Dragon's MatchMate Agency: A Paranormal Romance Boxset

by Maia Star

  I grin and put my hands on my hips. “I’m Kai’s father. Thanks for finding him.”

  I reach forward to take Kai from her arms, but she pulls back. “Do you have any proof that you’re his father?”

  “Proof? Look at me! And then look at me.” Her glares don’t stop. “Oh come on, lady. I’ve been searching everywhere for him.”

  “You’re a shifter.” she mumbles. “This boy doesn’t look like a shifter.”

  My brow twitches. “Yeah, and no shifter ‘looks’ like a shifter. Not even adults. Look, at this point, you’re keeping my kid from me. That doesn’t look good for you, ma’am.”

  “I’ll hold on to him until I’m sure you’re his actual parent,” she says, huffing out her breath. Her nostrils flare. “Put on some clothes, you lunatic!”

  Sighing, I glance over my shoulder at the bag I dropped on the ground. Sprinting back, I hurriedly pull out some pants and a shirt, and pull them on, and then rush back over. “Happy?”

  She still doesn’t look convinced, which makes me want to tear my hair out. But it’s not like I can bulldoze an old lady just to get my kid back. Kai is watching me with a frown, staying quiet, which I’m sure isn’t helping my case in this lady’s eyes.

  Case in point, she turns to him. “Is this your daddy, little one? Do you recognize him?”

  Kai seems to think for a minute, and then shrugs. “I don’t know…”

  Shaking my head, I meet the woman’s hard gaze. “Look, I only met him a few days ago.”

  “What? How did you only meet your own son a few days ago? You think I’m going to buy that?”

  “It’s true! I didn’t even know I had a son until a few days ago.” Scratching my head, I move closer and smile at Kai. “Kai! Look! Remember how I saved you from those thieves a few days ago? You remember that talk we had in your bedroom? It’s me! Mommy told me to find you, so here I am!”

  “Oh, so you need your wife to tell you to find him, but you won’t do it on your own?” the woman says, clicking her tongue and shaking her head. “Young people these days.”

  “That’s not it! Fine! I’ll call mommy, Kai. I’ll call her right now.” Picking up my phone, I dial Scarlet and put it on speaker. The phone rings and rings but goes to voicemail. My jaw drops as the woman begins to shuffle away. “No! Don’t move! She’s just frantic right now. Maybe she accidentally dropped her phone. Maybe she just didn’t hear it.” I call her again, and this time she picks up.

  “Did you find him?” she asks, sounding even more exhausted than before.

  Kai perks up at the sound of his mother’s voice. “Mommy? Mommy!” The old woman struggles to keep him still as he squirms in her grasp and is forced to let him down as he rushes over to me. I kneel and lift the speaker to him. “Mommy!”

  “Kai? Oh, Kai!” Scarlet gushes. “Yes, yes! It’s mommy! Arthur, where are you two? I’m coming over right now!”

  I quickly tell her the street names and grin wickedly at the old lady, who’s sourpuss face tells me she is still annoyed at me. “And there’s the proof.”

  “You’re a bad father!” she says, walking away.

  “I haven’t even gotten the chance to screw up with him, yet,” I mutter, rising to my feet.

  A few minutes later, Scarlet turns a corner and rushes across the street, picking up Kai in her arms and twirling around, both giggling happily.

  She puts him down and clutches his shoulders. “Kai...don’t ever leave me again. Do you hear me?” He nods violently, almost to the point where he falls over. The only reason he doesn’t is because she’s holding him so tightly. “Why did you leave?”

  Kai glances up at me. “I wanted to find Daddy. You cried, Mommy. You were said because of Daddy not being there. I wanted to find him.”

  My heart aches as I crouch next to Scarlet. “Well, I guess you found me, one way or another.”

  Scarlet’s laughing. “Damn it, Kai...look. Mommy has something to tell you.” She glances at me. “There’s no reason to go find Daddy anymore because he’ll be with us from now on.” My eyes go wide as she smiles at me. “It’s been a long time coming, but your daddy is here to stay with us...right, Daddy?”

