Dating Agency Bear: BBW Bear Shifter Paranormal Romance (BRIDES fur BEARS Book 6) (2 page)

With a horrified gasp, Graham
bolted from her office.

Penelope chuckled and rolled
her eyes.

He had run out so fast it was
amazing he didn't make a Graham-shaped hole in the wall.

CHAPTER
THREE

Damien Ken was having lunch
at Broomstick Inn with his work mates. The crew from Beck's Builders
piled into the spacious dining room of Broomstick Inn and occupied
three tables. But with their big, muscular bodies and booming
voices, it seemed like they filled the whole dining room.

Gramma and Ne-ma joked and
flirted with the men as they served up their lunch orders. The two
little old ladies were the owners of Broomstick Inn, and they looked
delighted to have a dozen beefy, hunky men in their dining room.

Damien grinned as he watched
his cousin, Reid, chat animatedly with the rest of the guys. Reid
was a plumber and Beck's Builders frequently contracted their
plumbing works to him. At the moment, Reid was working with Damien
and his crew on a large-scale remodeling project. Reid didn't used
to join them for lunch, preferring to eat alone. But ever since Reid
remarried, he became more outgoing and opened up a lot more. He hung
out with the guys more and he learned to laugh and live again.
Damien was happy for his cousin, and he was mighty proud of himself.
After all, he was the one who got Reid his mail-order bride. If not
for his hare-brained scheme, Reid would never have met his beautiful
bride, Lauren. A disastrous divorce had left Reid a bitter, broken
man but Lauren, bless her heart, had brought love and light back to
Reid's life.

Damien was chuckling at a
joke that Reid was telling the guys when Graham slid into the empty
seat beside him. “What are you guys doing after work today?”
Graham asked casually.

Damien eyed his work mate
suspiciously. Like him, Graham was a prankster, and the two of them
were always trying to outdo each other. The other guys had wised up
to their tricks and it was getting harder to pull off a prank
successfully.

“Why?” Damien
asked, digging into his meatloaf.

“I'm thinking we should
go do something...meaningful,” Graham answered.

That got Damien's attention.
“Meaningful?”

“Yeah. We're not
getting younger, are we?” Graham continued in his cryptic
tone.

“Duh. Nobody can age
backwards,” Damien snapped, then smiled charmingly as Gramma
and Ne-ma came to refill their coffee. “Except Gramma and
Ne-ma of course. You ladies just never seem to age!”

Gramma and Ne-ma giggled and
batted their eyes at him. “That's what everyone tells us!”

But Graham went on earnestly,
almost desperately, “Don't you guys want to meet a nice woman
and...”

“Wait a minute.”
Damien held up his hand. “What's this all about?”

“Are we going bar
hopping after work?” someone asked. “Count me in!”

“Count me out,”
Reid said, laughing. “I'm going home. I'm a happily married
man, and I promised to finish reading that big dinosaur book with
Eddie and Matthew.”

“No, no, we won't be
going to a bar,” Graham said impatiently. He started to squirm
in his seat as he searched for the right words. “We're going
to a dating agency!”

“A what?”

Brows shot up and the guys
around the table started talking at once. The usual guffaws and
jibes made their way around.

“Dating agency? Pfft!
I don't think I need an agency to get a date.”

“I can get laid any
time. There's no shortage of...”

“And who wants to meet
a nice woman anyway? I want to meet plenty of naughty ones!”

As the guys threw up more
bawdy jokes and their raucous laughter grew in volume, Graham's face
became redder and darker. Damien kept his eye on him. The guy
looked like he was going to explode any minute now.

“Three, two, one...”
Damien counted down under his breath. “Ka-Boom!”

And right on cue, Graham
jumped up and slammed his palms on the table. “One of you has
to come with me!” Graham roared. “I promised my sister
to get her a man!”

CHAPTER
FOUR

Damien blinked at Graham, who
was sweating and swearing profusely. There was a stunned silence in
the dining room.

“You're trying to get
your sister a husband?” Damien asked incredulously.

“No!”

“But you just said...”

“I said I need to get
her a man.”

“Ah.” Damien
winked. “Just some no-strings-attached action between the
sheets. I like that. It sounds like my kind of...”

Graham pointed at him.
“You're it.”

“What?”

“I have to bring her at
least one. You're the one,” Graham said, gulping down a glass
of water.

“You mean she wants
more than one?” Damien's eyes widened.

“One will do. For
now.”

“Your sister has a huge
appetite. Just what I like in a woman!” Damien grinned and
let out a howl. All his work mates stuck their fingers in their ears
and cringed.

“Stop! Stop that
infernal howling, Damien!”

The wolf shifters in their
crew began to laugh. “You bears can't howl for nuts!”

“Shut up, Damien,”
Graham said through gritted teeth.

“Hey, I'm taking one
for the team, aren't I?” Damien called out as Graham stormed
back to his table.

“Don't come in walking
funny tomorrow,” Nick told Damien with a wink.

“Maybe he won't be able
to come in at all!” Reid chortled.

Damien smirked. “Y'all
talk so much but you don't have the balls for this. I know, I know.
You're all envious of me!”

Gramma and Ne-ma came out
with dessert and the dining room resumed its normal chatter. Damien
finished his pudding and washed everything down with a big cup of
coffee. The guys all finished up their meal quickly and went back to
work.

There was a lot to do, and by
the time it was time to knock off, Damien had forgotten all about
Graham's craziness during lunch.

But Graham marched up to him
and cornered him before he could head off to the nearest pub with the
rest of the guys.

“Let's go,”
Graham said.

“Go?” Damien
frowned. “Where…?”

“To meet my sister.”

