Dragon's MatchMate Agency: A Paranormal Romance Boxset

by Maia Star

  Erika’s controlling, abusive ex doesn’t seem to hear us. He just gazes around the apartment as if he’s ignoring us. The door shuts gently behind him.

  Reed steps closer. “Are you deaf? Listen to me, you jackass. Take another step in, and we’ll kill you where you stand.”

  This time, Maxen deigns to glance at Reed and me. Even from here, I can tell he simply doesn’t care about us. He’s looking at us like we’re just obstacles in his way. “Where is my woman?”

  Cracking my knuckles, I step around the counter. “You think she’s here?” I steal a glance at Reed. If we let him know Erika isn’t here, he might just leave and try to follow her trail. We gotta prevent that at all costs.

  “Her scent is thick here,” Maxen mutters, walking further in, heading straight for the hallway. “Get in my way, and I’ll crush you both, dragons.”

  My heart pounds and my adrenaline races. I don’t heed his words and charge him. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Reed circling around, cutting off his escape route. Maxen turns to me slightly, throwing out his hands, intent on stopping me by strangling me maybe. Grinning, I smile and duck and dodge to the side, just stepping out of reach of the bear shifter. Growling, and probably frustrated that I didn’t just rush into his hands, Maxen follows me, reaching out.

  Reed comes up behind and tackles him to the ground. I quickly follow suit and land on Maxen’s head and arms. He struggles beneath us and claws at my legs, but he can’t seem to get up.

  While Reed tries to hold him down, he begins to shift into his bear form. But he goes in spurts, growing and then going back to his human form.

  “He’s losing control of his bear,” I say.

  “Fuck off!” Maxen screams, moving wildly.

  “Stay down, you asshole,” Reed sneers.

  “Get. Off. Me!” Maxen roars, shifting more fully. Reed and I are lifted into the air, and we both have the sense to quickly roll off. Because our ceiling is so low, Maxen is only halfway shifted but about to be stuck. His half-shifted form is ugly, with his snout partially out and one eye animal-like and the other still human. He’s hunched over, continuing to grow, his back pushing hard against the ceiling. He roars out and attempts to rush me. He’s on me in seconds.

  Swiping, he sends a claw slashing across the couch, catching the TV and glass stand in the process. Wood and glass and cables fly everywhere, and I’m forced to my stomach to dodge the wild attack.

  Quickly climbing to my feet, I exchange a look with Reed. There’s no way we can shift in our small apartment. We’d both have the disadvantage, since we’re bigger as dragons, and would be genuinely stuck and flattened in this place. Maxen would easily cut our throats. While moving backward, I motion to Reed to get outside. He follows my orders and rushes out. Maxen, of course, doesn’t notice, continuing to crawl after me. Dodging him, I scream, “Then stay in here! We’ll bring this whole place down on you.”

  Just outside, I can see through the windows that Reed has shifted, fully formed, and now roars out, shaking the ground. I hurry through the door outside and point at the windows and door. “Scorch the place!”

  Maxen hurries to get out, panicking, even shifting completely back to his human form to rush out just as Reed spews a torrent of fire through the windows, setting our apartment alight. As much as it pains me to watch it burn down, apartments can be rebuilt.

  The bear shifter doesn’t completely make it out as Reed’s flames catch on his back, scorching him. He cries out and instantly shifts to roll around and quench that fire.

  I shift too, growing four times in size, darting towards the bear, spewing out my own flames. My flames shoot across the pavement, but Maxen jumps out of the way, swiping at my legs and drawing blood. I flinch at the attack, and then Reed is flying past me, catching Maxen by the leg and neck and slamming him into the ground. The bear’s roars are deep and guttural as he bites down on Reed’s leg, but my clanmate doesn’t give in to the pain. I rush to help, but Maxen is quicker to kick out at Reed’s back legs and send him off balance. Maxen throws Reed in my direction, and Reed slams into me, both of us crashing into the flower shop.

