Diamond Dust tw-3

by Vivian Arend

  Liquid swirled as she raised the wine goblet and imbibed long and deep. When she rested the glass on the table, a warm buzz had already begun at the back of her brain.

  That was what she needed. To get good and tight. Something to help her forget she would be sleeping alone for the first time in months.

  Tyler cleared his throat. “Perhaps we could start again. Caroline, I’m glad you could join us for dinner. If there’s anything you need to make the evening more pleasant, let me know.”

  She took another sip of her wine as she considered his far more polite offer. Thank goodness the man had the sense to back off. “Keep my glass full and don’t steal mushrooms off my plate, and I’ll be fine.”

  He nodded. “What are you having, by the way?”

  “Sweet Caroline.”

  His fingers tightened on his wine glass. “That’s a menu item?”

  She nodded, easing back in her chair slightly.

  “Vegetarian pasta—they named it after me. I find I get a lot of meat dishes at the restaurant and pack house. You shifters tend to neglect your veggies.” His expression of dismay was rather hilarious until she put two and two together. “You’re kidding. That gruff-and-growly thing earlier was because you thought Anthony was sweet-talking me?”

  “Well, I…” Tyler turned back to the table and straightened the utensils, lining them up with the grid system on the checkered tablecloth. “I didn’t want him to treat you disrespectfully.”

  Good grief. Cute, but not necessary. Caroline held out her glass. “I need more wine.”

  Tyler topped it up, examining her closely as he poured. She drew in a deep breath just to watch his gaze stray from the top of the glass to her breasts.

  “Whoa, Tyler.” Justin leaned across the table and mopped up the spilt wine.

  Caroline hid her smile as she took another swallow and checked out the rest of the room. Served him right for staring at her chest. Again. The man truly was obsessed.

  Strangers filled the restaurant, Caroline noted. Not unusual for the tourist destination, but the ratio was off even from what she’d expect in mid-July. Human tourists were far outnumbered by the time their appetizers arrived, as the shifters kept coming. She chatted with Justin and Frank about Whitehorse, answering the typical questions that were always asked, but she also watched the door.

  It was simple, really, to tell who was what. Visitors who hadn’t been in the rib joint before paused to look around. They would sniff, the scent of barbeque and deep fried fish filling the air with wonderful aromas.

  The humans would then turn to their companions and gush about the tasty smells. The shifters? Their gazes flicked to Tyler and Justin first, then farther into the room to examine the other shifters already seated. The newcomers even ignored the waitresses.

  These were some tense shifters to ignore the pretty girls right under their noses.

  Their meals arrived, huge platters of food lowered in front of Frank and Justin, the infamous rack of ribs in front of Tyler, and her pasta. They dug in heartily even while remaining alert.

  Caroline nodded at Justin’s question regarding the hotel, turning to see what Tyler wanted.

  He’d pushed a rib to one side of his plate. “Would you like one?”

  Maybe she’d had too much wine. Maybe she’d relaxed a tad too much after all the stress of the day. Perhaps she just wanted to cause him some pain for his earlier stupid moves. Whatever her reasons were, in the end she listened to the devil on her shoulder and not the angel. The angel promptly gave up and slung back the remainder of a teeny bottle of angel wine.

  “Sure.” Caroline stared at his face as she licked her lips.

  Tyler hesitated, his fork hovering over the rib, his gaze fixed on her lips. She used her fingers to lift the savoury bone to her mouth and nibbled the meat from one side.

  “Hmm, very good today.” She licked her fingers clean one at a time, making sure to use lots of tongue.

  His jaw fell open slightly, his breath escaping in light pants as she wiped the final bits of sauce from her lips. Okay, maybe the no attention from him for a few centuries was a little long to wait. He was attractive, she was interested. By the time the bears were done their business in town, she’d be ready for a night of adventure with him, as long as he wasn’t into any furry stuff.

