“Just give me my wings back. I don’t need to take this metal sky beast for my vacation.” Kai—formerly the powerful sea dragon of storms, currently a useless, collared human—folded his arms and came to a halt in front of the kiosk where Aegis was printing his “tickets.”

“It’s a plane, weirdo,” Aegis, the emerald dragon, said. “You’ve been awake long enough to know better by now.”

Kai did, but he also enjoyed annoying Aegis. It was one of the few things that brought him joy, and now it was being taken away from him and he was being kicked out of the mansion.

He’d been grumpy since he’d been awakened in an unfamiliar world, unable to take dragon form. Once he was brought to the mansion where the land gemstone dragons lived, he might have taken his frustration out on them a little too much.

“Come back when you have a mate,” Aegis said, tossing his bags at him as they reached the entrance to security.

“But what about my collar?” Kai asked, disgruntled.

“That’s your problem. You asked for the ocean; you’re getting the ocean. You’ll have to figure out the rest yourself.” Aegis rummaged in the pockets of his dark-green jeans and pulled out a small notebook. “Here, I almost forgot. Some of the dragons wrote notes for you.”

Kai sighed as he opened the notebook, peeking at the contents. Then he shoved it in a pocket of his backpack.

Perhaps he should have gone a little easier on the indoor thunderstorms. Or the tantrums. Or the pranks. He’d only wanted his collar off, but now he was being sent away, an outcast.

To find a mate. “A human.” The word rolled off his tongue in disgust. He didn’t like his own human form and didn’t expect he would like other human forms much either.

He had little experience with humans, though he’d rescued many from storms. It was his job to use storms to disguise the effects of many epic sea dragon fights against other creatures, but they weren’t supposed to let humans come to harm.

And when he wasn’t needed to make storms, he often rescued shipwreck survivors, bringing up pieces of wood for them to cling on and pushing gentle tides to take them to shore.

Not that any of them were grateful. How could they be? They didn’t know he existed. He was always beneath the surface, the cause of things people didn’t understand, never the face of the operation.

Unlike Marina, who was sometimes spotted and mistaken for a mermaid.

Kai sighed once more as he looked out the windows at the giant, metal beast (plane) he would be boarding.

On the upside, it would be taking him to the ocean. On the downside, it would take him away from Marina and Seaton, his siblings he hadn’t been apart from for years. Though they operated separately in the ocean, they were never far from each other.

Seaton was currently honeymooning with his new mate, and Marina had taken to sneaking to the dungeon to harass one of the prisoners there, much to the oracle’s chagrin, so no one had much time for Kai after all.

Perhaps some sun, a beach, would do him good.

He had money now and wouldn’t be a castaway. He might not have his dragon power, but he would have human powers, looks and money and a place to stay.

All would help him win a human, which he would do if it meant regaining his dragon form once more.

He had a list of requirements. She would have to love the ocean, of course. Be an excellent swimmer. Be fine with him taking his dragon form and leaving her alone for long bouts of time.

Seaton had insisted Kai would feel differently when he met the right woman. That staying on land wouldn’t seem so bad, but Kai doubted it.

The sea was everything. His home. His power. His love. The turbulent beauty there reflected his heart. The tossing waves mirrored the restlessness inside him that never seemed to ease unless he was deep beneath the water, swirling with the currents, looking up through the depths to see sun shining from above.

He also loved making it rain.

Something he couldn’t do as easily with his collar. Sure, he could, but it left him tired, achy. He needed to get the collar off soon. That was certain.

Aegis rubbed the back of his neck. “Look, Kai, I’m sorry if I’ve come off a bit rough. I know this has all been confusing for you.”

Kai folded his arms and drew up to his full, imposing height. He didn’t need anyone’s pity, least of all the emerald dragon’s, a man who had once been a villain and only recently turned good. “I’m fine.”

Or he would be, most likely, when he was back at the ocean.

He would miss his friends, but obviously, they couldn’t understand him. If only they’d gotten to see him more in the old days, when he was comfortable in his dragon skin and not dragged around on land.

Land dragons could never understand. No one had awakened them and told them they needed to find a sea-dweller and move to the ocean forever.

That’s what they were asking of him.

So yes, his mate would have to be perfect. A great swimmer. A great athlete. Strong, with a love for the ocean. Independent so she didn’t mind him going into the ocean. Open-minded so she wasn’t surprised by his dragon.

Beautiful, obviously. The kind of striking beauty that would make other dragons weep. He didn’t consider himself shallow, exactly, but if he had to pick a human, he might as well pick the least aesthetically disappointing.

A sort of consolation prize for having to be on land.

“Oh boy,” Aegis said. “Whoever picks you is going to get a real winner.”

“Yes,” Kai said. “She will.”

