He felt her gaze lock on him and then she exploded into her shift, the water churning as an enormous dragon lifted above the surface, bellowing into the night sky. A stream of fire blew from her mouth, and Mack felt the answering tug of his wolf. This glorious female, whoever she was, belonged to him. She was the reason his wolf had woken him up and pushed him to go to the beach.
As quickly as the female had turned into a dragon, she shifted back mid-air. She screamed as she fell, her body smacking the water and slipping below the surface. Mack rushed into the water, tapping into the strength of his beast as he leaped into the surf, dove under a wave, and followed his wolf’s instincts to the place where the female had dropped. He couldn’t see anything in the darkness, but he could feel an inexplicable pull, and he kicked his legs and paddled downward as fast as he could. He was hampered by his clothes, but he wasn’t about to let her drown because he wasn’t wearing swim trunks. His lungs began to burn and pressure built in his ears. He wasn’t sure how far down he was, and he was reaching the limit of how long he could go without oxygen. His wolf refused to give up, though, and he pushed through the watery darkness until his hand struck something soft. As soon as he wrapped his fingers around the object, he knew it was her arm. His beast rejoiced, doing backflips in his head, as he drew her limp body close and kicked hard, propelling them to the surface.
They broke through the surface and he gasped loudly, drawing in breath after breath to his starved lungs. He squeezed her hard around her middle, holding her against him as he paddled with one arm toward the shore. When his feet hit the sand and he could stand up, he lifted her into his arms and hurried her to the beach, where he laid her down gently. Her heart was beating, but she wasn’t breathing. He placed his mouth over hers and breathed into her, his wolf howling for him to save her. As he breathed a second, and then a third time, her body jerked and she coughed, leaning to her side and clearing her lungs of water.
With a groan, she fell to her back, her body highlighted by the moonlight. She wore a sinfully tiny white bikini, which made his wolf practically purr, and he mentally snagged his beast by the scruff and ordered him to behave. She’d nearly died.
“I’m Mack,” he said, leaning over her. “You were drowning and I pulled you out. Do you want me to take you to a hospital?”
Her eyes flashed iridescent green, and a trilling purr came from her open mouth. She slapped her hand over her mouth and groaned. “That was weird. Sorry.”
She sat up, coughed several times, and shivered hard. He saw her towel a few feet away on the beach, and he leaned over and snagged it, wrapping it around her shoulders.
“Thank you. I’m Miracle.” She rubbed her face with the towel and secured it around her shoulders more firmly.
“I didn’t see you earlier. Are you a guest here?” She was still breathing hard, and her voice was rough.
“Yes. My flight was delayed, so I didn’t get in until about an hour ago.”
She didn’t say anything for a long moment, and then she leaned over and kissed him. It was the simplest of kisses, but it rocked him to the core. He knew exactly why his wolf had been so intent to go to the beach: this lovely dragon was his mate.
She shivered again, and he said, “Want to finish our chat inside?”
The silence stretched between them for so long that Mack worried he’d rushed her. He opened his mouth to tell her that he had no ulterior motives, that he simply wanted to get her somewhere she could get warm, but he knew he couldn’t say that without sounding like a pervert.
“Sorry for being quiet. My dragon is being really vocal in my head right now and she’s never acted like that before,” she said.
“It’s okay. Miracle, I want to tell you the truth of what I’m feeling, because I think it might set us both at ease. But whatever we say right now, it doesn’t have to mean anything as far as physical stuff goes. We’ve just met. We can take as much time to get to know each other as we like.”
She smiled. “Thanks. Can we stay out here for a little bit?”
“Of course.”
He sat next to her, shoulder to shoulder, and stared out at the water. The waves were capped with white, and the moonlight reflecting off them made them seem magical.
“I’ve never met a dragon shifter,” he said.
She inhaled softly and purred again. “You’re a wolf.”
“I’m from New Jersey.”
“My clan lives in the mountains of Northern Pennsylvania.”
“What happened with your dragon?”
“I couldn’t sleep, so I came out for a swim. I was bobbing around out there in the water when I saw you come onto the beach. My dragon went nuts and forced the shift. It happened so fast that I couldn’t hold my form, and the stress of shifting so swiftly again knocked me out.”
Guilt filled him. “You nearly drowned because I came out here.”