Authors: Vivian Arend
Tags: #Paranormal Romance, #Fiction, #Romance, #Paranormal, #Suspense
Black Gold (11 page)
Then he hauled her up the hill to what he called the best viewpoint in town. Shaun pointed out landmark buildings, shared history tidbits and some of his own personal escapades. Somehow his arm snuck around her waist without her even noticing. Leaning into his side felt very right. Brand new and at the same time as if she was coming home.
Maybe…this relationship wasn’t going to be as difficult as she had first feared.
An hour later, they were back on Main Street, strolling past all those quaint little places she’d seen on the drive in. The scent of coffee in the air nearly made her mouth hang open.
“Could we stop for a moment?”
Shaun smiled his agreement. “How about lunch?”
He guided her through a massive set of wood doors, and warm air laced with fresh-baked bread filled her nostrils, followed by another familiar scent.
“Ho there. Gather your libations and join us.” In the corner of the shop, someone waved a hand. Evan, accompanied by the human woman from the hotel.
Gem and Shaun both hung back for a second. On her part, it was because of the sudden realization Evan would know they had mated. The wide smile on the Alpha’s face increased her suspicions. This was his “figure it out in the morning” solution?
She wasn’t sure if she should hit him or hug him.
Shaun bumped her hip with his. “I’ll grab us grub, okay? You go ahead and sit down.” He vanished back to the pickup counter before she could protest.
Fine. Gem stepped forward boldly, accepting the seat Evan graciously held for her. At least not all the northern wolves were without manners.
Just hers.
Heavy sigh.
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Black Gold
“Caro, have you met Gemmita? She’s up north to do some research. Gemmita, this is Caroline. Head of the admin department at the Moonshine Inn and my right-hand man.” Evan winked. “So to speak.” Gem nodded politely. “We met at the hotel. Nice to see you again.” Evan leaned on his elbows and tilted his head toward Shaun. “So. You and him mates?” Utter shock at him discussing such a thing in front of a human froze her tongue.
She must have unwittingly made a face because Caroline patted her hand. “It’s okay. I know about wolves. My stepdad and stepsiblings are all shifters.”
“Really? That’s very unusual. I mean, it’s uncommon down in Georgia.” Astonishment was followed by a flash of insight.
When she’d set out on this excursion, she’d had no intention of being entrenched in wolf society. Yet in less than a day she’d fallen back into the familiar pattern of feeling comfortable around pack, simply because they were pack. The idea of sitting and talking with a human had made her hesitate at the door almost as much as anticipating Evan’s reaction to her and Shaun’s mating.
Comprehension allowed her to let the curiosity she felt rise.
She’d never been in this position before, having someone fully human she could discuss wolves with.
Caroline must have a million experiences to share. With one smooth swipe, some of Gem’s unvoiced concerns fell away. After years of dealing with people during formal events with her father, she knew she was more than capable of having polite conversation in public without anyone holding her hand.
Moreover, she had a lot of other skills that would be needed over the next weeks—not just the ones she’d practiced in the lab, but ones to let her take care of herself. Being helpless wasn’t part of her plan for this trip—she didn’t want to be coddled by anyone. Not by her father, not by her mate.
Happiness accompanied by a tiny bit of pride warmed her, and Gem turned to pepper Caroline with questions.
Evan sat and watched the women, contentment rising as he sipped his drink. Gemmita and Shaun’s mating, although they were a bit of an odd couple, didn’t concern him much. The tension between them was thick enough to cut right now, but that was to be expected. Knowing how strong Shaun was and having experienced a taste of Gemmita’s power the previous night, it was inevitable the two of them would take some time to find a point of balance.
His own future seemed far more uncertain.
Caroline had surprised him that morning, but after a couple hours of thinking through her proposition, he had to admit there was merit in it. Being distracted by the single ladies jostling for position had delayed his actual plans. A temporary moratorium on his solo-ness could help him make some important progress in amalgamating the two Whitehorse packs—which had been his goal since he had taken control of Takhini barely a year ago.
