Kodiak Dating Agency

by Haley Weir

  She needed to know that he cared about her.

  “Geez, Saph, you don’t even measure up to a woman who tortured him,” she said aloud, feeling the familiar darkness of insecurity and anxiety curl in her belly. He hadn’t called in three days. Sapphire refused to be the one to chase after him, not after everything he put her through. If he wanted her, he would have to come get her.

  A loud noise echoed through the loft. She hopped out of bed and walked over to the intercom. “Who is it?” Sapphire called.

  “The Ladies in Waiting,” three voices called. She smiled and buzzed them in and took a seat on the couch. Destiny and Tilly stared around the apartment with wide-eyed wonderment. Tilly sat beside Sapphire while Destiny rummaged through the cupboards. “Where’s Lori?” she asked.

  “She had a therapy session with one of her clients at the agency, but her husband the sheriff is looking in on your attack. I know you said you didn’t want the police to get involved, so he said he’ll keep it quiet for now,” Jenny mentioned.

  “What are you guys doing here?”

  Jenny removed her designer jacket and hung it up on the hook beside the door. “We thought you needed to clear your mind, so we brought takeout and cake pops. Destiny is grabbing the wine and Tilly is here for moral support.”

  “What’s for dinner?”

  “Pasta Primavera,” Destiny announced from the kitchen before popping over to the sitting area with the bottle of wine in her hands. She set down four glasses and poured them each a drink. They ate while Tilly described a humorous situation that took place between her and one of her students’ fathers.

  “He wouldn’t let the subject go,” she exclaimed. “There I was, minding my own business and doing my grading, when he waltzes in his eight thousand dollar coat and perfectly styled hair with a dozen roses in his hand. The arrogance!”

  “Maybe he was just trying to be nice,” Destiny said with a shrug. “Some men aren’t above courting, you know.”

  Sapphire swallowed the bit of food in her mouth and muttered, “It’s misogynistic.”

  Destiny’s eyes glared over at her. “Since when is romance misogynistic?”

  “Since women of the modern era started thinking progressively. We aren’t saying that niceties and gentlemanly behavior aren’t wanted,” Jenny chimed in. “All we’re saying is that they shouldn’t assume that they need to pay for everything or that they’ll get everything just for showing a bit of effort.”

  “Call me a traditionalist, then. I don’t mind when a man opens the door for me or buys me flowers or offers to pay for dinner. They do it to be kind.”

  “They do it to get into your pants.” Jenny’s shameless words caused Sapphire to snort into her glass of wine. She coughed and sputtered into a napkin to keep from drowning. Her nose burned and her eyes watered, but she couldn’t stop laughing.

  “Are you saying that was all Dorian wanted, too?” she asked Jenny. “From what I heard, your dates together were quite romantic.”

  “Absolutely! Dorian was insatiable before and after we had sex.”

  “You cherish the 1950sand yet you condemn chivalry.” Destiny threw her arms up into the air and gave up on the argument. “Sapphire, why don’t you tell us how things are going with Dr. Dream Boat?”

  “I…don’t know how they’re going, actually. He hasn’t called or come by in days. We sort of left things badly the last time we spoke and I can’t chase him.” She finished her wine and ran her fingers through her hair. “What about you?”

  “I wish I had a cop like Lori. At least they come with their own handcuffs,” Destiny said dryly, making the others to chuckle naughtily.

  “For some reason, your English accent makes me think you’re too polite to say these things and then I remember what you do for a living. Don’t tell me all those smutty romance novels have turned you into a kinky little vixen,” Jenny purred. “Handcuffs?”

  “I don’t mind a bit of bondage,” Destiny admitted. “But I do like a man in uniform. It makes me so jealous that you get a paramedic and Sapphire has a doctor!”

  “Well, my doctor comes with an unbearably big ego that needs to be put in check. If he doesn’t talk to me before we put this plan in motion, then I’ll just leave without speaking to him about it. Anders doesn’t own me.”

