Tropical Dragon Diver (Shifting Sands Resort 5)

Saina nearly took it, then realized that she was still wearing the dress she had worn the previous day and then slept in. “Oh, could you wait while I take a quick shower? I promise it won’t take long.”

“Of course,” he said with effort.

She was gazing up at his face, so she could see his impulse to offer to join her, and watch him wrestle with his desire to remain appropriate. No other man under any siren song had ever demonstrated that kind of restraint. By this point, she expected him to be demanding his way into her bed, and she’d have to sing him to sleep to make her escape. Once again, she wondered why her powers were behaving so strangely; he certainly shouldn’t still be enchanted, let alone acting like this.

She was faintly disappointed that Bastian hadn’t made that kind of demand, and had to wonder if she wouldn’t straight out welcome him there. It was an eye-opening revelation, as she scampered into the bathroom to wash.

She hadn’t anticipated how exciting the shower would be, knowing that Bastian was just outside the door. Covered with bubbles, she couldn’t keep her hands from drifting over her breasts a few extra times, and rinsing more intimate parts threatened to become a serious distraction as she wondered what he would look like out of his uniform. Then she imagined soaping those gorgeous shoulders, and her breath grew shallow and fast and she had to lean against the cool tile wall of the shower and get control of herself again.

Down girl, she told herself firmly.

She toweled off briskly, careful not to linger anywhere, then realized that she’d left her new clothing out in the bedroom.

Part of her wanted to saunter out naked and test Bastian’s unexpected self-control, but most of her knew that would break her own tenuous restraint, so she cracked the door. “Ah, Bastian, could you bring me the clothes on the bed?”

“Of course!” He had been staring out the double doors over the porch and came swiftly with her request, slipping it through the door to her.

Any of her sisters would have given him a tantalizing tease, opening the door more than strictly necessary, but Saina only took the clothing and dressed efficiently out of sight. She didn’t want to do more to the people here than she already had.

It’s not real, she reminded herself firmly. None of this is real, and you’ll be gone in a day or two, so don’t do anything stupid.

Like fall in love…

Chapter 10

Dressed in a patterned golden sundress, freshly showered, with her hair loose and wet over her shoulders, Saina was the most glorious treasure Bastian had ever seen. The early morning light made her glow, and her green eyes were more radiant than any sea glass he’d ever seen. She left the bandages off, and Bastian made himself look at her shoulder professionally.

“I think we can leave the bandage off this morning,” he said, trying not to sound as flustered as he felt. The wounds were barely puckered scabs, and the skin around them already looked healthy, with no signs of infection.

She rolled her shoulder experimentally, wincing only once in the rotation. “It’s better,” she agreed.

Then she tipped her chin up to smile at him. “I believe you’ll be my tour guide for the morning.”

Bastian shared the resort with her as if it was all his own realm, an attitude he was sure that Scarlet wouldn’t appreciate, but one she was not present to correct. They started at the top, where Scarlet’s office presided at the top of the steep slope. From there, he pointed out the cottage roofs. “Tex and Laura are staying in that one, for now. The big one with the two porches, that’s Magnolia’s. She’s one of our semi-permanent residents, you’ll love her.”

Saina made a small skeptical noise that made Bastian suspect she didn’t have many female friends.

He led her down past the spa. Wrench and Travis were there, repairing some storm damage to the spa building finish, and Bastian was happy to show her off and introduce her.

“It’s lovely to meet you,” she said, and gravely shook their gloved hands.

He took a quick walk through of the garden, and braved Graham’s wrath by picking one of the red bell-like flowers for Saina’s hair.

“There’s a greenhouse, there.” He pointed to the diamond-sparkle roof through the trees. “We grow a good portion of our own food. And the tall white house is where most of the male staff lives. The ladies’ staff house is the green one beyond.”

They walked past the utilitarian hotel building for budget guests, and Bastian pointed out his old room in the windows.

They walked down to the entrance of the restaurant, and snagged egg bagels dusted with green onions and flakes of salmon from the buffet before making their way down to the bar level. The bar was open air, as most of the resort was, tucked under the restaurant deck. The bar tables and chairs overlooked the jewel of the pool. Twin waterfalls toppled from this level, framing a grand staircase with columns down into the sapphire water.

Walking past the bar led to the event hall, where Lydia held her sunrise yoga and they hosted semi-weekly dance events. “You’ll meet Lydia next week,” Bastian told her. “She’s back home visiting family in Mexico and doing some sort of massage training.”

The pool deck had a few guests sunning themselves, and Bastian was pleased with Saina’s reaction to the pool itself. “It’s the biggest pool I’ve ever seen,” she said in awe.

“We hosted the World Mr. Shifter event just a week ago. The photographers said it was one of the most beautiful places they’d ever hosted a shoot.” Bastian was as proud of the resort as if it had been his own ancestral home.

“I can see that,” Saina agreed, appropriately impressed.

Then he could guide her down the steps to the beach itself, and if she had loved the pool, she was clearly moved by the picture-perfect white sand crescent.