  The biggest smile forms on my face, and as I stare from her eyes to his, I can feel my inner dragon roaring in triumph. “Of course! I’ve been on a long journey, Kai. I went on that journey just for you. Are you ready to hear all sorts of stories from now on?”

  Kai excitedly nods, making us both laugh.

  Picking Kai up in her arms, Scarlet motions for me to follow. “Come on, Arthur. Let’s go home.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Scarlet

  The walk home is a short one. Kai is cradled in my arms, his body small and soft. Earlier, he was energetic, worked up on the hype of walking out on his own. Or, at least that’s what I guessed. But now he’s quiet and relaxed, on the verge of sleep. His eyelids are drooping, and I swear I’ve heard him snore once or twice on our way back.

  Arthur is silent as we walk, his eyes constantly flicking between our son and me. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him like this. I know what it means when he looks at me with those longing, wide eyes: it’s a love full of desire. But the way he looks at Kai is...different. It’s love for sure, but it’s a fatherly love, the love that comes from a desire to protect his child.

  He even sidles up closer to me on the side where Kai is resting against my shoulder and gently runs his hands through Kai’s hair. “God...look at his hair. Have it always been as luscious as mine?”

  I laugh and reach up a hand to run my fingers through Arthur’s hair. His hair is soft and windswept. We meet each other’s gaze, and I can tell we see each other in a different light now. When I stare into his eyes, I see my lover, but also the father of my child. And he looks so damn proud. “Well, I think Kai’s hair is much softer than yours.”

  He roars with laughter. “I’ll take that. The only person I’ll lose to in a healthy hair match is my son.” Even if Kai is barely conscious, Arthur still leans down to eye level and bows to him. “You, my good child, are a worthy opponent!”

  When we reach my building, we walk inside, smiling from ear to ear, chatting quietly. Everything suddenly feels so natural.

  “What about the babysitter?” Arthur asks, shutting the door. “Where is she?”

  “I called her and told her we found Kai. I told her to go home and get some rest,” I say. “I don’t think I’m going to leave Kai’s side for a few days. So she’ll be able to focus on school right now.”

  “Good,” he says, whispering in my ear. Kai is out cold now, so he won’t hear whatever Arthur is about to say. “That’ll give you and I more time together too.”

  I smile softly. “To focus on us, huh? I would like to get some time so we can just have some fun. We only got a month last time.”

  “Yeah, but that was because I was scared.” He moves in front of me, opening Kai’s bedroom door so I don’t have to. “But now we could go into hibernation for years, just the two of us, and I wouldn’t be able to get enough.”

  I laugh as I pull the covers back and tuck Kai in. He’s completely out now, the excitement of the day making him crash. He’ll probably be out until tomorrow morning...or maybe that’s a bit of a stretch since it’s still only the afternoon.

  Walking out, I shut Kai’s door and motion for Arthur to follow me into my bedroom. He puts on a stupid grin, but I just roll my eyes. When I shut my door, I’m confident our voices will be muted enough so as not to wake Kai. “So...we’re officially a couple now, right?” I say.

  “Right.”

  “What’s the terminology? Do we say we’re mates now?”

  Arthur moves closer to me, touching my cheek. His fingertips are warm, inviting. His eyes loom over me, a cascade of green that envelops me. “Of course. You’re my mate, and I’m yours. Or we could just call each other boyfriend and girlfriend...or husband and wife when we get married. Either shifter or human terms work for me.”

  W
e share a silent moment as our smiles fade and we just look into each other’s gaze. Whereas I used to see pure desire, now I see endless green meadows in his gaze. I wonder what he sees in mine?

  That wonderment only increases as he leans forward and kisses me.

  “You know, kissing you never gets old,” he says.

  “I’ll ditto that,” I say.

  And then we’re making out. At first, the kisses are slow, romantic, but then, as our hearts begin to beat faster and faster, we get more passionate, more hurried. I can feel Arthur’s inner dragon for the first time. It’s hungry for me, wanting to devour me whole. It’s desire for me is so blatant, it’s almost overwhelming.

  I’ve felt other men leer at me before but none have ever desired me so thoroughly like this. It feels so insanely good to be loved so much.