  “Here, here!” Tilly cheered. The Ladies In Waiting Book Club passed out on the couch and on the floor. Sapphire’s head rested peacefully on Destiny’s back while Destiny laid hallway on top of Jenny. Till slept partially under the couch and partially under the cocktail table. It looked like the middle-aged woman’s version of a frat party had taken place in the sitting area.

  “Wine, pasta, and cake pops?” drawled a deep voice the following morning. “You girls sure know how to keep the party going.” A hand tapped Sapphire on the cheek and she opened her eyes to see Brock standing over them. He tilted his head and smirked before looking around pointedly. “Morning, sunshine. What the hell happened here?”

  “At some point…I fell.”

  “That explains the mess, but not your face.”

  She slapped his arm and then used it to stand up. Sapphire caught sight of her reflection in the mirror above the fireplace and grimaced: raccoon mascara, wine-stained lips, and a fabric crease on her cheek made quite the sight. It was clear that sometime in the night, a family of birds had nested in her hair. Where did the feathers come from? Was that frosting? She wondered.

  Brock snapped his fingers in front of her face and laughed quietly. “Get these ladies up and clean the loft. I have another shift in an hour and I need to get some sleep.” He kissed her cheek and retreated to the bed space. Sapphire patted Destiny’s arm until she sat up, looking no better than Sapphire had when she first awakened.

  Tilly awakened next and then it took all three of them to wake Jenny up. They looked around the loft and sighed. “Let’s get to cleaning.”

  ***

  Anders bustled through the halls of the clinic, dodging nurses and other staff members as he shouted orders. More and more people arrived each day due to smoke inhalation. The fires had started again. Anders ducked into his office for a moment to call Michael, for he could never seem to reach Sapphire after their short spat outside of the Kodiak Dating Agency.

  “Hello?”

  “It’s summer, so it could be nothing, but—”

  “What is it, Anders?” Michael asked gravely.

  “Fires. Two in the past three days. It’ll be impossible to tell which were arsons, if any. I just thought you might want to know before you go sending Sapphire up there.”

  “Actually, this makes me think we should send her up sooner.”

  Anders pressed his hand to window and closed his eyes. “Sapphire and I might not have started things off as friends, but I’ve started to care for her…even before she got injured. I want to see where things go whether you end your feud with her or not. If anything happens to her, Michael, I will kill you. That isn’t just a threat, alright? It’s a vow on our friendship.”

  “So, the doctor that laughed in the face of my theory on soulmates has finally come to terms with the fact that I was right? I should look outside to see if pigs are flying,” Michael retorted. “Sapphire made this choice. If anything happens to her, she’ll see it as dying for a cause.”

  “The last time she was up on that mountain, I was almost too late…”

  “That’s what this is about?” his friend shouted. “This isn’t about Sapphire at all. This is about you using her to dissolve your guilt for what happened to Nora. I might not like Sapphire, but she deserves better than you.”

  The line went dead and Anders threw his phone at the wall. His name was called over the intercom and he sprinted down the corridor to the emergency room. The doors flew open and Dorian rushed inside. “Anders! Quick, it’s Brock!” Ice-cold fear roared through his blood as the charred equipment was cut from his friend’s body. Anders rushed to his side. “What happened?”

  “Wind. It cha
nged direction and the fire poured right over him. The headgear protected his face, but there are parts of his gear that got torn. He’s burned pretty bad.”

  “We’ll do what we can for him.” Anders took control and hurried into the operating room. He scrubbed up and met with the clinic surgeon.

  Six hours went by in a blur. They kept Brock heavily sedated and repaired as much damage as they could. He would need several more surgeries, but it hadn’t been as bad as it seemed in the emergency room. Anders stepped outside and sat on the curb, hanging his head. He was exhausted and still shaking from the shock of it all.

  The Clinic Manager came to sit beside him. “It was rough in there. Take the rest of the night off and I’ll call you in the morning. But you know we might not be able to keep him here. We don’t have the resources after all of the fires last year.”