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Would Caroline really be able to handle the rest of the pack? She had a way with people, evidenced by her skills at the hotel, but wolves were a cocky bunch. And they liked to get physical when they were uncertain or happy or… Hell, wolves just liked to get physical.
He let his gaze slip over her curves. More importantly, had she thought through what moving in with him implied? If the ploy was going to work, it wasn’t just her presence in his house he’d require. The entire crew would know if they were sleeping together or not.
Besides, while he’d love to have the ladies off his tail, he didn’t relish the idea of being celibate. Not one little bit.
Shaun approached, tray piled high with food and drink. Evan changed his position, deliberately moving closer to Caroline. Then he oh-so-casually stretched his arm along the back of her chair.
Instantly, her scent picked up like usual. Sexual arousal—spicy and invigorating. Yeah, he’d always known she was attracted to him physically. He took another deep breath, savouring her reaction and considering again if he should accept her offer.
“When will you be heading out to do your study?” Caroline didn’t jerk away as he dropped his fingers onto her shoulder, stroking her almost absently.
Gem accepted a drink from Shaun and turned back to answer Caroline. “I had thought the flight was to leave on Saturday, but I guess since Shaun is my pilot and guide, he can tell you better than I can.”
“Yeah, well…” Shaun twisted in his chair. “About that. We need to discuss some specifics. There are a few complications.”
Her whole body tightened. “Really? Doesn’t seem that complicated to me. I hired you to fly me to Dawson and then farther north. Did you need more time to arrange tickets or file for permission or something? I assumed you’d have everything all in place since I prepaid a deposit. I seem to remember receiving confirmation that the trip was a go.”
Shaun wiggled like a two year old, and Evan hid his grin. The irresponsible devil had something on his mind, and for the first time in history, he wasn’t simply spitting out everything without a thought.
Maybe this mate business would be what it took to make Shaun live up to his full potential.
Evan watched the impending fireworks with interest, even as he played with the back of Caroline’s neck, caressing her skin, enjoying himself immensely.
She glanced at him, but he ignored the question on her face. Their conversation would come after the two lovebirds in front of them either spontaneously combusted or settled down.
Shaun nodded slowly. “I have the flights arranged, only the timing isn’t right for a direct trip. It’s best if we head up to Dawson City on Saturday and spend some time there looking around. We have to wait for word that the herd has moved past the Porcupine River before we can leave.” A sharp acknowledgement from Gem. “I mentioned that in my request—I knew there would be matters of timing to deal with. That’s why the sightseeing tour was added in. I did research, you know.” 62
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“Yes, but—” Shaun slammed his mouth shut.
Evan twisted in his seat, tempted to bury his face in Caroline’s neck to be able to let out a laugh.
Shaun’s newfound self-control was extraordinary, although the sight was the funniest thing Evan had seen.
How to bell a wolf? Bring in a Gem.
“But what? Of course, I’ll pay for your accommodations while we’re waiting in Dawson. Simply part of the research costs.” Gem offered a scone to Caroline, ignoring the wolf at her side who looked as if he was about to burst out foaming at the mouth.
“I don’t need you to pay. In fact, we’ll be refunding your deposit.” Shaun stared at her.
“I don’t think that’s wise. Your business partner has young children. I’m sure they need to eat. I’ll pay as usual.”
“You’re my mate, you’re not paying.”
“I can afford it, I’m paying.”
They glared at each other for a second before Gem coughed lightly and once again turned to speak to Caroline.
Shaun interrupted. “Look, fine. You can pay the cost of the trip, but not the extra. It’s my time, I’m donating it to you.”
Gem blinked. “Thank you.”
Shaun sat back, content.
“…but no,” she continued. “I want to do this, and I’m going to do this. On my own, without being catered to by my father or my mate or anyone else who thinks they have a piece of control over me.” Heat flushed Shaun’s face. “That makes no sense at all. Why not let me help—” She stood. “Because you don’t get it. I don’t need help right now. I don’t want help right now. I assume you have to go…somewhere to pick up the helicopter. My initial papers said you’d meet me at the Whitehorse airport on Saturday at noon. I will see you there at that time.”