  Soon enough, we’re stripping. Whenever he gets too impatient and goes to rip my clothes off, I stop him with a simple touch, forcing him to wait. I can’t have all my clothes ripped to shreds just because he can’t hold it in for a little bit longer.

  When we’re butt naked, Arthur presses himself to me, his hands exploring my body, weaving between my legs. I gasp as he works his magic, and I cling to him, my legs trembling from the pleasure of his fingers. He kisses me while he moves his hand faster and faster, his lips kissing all over my neck and lips and cheeks. He goes wild, nearly causing me to fall to my knees, but he keeps me standing. It’s excruciatingly good.

  Just before I climax, he stops and pushes me onto the bed, where I squirm, a frown forming on my face, wondering why he didn’t finish me. But my silent question is answered when he kneels and puts his tongue between my legs. I’m in pure ecstasy again. My head lolls back, my back arching. Eventually, I feel the need to look into his eyes as he works, and I find him staring up at me. I erupt seconds later. It’s just too hot.

  I go stiff, lock my legs around his head. My muscles all go tense, and I gasp for air as my chest heaves.

  “How...are you...so good at that?” I spit out.

  He laughs, standing up and gripping my hips, bringing me up to his waist. “It only gets better from here, Scar.”

  And we’re connected again, but this time, his hips are slapping into mine with no mercy. I laugh and cover my mouth once I realize how loud I’m getting. So I moan into my palms while we rock the bed. My legs extend up in the air, and he holds them there, never missing a beat, licking them as he turns up the pace. My whole body reacts, trying to pull away, trying to ignore the ticklish lapping of his tongue. I’m tingling all over. It’s like I’m in another world.

  My body shudders as I feel myself ready to explode again. Arthur grunts and begins to slow down too, his body tensing and tightening. “Damn...Scarlet. You’re so hot. Why are you so hot?” Arthur moans. “Fuck. Fuck!”

  Unable to handle it, he falls forward, exploding along with me. Intertwined on the bed, we muffle our moans by putting our lips together. We jerk as the rush of pleasure keeps coming. It might just go on forever.

  Eventually, we let go of each other’s lips and gasp for air, our bodies practically connected at the hips. We lay like that for a long while, every few seconds, one of us gently kissing the other. My skin is so sensitive now that every time he places his fiery hot lips on me, I shiver from the touch.

  “You’re so damn beautiful,” Arthur says, brushing some of my now sweaty hair out of the way. “I seriously might have gone crazy if we didn’t end up together.”

  I giggle, shoving him to the side. “Honestly, I didn’t see us not getting back together after all. It would have been very weird to try and move on from you…”

  “But now we can relax,” he says, walking two fingers up my torso. “We can take our time getting to know each other again. Both who we are as a person...and what makes our bodies tick.” He walks his fingers up my neck, over my lips and nose, and then takes them away, kissing me once again.

  I smile wide, just happy to have a defined relationship with the man I love. It’s like a dream come true. “But it’s not all about us anymore...we’ve got Kai.”

  He nods like a sage. “Of course. Plus more.”

  “Oh, that’s right, you said you’d want to have a lot of kids.”

  “Do you not want that?”

  “It’s not that. I just don’t know if I’m ready to raise more kids.”

  Arthur watches me, propping his head up on his fist. “You’re the greatest, strongest mother I’ve ever met. I think you can do it. Especially now that I’m here to help.

  I stare into his eyes once again, seeing nothing but hope and joy.

  I’ve waited for something like this for four long years now. A moment so quiet, yet so meaningful. Life was hard these past four years, much more stressful than I could have ever imagined. I love Kai, but he is certainly a handful at times. Just imagining having a helping hand, especially from someone I love, is like lifting the weight of the world off my shoulders. His gaze is so tender and caring, so willing to show me he’ll do anything to make life easier for me.

  I wonder what kind of father Arthur will be in the future. I’ve barely seen anything yet, but even so, I’ve got a good feeling. Kai was scared of Arthur at first, but that can be changed with time. One day, Kai will look at Arthur and not even blink. That day could be years down the line, or just weeks away. However long it takes, I think I can positively say I made the right choice.

  Arthur’s eyelids are fluttering like Kai’s were earlier. “Are you tired?” I ask.

  He yawns. “Possibly.”

