Vivian Arend - Black Gold

Gem batted her lashes at him. “You don’t want to call for a ride?”

Shaun raised a brow, and she snuck out from under his arm, grabbed her discovery and held it out to him. “Of course, I’m not positive this works, but I’m pretty sure I saw a flashlight in the prison room, that will have batteries. Plus, there were a lot of other wires and things in the room I broke out of. I figured a smart guy like you would totally be able to make this work.”

Shaun accepted the box from her, delight on his face. “You found a bloody ham radio.”

“Is that what this is?”

He nodded. “Damn, you scored big. Come on, I think we should order in room service with this thing. You want anchovies on the pizza?”

They moved back into the station. Gem buzzed with excitement to have been able to play a vital role in saving not only herself, but him. They worked together well as a team. And as he pulled apart the flashlight and twisted wires, Gem watched her mate, content to be at his side.

Waiting for the rescue team to reach them took less time than Shaun expected. Then again, he should have been suspicious when he used the ham radio and discovered word of their kidnapping was already common knowledge, at least in the wolf-shifter world.

When the first person out of the chopper was Caroline, Shaun wasn’t surprised. She was Evan’s assistant after all. But the tall, slender man who crawled out after her made his fur stand on end.

Gem squealed. She raced forward and threw herself at the man Shaun assumed was her father. Oh boy. On a scale of one to ten, running away was looking like a twenty-seven. The stern look the dude tossed his direction was pretty damn clear in showing what the old man thought of his baby girl’s choice of companions.

Good thing Gem’s mate selection wasn’t up to her father. Shaun smiled broadly.

Caroline made her way to his side. The most extraordinary colours decorated her face. “What the hell happened to you?” he asked.

She tossed him a grin. “You seen your face in a mirror lately?”

Oh, right. “There were three of them. They caught me from behind. They used laser beams and rancid pudding.”

“You forget to duck?”

He couldn’t get over her bruises. “I’m serious, Caroline. Has the world gone mad?” He sniffed. “Holy shit, you’ve been fucking around with Evan.”

She was laughing too hard to be offended. “No, the world isn’t mad. Or no madder than usual. Yes, Evan and I are seeing each other. Get over it. I’m here to escort Mr. Jacobs ‘to the rescue’ since he refused to remain behind. Evan is already working on getting a bead on the guys who jumped you—thanks for the note to start looking in Chicken. The bear shifters we talked to in Dawson were outraged that any of them would stoop to kidnapping—we have their full co-operation as well. Anyone laying a hand on Gem in the future will be given clan discipline, which I hear is actually tougher than what wolves hand out. Go figure.”

Shaun blinked hard. “Can you repeat that last part?”

She frowned. “Which part?”

“I kinda got stuck when you said you and Evan are seeing each other. What the fuck is he thinking?”

He didn’t see the blow coming, and by some freaky circumstance, she slammed him right on the most tender section of his ribs, and he folded like a card table. The ground hadn’t gotten any softer since the last time he smacked into it. He rolled to stare up at her, the bright sky haloed around her pretty blonde head.

“Dude. I speak wolf.” Her sweet smile belied the steel in her tone. “You know the rules. I’m with Evan. Next time you bitch at me, I kick you in the nuts. I would imagine you’d like to keep them intact, having found your mate and all.”

He accepted her outstretched hand and crawled to his feet. “Yup, got it. Congrats, etc. etc. Good to know. The chicks hanging all over him were driving the old guy a little insane.”

She muttered something that sounded like “you’re telling me” as she gestured him forward to where Gem stood speaking with her father.

The props on the chopper turned slowly, the sound barely disturbing the air. It was quiet enough that the lecture Mr. Jacobs delivered carried on the breeze far too easily. Gem waited in front of him, hands tucked in front of her, the rest of her body rigid and erect as if she wore a corset and had a book balanced on her head.

Shaun cleared his throat. Their gazes swung his direction. He wiggled his fingers. “Ho.”

Gem bit her lip, fighting back a smile.

Shaun stepped forward, hand held out to her dad. Only one way through and that was full-speed ahead. “Mr. Jacobs. Great to finally meet you. Thanks for coming to escort us home.”

“And you are…?” The long, slow perusal up and down was followed by sudden comprehension. “Oh yes, the guide. Good to meet you as well.”

Then he turned his back and attempted to steer Gem toward the chopper.

Shaun tapped him on the shoulder. “Sir?”

Mr. Jacobs paused. “What? Oh…of course.” He dug into his pocket and pulled out a wallet, grabbed a couple bills and pressed them into Shaun’s hand. “Here you go.”

Shaun closed his hand around the man’s fingers. “Sir. No. You need to listen for a minute.”

“Shaun, allow me.” Gem’s sweet voice snuck into his ears and tickled him into submission. He let go and raised his hands in surrender. If she wanted to do this, he’d let her.

Then she slipped under his arm and cuddled in close, and Mr. Jacobs’ jaw dropped.

“Daddy, I’d like you to meet Shaun Stevens. Yes, he’s my guide, but he’s also my mate.”

Wind swept over the North Pole and rattled in his future father-in-law’s open mouth. “Mate?”

She nodded.

Jacobs raised his head and narrowed his eyes. “Is this some kind of post-traumatic induced psychoses? Because I would understand—”

“Use your nose, dude,” Shaun blurted out. Oops . Forgot the polite bit. “Sir.”

There was no denying the dismay on the old man’s face this time. “Well, damn.”

“Daddy!” Gem stood to one side.

“Well, darling, it’s a little unexpected. Why didn’t you tell me?” He peered at them. “You aren’t marked. Why aren’t you marked if you’re mates?”

She wrinkled her nose and shifted uneasily on her feet. “It’s…complicated.”

Shaun snorted—he simply couldn’t stop it. Complicated? That was one way to describe their relationship.

Caroline stepped forward. “If I could make a suggestion, we should move this to the chopper. We need to get back to Dawson and the rest of the search crew.”

Gem shook her head. “I don’t want to go back to Dawson.”

She didn’t? Shaun waited with bated breath to see what was next on the agenda.

Gem faced her father. “Thank you for coming and getting us.” She turned to include Caroline in the conversation. “We really appreciate it. And I do hope there’s a group going after the kidnappers. But what Shaun and I need is a ride back to his helicopter, or better yet to somewhere close to our abandoned campsite.”

Caroline nodded slowly. “I believe we can arrange that. I’ll have to double-check with the pilot.”

She took off toward the helicopter.

“What you doing, love?” Shaun smoothed a hand down her back and she melted against him. She was perfect there, and it was so right to hold her in his arms. There was another option—and while it wasn’t what he wanted, he had to offer her the choice. “I can go get the chopper if you want to go back to Dawson with your father.”

“I think that’s for the best,” Jacobs interjected. “We can meet in Whitehorse and discuss the rest of—”