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Chapter One

“I cannot vacation at a nude resort,” Mary North said in horror “I even have to change into my swimsuit in a toilet stall at the health club”

Her co-worker Alice, a bear shifter, rolled her eyes “It's not nude, it's clothing-optional There's a big difference, and if you're shy, you can spend the whole time in animal form”

“Oh, I don't know,” Mary sighed “The pictures are lovely, but I'm not sure I like the idea of a shifters-only resort And it's in a foreign country, and they have poisonous snakes there, probably Plus, toet robbed, or kidnapped!” She shuddered dramatically, and sniffed the coffee pot cautiously Like the deer she could shift into, Mary ary of everything She suspected it had been sitting out for hours on the burner

“I'm sure they don't have poisonous snakes at a fancy all-inclusive place like Shifting Sands Resort,” Alice scoffed “And it's not like Costa Rica is some third world nation Did you see the photo of the pool?”

“I did,” Mary ad, and the brochure e and crystal-blue in the sparkling sunshine, with pseudo-Greek columns, waterfalls, and palm trees around it

“And the snorkeling!”

“I couldn't swi to duh time before the next block of classes to brew one

Alice snagged a cup before she could pour all of the coffee out, but Alice lived dangerously like that

“Have you ever been in the ocean?” Alice asked, taking a sip of the e

“They have sharks in the ocean! And stinging jellyfish and eels and things Besides, this resort sounds expensive” Maryeach scoop perfectly level

“It's not so bad, once you realize that you don't have to pay for any food, and it even includes uided hikes”

“A tippy little kayak out on the ocean? You have to be kidding me!”

“ And I know you aren't spending your whole salary, living like you do You haven't taken a vacation in years”

Mary s about her spending habits, and she did have a nice little nest egg put aside specifically for a vacation, someday

Still…

“I'm not sure It's so far away!”

“That’s a great deal of its charm,” Alice said dryly “And I'll be with you, so it's not like you'd be going alone! I speak Spanish like a native, and I can protect you froe men”

“But”

Alice shook her coffee cup threateningly at Mary “If you don't corettable, and you will have to live with the guilt of not being withfoolish forever”

“I can't even keep you fro her own fresh cup as the ancient coffee pot beeped its tired announcement of completion

Alice grinned, probably sensing her victory “But at least you won't have the guilt of not trying hanging over your head” She drained the last of her bitter cup defiantly, just as the class warning bell rang

Mary blew at her superior java as she gathered her teaching plan and purse “I'll probably catch so the entire vacation desperately ill,” she predicted direly