Tropical Bartender Bear (Shifting Sands Resort 3)

They talked a little about where they were from, the invitation for Laura to join them on the table, but not full of pressure. Breck was from the midwest, Bastian was from the east coast. She was surprised to find that Travis was from a tiny town in Alaska that Laura couldn’t pronounce. “Texas is cute,” he said with a grin at Tex.

Tex had been gazing at Laura as he ate, and paused to glare back in good nature. Laura got the feeling that this was an old joke between them.

“What made you move to Costa Rica?” she asked Travis.

“After twenty Alaskan winters, you have to ask that?” he teased her easily. “I came for a winter job, but this place — Shifting Sands particularly, not just this country — gets under your skin.”

Laura nodded. After only a few days, she couldn’t imagine living anywhere else. She didn’t think it was just Tex. She felt like this place fit her, like she clicked into a place that had been open just for her. There was something in the scent and the breeze and the way the sun hit her that felt like coming home. When she thought about fleeing further, it left an empty aching feeling, even when she fantasized about bringing Tex with her and finding another tropical place.

Her wolf, unexpectedly, agreed with her. This is our home, she told her firmly. Here, with him.

She glanced at Tex, who was trying not to be obvious about watching her while he ate.

“They’re wrapping up the photoshoot.” Scarlet stood in the doorway, and Laura was surprised to see that she was holding her own tray of food. Scarlet felt supernatural, in a resort already full of non-human shifters, and Laura felt that it was reassuringly common of her to be eating. There was even a slice of the same chocolate cake that Laura had snagged on her tray.

The rest of the staff grumbled as they shoveled the rest of their food down as quickly as they could. Scarlet took the seat next to Laura and put down a small pile of flyers, passing one out to each of the staff. “I’d appreciate your feedback,” she said, and Laura thought it sounded sincere. To her surprise, Scarlet put one in front of her.

“Looks good to me,” Tex said, after a cursory look.

“Smashing,” Breck agreed.

“It’s glossy,” Travis said, with questionable helpfulness.

The landscaper, Graham, shrugged and grunted.

Scarlet’s eyes turned to her and Laura shivered at the weight of her gaze. It felt like a moment of judgement. She glanced at the flyer critically. It would be easiest to say that it was fine, and maybe compliment the gorgeous photographs that Scarlet had chosen.

But Laura had tasted the challenge in Scarlet’s look. She read the carefully coded advertising through. A place like Shifting Sands couldn’t be outright about catering to shifters — some countries gave them privileges, but more treated them like second-class citizens, others actively hunted them, and a few countries, like the US, continued to pretend they were a fairy tale. The brochure was clear that their guest-list was exclusive, and only alluded to the fact that it was based on being a shifter if you read between the lines. The photograph with romping jaguars on the beach was a good clue, but it was the sort of thing that might have been just a reference to the wild jungle on the rest of the island. The flyer was all neatly deniable if it should get picked up by the wrong person.

“The kerning in the section headers is a little off. You might want to pick a different font for that,” Laura said hesitantly. “And use the same one over here. You don’t want to have more than two fonts in the whole thing if you can help it, one fancy, and one plain. Find a synonym for luxury or luxurious — you use it too many times in a row.”

“You have some design experience,” Scarlet said approvingly.

“I worked in an advertising agency for a while,” Laura said. It was one of the few jobs she’d had more than a few weeks.

“They’re going to be hitting the beaches soon,” Bastian grumbled, draining his cup and standing.

“And the restaurant,” Breck agreed with a sigh as he swallowed the last of his sandwich.

“And the bar,” Tex said longingly.

Laura stood with him, glancing at the food still left on her plate, but Scarlet said to her, “There’s no need for you to rush off. Please join me to finish your lunch.” Despite the ‘please’, it was more of a command than a request.

“Of - of course,” Laura said, sitting back down. She felt automatically defensive; this was too much like being in a principal’s office, and she was waiting for expulsion if she said the wrong thing.

Tex hovered for a moment, clearly not sure if she needed saving or not. “I’ll be working until late,” he said hesitantly. “If you need anything, I’ll be at the bar.”

“Go on, cowboy,” Laura told him with bravado. “I’ll let you know if anyone tries to poison me.”

His crooked smile suggested that he wasn’t sure if that was a joking matter, a sentiment that Laura could agree with.

After a moment of hesitation, he bent down and put a swift kiss on her cheek. Laura only just resisted the temptation to turn and catch it on her lips. The scent of him, that close, was musky and intoxicating. Laura felt her breath catch and her heart hammer in her chest.

She watched him walk out with her appreciation for his ass tempered by the fact that Scarlet was watching both of them.

“I’d love to hear any o

ther ideas about the resort you might have,” Scarlet said, once the door had clicked behind Tex and they were alone.