“I was being sarcastic.”

Kai cocked his head. His wavy hair had been cut short, but the waves were still evident when he looked in the mirror. He knew his storm-blue eyes could be intimidating and glared at Aegis, hoping to back him down, but the emerald dragon just shrugged.

“Well, I’ve done all I can. The rest is up to you. You have your phone, and you can also get in touch with the oracle directly through your collar if you need to. Only in an emergency.”

Kai frowned and shook his head. The oracle was a scary lady who’d lifted him in the air and collared him with barely a flick of her finger. Not someone to be messed with.

A good woman to have on one’s side, and Kai sensed he amused her, if nothing else.

“Yes, the mansion will be a little more boring,” Aegis said. “But it’s a small price to pay for a little peace.”

“Right,” Kai said. “The peace I will feel at the ocean. I appreciate your sacrifice.”

“Er… well.” Aegis was about to correct him but thought better of it and waved a hand. “Good-bye, then.”

Kai hefted his backpack onto his back and gave Aegis a salute. “I will be back when I have a mate.”

“Better make it soon,” Aegis said. “Things are brewing. We’ll need every dragon we can get.”

Every dragon that had proved loyalty by mating a human, that was.

As Aegis walked away, Kai opened the book he had given him. There was a short note from each of the dragons, and Onyx’s was at the front.

Kai supposed that was as good a place as any to start.

Be bold. When you know she is yours, let her know. Then protect her with everything you have. Let her feel your love in every action. —Onyx

Kai nodded. Good advice. He would do that.

Off to Hawaii to find the perfect mate.

* * *

“How did you win these tickets again?” Renee asked her friend Liz for what felt like the eighth time. Liz had never explained it, and while Renee had been grateful for the generous gift, especially at a time when she really needed it, she hoped everything had been above board.

“I told you, a contest,” Liz said, turning on her barstool to look out at the beach, where a solitary figure was standing—well, pacing—hands on his hips as he looked out at the ocean. “Ooh. What do you think he’s doing?”

The bartender, a pretty blonde with a face weathered by the sun and laugh lines, chuckled. “That’s Kai. He’s been out here every morning this entire week,” she said. “He’s a bit of an odd one. Keeps to himself.”

“Really,” Liz said. “Well, I think I’ve found my next conquest.” Liz rubbed her hands together and then went to work straightening her bikini, hefting her substantial breasts even higher, and tying her sarong a little lower on her trim hips.

Liz was every man’s wet dream it seemed. Had been ever since high school and then college and then after. She and Renee had been friends all along, and Renee was more than used to being the ugly duckling. Overlooked. The fat friend. She’d started chubby in high school, lost some in college, and then gained it all back and then some with the stresses of adult life. She worked out, ate healthy (most of the time), but she had also just accepted she would always be a bigger girl.

And that was fine, even if it meant guys like the gorgeous specimen on the beach would always overlook her.

“Why won’t he look this way?” Liz asked, pulling the front of her bikini even lower, making Renee wonder if her boobs were about to pop out.

Liz had gorgeous, straight, dark hair, stunning blue eyes, a pretty figure that was slim but curvy, legs for days, a golden tan, and a smile full of the best veneers money could buy.

Renee preferred to keep things simple. Today, she was wearing a little cotton wrap dress. Her short legs were mostly bare, enjoying the sun as she sat on the stool.

Her hair, overly thick and a boring color somewhere between blond and brown, was normally back in a ponytail, but she’d left it loose today, and the humidity combined with the ocean air had made it even more wavy and unruly than usual.

Her low-maintenance look was still exactly the opposite of Liz’s perfectly preened beauty and sky-high sandals, but Renee preferred it that way.

She was here to relax, not catch a man.

Especially a man like the one on the beach. She’d had enough trouble with Chase. She couldn’t even imagine how many problems that gorgeous creature could cause.

His short, highlighted-by-the-sun hair was slightly wavy, shorn on the sides and a little longer than an inch on the top. His features, as he turned to the side, were beyond perfect, straight nose, hard chin, stubborn jaw. He looked like a centurion with that stern, calculating expression.

And that body. He had to be a handful of inches over six feet, with the kind of muscles usually only seen in ads for gyms. Broad shoulders, muscles rippling over his back, tanned, smooth skin. Tapered knees and ankles, a trim waist.

That behind. Firm. Taut. Tiny in proportion to his body.

She wanted to fan herself just looking at him. Luckily, as the overlooked friend, she could typically get away with ogling the kind of men who approached Liz.

And that was fine with Renee. She had her work, her books, her cats.

She missed Fifi and Bruno, but they were with her mother and probably very happy with the situation.

As was she. All expenses paid. Free drinks. Free food. No writing deadlines for the website. No nagging boss.