  People down the street are coming out of their townhouses to see what the commotion is, only to hurry back inside the second Maxen roars out. Bleeding and huffing, the bear snarls at us as we try to untangle ourselves. We aren’t quick enough, and Maxen is already sprinting away.

  Bears are much faster than most people realize, and by the time Reed and I get back on our feet, he’s gone. I’m not surprised since his goal is to kidnap Erika and probably run for the hills. Roaring to Reed, we both take off and fly into the air, looking for him. I’m a bit dizzy from the fight, but I manage to fly and see well enough. Besides, a giant bear should be easy to find.

  I growl in frustration when I don’t spot Maxen anywhere, and I frantically fly this way and that, looking to see if I can spot him in his human form.

  Before long, I realize I’m not going to find him like this, and so I fly back to where out apartment is burning. I land and stare at the entire building catching on fire. The old lady who runs the flower shop will have choice words for us.

  Reed lands next to me, and we both shift and sit on the sidewalk, hoping Hayden and Erika will get back soon.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Erika

  Hayden and I took our time in the park we’d slept together in. The more we laid on the ground, holding each other, the more I felt like I never wanted to leave his arms. But, of course, soon enough, we were both getting cramps and needed to stand up.

  We decided we’d head back quickly after getting dressed so that Reed and Sven wouldn’t get too worried and anxious about us missing.

  So here we are, strolling back to Street House, arm in arm and whistling different tunes to each other. It was amazing how barely an hour could change up my entire mood. Things were much calmer now, and my anger and frustrations were practically gone.

  “So, what’s the story when we get back to the others?” Hayden asks, grinning. “All we did was talk? Share our worries?”

  I chuckle at the idea. “Look, why don’t we just tell them the truth? I mean...it was just sex. Besides, I’ve, um, slept with Reed already too.”

  Hayden blanches. “You’re kidding!”

  My cheeks are on fire once again. “Besides, you told me about how you’re all trying to claim me, after all. I’d rather you guys not do things behind each other’s backs…”

  “Well, it’s a bit too late for that.”

  We stop in our tracks as a bear’s roar rings out in the distance. More roars follow it and I shiver. It’s one of the problems of living in the city; there are way more shifters around to startle me. I mean, I’ve been getting over those fears because of the trio I hired, but still. It’s weird to just randomly hear a monster’s scream at night when it’s quiet everywhere else.

  When I sigh and go to keep walking, I find Hayden not at my side. Turning, I spy him rigid in place, like a statue. He’s staring straight ahead but not looking at anything in specific.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Those roars were in the direction of Street House,” Hayden says, his brows creasing. “I’m not saying something’s wrong, but…”

  “Do you want to hurry back?”

  Hayden glances at me and gives me a soft, knowing smile. “Yeah, I do. But we aren’t walking anymore. Hold on, I’ll shift; get on my back and I’ll fly us back there.”

  Before I can protest, Hayden shifts, tearing his clothes apart. I watch as he grows scales and wings and a tail and take a few steps back when he’s finally fully grown. He looks at me and then lowers his back, waiting for me to climb on.

  Shaking, I nod and step onto his arm so I can reach his neck. “If I f-fall off and die, I’ll haunt you for the r-rest of my life, Hayden.”

  The dragon makes a chortle-like sound as I position myself at the base of his neck. There are small spikes running up and down his back and neck that I hold onto as he lifts
off from the ground. My stomach churns, and I close my eyes as we soar higher and higher, the wind battling with my hair. I can’t bear to pry open my eyes now. I hold onto Hayden for dear life.

  Soon, though, I find myself peering over the side of his neck. I can’t figure out why I look down. The more I look, the more my heart stammers, but the more my smile grows. Instead of fear taking hold, I feel hope.

  But then in the distance, I see fire rising from a short building into the night sky. It is stark against the hazy lights of the city. It is only as we angle towards the fire that I realize that we are headed right for it. That isn’t just any random building on fire: it is Street House.