Damien coughed out a laugh.
“You're serious.” He'd only half believed Graham when he
said he was dragging him to a dating agency. He thought it was all a
big joke.

“Since when am I not
serious?” Graham challenged. “Are you...too chicken to
come with me, Damien?”

Damien narrowed his eyes at
Graham. This had to be a prank, but he was curious. Just how was
Graham going to pull this prank off?

“All right,”
Damien announced, gesturing grandly. “Let's go meet your
sister. It's not nice to keep a lady waiting. I'll drive.”

Graham gave him the
directions, and Damien pulled up in front of a row of small shops and
offices. When Graham stopped in front of an office door, Damien
stared at the name of the business and grabbed Graham's arm. “Wait!
Miss Hatfield...your sister...”

The corner of Graham's mouth
quirked up. “Yep. My sister's the boss. She owns the
business.”

Damien was beginning to
hyperventilate. Graham's sister ran a dating agency. She didn't
want a man for herself. She wanted a new client. She was going to
matchmake him with a nice, gentle woman who wanted to get married and
have babies. He wasn't ready for this. He liked women and he liked
hot, wild sex, but he liked his freedom more.

Damien winced and snarled at
the same time as Graham held the door open for him. Graham was
smirking in triumph and glee. The bastard knew that he had just
pulled the ultimate prank on him.

“In you go.”
Graham's grin was wider than the Cheshire cat's.

Damien's eyes flashed as he
suddenly saw the perfect way to prank Graham right back. “I'm
not going in alone. Oh no.” Damien dug his heels in and
refused to move a single step. “We're doing this together,
buddy.” Damien's lips curved in an evil smile. “We're
in this together.” He threw an arm over Graham's shoulder.
“Come on then. In we go. Together!”

CHAPTER
FIVE

Penelope
was about to log of
f her
computer
when the front door
flew open
and banged against
the wall
. She gasped as her
brother came staggering in with another male. The two men were
grunting and growling, trying to muscle each other into her office.

“Graham!” she
cried, jumping up. “What…!”

“Hi, sis,” her
brother choked out. “I got you a man. This is Damien Ken,
your first male client!”

Damien grabbed Graham by the
collar and smiled grimly. “And this is Graham, your second
male client!”

Penelope's eyes widened.
“Stop twisting each other around. Both of you! Stop it!”
she ordered.

“Yes, Ma'am,”
Damien said and dropped Graham on the floor like a hot potato.

Graham scrambled up and
scowled. “I'm out of here.”

“No you're not,”
Damien and Penelope said together. Damien's arm shot out and grabbed
Graham before he could scoot towards the door.

Penelope gave Damien the
once-over. From his muddy work boots and the paint splatters on his
jeans, she guessed that he was one of Graham's work mates. Her
glance was both appraising and admiring. Damien Ken was certainly a
very good-looking young man. He was tall and muscular with light
brown hair and intelligent, bright green eyes.

She let her eyes rake down
his brawny frame and long jean-clad legs. When she forced her gaze
back up to his face, she saw the humor and heat in his eyes.

As she was ogling him, the
guy had been checking her out as well.

He raised a brow in
challenge.
Like what you see, babe?

Penelope blushed. She
cleared her throat loudly and grabbed two forms from her desk. What
the hell was she doing, ogling a prospective client?

She was a professional. She
had to think and act like a businesswoman. Two eligible young men
were standing in her office. She shouldn't let them get away.

“Hi, I'm Penelope
Hatfield,” she introduced herself quickly to Damien. “I'm
the owner of this fine dating agency. I'm sure I can find the
perfect match for you. Both of you,” she added pointedly.

Waving them to the chairs in
front of her desk, she went on, “Please, take a seat and fill
up these forms. Remember to answer the questionnaire at the back as
well. It'd just take you a couple of minutes.”

Damien and Graham stared at
the forms in mute horror.

Penelope waved the forms
impatiently. “Go on. Take them.”

The two men reached out
gingerly and held the harmless pieces of paper stiffly at arm's
length.

“Just grab a pen and
sit down, please.”

They didn't move a muscle.

“Sit!” Penelope
bellowed.

They did.

Penelope took a deep breath
to compose herself. She was used to yelling at her brother, but she
shouldn't scare Damien away. The two men had already hunkered down
and were scribbling frantically.

Gentling her tone, she said,
“I'll go through your forms and chat with you further about
your requirements and preferences.”

“I'm not staying for
your interrogation,” Graham groused.

“Oh, I don't have to
interrogate you. I know you like the back of my hand.”
Penelope smirked.

Graham made a face and threw
the completed form on her desk. “Done.”

“Me too.” Damien
waved his sheet like a white flag.

Penelope smiled. “Now,
that wasn't so hard, was it?”

She went back behind her desk
and glanced through Graham and Damien's hastily filled forms. With a
satisfied nod, she looked up and beamed, “I'll find the perfect
match for you. In fact...”

“I'm not going into
your database, right?” Graham interjected. “We had a
deal, Penelope!”

“Hmmm.” With a
gleam in her eye, Penelope smiled slyly and mused, “But I can't
wait to be an aunt. I think Aunt Penelope has such a nice ring to
it!”

CHAPTER
SIX

Damien stared at the curvy
brunette behind the desk and couldn't help leaning forward. Graham's
elder sister was jaw-droppingly gorgeous. She was wearing large,
black-rimmed glasses and her hair was pulled back into a severe bun.
She was dressed primly in a long sleeved blouse and gray pencil
skirt, and she looked like a very sexy school principal or librarian.
She was in her mid thirties, he guessed. There were some strands of
silver in her hair, and it made her look even sexier. This was a
woman who had lived her life, made her mistakes, and knew what she
wanted.