Tropical Leopard's Longing (Shifting Sands Resort 8)

“Breck, my dear,” she cackled, waving her hand imperiously across from her. “You’re risking Graham’s wrath by bringing me those.”

Graham, a lion shifter, was in charge of landscaping for the entire resort, and he was notoriously protective of his gardens.

“It is a risk worth taking for the smile it brings you,” Breck said, laying a gentle kiss on her forehead. “How’s the ankle?”

He busied himself, finding a vase for the flowers and arranging them artfully.

“The ankle is healing up fine,” Mrs. Shandy said with a smile. “It’s the shoulders complaining today. At my age, it’s always something.”

“I’ll have Lydia come give you a rub tomorrow,” Breck promised. The swan shifter was in charge of the spa, and was a talented masseuse for both animal and human forms.

“Oh, she’s too busy,” Mrs. Shandy protested. “I couldn’t ask her to do that.”

“She’ll insist,” Breck warned her. “And tomorrow shouldn’t be too bad. The first wave of the big wedding party came in just tonight, but it won’t be very busy for a few more days. Do you feel like a game tonight?”

“I could beat you a few times,” Mrs. Shandy said slyly.

Breck opened the backgammon game between them.

After one lively game, Breck thought that she seemed to be flagging, and he closed up the board.

“When are you going to find yourself a nice girl or boy and get married yourself?” she asked, as Breck helped her up from her chair.

“You know me,” Breck said breezily. “I could never settle for one person.”

“I know you,” Mrs. Shandy rebuked. “You would like people to believe that you are shallow and hedonistic so you never have to get hurt.”

Breck held her bathrobe as she shrugged out of it. Naked, she turned and took his face in her wrinkled hands. “When are you going to open yourself up?”

“I love everyone I’ve ever been with,” Breck protested.

“But you never let them love you,” Mrs. Shandy reminded him. “Not really.” She sighed and patted his face. “Someday,” she warned him. “Someday, you will understand what it can be.”

Then, she let go of him and shifted. A tall, elegant old greyhound stood in her place, tail waving very slowly. Breck put a respectful hand on her head and the tail waved more vigorously. Then, ignoring the bed, she went to a cushion laid out on the floor by the French doors to the deck. She turned around twice and settl

ed down with a sigh.

“Good night, Mrs. Shandy,” Breck said gently. He quietly gathered the dishes and slipped out.

After he returned the tray to the kitchen, he stood on the restaurant deck, looking out over the bar deck, and the pool deck below that. Beyond, the ocean looked smooth and inviting.

Breck slipped a hand into his uniform jacket pocket, and fingered the key he found there thoughtfully. He was… restless. Like he was waiting for something. Like there was something missing.

He watched the moon move halfway across the sky before he sighed, and returned the key to the staff lost and found.

Chapter 5

Seventeen necklaces glittered on the crisp bedspread. “Which of these did you want me to wear?” Darla asked skeptically. She would have liked a nice single strand of pearls, or maybe a silver chain with a simple pendant, but the choices laid out were crowded webs of cut jewels, torcs of gold, and twists of lustrous dragonmetal inlaid with precious stones.

“It’s a dragon wedding,” her mother sniffed. “All of them. I’ve done the research, and dragon weddings are about showing off wealth.”

Darla picked up one of the heavier pieces. “I couldn’t even walk down the aisle in all of these.” She more quietly added, “And I’m not a dragon.”

Unbroken line. She was careful not to touch the bracelet weighing on her wrist.

“You’re marrying a dragon,” came the unnecessary reminder. “And you come from dragon blood. You have to show that you’re worth marrying.” Her tone indicated that she doubted that Darla would be able to do that even wearing a small fortune in jewelry.

“Anyway, it’s a wedding in strict dragon tradition,” Jubilee continued. “Now, let’s try on the dresses and see how these layer with them. It’s possible you can wear some of them for the rehearsal dinner and the vigil or the dance, instead. And we’ll need to pick a headdress for each of them, too.”