  Tyler shifted uncomfortably in his chair, the wood creaking under his heavy mass. Caroline picked up her wine glass again, this time to hide her smile.

  She still had it.

  The volume of noise in the room had increased steadily over the course of their meal, laughter at times, but mostly voices. Male voices, and Caroline frowned as she examined the shifters.

  Justin lifted his head. “Something wrong?”

  “Your get-together. What is it, no females allowed?” She pointed into the room. “I don’t see a single lady bear dining out.”

  Justin cleared his throat. “Well, yes, they are here in town—you should have seen them when they were checking in. But we tend to be protective of their more delicate…”

  His words trickled to a halt about the time her brows hit her hairline. Good thing he’d stopped that nonsense before going any further.

  Only she needed to know. “Tyler, you think the same way?”

  His chuckle sounded sincere. “I believe in protecting those who need protecting, when they need it.”

  “Nice political answer. You didn’t tell me anything.”

  He shrugged. “I’m a political kind of guy.”

  The twinkle in his eyes said more than political, confirming his continued interest in her.

  Of course, that’s the moment when the loud discussions at the front of the restaurant turned to shouting.

  Chapter Six

  Justin was up in an instant, physically blocking her and Tyler from the disturbance that grew louder by the minute.

  Frank lumbered to his feet. “I can settle them down.”

  Tyler held him back, a hand on his arm. “Wait. It’s not our battle yet.”

  Caroline leaned around the mass of bear between her and the fight. Tyler was right. People got in shoving matches all the time, and she didn’t have to feel as if she needed to be the one to solve all the problems.

  Only when she spotted who was involved, tables and chairs tumbled to the ground around them, things changed.

  “Damn fools.”

  She ducked under Justin’s arm, evading his grasp to scramble the length of the room and step in between the two biggest shifters facing off with raised fists. She glared at the wolf in front of her, one of the Takhini pack who had a bad habit of getting in trouble, wordlessly daring him to make one wrong move.

  “If you have an argument, take it outside.” Caroline held out a hand to the human waitress trapped against the wall, pulling the girl forward and sending her running for the safety of the kitchens. “This isn’t the place for swinging fists.”

  The wolf in front of her backed down, he and his companions all making tracks for the exit door as if she might pull Evan out of her pocket and sic him on their butts. Or maybe they were scared enough of her without the threat of Evan, she couldn’t be sure.

  “Leave enough money to pay for half of what you broke,” she called after them.

  “Pussy-whipped.” The word growled out behind her from the other half of the problem.

  Oh, this would be fun. Caroline twisted slowly, reaching into her pocket as she moved. “You boys enjoying your visit to Whitehorse so far?”

  The bear in front of her had a red welt on the cheek where something had hit him in the past few minutes. “Who are you, the RCMP?”

  Close enough. She resisted the urge to pull imaginary guns from a holster. “Concerned citizen who wants to get back to my dinner, and all the noise is making it hard to concentrate. So why don’t you guys call it a night as well?”

  The bear laughed, then lowered his voice as he glanced around the room. “You and what army going to make us leave?”

  She
flicked out her left hand, and while he was distracted by the laser light she danced on the floor, she moved in and slammed her fingers around his balls. She squeezed hard enough for him to know she wasn’t going anywhere.

  He froze in position, not even breathing. A couple tidbits she’d learned from her years around shifters—dancing red lights were tough to ignore when they weren’t expecting them. And balls made a dandy set of reins, no matter how big the beast.

  Caroline leaned toward his ear. “I don’t need an army. Because you’re going to be polite, and not only leave, but you’ll give the nice human waitress you scared a big tip to make up for being a jerk. And then, you won’t come back here anymore.”

  Additional pressure from her fingers made him suck in a breath through his nose. “You’re pretty cocky for a frail little thing,” he croaked through his gritted teeth.

  “You mean for a human?” She continued to whisper, the rumble of voices in the background covering her words. “That’s the other item on my list. I see you making trouble again, I’ll be in touch with your clan leader, and rest assured I know how to make shifters uncomfortable. Now, do you want to leave with your balls or without them?”

