Dragon's MatchMate Agency: A Paranormal Romance Boxset

by Maia Star

  Erika seems to inflate and deflate at the same time. “Yeah…I was pretty paranoid. I still am. When I saw you three looking at me, I thought maybe you were hired by Maxen to tail me.”

  Hayden nods. “And that’s why you bolted away. Yeah, makes sense.”

  “It’s still surreal that you three would be the bodyguards I’m hiring now,” she says, her voice thick with emotion. “And to think my paranoia made me think you could all be bad people. I need to calm down more.”

  “No, you’re right to worry,” Reed interjects. “You’ve got a valid reason to be paranoid in the first place. I mean, you said he’s controlling, right?”

  Erika nods. “Yes, he was, and still most certainly is. The phone I have now is the first I’ve had in nearly a year because he tossed mine away the second we were in a relationship.”

  “That’s such an asshole move,” Hayden grumbles into his paperwork. “You’d think humans wouldn’t be as crazy as shifters sometimes.”

  Erika shakes her head fervently. “No, he isn’t human...he’s a bear shifter. His bear nature is one of the reasons I hadn’t run away until recently. It took me months to work up the courage and come up with a plan, and that plan didn’t almost work…”

  Her voice trails off as she stares at the table. She stops writing and seems to be in some trance reliving her recent past. My heart nearly stops at the expression on her face. She looks lost and hurt, and my inner dragon begs me to do something about it. Stomping over to her side, I kneel down next to her and place a hand on her shoulder. I squeeze gently, getting her to look at me. “Well, you don’t have to worry about that guy anymore. Bears are nothing to dragons. We’ll protect you for sure...especially me. I’ll be the best bodyguard you’ve ever had!”

  She blinks and lets out a laugh, making my heart race.

  Suddenly, Reed is on her other side, clutching her other shoulder, mimicking my stance. “Me too. I’ll one-up this guy and show you why you’ll never have to fear your ex again.”

  Hayden coughs pointedly into his arm and grabs Erika’s attention. “So, where do you live now? I can live at your place for the time being…”

  Erika’s cheeks heat up and she sighs. “Um...that might be a problem. You see, I’ve been living out of a car I just bought a week ago. I don’t have a place to call my own yet.”

  Rising to my feet, I grin from ear to ear. “Then you’ll come live with us! Our place is safe and pretty cozy. You’ll love it there.” I glance at my clanmates. “Any objections?”

  “None here!” Reed says.

  “I’m fine with it. That just might be the best idea you’ve had yet, Sven,” Hayden says.

  Erika beams, looking up at me warmly. My inner dragon shouts at me to sweep her off her feet and carry her home right now. I want to sleep with her, to claim her as my own...but I know the others feel the same way. We’re all puffing out our chests, unable to rip our longing gazes off of her. I doubt she’s noticing any of it yet, but soon enough, she will. Only one of us will get her as a mate, and that’ll make things complicated eventually.

  Not that Hayden or Reed will beat me out. Sure, so far, she’s spent a bit more time with Hayden, but I’m more charming than him. And Reed is too stuffy. I may love these guys like brothers, but I’m ready to compete with them for her affection.

  Erika will be mine.

  Then the door swings open, banging against the wall, and Audrey walks in. She’s holding two more packets, one each for Reed and me to sign. “Here we go, boys, a packet and pen. Get started on the paperwork and you’ll get out of here in no time.”

  Grabbing my packet, I sit cross-legged on the floor next to Erika so I can write on the table. There’s silence now as we all hurry through the paperwork. Erika glances at all of us quietly and lands on me last. She blushes when I smile back. This is going to be a fun job.

  Chapter Nine

  Erika

  Once Reed and Sven finish signing their paperwork and hand the packets back to Audrey, they’re both on their feet again. Sven rolls his shoulders and smiles down at me and glances over his shoulder. “There isn’t anything else we need to do here, right, Audrey?”

  Audrey matches his smile. “Nope! That’s it. You’re all free to go and get started on this new job of yours. Keep Erika safe, you hear?”