  When Hayden landed in front of Street House, and the burning flower shop above it, I slide off and am forced to stand back. Heat is rolling off in waves that are almost too much to handle. Hayden shifts and run over to two shadowy figures sitting on the curb in front of the fire. Both hang their heads but shoot to their feet the moment Hayden runs over. It is hard to see the two because the firelight is to their backs, but I recognized them as Reed and Sven. Eventually, the trio trudges over to me and huddles in front of me while we talk.

  “It was Maxen,” Sven says, his voice strained. “We lit the apartment on fire to cook him...but he managed to get out.”

  “He fled, but we couldn’t find where he went,” Reed adds, gazing back at the inferno behind them.

  Hayden swears and crosses his arms. “Goddamn, I’m sorry I didn’t get back sooner.”

  Sven gazes at me thoughtfully. “I’m just glad you weren’t around, or else this fight might have been harder. He was fixated on finding you and almost ignored us at first when he burst in.”

  I easily imagine Maxen just walking right in as if he owned the place.

  “Point is, we can’t stay here,” Reed says. “Most everything in there is burned up by now. It won’t be livable for a while. Oh, and your car, Erika…” Raising a brow, I look past him to where he’s pointing. My Honda Civic has been trashed, bent and flipped on its back. As quickly as I bought it, it’s left me. “Sorry, one of us must have smashed it while we fought.”

  “Not to change the subject, but I think I’ve got a place we can live at for the time being,” Sven says, turning back to us after staring into the fire. “It’s my old family home, deep in the Redwoods not too far from here.”

  “You’ve got a place out there?” Reed asks. “I didn’t know that.”

  Hayden shakes his head. “Me either. Please tell me you aren’t joking around with us right now.”

  Sven smiles. “I’m being serious. It’s where I lived when I was a kid. It’s a lonely place, but it’ll get the job done for the time being.”

  Hayden nods. “Then it’s settled. We’ll head out there and deal with the fallout later. Right now, we have to protect Erika while Maxen is still prowling around out there.” Turning to me, he smiles. “Are you down to fly on my back again?”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Sven

  Hours later, we’re flying just above the treetops of the Redwood Forest. We’re gliding quietly and safely, rising and descending as we follow the land. Because it’s still pretty dark out, I doubt anyone would have seen us fly this way. Maxen may have come from a distance, but there’s no way he could catch up to us to see exactly in which direction we’ve flown.

  I lead the way as we go deeper into the forest, away from the main tourist areas and roads. Even after all these years, I still know the way to my family’s cottage by heart. Hayden and Reed follow closely behind, with Erika holding on tightly to Hayden’s back. I look back and see her watching me, her amber eyes shining in the dark.

  I want nothing more than to hold her right now. After losing our home, we’re forced to come all the way out here, and all I want is to be with her. She’s slept with Reed, and when Hayden came back, I smelled the scent of sex on him too. I’m the only one she hasn’t been with yet, and it’s nagging at me.

  Now that we’re going to be living out here in the forest, I’m going to need to figure out how to spend my time. Maybe I’ll scoop her up and sneak her out into the forest one day, and then we’ll have some fun.

  But can I really wait that long? No, I can’t.

  When I spy the spot where my family cottage is located, I give a short growl to indicate we’ll be landing. I look for a spot, decide on one, and then circle as I descend. Landing just outside the house, in the very front, I shift and quickly step away so the others can land. Hayden lands second, and Reed brings up the rear. Erika slides down Hayden’s back and comes up next to me, staring in wonder at the cottage in front of us.

  “Wow! It’s such a cute house,” she says.

  My family’s cottage is a one-story house, with a wood porch set stones, a big window to the right and a red door on the left. It’s bordered on either side by bushes and greenery and redwood trees that tower far above us. The cottage was built out of redwood, so it’s tinged an orange-red.

  “This is nicer than I thought it would be,” Hayden says, coming up on the other side. He looks across from me. “But is it really safe? Has anyone been living here?”

  I shake my head. “Shouldn’t be. I never sold the place in case of a situation like this.”

  “Should we go check it out inside?” Hayden asks. Before he can walk forward, Reed pushes past him and shoves open the door, peering inside. He then grunts and waves Hayden forward. “Ah, whatever. All right, Sven, you want to wait outside with Erika while we check it out? I know it’s your place…”

  I nod, seeing my chance to be alone with Erika. “Yeah, go ahead. I’ve seen the inside plenty of times before.”