  He let out a wicked snarl, but she forced herself to stay in one spot. Yeah, she wouldn’t want to meet him in a back alley, but a huge part of dealing with shifters was never letting them know that. She adjusted her grip.

  His growl broke off into a grunt of pain. “We’re leaving.”

  His buddies shuffled out as he gestured toward the door, Caroline still holding him pinned in place.

  “Remember the money you owe,” Caroline tossed after them. She stared up at her captive. “Name?”

  His nostrils flared as he glared at her. “Mick Lucerne.”

  “Mick. Tell your clan leader the Takhini pack is watching.”

  She released her hold on his groin but didn’t step back, staying in his personal space, her chin held high, spine straight. The hush in the room ebbed and flowed as whispers broke out, or people gathered coats and fled.

  Here and there, though, things went back to normal. Anthony gingerly stepped around them to pick up the fallen chairs, as he and another waiter set the tables to rights.

  Mick adjusted his hips and broke off eye contact, lowering his gaze. “I’ll pass on the message.”

  She didn’t let down her guard until he was out of the room, pausing to press a wad of rolled bills into the wide-eyed waitress’s palm.

  Okay. Her heart rate was nowhere near normal. Caroline considered ordering a new bottle of wine for herself. Damn, she enjoyed excitement, but that had been unexpected.

  Frank met her three steps from their table. “You were insane.”

  He didn’t sound pissed off, he sounded impressed.

  Caroline gestured him back to his chair. “Half the idiots involved in the rumble were Takhini. I knew I could get them to smarten up pretty quickly, which you couldn’t. Thanks for wanting to help, though.”

  Justin held her chair. “I don’t know if I should congratulate you or see if you’re running a fever.”

  “Oh, just an average day in Whitehorse. Could I have another glass of wine, please?”

  There was a bottle at her elbow before she finished speaking. The owner, gratitude on his face. “Caroline. I have to name something else for you, don’t I?”

  “Dan, you need to stop serving such good food. Look at what you caused—they were fighting at the tables for the leftovers.”

  Dan winked. “I’m sure. Well, whatever magic you pulled, I appreciate your help, as always. Dinner is on the house.”

  Caroline accepted the full glass from Justin and drank deeply, working hard to get back the relaxed and distracted sensation she’d had going. Now, where was she?

  Right, flirting with Tyler.

  Only when she turned to smile at him, he didn’t return it. His expression seemed locked between admiration and horror. She lowered her glass and examined him closer.

  He had a death grip on the edge of the table.

  “Something wrong?”

  Tyler cleared his throat. “You do that often? Wade without blinking into a situation that could end in death?”

  Her last straw broke. She didn’t need a lecture. Not from him, not from anybody. “Why yes, I do. It’s like this addiction I have. You’re not truly living until you’re one paw swing from a painful demise, you know what I mean?”

  She reached for her glass only to find she was airborne, her belly firmly planted in Tyler’s shoulder as he lifted her into the air.

  “What are you doing?” She couldn’t see a thing, her head dangling toward the floor, legs locked in his grasp.

  Tyler stomped toward the door.

  Caroline snorted in disbelief. What the hell was going on?

  “Is there a problem?” The owner’s voice.

  Caroline planted her hands on Tyler’s ass and twisted in an attempt to solve this situation as well, but the big bear who’d snatched her up had found his diplomacy. Sort of. He turned on the charm with her still suspended over his shoulder.

  “Dan, thank you for everything. Caroline’s a touch overwrought after the showdown at okay corral a moment ago. We’re going to sit by the river for a while to calm down. Thank you for dinner. Please, allow my man to take care of any additional charges you have to repair things from the fight.”

  “Why, thank you.” Tyler was moving again, but there was Dan, bent at the waist to dip his head to her level as she was carried past. “Caroline, always good to see you.”

