Chapter 3
“I’ll give you ten dollars if you go grab me a one-piece,” Miracle said through the changing-room door.
She and Tonya were in a swimsuit store in the mall, and her friend had bullied her into only picking bikinis. Miracle had never worn a bikini, but after Tonya signed her up for a singles’ resort in Florida, she’d had to go shopping for weather-appropriate clothing. Her best friend had insisted on bikinis. Miracle stared at herself in the three-way mirror, trying not to focus on her curves, which hardly seemed contained by the material.
“That’s a hard no. You’re beautiful, and you should own your curves.”
“How do you own curves?”
“Accept yourself. I love my big butt, and my mate did, too. He used to pinch it every chance he got.”
Miracle snorted, squeezed her eyes shut, and then opened them slowly. She had a generous figure, with wide hips and large breasts. She’d never really dressed sexy, because her ex hadn’t encouraged her to. She spent most of her time in her studio making glass items, so her wardrobe had been almost entirely work clothes.
Inhaling deeply, she turned and opened the door. “Well?”
“Gorgeous,” Tonya said.
“You’re my best friend.”
“So?”
“You’re biased. You’d tell me I looked good even if I looked like ten pounds of crazy shoved into a five-pound bag.”
“Not true. I always tell the truth. Like when you got that perm and you looked like a frightened poodle for six weeks.”
Her cheeks turned scarlet. “You gave me that perm!”
“That’s when I thought I wanted to be a hairstylist. Your bad ‘do gave me nightmares, and now I’m much happier.”
Tonya worked at a high-end clothier. She spent her days dressing clients in way-too-expensive frocks, and her nights doing freelance drawings for clients through her online business.
“Back to the suit,” Miracle said.
“You’re getting it. It looks great.”
“You could come to Florida with me, for emotional support.”
Miracle closed the door and stripped, tossing the two-piece over the door so Tonya could hang it up. “Sorry. I read the fine print for the resort – the only people they allow on the island are those interested in finding their mate. I’m not ready to start looking for a mate yet.”
As she dressed in her street clothes, Miracle said, “What are you waiting for?”
“I don’t know. The timing to be right, I guess. Or for a sexy billionaire to fall out of the sky, naked, right in front of me.”
“I’m sure that’ll happen,” she said as she exited the dressing room and followed Tonya to the cashier. She paid for three bikinis, unsure if she’d actually wear them. “I used to be more confident. I wish I could be now.”
“Wishing isn’t where confidence comes from. It’s just knowing that you’re the best you that you can be. You’ll find a male who appreciates all your strengths, and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that he’ll also be great in bed and have mad cooking skills.”
“I’d just like him to be nice.”
“Aw, babe. Don’t say shit like that, you’ll make me cry and I just got my make-up done.”
“Sorry,” she said, linking her arm through Tonya’s and heading out of the store.
“Your prince charming is out there, and this time you’ll find him on your own without any old dragon king trying to force your hand.”
“That would be awesome.”
* * *
Miracle waited for her things at baggage claim, tapping her foot impatiently and chewing on her thumbnail. She was still feeling twitchy after her plane ride. She liked flying just fine, when it was her dragon’s wings lifting her up into the clouds. But she didn’t much care for flying commercial, no matter how many times she watched the safety videos. She knew she could shift at a moment’s notice if something went wrong, but then she’d be a big freaking dragon trapped in an airplane and that would be far worse.
“Are you here for the resort?” a female voice asked.
Miracle turned and faced a woman maybe ten years her senior, wearing a golf shirt with the resort’s logo on the pocket. Her blonde hair was pulled high on her head in a swinging ponytail, and she held a clipboard.
“I’m Miracle Caprice,” she said.
“Great! I’m Wendy, and you’re last on my list of pick-ups. We’ve got a shuttle to take you to the island. It’s about a forty-five-minute drive.”
Her bags showed up right at that moment. Wendy grabbed one and put it on top of a trolley, and Miracle placed the other next to it. Miracle was introduced to three other females – two wolves and a puma – who looked to be in their mid-to-late forties. She felt immediately at ease when the puma female, Jesmin, said, “I hope to crap we’re the only females on the island and it’s a total sausage fest.”
“How much would it suck if it were just females?” Leah, one of the wolves, asked. “I’d demand a refund.”
“I promise there are males, ladies,” Wendy, said.
“What’s the ratio of hotdogs to donuts?” Aria asked.
No one said anything for a long moment, and then Wendy, cheeks pink, said, “Four to one.”
“Now that’s what I’m talking about!” Aria whooped.
Miracle couldn’t help but laugh at her enthusiasm.
On the drive to the island, the females all shared their histories. Each of them had come from similar unhappy, arranged-mating circumstances, except for Leah, whose alpha mate had been killed in a coup. She’d been forced out of her pack, exiled and alone.
The island was beautiful, and the air was hot and salty, with a delicious breeze. Miracle wanted to just lay out on a beach and do nothing for about a week.
“Your rooms are all on the same floor,” Wendy said as she walked them to the registration desk. The lobby had white marble floors, rattan furniture, and several different varieties of palm trees in planters against the walls. “The females are on the third floor, and the males are on floors one, two, and four. All your meals are included, and if you need anything, just call me. I live on-site.”
“She was way too perky,” Jesmin said as she waited to be checked in.
“She reminds me of my friend back home,” Miracle said.
