Free Buying a Mate (BBW Paranormal Shapeshifter Romance) (Quick & Furry Book 8) by Celia Kyle, Mina Carter Page A

It needs to be to someone strong enough to stand up to the other Brownings. I’ll pay, Mari, and I don’t care what kind of shifter. I need someone .”
    “You know we’re a mating agency, right? Maaaa-ting .”
    “I know, but there’s gotta be someone who can kick ass and is desperate enough for cash.” She didn’t care that she whined and that whining is beneath a Browning.
    “One sec.” A rustle told her Mari placed her hand over the receiver, muting her voice as she spoke to someone. Hopefully a someone who could help River. It felt like forever until her friend returned. “Okay, I may have someone. He’s a friend of Maddox’s. I know the guy and he’s nice…-ish.”
    “-ish?”
    “Well, all shifter males are dominant and growly, but if you keep him fed, you should be fine.”
    “Great…” Hesitation suddenly plagued her. Maybe this was a bad idea.
    “No, no, it’ll be fine. He’s a good guy,” Mari dropped her voice, “mostly.”
    “What do you mean mostly?”
    Mari sighed. “I’d date him—”
    “The fuck you will.” Maddox’s shout reached through the phone.
    “—if I was actually looking to date. Ignore Maddox. He pretends I’ve never seen a dick, never mind fucked a guy.”
    “Who the hell have you—” Maddox’s roar was cut off by a low ouch .
    Well, Mari was still into bitch slapping her brother. Some things never changed.
    “Seriously, he’s hot and even when he growls, he’s sexy. At worst, you have something pretty to look at. At best, you have something hot to bang. Plus,” she lowered her voice. As if that’d keep her shifter brother from hearing. “He could use the cash. He’s kinda on the outs with his kind and you know how some humans are about hiring shifters.”
    Yeah, River knew it well. It was one of the things she planned on changing at Browning Industrial once she had control.
    “What kind of shifter is he?” She nibbled her lower lip. Then again, did it matter?
    Not really.
    “Dragon.”
    Now that was sexy.
    * * *
    There was short on cash, there was poor, and there was completely fucked.
    Taron Jones was the third.
    Lost fortune, no cash, no job, and the fact his kind (bunch of pussy, backstabbing fucking reptiles who didn’t deserve the name dragon) had turned their backs on him centuries ago meant that yeah, he was completely fucked. With a capital F-U-C-K-E-D.
    “So, Mads, you said you might have some work for me?”
    Taron leaned forward and snagged a handful of chips from the bowl on Maddox’s desk. Sensible guy. Having food on hand when dealing with shifters was a great idea. Their metabolism ran faster than humans’ did and since most of them were carnivores, a hungry shifter wasn’t something anyone wanted for their two o’clock appointment.
    The movement did more than snag him a handful of food though, it hid the fact that his hands shook with nerves. Whatever Maddox had lined up, Taron needed it. Like really needed it. His landlord had kicked him out that morning, so literally everything he had in the world was crammed into the duffel bag at his feet.
    Hell, he was even still wearing the same clothes from the photoshoot he’d had yesterday morning. Not that he’d ever call himself a model, his human appearance wasn’t halfway as impressive as his dragon form, but the photographer had raved over his face and body like he was something special. He snorted to himself. If he was that freaking special, they’d be falling over themselves to take pictures of him dressed in leather with a girl draped over him instead of packing him off with enough cash for a meal and a vague promise of hitting the big time.
    Life was hard for a disgraced dragon.
    “Yeah...work. It’s not really a job. I lied about that bit.” Maddox leaned back in his chair and flashed a broad grin. Totally unapologetic, that was Maddox all over. Asshole was probably going to have him doing the filing. Or cleaning the damn toilets.
    “So it’s not really a job, but it