And no annoying, controlling, always telling her what she was capable of ex-boyfriend.

No, after years of putting up with Chase’s crap, she was done for good. She was old enough to realize she’d rather be alone than with someone who didn’t treat her like gold. She rather liked her own company.

Even if she sometimes wondered what it would be like to be Liz and go out with men like that beach hottie in front of them.

She caught her breath when he started to turn and nearly choked on her piña colada when a pair of intense, storm-blue eyes looked directly at her. The same color as the gray-blue swim trunks he wore.

Startled, she glanced at Liz, assuming she must have intercepted a look meant for her friend. But she quickly realized, with a deepening blush, that the slow, heated gaze was traveling not over her sexy friend, but over her.

What was he playing at?

She hoped he wasn’t a gold-digger, because while she did well at her job, she definitely wasn’t rich.

She felt a blush wash over her, felt the hot, tropical sun beam a little bit brighter, as he watched her intently. Any second now, she expected him to look away, but he didn’t. He just stared. His gaze was so intense it made her squirm slightly.

“What’s he doing?” Liz said, her tone slightly irritated. “Do you have something on you? Something out of place?”

“No,” Renee said, looking herself over. “I don’t think so.” Plain hair, plain dress compared to what most other women were wearing, plain face.

Just plain.

But the man didn’t seem to think so. His eyes narrowed, and he took a step forward, almost stumbling, as if the movement were subconscious.

She tried not to let her brain spiral into a hot, elaborate fantasy. One where this gorgeous male creature was into her, not Liz. Where he was here to sweep her up for a beach fling and take her away for sexy, sexy sex.

She let out a strangled breath as he finally turned away, giving them his broad back once again. It felt as if her heart could resume beating,

Perhaps he’d only been curious why she was with Liz, at what an odd pair they were.

All she knew was, for a moment, he’d looked at her, and that had been enough.

She finished her piña colada and asked for another, turning back to the bartender with a sigh.

“Oh, he’s looking over again,” Liz said, straightening with a smile. “And he’s looking at me now. Bet you he comes over soon. This is good. How it should be.”

Renee just rolled her eyes, not even bothering to turn around. She knew what was coming now. What always happened. She’d be overlooked again, treated as if she weren’t there. Left to drink alone while Liz went off to party.

But Renee had to smile because, just for a moment, he’d been looking at her with something like heat. For now, that was enough to make her whole vacation.

“Can I buy you a drink?” a deep voice asked from just behind her, and Renee knew he was talking to Liz.

“Of course,” Liz said. “A mai tai, darling. And you are?”

“Not interested in you.”

The hairs went up on the back of Renee’s neck at that terse, male response, and she sat up, stock straight. No one talked to Liz like that.

And who had he been offering a drink?

Unless he was talking to the bartender, who was on the other side of the bar, working the blender, the stranger had to be talking to her.

She slowly felt a hand on the back of her stool, turning it around to face him. She looked up into the deepest, blue-gray eyes she’d ever seen and felt a kind of danger, like looking into the eye of a storm.

“Venus,” he said, lips full and tempting, mouth quirking at the corner, eyes serious and soft. “Be mine.”

She nearly melted off her chair as he leaned in closer. Oh my gosh, was he scenting her hair? What was going on? Had someone hired him to pull a prank on her? Was there a hidden camera?

Her heart pounded nervously, unable to believe this wasn’t some kind of trick.

Men like this, men in general, never came on to her. She looked over at Liz, who looked over in equal confusion mixed with a little disgust.

Liz got off her stool, tossing her hair over one shoulder. “Some men have no taste.” She flounced off, probably expecting the stranger to follow, but instead, he just took her stool, which creaked under his weight, and looked intently at Renee.

Could he at least put on a shirt or something? She couldn’t think straight with that many abs on display. He looked sweaty and smelled like ocean spray, as if he’d been swimming.

He put out a hand, which was rough with calluses when she took it. “I’m Kai,” he said.

“Nice to meet you,” she somehow stammered out, feeling as though she’d floated above herself in some kind of out-of-body experience. “Um…”

“Yes?”

She fanned herself, unsure if she was going to be able to withstand the heat of the sun combined with his intense gaze and the nervousness building inside her. Why did she always get so stupid around hot guys?

Probably because none of them had ever looked at her.

“Wha-what do you want?” she stuttered.

He crossed one leg over the other and leaned an elbow lazily on the counter. But his eyes narrowed in a gaze that was almost… predatory. “You.”

She felt the blood drain out of her head, wobbled on the stool, and felt herself heading for the sand. Strong arms caught her as she blacked out, and the last words she heard were a curse and a muttered, “I didn’t even get to ask if she likes to swim”.