breathe. Nearly every day since I left, I have these bouts. They’re difficult to deal with, yet I keep pushing myself to get over them. I have bigger issues to worry about.

  Slowly, I lean back on the bench, resting my shoulders against the wood. My eyes are still on the ground, but I slowly lift them up to look across to a building on the other side of the park where a large poster is strewn across the brick wall. On the poster are three men, all shirtless, all smiling their pearly white smiles, all muscled and clearly well built. All three are enough to make any woman probably drool over just the sight of them. Even me, if my paranoia wasn’t controlling me right now.

  My eyes lift from their defined abs to their broad shoulders to their gorgeous faces, and finally to the slogan at the very top. In big black letters against a red background, the poster says: “Need Some Protection? Check Out Protector Hearts Security Service!”

  I swallow the excess saliva in my mouth and stare at the slogan, running the words through my head over and over until they sink in.

  The Protector Hearts Security Service...I’ve heard of that before somewhere, but I just can’t place it.

  But then it hits me, and I jolt to my feet, staring at the sign. It’s from Fiery Hearts Inc! The service is meant for anyone looking to hire bodyguards. As far as I remember, the company works mostly with dragon shifters. Dragons surely beat out all other shifters when it comes to pure strength, right? Shaking at the prospect of having a dragon shifter as a bodyguard, I smile. As much as I don’t really want anything to do with shifters anymore, the idea of being safe far outweighs my dislike. Finding protection is third on my list of things to do, but if my paranoia proves true, and those three men were hired to find me, then I need to hurry up and hire a bodyguard first.

  Whipping out the smartphone I bought, I type in the number displayed on the bottom of the poster and press the cold metal to my ear. The phone rings and rings, and I think no one will pick up.

  But someone does pick up. “Hello! My name is Audrey from Fiery Hearts Inc. How may I—”

  “Hi! Oh, s-sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt, but I want...no, need to hire a bodyguard.”

  “It’s perfectly fine! You want to hire a bodyguard, you say? Hm, from the Protector Hearts Security Service?”

  “Exactly.”

  “That’s definitely something we can do. How soon would you like to come in and talk details?”

  “Can I come in today?”

  “You sure can! Can I get your name? You can come in anytime and just tell the front desk clerks that you’re in to see me, Audrey.”

  “My name is Erika Botten, and thank you, Audrey.”

  “It’s no problem. Have a wonderful day!”

  I slide my smartphone back in my pants pocket and sit back down on the park bench, calmer than I imagined I’d be right now. I take a deep breath, and then rise to my feet and walk off, ready to walk into Fiery Hearts and get the protection I deserve.

  But then I remember I have no idea where the Fiery Hearts offices are and whip out my smartphone to Google the place.↡

  Chapter Four

  Reed

  It isn’t easy waiting around on a couch to hear one of our phones ring. Yet here we are, staring mindlessly at the wall-mounted TV.

  I glance at Hayden to see him tossing his phone up in the air and catching it in one hand. The very act makes my eye twitch.

  “Stop doing that,” I say.

  Hayden stares at me. “Stop doing what?”

  “Throwing your phone up in the air. You’re going to drop it and break it.”

  My friend smiles and catches his phone in the air one last time, grinning at me, and then places it gently on the coffee table in front of us. “You need to learn how to relax, Reed.”

  Stuffing my own phone into my pants pockets, I cross my arms and slouch further into the couch. “We can’t work without functioning phones, man.”

  Hayden raises an eyebrow, his grin fading. “You don’t think they’d call Sven first, do you? I mean, Protector Hearts Security Service is notorious for getting the bulkier guys hired first. Which is plain old wrong if this bodyguard business is also meant to get us our mates.” He puts his feet on the coffee table. “Bulky doesn’t equal skill! I mean, for Sven, sure. I’ll back him up any day of the week, even if I’d rather get a job quicker than him, but all those other fools they’re probably hiring?” He rolls his eyes.

