by Vivian Arend
“You pour to the dregs and get all the excess grounds. You need to stop and leave a little in the pot.” She watched his throat as he swallowed. “I want to move in with you.”
Evan jolted upright, choking on his mouthful. She sat patiently, waiting until he calmed down. Except, every time he looked her direction, the coughing began again until she got pissed off. Placing her mug on the table, she stood, fists landing on her hips. “Fine. You don’t have to spell it out. That’s a no.”
Before she’d reached the door he was there, blocking her path, his breathing still shaky. “You want to back this train up a few stations? I’m not saying no. I’m not saying yes. I’m saying what the hell kind of question is that?”
Caroline stared at the wall. “Was that too blunt? Johnny always told me to simply spit it out, that wolves liked the straightforward approach.”
“Johnny. That’s your stepdad, right?”
She nodded.
Evan wrapped an arm around her shoulder and led her back to the living room, sitting next to her. This time he handed over her cup, motioning for her to drink. “Go on. Take a sip. We’re not going anywhere until we get this figured out.”
Caffeine was an utter necessity at this point, to get through the rest of the conversation. Evan reached past her and nabbed his own mug, his thigh pressing tight to hers. There was no way to hide her instant physical response, but she knew from their history he would simply ignore the way she heated up whenever he was near.
He was used to it, and frankly, she planned on making the undeniable attraction work in both their favours. She wasn’t in love with him. Had no ideas of forever and all that kind of thing where Evan was concerned. The fact her secret agenda would be served nicely by getting a taste or five of his wolfish charms was a bonus in the scheme.
Guilt-free offers that helped both sides were always the best way to go.
They sat quietly and drank for a moment before Caroline deemed herself ready to try again. She placed her cup down and laughed when he copied her.
“Sorry, protective measures.” Evan turned to face her. “Now. Seriously. Are you getting kicked out of your apartment and need a place to crash for a while?”
“No. I need to move in to stop the local women from tearing the town apart trying to get your attention.”
His brow rose in the air. “You want to shack up for my sake?”
She nodded.
“But…you’re not a wolf.”
“I know. So you don’t have to worry that I’m trying to do what all those other females are doing. Trying to get ahead in the wolf priority list.”
Evan looked confused. “But you’re not a wolf.”
“Don’t be stupid. I know that. Trust me, I got reminded of that often over the years by the rest of the pack every time they came around the house. Johnny was strong enough to fend them off until I learned to deal with them myself.”
He leaned back and crossed his arms, Mr. Sexy in full view. “Well, sweetie, Johnny may have been right about shooting straight with wolves, but there are a few special circumstances when it’s perfectly fine to explain yourself. In complete and utter detail.”
“When would that be?”
Evan tweaked her nose. “When I can’t understand what the hell you’re proposing. I mean, I got the ‘you move in with me’ bit, but how will it help me having a human in my house?”
Caroline sighed. “The power plays are a constant thing, Evan. Add in the fact you’re single, a looker, and a touch on the wild side, the ladies of the pack without boyfriends, and some with, are always trying to hit on you.”
“I noticed. Why is that a problem for anyone but me?”
She pulled a face. “Okay. Take last night. I’m going to assume whatever happened in the bar was somehow related to the woowoo thing you guys do.”
His grin got wider. “Woowoo. Nicely put. Is that the scientific word, or something we’re still trying on for size?”
She ignored him. It was the only way to make this conversation go anywhere before she needed to drag in reinforcements.
“In the old days I had to come up with logical explanations for weird wolf shit happening around the hotel and bar maybe once or twice a month. And nine times out of ten the incidents were caused by visitors to the area—the usual gangly teens not able to control a shift, or thinking it would be hysterical to go for a swim in the pool in their wolf forms.” Evan snickered, and she smacked him on the arm. “Laugh it up, big boy, but after a while trying to cover your asses and keep the shifters undercover is a royal pain. I like my job, and I like the pack. I don’t like being your nursemaid.”
“Sorry.” He looked contrite enough, but his smile didn’t diminish. “I was remembering the story they told me about you announcing there was a meeting for the Iditarod and some of the teams had gotten loose. That’s why crowds of ‘dogs’ were swarming the halls.”
Caroline sniffed. “That was one of my better moments of inspiration.”
She stood and carried their empty cups to the kitchen, rinsing them and putting them in the dishwasher. When she stood, Evan was right there at her side.
“You didn’t finish your explanation.”
She leaned back on the island. “Think about it. Since you took over as Alpha, there have been more and more incidents. It’s not once in a while anymore, it’s weekly, if not daily. And the troubles are always related to a female panting over you in some shape or form. I realize jostling for position is normal for wolves, but it’s a pain in the ass. As a human, I have no designs on your pack or being something big shot in the hierarchy. But with my background, I know enough about wolves to hold my own and keep the bitches off your back. At least until you tell me you’ve found someone you’re interested in—I won’t get pissed off if you announce it’s over. I understand the whole mate thing.”
Evan nodded slowly. “Makes sense. I’ll think about your offer.”
Caroline couldn’t stop the little thrill of excitement that hit. “I can wait. Just try to decide before I have to explain a wolf fight in the front lobby, okay?”
