“OMG! You nympho!” Jess snorted again, jostling baby Brayden who let out a loud cry, “but how’d your panties wind up in Lance’s laundry?”
“How should I know,” Elissa shrugged, “I was busy.”
“Busy gettin’ busy,” Jessica added with a little shake of her hips.
“Like you and Brayden haven’t broken damn near every piece of furniture in your bedroom. All I did was lose my panties!”
Lance wished the floor would open and swallow him whole. Last thing he wanted to hear about was these two females’ sex life for fuck’s sake. He cleared his throat and put baby Milly back in her playpen.
“Okay ladies, I think I’ve heard enough,” he began, attempting to leave the room.
“Oh, I don’t think so,” Elissa growled, “sit down. Panties aside, Lance, I think it’s time you stopped being such a rounder. Especially with our Pride ladies.”
“Mmm hmm,” Jess pursed her lips.
“Uh,” Lance allowed himself to be shoved into a chair, but even his Tiger winced when both females stood in front of him.
“You’re not as young as you used to be either,” Elissa raked him over with a steely gaze that made him cringe.
Fucking hell. He was about to get the mother of all lectures, wasn’t he? Okay. He was man enough to go through it. However, the tentative knock on the door, and subsequent entrance of both Hunter and Brayden had him doubting his resolve.
“What’s going on in here?” the giant Black Bear Shifter asked, bending down to retrieve his newborn son and give his mate a gentle nuzzle.
“Elissa,” Hunter’s eyes flashed gold with his Tiger as he kissed his Nari on the lips with so much love and emotion, Lance felt like a damn voyeur.
“Hi,” the Nari softened as she addressed her mate, “Would you two mind the babies? Jess and I are about to school our Lance here in what he needs in his life.”
“Oh?” grinned Hunter, gold eyes flashing at him for a second before returning to his mate. Lance knew without a doubt, he was fucked.
“What might our young Lance here be in need of, my love?”
“I’m thinking he could do with a visit from Gerri Wilder,” Elissa smirked at Lance then gazed mischievously at Hunter.
Oddly enough, along with the healthy tremble of fear that raced through Lance’s veins, came an unexpected flare of anticipation when she mentioned the famous matchmaker.
A mate? For him?
Yessssss. His Tiger hissed and chuffed, scratching his long, thick claws against his skin. Maybe a visit with the infamous Mrs. Wilder was exactly what Lance needed…
One
“Hold the door, please,” the sound of a young woman’s voice reached Gerri Wilder’s sensitive ears as she stood just inside the elevator of the apartment building where she had one of her many residences.
The young woman was breathing quite heavily, and she struggled with half dozen shopping bags. Gerri noticed she was trying to take a puff from an inhaler, and sympathy overwhelmed her. She rushed forward to take some of the burdens out of the woman’s hands.
“Allow me, dear,” she said, and the pretty stranger nodded, finally able to draw two quick puffs of medicine into her lungs.
She held them in, eyes closed while two tears rolled down her cheeks from the strain of trying to breathe, until she was able to do so normally again.
“Thank you,” the young stranger replied, “Oh, that is better.”
“My pleasure,” Gerri returned, noting her curly brown hair, equally dark eyes, and curvaceous figure.
She was just the type of woman her clients went wild for. She wondered. Hmmm. An idea began to take shape in her mind. Perhaps she could be of some help to her pretty new neighbor. Gerri smiled warmly.
“You’re new in the building, aren’t you, dear?”
“Yes, oh, excuse me,” the young woman blushed, and reached out for her bags, “I am so sorry about that. Thank you,” she said showing off white, straight teeth and a killer grin, “My name is Annalia Reese.”
“Nice to meet you. So, where did you move from?” Gerri returned her infectious smile with one of her own.
“I just got here from south Florida, actually.”
“How do you like it so far?” she asked, anxious to learn about the pretty stranger.
That inner sense of hers was tingling. For some reason or other, she’d run into Annalia Reese right then. Gerri knew Fate had a hand in it. It always did!
“Well, I confess this winter weather is really something else. I don’t think I was properly prepared,” the woman shivered in her sneakers and lightweight coat.
Gerri had to agree. She was not at all ready for the kind of winter they usually got up north this time of year.
“I’m sure, you poor thing,” Gerri nodded at her inhaler, “Asthma?”
“All my life,” Annalia returned, “but this near attack was all my fault. I allowed myself to get in this shape, you see I ran out of my preventive medicine about a week ago now. I had a deadline with work and was waiting on my prescriptions to be transferred. It took a few calls, but I was finally just able to pick it up.”
“Well, thank goodness for that! My name is Gerri, Gerri Wilder,” she nodded her head, “How would you like to come over and have some tea with me?”
“Oh, that is so nice of you, but I wouldn’t want to impose.”
“Not at all, I insist,” Gerri was determined, and she usually got her way.
This young woman was going to be particularly important to someone in the immediate future. She didn’t know how just yet, but she knew enough to trust her instincts. That’s what matchmaking was all about after all. And Gerri had fabulous instincts!
“Okay then, I’d love to. Just let me freshen up, and I will be right over,” Annalia’s friendly smile brightened her face, and Gerri nodded at her.
“Of course,” she said. It would give her just enough time to boil the water.
An hour later…
“Gerri, this is the best chocolate fudge cake I have ever eaten,” Annalia sighed, placing her fork down on the plate.
The moist, fluffy cake was scrumptious. But her favorite was the thick, dark chocolate fudge icing that Gerri had dripped over the top. How she got it so light was beyond Annalia, but dang, she definitely needed more of that in her life.
Her new neighbor was quite fascinating. Not only was she stunning with her short, white hair brushed into a sleek bob that Annalia could never hope to pull off with her own unruly locks, but she was also the owner of the world-famous Paranormal Dating Agency.
“Thank you,” Gerri grinned, “Do you cook?”
“Who me?” Annalia laughed and shook her head, “Afraid I can’t boil water.”
“I see,” the older woman laughed, “It isn’t for everyone. What is it you like to do?”
“Oh, I am a graphic designer. I do a lot of freelance work for Graves Enterprises. I design and create avatars and fantasy landscapes for some of their video games.”
“That sounds complicated,” Gerri grinned.
“The software can be a challenge at first, since it is always changing, but I really lose myself in the artistry,” she felt her cheeks heat with embarrassment, “I’m sorry, I know many people don’t think that kind of thing is actual art-”