  Laughing, Hayden rises from his seat. He looks to be in a better mood than earlier. Before, there was something off about his smiles, but now they seem genuine. “Oh, she’ll be safe. There’s no need to worry. If this Maxen guy does think about coming to San Francisco looking for her, we’ll make sure he doesn’t ever get close to her.”

  Hearing the confidence oozing from his voice really lifts my heart. I sit taller, and when I realize I’m the only one still sitting, I hurriedly stand. Even if I’m smaller than all three of these guys, I still feel like I’m suddenly one of them. They all gaze at me warmly, with gentle smiles and hard eyes that tell me they really will stay true to their word.

  Nodding to them, I motion at the door. “Then let’s go!”

  As we shuffle out the door, Hayden takes the lead, followed by Reed, me, and then Sven. For a brief moment, the back of my mind nags at me. Even if these three are confident, are they a bit too overconfident? Is that a sign that they’re all too arrogant? Are they really as skilled and strong as they say they are?

  I still haven’t seen a dragon up close and personal. There’s another part of me that questions whether these guys are really even dragon shifters.

  As we walk to the elevator and stop in front of it, Hayden nudges me in the side. “So, give us something more about Maxen.”

  I blink at him, crossing my arms. The more I think about my ex-boyfriend, the worse my day typically gets. “What about?”

  “Like maybe some physical descriptions? What does the guy look like? We’re going to have to watch out for him, anyhow.”

  “Oh, right,” I take a deep breath as the elevator doors open and we squeeze inside. These elevators aren’t really meant to hold four people, especially people as wide as these three. My shoulders brush up against Reed’s hard side, and Hayden’s arm. My heart’s beginning to pound like crazy, being surrounded by these three hot guys. I was never one to instantly be attracted to crazy hot guys like these: they just always seemed too haughty and cocky. But now that there are three focused entirely on me...well, it’s not as if I’m not enjoying it, I suppose.

  “Maxen is bulky, kind of like Sven. He’s also got tattoos, like Sven, except on the opposite arm.” Reed and Hayden gaze at Sven, who frowns.

  “Well, well, so we found the ex after all,” Hayden begins.

  “Who knew it was our own clanmate, our dearest friend!” Reed finishes.

  “Quiet, let the lady finish,” Sven growls.

  I smile at their humor. “He’s got a salt-and-pepper beard and black hair. A mean face. And, of course, he’s got a ripped body. He knows how to fight.”

  “Yeah, sounds like a great guy all around,” Hayden says, rolling his eyes. “What made you attracted to this guy in the first place?”

  I feel Reed lift his arm and punch Hayden in the shoulder. “Hey, genius, that’s not the right question to ask.”

  “Oh, and what is?” Hayden snarls back.

  Their hot breath falls across the back of my neck, making me shiver. Neither one seems to notice.

  The elevator doors open and I step out, grateful to be in a wide hallway so I can breathe.

  Reed steps out next. “The right question is what she’d like for dinner tonight?” I meet his gaze, pulled into those sexy eyes. “You’ve had a long day—no, a long week. It’ll be my treat. Whatever you want. Or I could just recommend some places to you.”

  But then Sven steps in front of Reed. “Woah, woah! I might have some good places to show her. Except I won’t force her to think about it.” He winks at me. “It’ll be a surprise. You like surprises, right? Who doesn’t?”

  Hayden snorts. “‘I won’t force her to think…�
� I can’t tell if that’s meant to relax her or insult her.”

  “Again,” I say, “I’m right here. I think I’ll decide what I want for food…”

  All three stare at me and grin simultaneously. I can tell they’ve all been living together for a while now because they’ve picked up some of each other’s mannerisms. This smile had to have come from Hayden, I suspect.

  “You’re feisty, aren’t you?” Sven says.

  “She knows what she wants,” Reed says. “That’s hot.”

  Blushing furiously, I turn around and stalk away. Did I hire bodyguards or children?

  “Either way,” Hayden says, hurrying to walk with me to the front doors. “You should probably see our place first. While I highly recommend you stay with us, if you find you don’t like it, we can search for an apartment for you.” He leans in, giving me a better look at his handsome face. The lines of his chiseled cheekbones draw my attention. “But I think you’ll like Street House.”