He stretched and yawned. “Well, since we’re both awake, you want to help me take a load to the recycle station?”
Hmm. No. “On my day off?”
“Who knows, there might be crowds of women waiting to leap out of the blue boxes and besmirch my virtue.”
They both laughed, comfortable together in spite of her out-of-the-blue suggestion, and she could only cross her fingers and hope for the best.
There was a small headache crouched behind him, waiting to pounce. Shaun opened his eyes slowly, fearful of what he was about to discover. The last time he’d been this groggy when he woke, there had been hijacking, Russian fishing vessels and anvils involved. The ceiling looked unthreatening, but he didn’t do anything stupid like move too fast. He never knew when a billowing black cloud would leap out and burst into a neon lightshow that would force him to squint in pain.
He hated these kinds of mornings, but had to admit they were fairly entertaining.
A soft purr of contentment sounded on his right, and he jerked. Then he cursed silently as the jerk triggered explosions that ricocheted through his brainpan.
He took his time and went for a slow roll. He only made it part way over. His legs were trapped, his hips tight against something warm and soft. Shaun leaned on one elbow to stare down at a one-hundred-percent, honest-to-God beauty-pageant winner.
She had the most incredible eyelashes. He wasn’t used to spotting facial features first on a woman. Usually, it was her breasts or her legs he keyed in on. Being an equal-opportunity admirer of the female body, he hated to have a favourite part.
But this woman? Her lashes were like little furry caterpillars. Only—attractive caterpillars. He was tempted to touch one to see if it would crawl away, but he didn’t want to wake her. She must be awfully tired after last night.
Whatever it was they’d done.
He had to assume that since they wer
e in bed, naked—he checked—yup, naked—there had been some major mattress shaking going on. He really wished he could remember, because the sex must have been spectacular.
Shaun lay back and took a few deep breaths. Strangely, that didn’t have the result he was looking for. His goal had been to relax and close his eyes until Miss Universe woke up and they could have a second, or third, round of whatever they had enjoyed before.
Nope, relaxing was out the window as soon as his brain registered what his nose said. It wasn’t just how incredible her scent was, but the fact she smelled like him. He matched her, they were all mixed up and—holy crap.
“Oh my God, you’re my mate.” Shaun was up on his elbow again in an instant, staring at her. He racked his brains. Yesterday—fighting with bears, drinking with Evan, crashing at the hotel—he got that far. When the hell did find your mate and fuck her silly slip into the equation?
He wasn’t sure if he should scream in joy or horror. He was so screwed.
She wiggled, brushing his side, and a shiver started where she made contact, the sensation racing all around his groin.
Think. Think. Shaun had to remember before she woke up, because he was sure there was something in the female-wolf manual about permission to castrate your partner for forgetting your first time together. He’d forgotten a girlfriend’s birthday once. It was kind of guaranteed that this would be an even bigger screw-up.
Maybe if he had a scorching hot shower. Or another couple stiff drinks. Shaun scrunched himself as small as possible before peeling backwards off the mattress with the same care he would use in disassembling a bomb. If he knew how to do such a thing.
One foot contacted the floor. The other. He used his hands to force his body upright, pleased to find he had no trouble staying vertical. She hadn’t moved, the long strands of her hair wreathed around her head like a fluffy black cloud.
He liked how she looked, all soft and warm. Which was fabulous, since they were mates, but enjoying the visual feast laid out before him didn’t answer a few vital questions.
A sudden mental itch stopped him in his tracks, and he tiptoed back to double-check if there was a bite mark on her anywhere. They hadn’t bothered to crawl under the covers, the heat from their shifter bodies enough to keep them warm. That left every succulent inch of her exposed, and Shaun was suddenly curious about more than discovering if he’d already marked her.
Her smooth, chocolate-brown skin was unmarred by bruises, or any bite marks. The long elegant line of her neck revealed bare flawless flesh.
Why hadn’t he marked her? He wanted a mate. Even staring at her now his interest in getting to know her all over again rose.
What was the better choice? Escape now and have a mature discussion once she woke wherein he would grovel and beg for forgiveness, or should he try to fake his way through, at least for a while?
He’d hate to be in the doghouse before he’d even had sex. Well, sex he could remember.
A low beeping noise sounded and Shaun scrambled back, searching for the source before the clatter woke his mystery mate.
Lying on the dresser was a slim cell phone, and he picked it up in time for the ringing to stop and a message to flash onto the screen. Gemmita, call me.
“Shaun?”
He spun, tucking his hands behind him. Shaun coughed lightly to cover the sound of the phone hitting the wooden surface of the dresser as he dropped it. His dark beauty had woken, curling those spectacular legs in as she sat up. She did naked very well.
Gem.
Relief flooded him. Okay, that was one thing back in the right spot in his memory banks. She’d asked him to call her Gem.
“Hey.” He glanced around for a moment, looking for more clues.
She blinked. “You okay?”
“Sure. Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?” Shaun leaned back casually on the dresser.
One of her perfectly arched brows rose. Then she smiled and patted the mattress beside her. “We should have that talk we didn’t have last night.”