  Shrugging, I eye the TV, which is playing a ghost hunting TV show. I watch as one of the investigators runs from a shadow figure on screen, screaming his head off in fear. Snorting, I readjust my glasses, which have slid a bit down the arch of my nose. “Pathetic.”

  Just then, Hayden’s phone rings, vibrating on the table. My inner dragon wakes up immediately, and my mind races as my friend hurries to pick up the phone. Did he just get a job? Did Fiery Hearts just call him for a position as a bodyguard? He grins annoyingly at me, but then his face slackens when he places the phone up to his ear, and when he slouches back and stares up at the ceiling, I know something’s wrong.

  Hayden doesn’t say a word as the rumbling voice on the other end speaks, and eventually, he looks at me, handing me his phone. Curious, I place it up to my ear and hear none other than Sven’s deep voice on the other end.

  “...want chocolate or vanilla ice cream? Hayden? You there?” Sven says.

  “Terrible timing, Sven,” I say.

  “Wait, Reed? I swore I called Hayden...”

  “Hayden just handed me his phone. Did you say something about ice cream?”

  “Yeah, I’m at the grocery store picking some stuff up. Do you want anything?”

  Without answering, I end the call and toss Hayden’s phone back to him, causing him to jerk up and catch it. He glares at me. “Hey, what about all that about being careful with my phone?”

  “That’s not my phone, so I don’t need to be as careful,” I say.

  Groaning, Hayden rises to his feet and steps around the couch, striding into the kitchen.

  “Look, Hayden, you just had a girlfriend; you can afford to wait a little bit longer to find your mate. But for someone like me? It’s been much longer. I should take priority, honestly. Then maybe Sven.”

  I hear Hayden open the fridge and mess around with some bagged food. Looking over my shoulder, I see him then pull out a blender and place it directly on the kitchen counter. He rips open bag after bag of frozen fruit and pours them into the blender. “Uh-huh,” he says.

  “I’m just saying, it’s a bit rougher for Sven and me, not having a woman to sleep with for a while.”

  “Then go out and be proactive, man,” Hayden calls after he turns on the blender.

  Jumping to my feet, I waltz into our tiny kitchen and lean over the counter. After the blender finishes, Hayden opens one of the cabinets and pulls out a glass. “Want some of the smoothie? No? More for me.” He pours his fruit smoothie into a glass and then stares at me as he takes a swig.

  “I have...but, as you’ve probably guessed, I haven’t found the right girl yet,” I say, eyeing him. “None of us have; it’s the whole reason we s
igned up for this service in the first place.” Hayden stays silent, staring back at the TV. “Though, there was that one woman we saw across the street…”

  “Oh, that red-headed beauty?”

  “She had auburn hair...it wasn’t just red.”

  “Right, right. Yeah, what I wouldn’t kill to meet her again.” Hayden pretended to swoon as he placed a hand over his heart. “I mean, my inner dragon went wild just at the sight of her! Imagine if I could sweet talk her, sweep her off her feet. I can just imagine how she’d fall head over heels for me.”

  Laughing, I match his grin. “Then let’s make a bet. If one of us sees her again, we’ll try to get her to go out on a date. Whoever gets to take her out first wins.”

  “And how much are we betting here?”

  “My first paycheck,” I say.

  “Fine, then it’ll be my first two paychecks.” He gulps down the rest of his smoothie and slams the glass on the counter. “It’s on, Reed.”

  Just then, Hayden’s phone goes off again. We both sigh, knowing how Sven works. If one of us hangs up on the guy, he’ll wait maybe ten minutes or a little less and then call us back nonstop until we stop putting him off. Sighing, Hayden walks over to his phone. “I wonder what kind of food he wants me to pick out this time.”

  Turning around, I watch as Hayden picks up the call and goes rigid. His smile grows nearly every couple seconds as whoever on the other end speaks.

  “Yes! Yes, of course, I can be there in a few minutes. Thank you for the call,” Hayden says, finally hanging up.

  Frowning, I wave at him to get his attention. “So, was that Sven?”