  “Let’s just take a nap too then.”

  “Sounds good to me.”

  Snuggling up to my lover, I watch him as he closes his eyes. As I close mine, I try to picture the future. What does it look like?

  Chapter Twenty

  Arthur

  It’s been five years since I reconnected with Scarlet, and I haven’t regretted it once.

  From where I stand on the beach, I’ve got a perfect angle of Kai and his friends as they run around near the waves, kicking up sand and wrestling each other to the ground. I kneel, looking through the lens, waiting for the perfect moment to snap a shot, but then one of the other fathers steps in front of my camera and completely blocks my shot. I scowl, gazing up at the human who would dare anger me.

  But the guy doesn’t seem to notice he’s blocking my line of sight. “Hey, kids! Stop fooling around! Mr. Bell wants to take a picture of you all!”

  Kai and his friends all pause, the smiles wiped clean from their faces, and obediently line up in front of the waves, staring straight at me like a line of mini soldiers.

  As the guy gives me the thumbs up and steps back, I sigh. “Thanks, Jim.”

  “No problem, buddy! You know, I know a thing or two about cameras. Want me to—”

  Pointing over by where the other parents are standing around, under a massive awning we staked down thirty minutes ago, my eyes widen. “Oh no! I think I forgot to bring the beer! Can you go check if there’s any over there for me, Jim?”

  Jim nods fervently. “Of course! I got your back.” And then off he goes. I notice some of the women, one a single mother and one married, watching me intently. They try to hide their gazes under the brims of their summer hats, but I notice them nonetheless.

  Just then, a pair of arms wrap around my neck and a woman leans on my shoulders, sighing happily. “My oh my, Sandra and Becky are still pining for you, aren’t they?”

  I grin back at her. “Sinful ladies. Not like you. Nothing you do can ever be wrong.”

  Scarlet smiles back at me and pecks a kiss on my lips. “Easy, dragon...I’m not worried. I don’t believe you’d ever cheat.”

  I glance back at the crowd of parents, noticing Sandra, the single mother, frown at Scarlet. “Well, they certainly think I would.” When Scarlet raises a brow, I hurry on to damage control. “But they’re wrong, of course! What’s the point in settling for less than perfect?”

  “Ouch,” she says for Sandra a
nd Becky.

  “Dad, take the picture!” Kai shouts from only a dozen feet away.

  Scarlet and I laugh in tandem, and I ready my camera at the line of seven sandy, fidgety, non-smiling kids. “Okay, okay! Everyone smile now!”

  Kai is the only one who genuinely does smile as I snap a few shots. Once I look over the pictures, I wave at Kai and the others to keep playing and rise to my feet. While Scarlet and I watch Kai dance with one of the girls, Jim and his wife Becky strut over. “You’ve got beer, Arthur!” Jim calls. “No worries there!”

  “I’d be surprised if a man like you would ever have worries,” Becky says, smirking. Her eyes glance up and down my body, settling between my legs for a few seconds before looking at my wife. “Same goes for you, Scarlet. You’re both like movie stars with those bodies of yours.”

  Jim, as per usual, doesn’t notice his wife’s subtle meanings and laughs heartily, throwing an arm around her. “You’re always so good with your compliments, Becky. I don’t know how you do it.”

  We all give Jim a round of chuckles before I grab Scarlet’s hand and begin to lead her towards the shore. “Hey, guys, can you keep the kids entertained for a bit? We have a gift we want to give Kai by ourselves.”

  Jim and Becky nod enthusiastically. “Of course! Anything for you, pal!” Jim roars.

  Walking towards the kids, I lean into Scarlet. “Do you think we should tell Jim about Becky’s...sinful nature?”

  Scarlet smiles and shakes her head. “You know, she told me one time that she doesn’t mean anything. She just likes to tease people. While she said she was attracted to you, she’d never actually act on it. Besides, Jim isn’t that stupid. He does notice her teasing, but he knows it’s just a fun little game to her.”

  Shrugging, I smile. “Well, if that’s the case, I’ll trust your judgment.”

  Walking up to the kids, we wave Kai over. Raising a brow, he jogs over, his blond hair whipping in the breeze. “What’s up?”