What? He greeted her words like a small miracle. Shaun sauntered forward. Casually. That was going to be his catchword for the next however the hell long.
“Gem.”
Her smile lit up, and when he sat next to her she snuggled in tight and lifted her lips to be kissed.
Shaun paused. What a strange situation. They’d already had sex, and here, this was what he would consider their first kiss. He took a deep breath, appreciating the way her scent made tiny alarms go off all over his body. Then he brushed their mouths together. Soft. Tender.
She gave a happy sigh, caressing his cheek gently a second before threading her fingers in his hair and pressing harder against him. Her mouth was open, her tongue darting out to tease his lips.
Her name was Gem, she was his mate, and she was delicious. Did he really need to know more?
It took a great deal of strength to pull away when what he wanted was to crawl over her and make love all morning. Maybe all day. Heck, he didn’t have any true commitments until three days from now when he had a private booking.
“Shit.” He’d be gone for a couple weeks at the least. Shaun smiled to reassure her, a puzzled expression crossing her face at his exclamation. “Yeah, we need to talk, because…oh man, there’s a lot we need to figure out.”
Gem wiggled back on the bed, and he swallowed hard. She sat perfectly straight, which meant her breasts were now staring him in… Well, he was staring at them.
Wolves might be okay with naked, but this was his mate, and he was freaking a little he wanted her so much. He stood and examined the room.
“What are you looking for?”
Shaun paced toward the bathroom. “Clothes, towels, the bed sheets. Something to cover you.”
Gem laughed. “Am I that ugly?”
The connecting door to the next room was open, sunlight streaking across the floor to spotlight rather messy piles of abandoned clothing. He recognized one article and scooped it up, turning to toss his shirt to her. “Trust me, love. If you want to talk, I can’t have you naked or the only talking will be our bodies.”
“Then you’d better find something to wear, so I don’t become overwhelmed with lust as well.” She winked before turning to examine the shirt he’d tossed her. An adorable little frown appeared on her face as she wrinkled her nose and sniffed. Gem left his shirt on the bed as she headed to her suitcase and took out a long shimmery…thing. Shaun watched in fascination as she pulled it on, the floor-length garment wrapping her trim body in meters of mouthwateringly see-through fabric.
“I don’t know if that’s going to help the situation.”
She sat in the corner chair, legs crossed at the ankle. The swath of layers around her hid enough his brain functioned. He stepped into his room and scrambled until he had managed to turn his jeans right side out and tug them on sans underwear, since that article of clothing seemed to have vanished altogether.
If they hadn’t talked last night, maybe he wasn’t as far up shit creek as he’d supposed. A moment’s unease snuck in. While it was fairly normal for strangers to discover they were mates, he had never imagined the logistics of what having it happen to him would mean. Saying there was a lot for them to discuss was an understatement of massive proportions.
Shaun took a deep breath and hoped like hell whatever good karma he’d earned in his life to this point would somehow descend right about now.
He marched back into her room feeling somewhere between being ushered into paradise and being offered a long walk off a short plank.
6
Gem was sore in all the right places. The only thing that made her sad was the lack of a warm body snuggled against her. She’d been looking forward to waking in Shaun’s arms and seeing what other mischief they could get up to. While she didn’t have a ton of experience, sex with a mate was much better than anything she’d experienced before—she had so many things she wanted to try with him.
Shaun returned to her room and nabbe
d his shirt off the bed, snapping the wrinkled garment a few times before tugging it on and flopping down opposite her. Even rumpled and a total mess, he was all kinds of sexy. She imagined he’d look more impressive yet in a silk shirt. A pale blue would be spectacular against his skin.
“You come here often?” His delicious voice stroked her, and there was that smile again. The one that made her heart rate double.
She shook her head as she laughed. “My first trip north. You?”
Shaun rearranged the pillows against the headboard and leaned into them. “Born and bred in the Yukon. My family has been a part of the Takhini pack for generations. We have stories dating back to the gold rush. Of course, none of us hit it rich, but we did okay.”
“Do you work for the pack?” She could already hear the questions her father would ask, so she’d better get those out of the way first.
“Nope—well, lately I’ve been giving Evan a hand and doing the bouncer thing in the bar, just to keep out of trouble.” He paused and made a funny face.
A bouncer. Gem kept her smile firmly in place. Well, at least his position wasn’t something that would lock him in the north. He could get a job in one of the local bars.
Or they could buy a bar for him if he wanted. There were many possibilities to consider.
Gem pulled her legs up and hugged them tight. “I’m not employed right now. Once I finish my degree, I hope to get a position with one of the family companies. Maybe working in environmental research for green products and controlling the impact of industry. It’s a fascinating field.”
“But you’re here for the summer?” he asked.
“I’m here for a few weeks, yes.”
Shaun frowned. He opened his mouth and paused. When he did speak, it was obvious he’d changed tangent.
“Anyway, I own an aviation company with a friend. Tad does less flying and more of the bookings these days because he’s got a young family, and he’s pretty busy with all his pack work. We’ve hired an additional pilot to help pick up the slack, and I do all the helicopter flights. We contract out to an adventure company called Maximum Exposure.”