  “Street House? Sounds like the nickname of a college frat house,” I say.

  The three shifters glance at each other and shrug. “Well, we can assure you we’re a lot cleaner and tidier than some college kids,” Hayden retorts.

  “I guess I’ll just have to see for myself.” Walking through the front door, I glance up at the darkening sky. It’s amazing how quickly days can go, especially when I’m not in fear for my life every second of the day. “Should we go grab my car first?”

  Hayden shakes his head. “Nah, we can grab it after. Walking can really help work off some stress. Besides, we’re not that far. We’ll keep you entertained the whole way too.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  And so, once again, Hayden led the way. Sven and Reed immediately tried to tell me jokes as we walked, and for once, I completely forgot about Maxen.

  Chapter Ten

  Reed

  It took us around an hour to walk from the Fiery Hearts office building to Street House. When we came to the street it was actually on, Sven darted ahead of us, jogging up to stop in front of the flower shop that sat above our apartment. Erika was definitely confused, so I felt it was my duty to straighten things out with her.

  Leaning down, I whisper into her ear, “Sven likes to show off every once in a while.”

  “Right, but...why is he stopping in front of a flower shop?” she asks, visibly confused. Hayden laughs.

  “You’ll find out why,” I say.

  As we get closer, Sven opens his arms as if he were welcoming us all home after we hadn’t seen each other all day. “Welcome, Erika! This, here, is our home, Street House!” When Erika glances up at the flower shop, Sven shakes his head and jerks his hand at the stairs leading to our front door. “No, no, it’s below the shop.”

  Erika raises a brow, frowning at the rusted metal steps that led down to our underground apartment. “So...you guys have an apartment, not a house? And it’s not on street level, but underground?” She gazes around at us. “Is there something I’m missing here?”

  Sven continues to wave his arms at the front door as if waiting for a magical bunny to pop out. “It’s ironic, isn’t it? And it’s a memorable name, dontcha think?”

  As Erika’s mouth drops, Hayden bursts out laughing again, holding his stomach. By now, the sky is pretty dark, so the old lady that runs the place is thankfully not around to shout at us again.

  “Are you guys really dragon shifters?” she asks, turning to look at me. “None of you act like it.”

  “Oh, and how are dragon shifters supposed to act?” Hayden says, wiping away the laughing tears that welled in his eyes. “Did you expect us to just grunt and growl and live in the alleys like animals?”

  “No, but I did expect at least one of you to be meaner, more depressing…”

  Gripping her shoulder, I can’t help but smile at her. “That’s the reason why we're always winning every battle that’s thrown our way. People underestimate us, think we’re too lazy or whimsical sometimes. If we get into a fight, the other shifter will get overconfident. It’s the reason why you should feel completely safe in our care.” I steer her towards the front door, leading her down the stairs. “A couple of us may look like idiots now, but when push comes to shove, we’ll put ourselves in front of anything to save you, okay?”

  Erika’s cheeks redden again, and I can’t help but think about how adorable it is. This girl blushes easily, and I love that about her. “So, is there any other reason this place is named Street House?” she asks.

  “Because our clan is named the Street Dragons,” Sven says, bringing up the rear. “And we're named the Street Dragons because we’re typically found on the street, rather than flying in the sky in our dragon forms.”

  I pull out my key and quickly unlock the door, pushing it open and allowing Erika to be the first to step inside. I reach around and flip on the main lights, illuminating the open room that we call our apartment. Erika gazes at the living area to our right, where the couch and wall-mounted TV are, and then her head swivels to the kitchen to the left. In the back is a hallway that leads to four rooms, three of which are our bedrooms.

  Erika doesn’t seem to know what to say, and I can hardly guess whether she’s actually impressed by how clean our place looks, or if she thinks this place looks cramped. Putting my hands on my hips, I gaze at her. “Well? What do you think?”

