Sondrae Bennett: Chasing Paradise

What a horrible day this was turning out to be. She loved her job. She really did. But it wasn’t always easy being manager of an exclusive shifter-only resort. Some days were worse than others, and today happened to be one of those days.

Word among the staff was that a very handsome, very alpha, and very flirty wolf had checked in this morning. As a result, the female members of her romp were doing anything and everything possible to get his attention.

She wasn’t a strict boss. There were no rules against the staff flirting with the guests. They had freedom to take guests into their beds if they chose to, as long as it didn’t interfere with their work.

But for some reason, this particular wolf had her entire staff giggling like they’d never seen attractive shifters before. As if handsome alpha men didn’t check into the resort every week. The level of irresponsibility this particular shifter inspired didn’t make sense. Taking time out of her busy schedule to go reprimand some staff who had been playing naked in the water instead of doing their jobs should never be something she had to do.

Like she didn’t know they were trying to attract attention. She would’ve known even if she hadn’t watched them take their time covering up their nudity after shifting. Personally, Gwen thought running around the beach stark naked to attract attention was a bit…desperate, but it wasn’t breaking any rules. Clothing was optional on the beach, considering the main appeal for their guests was the ability to shift whenever the mood struck, but most guests preferred bathing suits.

There’d been no point looking for the man who held their attention. While she didn’t mind if her staff fooled around, she, as manager, had to remain impartial. The fact was, she held herself to a higher standard and as a result had strict guidelines in place. It had taken her years to rise to the top and become manager and she wasn’t about to ruin everything she worked for on a night or two of fun. It was all about priorities. Hers might not line up with those of the other otters in the romp, but Gwen had a good grasp on what mattered.

Besides, she’d never been like the other otters she grew up with, who tended to fall just short of promiscuous. She might not have waited until her mating, but she did believe sex should be reserved for someone who meant something. Someone special. So far only a couple of men had made the grade.

Even her mind’s chuckle sounded bitter. If she’d waited until she found a mate to have sex, it would’ve been an awfully long wait. It wasn’t that she was old exactly, but most otters found their mates in their early twenties. At twenty-nine, she was starting to wonder if she was ever destined to find a mate of her own. Granted, most otters also mated within the romp, something Gwen had realized at a young age wasn’t in the cards for her.

One reason she’d stayed at the resort was the hope he’d come to her. Every kind of man and shifter imaginable came through the doors of the resort. Many more than she could have met on her own. But never had she felt a tingle of awareness signaling the presence of her mate.

Maybe she’d missed him. Maybe he had been here and she had been too absorbed in work to notice. And now she’d missed her chance. Or maybe she just wasn’t destined to have a mate.

She shoved the depressing thoughts away. They’d been coming more and more since her birthday a few months ago. Life without a mate got harder every time she had to watch one of her friends pair up and start having pups.

Absorbed in her thoughts, she didn’t see the wall in front of her until it almost smacked her in the face. Strong hands caught her arms as she stumbled to a halt.

“Whoa, easy there.” The man behind her chuckled. The deep voice rolled through her, making her shiver in new awareness. It lit fires inside she hadn’t known existed until now. Looking over her shoulder into the chocolate-brown eyes twinkling down at her, she lost a little piece of her soul in their depths.

Her breath caught in her throat as a warm smile curved deliciously edible lips, drawing her gaze to his mouth. No wonder her staff was so enamored. Without a shadow of a doubt, this was the man who had her staff on high alert.

Breathing deeply, Gwen inhaled his woodsy scent. Her nose twitched as the scent stoked those fires inside higher. Without pulling out of his grip, she turned around to face him, wanting to get a better look at the man. His hair hung past his ears in a careless mass, giving him an easygoing look matched perfectly by his open smile and laughing eyes. The light brown was liberally streaked with blond highlights, making it look like he spent a lot of time in the sun.

Her eyes were drawn downward as she took in the whole picture. Except for a towel slung over one shoulder, he was bare from the waist up. Although he was obviously not a bodybuilder, subtly defined muscles could be seen under the light sprinkle of chest hair. The dark blue bathing suit encased his hips, falling to his knees. It was rude to stare. She knew that. But Gwen couldn’t help herself. Before her stood her fantasy of the perfect guy.

“Uh, um.” Words would be nice. Any words really. But nothing came to her. Why wasn’t her brain working? The dimples at the sides of his mouth deepened, mesmerizing Gwen.

“I did catch you before you hit the wall, didn’t I? You didn’t hit your head?” The laughter in his eyes told her he already knew the answer. And how much he enjoyed her current inability to process words.

“Thanks.” The word burst out, making her cringe. That was the word she had been searching for. Apparently, looking cool and collected was too much to ask. “I mean… yes, you caught me before I hit the wall. Sorry, I was just startled.”

He raised one eyebrow and coherent thought fled once again.

Husky laughter alerted her they weren’t alone. The one time she lost her head, it had to be in the lobby of the hotel, where anyone could witness her blushing and blustering like a twit.

A tall lean cheetah in a fire-engine-red bathing suit strutted up behind the wolf. If the few strings barely on the right side of decency could really be called a bathing suit. And they call otters promiscuous.

The cheetah put her hand on the man’s shoulder, shooting a glare at Gwen before turning her attention to the wolf.

Gwen didn’t wait to hear what she said, seizing the opportunity to make a hasty retreat down the hall. God knew what her pathetic ogling of the man must have looked like. So much for professionalism.

Disappearing into her office, she shut the door against the noise outside. She leaned against the heavy wooden barrier, closing her eyes on a deep breath.

Sweaty, tangled images of her and the man played across her closed eyelids. Her eyes popped open in surprise. What was wrong with her? It had been a long time since her schoolgirl crush days. Concentrating on evening her breathing, she slowed the rapid beating of her heart, but couldn’t dispel the images of the wolf.

For a moment she’d thought she had found her mate.

But that was ridiculous. Obviously, the cheetah had already captured the wolf. Her otter was just confused. Having been longing for a mate moments before his appearance, her mind hooked onto the first attractive man she’d seen. Besides, who wouldn’t think of mating that man?

Stupid . How could she chastise her staff when she’d fallen into the same trap the rest of them had? She had to do better. It was time to get back to reality. Whoever her mate might be, it was unlikely he would look anything like the hunky wolf in the hallway.

Checking her watch, Gwen started at how late it had gotten. Almost dinnertime. Most of the guests would be making their way to one of the hotel restaurants in the next hour or two. If she worked late, she’d be able to go for a swim and hunt up her dinner without disturbing any of the guests. With that resolve in mind, Gwen sat behind her desk and got to work.