The women filed into an elevator, a bellhop pulling the trolley with their suitcases behind him, and then one by one they found their rooms. Miracle’s was in between Jesmin’s and Aria’s, with Leah’s across the hall.
“According to the itinerary, there’s a cocktail party tonight at seven,” Leah said. “I’m going to grab my bathing suit and head down to the beach. You in?”
“Definitely,” Miracle said. “Meet in thirty?”
“Hell yes,” Jesmin said.
Miracle followed the bellhop into her room and thanked him for setting her bags on the bed. When the door shut behind him, she turned in a small circle and took in her surroundings. The floor was made of wide, dark hardwood, and the walls were a sandy beige color, with peach curtains. A tall palm tree sat in a wicker container in the corner of the room, strung with tiny white lights. There was a small kitchen with a welcome basket on the counter; a living room with a white wicker couch, coffee table, and TV, and a screened-in deck that overlooked a marina filled with yachts. Beyond the boat docks, the water shimmered and twinkled in the sunlight.
She didn’t want to waste a minute of her time at the resort. She might not meet her mate, but she was sure as hell going to have a good time. Turning her attention to the suitcase that held her bikinis, she hurried to get ready for her first time on the beach.
* * *
Miracle ate the two olives from her martini and nibbled on the end of the plastic sword that had held them. Next to her were her three new friends – Leah, Jesmin, and Aria. The afternoon on the beach had been wonderful. She’d seen pictures of beaches, but she’d never actually been to one before. After squishing the wet sand between her toes and inhaling the salty ocean air, she knew that she’d been missing out on something wonderful. It was so different by the water than it was in the mountains. Dragon shifters were, by nature, mountain people, but she bet there were other dragons who liked the beach too.
The resort’s main ballroom was decked out in a beach theme: potted palm trees against the walls, seashells and beach glass scattered on the tables. The drink of the night was a Bahama Mama, which Miracle had firmly passed on in favor of a vodka martini with extra olives. She’d opted to wear one of the dresses she’d brought, a simple black tank, with strappy heels. She was a little sunburned on her shoulders, but Leah promised that it just made her look all glowy and happy.
“I think about fifty percent of the males here are wolves,” Jesmin said.
“That’s not a surprise,” Aria said. “There are more wolf shifters in the States than any other shifter type.”
Miracle let her gaze roam around the room. It was definitely a male-heavy group, and while a number of the attendees were clearly in their twenties, she was happy to see that there were also males who appeared closer to her own age of thirty-eight. She gave her dragon a mental nudge, wondering if the beast was asleep, since she didn’t appear to be interested in checking out any of the males. There was a virtual smorgasbord of unmated guys in the room, but instead of scenting out her mate, her dragon was snoozing.
“It’s like getting hit in the head,” Leah said.
Miracle returned her focus to the girls. “What is?” she asked.
“Meeting your mate,” Leah said.
“I don’t think it’s like getting hit in the head,” Aria said. “If it hurt, no one would want to do it.”
“I don’t mean like a painful hit, I mean like getting smacked. Suddenly you see him, and you and your beast are digging the sexy goods,” Leah said as she stirred her drink with a swizzle stick.
That made Miracle take another look around the room and give her dragon a harder mental push. But still…nothing. Her dragon didn’t so much as bat an eye at any of the males, even when a handsome wolf shifter approached and asked if she’d like to dance.
“Go get him, girl,” Jesmin whispered – too loudly – which made Miracle blush.
“I’m Deon,” he said as he placed his hand on her lower back and drew her close. Their fingers linked and she rested her other hand on his shoulder. She could feel how muscular he was underneath his silk dress shirt.
“I’m Miracle.”
“Yes you are,” he said with a wink.
She forced herself not to roll her eyes at the lame joke. He turned her around the small wooden dance floor, which was populated with a few other couples, and asked her a lot of small-talk questions: where she was from, her hobbies, and her family. Miracle felt like she was in a job interview.
Her inner critic started to point out all his flaws, from a snaggle tooth to the way his eyes darted around as if he were seeing if someone better was available. By the time the song was over, Miracle was happy to be free of him. She was grateful he was a gentleman and at least hadn’t tried to feel her up. When she returned to her friends, Leah was out on the floor.
“No smack on the head?” Aria asked, handing Miracle her drink.
“Not even close.”
Jesmin lifted her glass of white wine and said, “Let’s toast to being smack-free for the night. Just because our beasts haven’t hopped on a dick yet doesn’t mean we won’t. It’s only day one.”
“To day one,” Miracle said, clinking her glass with Jesmin’s and Aria’s.
By the time midnight rolled around, Miracle had danced with a handful of males – three wolves, a hawk, and two bears – drunk two too many martinis, and spent a lot of time with the girls. She promised to meet them for breakfast when she said goodnight to them before entering her room.
The room was dark, and she dropped her heels on the floor and strode to the screened deck. The night was beautiful – the moon was bright and high in the sky, the inky darkness was dotted with stars, and the sound of crashing waves on the nearby beach was enchanting.
Deciding not to waste the night, she changed into another bikini, topped it with her swim cover-up, and grabbed a beach towel before heading down to the ground floor and out to the beach. She could still hear the cocktail party going in full swing, but the closer she got to the beach the less she could hear, until it was just her, her dragon, and the warm ocean surf.