  “It’s...certainly something,” she says. “It’s a bit more cramped than I’d have guessed, but you guys actually do seem to take care of the place. I’m surprised.”

  Hayden closes the door behind us. “We’ve got an extra bedroom for you in the back. It works out perfectly.”

  She hesitantly walks further in, looking at the brick walls and gazing about. “Is there any other way of getting out other than the front door? No secret back exits?”

  Shaking my head, I move to the couch and pat the seat next to me. After gazing at me curiously, she comes and sits down. Hayden leans against the front door, arms crossed, gazing out the nearby window; he’s standing guard. Sven heads to the kitchen and pours himself some orange juice.

  “Look, I know your paranoia tells you that Maxen will come after you...but will he really?” I ask. Her eyes widen at my question, so I rephrase. “Sorry, I don’t mean to insinuate you might be wrong but is it at all possible that he might have just given up on you? Because if he doesn’t come to try and snatch you away, you might be stuck with us for a while. A long while.”

  Erika holds herself tightly, a lock of her auburn hair falling over her eyes. She doesn’t seem to notice the lock, so I reach forward and tuck it behind her ear. She stares at me, and I can feel our hearts both racing. I force myself to hold back as much as I can, and my inner dragon isn’t very happy with me. “I know I wouldn’t particularly mind having you around for a long time.”

  The pressure of my clanmates’ stares raises the hairs on the back of my neck.

  “He will definitely come,” she says. “He was...pretty fond of me. Besides, Maxen isn’t the type to just ignore an investment like me. Once he starts something, he doesn’t ever want to let go.”

  Nodding, I smile at her. “Well, then, that means we’ll be able to take him down sooner rather than later.”

  Hayden raises his hand by the door, looking impatient. “This is all well and good, but if you think you want to stay here with us, how about you and I go grab your car, Erika? We can get back well before ten, and then grab some dinner.”

  Erika’s stomach growls loudly, and she looks away shyly. “Sounds good to me.”

  So Sven and I are forced to watch as Hayden opens and the door and Erika slips out. Hayden grins at us both. “Hold down the fort while we’re gone, okay? In case Maxen shows up…”

  And then he’s gone, leaving us to boil in Street House.

  Chapter Eleven

  Erika

  The second the door closes behind me, Hayden jogs up the stairs and waves at me to follow. He's still smiling, and I am not sure if the guy knows how to d
o anything else. “Come on, let’s go get your car. Where did you park it?”

  “By a grocery store, on the street,” I say. “Ah, but I don’t know how to get there from here.”

  “Was it close to the Fiery Hearts building?”

  “Yeah, on the north side.”

  Nodding, Hayden continues forward. “I know exactly the place. Don’t worry, we won’t get lost walking there.”

  “Will it really be okay walking there this late?” I say

  “Of course! I’ll be right by your side the whole way.”

  His sentiment does help me walk along with him. We walk in silence at first, with Hayden quietly looking all over the streets we walk down. It’s quieter than I imagined it would be around here, and that only makes it a bit more unnerving. We pass the odd stranger every so often, and every time we do, I hold myself tighter. Hayden always, without a word, steps closer to me.

  Before long, I find myself gazing at his back, wondering if he has any scars. Hayden at first seemed like the type to get into petty fights, but I got that impression from seeing him around the others. Now that’s it’s just us two, it’s almost like I’m seeing the more realistic side of him.

  My eyes trace over his clearly defined shoulder blades, which poke out from behind his suit. Hayden catches my sight and grins. “See something you like?”

  I turn away, trying not to blush again. “It’s nothing...I was just wondering if you had any scars.”

  “Scars? From what? Like battle scars?”

  I nodded. “Don’t you dragon shifters get into fights all the time? Or is that just another stereotype?”

  Hayden shrugs. “Well...it is a stereotype, but it’s not exactly wrong either. Shifters are known to sometimes let their animal side let loose. A lot of shifters can’t help it. Many go insane if they can’t find a mate, for instance. But that usually only happens to older shifters, like around mid-thirties to forties and up. I mean, there are some cases in which younger guys like me go nuts, but that’s definitely rarer than you’d think.”