  “I’ll talk to Michael. He might be able to help,” Anders replied. “Thanks, Ruby.”

  He stood up and walked to his car, not bothering to go back inside to grab his bag or change clothes. The engine rumbled as he approached the apartment building where Sapphire was staying. All of Michael’s friends had a key to the loft in case of emergencies, so he waited until he got into the elevator to signal his arrival.

  He saw her shadow move beneath the crack in the front door and knocked. The startled gasp made him smile a little. When the door opened and her lovely hazel eyes roamed his face, Anders broke. He felt the tears fall from his eye and she walked into his arms without hesitation. “What happened?”

  “The fires…there were a lot of people that got hurt. Brock was one of the first responders today and he got caught in the blaze. They pulled him out, but he was hurt pretty badly. I spent six hours in surgery trying to patch him up. If he makes it through the night, then there’s hope…”

  Behind Sapphire the door opened a little wider. Michael stood with tears in his eyes that disappeared as if willed away by the sheer force of his will. He cleared his throat and grabbed his jacket before storming past them. Sapphire called out it Michael, but he closed the elevator gate with a loud clang. Anders grasped her hand and pulled his mate into the apartment, needing her touch to soothe the pain in his chest.

  “We’ve never come this close to losing one of us before.”

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Sapphire leaned over the kitchen counter and wiped the tears from her eyes with the sleeve of her robe. She finished preparing the tea and shuffled into the bed space with both cups, trying to be strong for Anders even when she felt like her world was ending. Brock was the only constant in her life; he was the greatest friend she could ever ask for and there was a chance that he might not survive through the night.

  “I feel like I should be there with him,” she said, her voice breaking on the last word. Anders lifted his head from the pillow and took the teacups from her hand. He set them on the bedside table and pulled her onto his chest. Sapphire’s arms curled around his neck and she kissed him soundly on the lips. “You should sleep.”

  “When I wake up, will you be here?” he asked. “Or will you be up on the mountain trying to save us from the hunters?” Anders tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, but Sapphire jerked out of his reach and climbed off of his lap.

  “How could you think that I would leave you at a time like this?” She reached for her tea, but he still her hand.

  “I didn’t mean anything by it, okay? I’m just upset.”

  Sapphire snatched her hand out of his grasp and stood up to peer down at him. “And I’m not? You may have grown up with him, but Michael and everyone else all chose to leave him behind when it suited them best. It was the two of us against the world, living with the mistakes of our pasts and finding forgiveness in one another.”

  “Did Michael ever tell you why he left?”

  “Yes, I know that their father was abusive towards them. It’s one of the things Brock and I bonded over in college. It seems like I know everyone, even Michael Adair, better than I know my own boyfriend,” she hissed. “You having secrets has never been a problem, but you not talking to me is. I find all of these things out through everyone except you and then, instead of us discussing it, you shut me out.”

  “I didn’t shut you out on purpose. There wasn’t any time after the fires.”

  “You haven’t called me for three days. There’s only been fires for two,” Sapphire pointed out. “You ran and you shut me out after our first date. You didn’t open up to me when I opened up to you. And I had to hear about your past from a hunter on a voice recording. How do you think that makes me feel?”

  “I understand how that makes you feel, but I can’t talk about this right now.”

  “Fine,” Sapphire snapped. “But tell me one thing…”

  “What?”

  “If Nora Burk hadn’t died at the facility, would you be with her right now instead of me? And I want the truth, Anders. All I’ve ever wanted from you was the truth.”

  “It’s more complicated than that.”

  “Is it?” she asked. “Because I feel like I’m barely hanging on.”

  “She isn’t alive and she isn’t here. You are. You’re the one I want to be with. Nora might have been the woman I loved back then, but I…I care about you Sapphire.” Anders scooted to the edge of the bed and rested his forehead against her stomach. “She will always be there—in my mind, I mean. It was such a scarring part of my life that it’s not something I can forget. Dwelling on something that’s never going to happen won’t help that. It’ll only drive you crazy.”