  She wasn’t about to call for help like some victimized heroine to announce she was being kidnapped. Not after she’d faced down a volatile fight. “Night, Dan. Wonderful as always.”

  The simple response—the only one she could make without turning this into a major situation—struck her as hilarious, and giggles set in hard. She folded her arms and rested her head on Tyler’s strong back as he conveyed her across the road and into the park.

  A set of fancy dress shoes and one beat-up pair of runners, both extra large, followed them.

  Caroline got herself under control enough to speak. “Justin, does your boss do this all the time?”

  “Not typically.”

  “Ty’s gone out of his flipping mind,” Frank suggested. “What the hell is wrong with you, bro?”

  Tyler lowered her to a bench then shook his finger in her face. “You, stay.”

  Caroline had to be partly drunk. She curled her legs under her and made a face at him. “Woof.”

  His expression didn’t break. He turned to Frank. “Thank you for joining us for dinner. It’s been great touching base, and we’ll get together again in the next couple days, deal?”

  Frank nodded and stretched. “Nice evening. Think I’ll take a walk before heading back to the pack house. See you later, Caroline. Justin—hang loose.”

  His brother ambled off happily as Tyler wrestled with the knot of tension inside him.

  Caroline blinked at him from her spot on the bench, taking control of the wine bottle he’d grabbed from the table. She raised it in a silent cheer before putting the bottle to her lips.

  He tore his gaze off her mouth and focused on his guard. “Go home.”

  Justin didn’t move. “I don’t think so.”

  Fuck it. What was the use of being the head of the biggest bear conglomerate when he couldn’t get anyone to listen? “Justin. I don’t need a babysitter.”

  “But you do need a chaperone.” Justin motioned to Caroline. “Take your time, remember you’re in public, and I’ll be right over there just out of hearing, waiting until you get whatever the hell is wrong out of your system.”

  Tyler wanted to rip something to shreds, preferably his best friend’s head, but the noncompromising stance Justin took forced Tyler to accept the truth.

  As much as he wanted to vanish with Caroline, he couldn’t. He’d been over the line hauling her ass out of the restaurant, and that was only forgivable because she’d laugh
ed and made it all right.

  He dipped his head briefly at Justin then joined Caroline on the bench, collapsing without much hope of holding up his limbs any longer.

  She sat quietly, the two of them looking over the smooth flowing river. She held out the bottle, and he accepted it, swallowing down a number of gulps like some street person.

  “What a day.” Caroline stretched her legs in front of her and leaned back.

  Tyler switched from watching the water to examining her legs, mesmerized. “It’s been interesting, yes.”

  “So, what’s the most recent thing on the ‘this day can’t possibly get any weirder’ for you? Me, I got carried out of a restaurant by a cranky bear.”

  He went for honest. “It was carry you out, or shift in public.”

  “Shit.” She leaned closer, peering into his face. “Really? Well, I’m glad you went Tarzan on me then, but what the hell? I wasn’t in any danger, you know.”

  Tyler wasn’t as sure of that as she seemed to be. “You know why we’re in town?”

  She nodded. “Conclave. You guys vote for leadership then somehow the leader deals with territorial-distribution issues. You had the first part of the meetings in Dawson City earlier this summer, and you’re supposed to finish them here.”

  Not bad. “You’re well informed.”

  She wrinkled her nose. “I’m…kind of well connected in the Takhini pack. That was part of the reason I stepped in at the restaurant. I knew the wolves involved in the potential rumble would listen to me without an argument.”

  Tyler glanced at Justin, but his guard was being true to his word. He’d stepped far enough away he could keep an eye on what was going on around them, but he mustn’t have heard her comment, or he would have given Tyler an “I told you so” look.

  “Well connected means you understand how typical shifters react in power situations?”

  “Considering I just had my fingers wrapped around a bear’s gonads, uh, yeah. Violence is not the option of last choice, it’s usually the first. Getting physical is like breathing to shifters, or at least to wolves.”