  Nodding, Hayden spares one more glance at Erika before jogging inside.

  The second he’s out of sight, I throw my arms out and scoop Erika up. She gasps and looks at me, startled. “Why are you picking me up?”

  I grin. “Because we’re going to find a private spot I know. Trust me, we’ll get there faster if I carry you.”

  “But, Sven—”

  I’m already sprinting off into the forest, dodging branches, running the slopes I remember from my childhood, glancing at the marks I made years ago in the trees that show me the way. Erika is holding my neck tightly as we run, a smile forming on her face.

  Eventually, we burst out of a thicket and onto a grassy, flat area. In front of us is a pond, and above that pond is a tiny waterfall that’s trickling down a jagged rock face. It’s still dark, but the sky is beginning to change to a warm orange in the distance. The sound of the trickling waterfall, combined with Erika’s deep breathing and the natural sound of rustling leaves, leaves me romanced and lustful, and when I turn to Erika and see her bright big smile, I kiss her.

  She doesn’t seem surprised and kisses me back. Her lips are warm and soft. I just can’t get enough.

  When she pulls away, she leaves a hand touching my cheek. “You don’t need to say anything. We should be safe now, right?”

  I nod, holding her hand and kissing her palm. “Your ex won’t find us here. Not for a while, anyway. Besides...I need you right now.”

  She nods. “I need you too, I think. Maybe I should undress now? I’ve been feeling out of place, being the only one dressed since earlier.”

  Chuckling, I watch as she steps back and strips. Her movements are sensual, slow, and intricate. She’s showing off for me, and she even spins once when she’s stark naked, batting her eyelashes at me. “You like what you see?”

  “Is there any man who wouldn’t?”

  She laughs, and we come together, planting kisses on each other. “How long do we have before the others become worried?” she whispers in my ear.

  “Don’t think about them,” I say. “We can take as long as we want.”

  Her hands find my chest and rest against it, fingers spreading out over my skin. Her touch is enough to make me go wild, and I can’t help trembling at the prospect of having her right now.

  Kissing up my neck to my ear, she whi
spers, “Lay down.”

  With a shove, she pushes me back, and I let myself fall to the ground, arms out, watching her stand over me and sit down to straddle my lap. Feeling her supple thighs brace against my skin nearly sends me over the edge. I go to help her, but she pushes me back down, smiling at me, her cheeks a bright red. “You relax, Sven. Let me do the work.”

  She reaches in between her legs and grabs me, making me sigh in instant pleasure. She positions herself better and then sits fully down. I enter her, and it’s like my whole body is already scorching hot, my heart pumping wildly. She stays rigid for a minute, breathing hard, seeming to adjust to my body. Her palms are pressed against my stomach. They feel small compared to my body.

  When she finally does move, I’m in heaven. She starts out slow, her eyes never leaving mine, and then she moves her hips faster and faster. Back and forth; up and down. It’s like she’s on the best rollercoaster ride of her life.

  I know she said that she wanted to let me just enjoy this, but my inner dragon wants me to take control. She’s absolutely gorgeous, and I can’t just lay down while she gets to have all the fun.

  Sitting up, I wrap my arms around her, pressing her body to mine, and move my hips rapidly. Erika shrieks at the pleasure. My mind is starting to melt from the sheer ecstasy. She’s just so damn beautiful, and sweet, and lovely. She needs to become my mate, and I’m using this chance to tell her.

  Eventually, I can’t hold it anymore, and my mind goes blank as I spasm and groan, erupting in her. Erika trembles and nibbles on my ear to deal with how sensitive she’s become. I hold her as we jerk together, feeling her sweaty body meld with mine. Soon, all we can hear is the water dribbling down the rock cliff, splashing in the water. Erika’s breaths are ragged, and I pant like a dog.

  My muscles relaxing, I lean back and allow Erika to lay on top of me as we rest. She peers up at me, a grin on her face.