  She didn’t want to drop the conversation, but she didn’t want to argue with him either. He made a good point. No good could come of dwelling on something that would never happen. Sapphire gently pushed him back onto the mattress and straddled his legs. Anders’ breath hitched. “What are you doing?”

  “I’m tired of waiting.”

  “S-Sapphire…” Anders moaned as her lips grazed the column of his neck. His hips bucked and she pulled open her robe, letting it pool around her waist. He licked his lips, eyes flickering over the exposed flesh of her chest as he grasped the generous curves of her breasts. Sapphire rocked her hips and searched for that delicious friction she felt on their first date. Anders’ palms slid down her abdomen and encircled her back to roll her onto her back. Sapphire groaned at the sensation of his weight and his heat against her. He sat back to pull his shirt over his head and she saw more of his skin.

  She ran her nails through the swatch of hair on his chest and followed the trail all the way down to waistline of his pants. Her fingers curled around the elastic, but he grabbed her wrist. “Are you sure? I don’t want you to—” She kissed the question off of his lips and pulled back with a nod. Anders moved away from the bed and kicked his pants off, standing before her in all of his glory.

  Sapphire felt as though her body was melting from the inside out as heat pooled between her thighs. She spread her legs wide and watched his member twitch with interest. Sapphire beckoned him to the bed with a cunning smile and led his hand to the tiny triangle of fabric that covered her weeping core. “I’ve never felt like this before.”

  “Beautiful,” he breathed, moving lower on the bed until he kissed just below her bellybutton. Sapphire’s hands twisted in the bed sheets as he slowly removed her panties. She couldn’t hold still as excitement and worry began to wreak havoc on her nerves. “Please…I…need something.”

  “Tell me what you need.”

  “You,” she shuddered and gasped as he kissed her right where she ached the most. “Oh god!” Sapphire’s back arched. She didn’t know whether to get closer or to run away from the sensation of his devilish mouth on her. He teased and tasted every inch of her flushed arousal until she begged him to take her. “Now! Anders, I can’t wait any longer. Please, I need you. I need you.”

  He returned to her mouth and she kissed him deeply, tasting herself upon his lips and moaning when she felt the heft of his erection slide between her thighs. His hand disappeare
d between their bodies and he stroked the cleft of her femininity until her legs trembled around him. “I need to prepare you, honey. I don’t want to hurt you.”

  She nodded and focused on losing herself in his kiss and him caressing between her legs until she felt like she was about to drown. His fingers moved lower, dipping into her body and she clenched around the intrusion, causing him to growl into her neck. His back tensed as he slowly worked in another finger. Sapphire felt the tension build inside, ecstasy coiled deep in her belly. Suddenly, he entered her in one fluid motion that caused her to scream. The breach of her innocence caused a tear to trickle down the side of her face until it got lost in her hairline.

  Anders kissed her cheeks and slowly rocked until her body adjusted to his claim. “I’m sorry,” he whispered over and over until she clawed at his back and begged him to go faster. The feelings from before returned, the ball of lightning building inside that threatened to be the object of her destruction. Sapphire felt his heartbeat where they were connected and kissed his brow.

  “I’m alright...please. More,” she begged. “Make me yours.”

  There was no doubt in her mind that she would be in a world of pain come morning, but it was worth the pain if she could take away the sadness in his eyes. Sapphire pushed his hair out of his face. She loved the red marks on her skin from where his beard had scraped her and the flush of his kisses upon her neck and chest.

  “You are mine.”

  “Only yours,” Sapphire sighed. “Only you have known me like this…only you have this power over me. I love you.” She arched off the bed and that ball of tension unfurled, spiraling out of control until light exploded behind her eyes.

  “Say it again,” he demanded with a dark growl.

  “I love you,” she whimpered. Sapphire squirmed and screamed out in another release when she felt him mark her again. The bite of his teeth sinking into her flesh set off a chain reaction that flowed through her like a destructive storm. Pleasure overwhelmed Sapphire until her eyes misted with tears. “I love you.”