“But th-th-that’s…”
Gem ignored the stuttering Shaun, nodding instead at Evan and Caroline. “Thank you for the lovely visit. Caroline, perhaps we could meet for dinner tonight? You know where I’m staying.” Then she lifted her chin and calmly stepped away from the table, leaving a stunned Shaun in her wake. He watched her walk a few paces before leaping to his feet.
“Shaun,” Evan warned. “You might want to give her a little space to cool off.” His friend turned back in the middle of the room, the most pleased expression on his face. “Are you kidding? She’s got a freaking backbone. I love it!”
Evan shrugged. “Your funeral, man.”
Shaun disappeared out the door, running past the shop windows in his attempt to catch up with Gem.
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The shoulder under his hand wiggled, and Evan glanced up to see Caroline shaking with silent laughter. “What’s with you?”
She shook her head. “I don’t think you can understand exactly how entertaining you wolves are when you’re all hormone-driven with your mate thingy. I’ve never seen Shaun act like that before.” Evan laughed. “Yeah, well, somewhere they’ll come to a solution. I hope. And about time too, for Shaun at least.”
Caroline offered him one of the muffins from the table, and he placed it on his plate. She did know enough about wolves to deal with a lot of the shit that would go down if he accepted her offer.
But was she strong enough? To deal with the pack and handle him?
Should I? Shouldn’t I?
Why the hell not?
She stopped in the middle of buttering her muffin. “Why are you staring at me like that?”
“Because your offer this morning is intriguing, and I’m going to say yes—on one condition.” Her eyes widened to the size of silver dollars. “One condition? What’s that?” He leaned back in his chair, gesturing to the empty seats on the opposite side of the table. “Just like they need to work out a few things, we have to as well. You do know that if you move in, you’ll be sleeping in my bed.”
Not only were her eyes wide, but her jaw dropped open. “Oh shit, I forgot—”
“Because we’re obviously not mates, and none of the pack will believe we’re a real partnership if we’re not having sex. So straight up, you okay with that?”
“With having sex with you?”
Damn, she was cute when she blushed. “Sex. Lots of it, too.” Then she snorted, and his ego got a little bruised. “Oh yes, the legendary wolfish sex drive. It’s okay, Evan, I think I can handle anything you want to dish out. Only I’m not doing kinky things with you when you’re in your wolf form. I draw the line at that.”
Ick
. “Of course not.”
She straightened up, all business-like. “So, is that it? The condition is I agree to sleep with you?”
“Sleep, screw, fuck, roll in the—”
She slapped his arm. “Enough, I get it. Fine. Done. It might kill me, but for the sake of the hotel, I’ll make the sacrifice.”
He examined her closely to see if she was yanking his leg or not.
Damn human sense of humour.
“That’s the first part of the condition.”
Caroline laughed. “If there’s another part, then you don’t have one condition. You have two.” She waved at him. “Go on.”
“You have to claim me in front of the pack.”
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The way all the colour drained from her face was enough to let him know she understood exactly what he’d demanded.
“I claim you?” she forced out, low and hesitant.
Hmmm
. “Did you think you could just move in and we’d announce it? Sweetie, this is pack. You can either deal with them, or you can’t. What’s it going to be?” She stared out the window for a moment. He examined her smooth skin. Was he crazy for hoping she’d have the guts to go through with it?
When Caroline turned back to face him she had bright red spots on her cheeks, and a determined expression in her eyes. “Fine. When the time is right. I’m agreed.” She held out her hand and he took it. One firm shake later, they both let go and stared at each other.
Then she calmly returned to her muffin, asking about an order he’d suggested for the hotel. Business as usual.
Evan enjoyed the rest of his breakfast. Shaun was headed into his own personal wilderness with Gem, and here he was, also venturing into new territory. He looked forward to the next stage of the adventure.
65
Part Two
There’s nothing gained by whining, and you’re not that kind of stuff; You’re a fighter from way back when, and you won’t take a rebuff; Your trouble is that you don’t know when you have had enough—
Don’t give in.