Vivian Arend - Black Gold

“No.” Gem stared at her father. “Did you not hear what I just said?”

“Darling, you’ve had a traumatic experience.”

“Darn tootin’, I have.”

Shaun fought to hide his grin as her father’s eyes widened. “Gem!”

“Daddy, Shaun and I need to go back. We have to retrieve the equipment we abandoned. I have my research notes to gather. If you’d like to wait for us in Whitehorse, you’re welcome to—Evan Stone seems to be a very accommodating Alpha. But I, and my mate, have some other business to attend to first. I hope you understand.”

Shaun was so proud he wanted to howl. Instead, he kept rubbing her back, letting her know he was there if she needed him.

Mr. Jacobs folded his arms across his chest. “I see. That’s the way it’s going to be, is it?”

Gem nodded curtly, then softened. “Thank you for coming. I love you, Daddy.”

How could any male resist when she pulled that sweet, innocent face on him?

“I love you too, pumpkin.” Jacobs stared at Shaun for a moment. “You. We’ll be having a long talk the next time we meet, young man.”

Shaun resisted temptation. Oh, the things he could say right now. “Looking forward to it, sir.”

Crossing the short distance to the helicopter and finding places for everyone was bizarre in its normality. Anticlimactic even, like they were out for a sightseeing tour.

The chopper was full and noisy, jammed in with the pilot, this weird dude in a suit, Gem’s father, Caroline and him and Gem. But the way his mate curled against his body, and settled his hand over her warm belly made the discomfort of being squeezed into one seat more than tolerable.

If he could just figure out what the hell was going on.

He really could nab the chopper on his own. She could spend some time with her father, have a hot bath and return to civilization. Of course, the chances of her deciding to stay with him in the north grew dimmer by the minute.

Their entire relationship had been a comedy of errors, and it was only by sheer chance that the kidnapping hadn’t turned out any more violent and bloody. The north hadn’t shown itself in the best light.

Gem, however, had shone like a diamond. It was clear his fragile princess had a rock-solid core, and a lot more inside her head than he’d given her credit for at the start. And a lot more than her father understood.

They were dropped off an appropriate distance from the tent. Caroline tapped him on the shoulder as Gem said her goodbyes to her father.

“I can make sure he stays distracted for a while, or send him home. Which do you prefer?”

Shaun sighed. He knew what he wanted, but Gem hadn’t said a word. If she decided to return south, she should travel with her father. Safety in numbers and all that. “Distract him. We’ll only be four, five days, at the most. The herd should be gone by then, and we’ll grab our stuff and return.”

She nodded. “For what it’s worth, I hope she stays.”

“Me too.” Very, very much.

Gem ran, working her shorter legs hard to keep up with Shaun. She liked that he didn’t slow down for her anymore, that he pushed on and found a comfortable tempo to run. She was able to maintain the pace better now than when she’d started this adventure.

That’s what she needed to let him know. While seeing her father had brought up some doubts and concerns, it had also made one truth that much clearer. She and Shaun belonged together. Figuring out where to live was the least of their worries.

If her daddy had any idea of taking her back south against her will? There would be none of that. Plus, the one detail she and Shaun needed to complete? It was going to happen soon.

Her wolf shivered with anticipation.

They slowed as they reached the outskirts of their campsite, her heart pounding from the exertion and from the thrill of her secret plans. She tossed back her head and breathed deeply. The caribou were still in the area, their scent strong in her nostrils, but not as strong as she anticipated.

Ahead of her, Shaun had shifted back to human. She joined him, checking the landscape from their lookout perch.

He pointed to the side. “There. The caribou have already changed location. Not much, but enough we can get at our things.”

She squeezed him briefly before they shifted and returned to the tent.

They made quick work of packing, silent for the most part, talking as they gathered the scattered objects. Even a single night later, the animals and winds had begun to take their human possessions back to the wild. Gem smiled as she examined the chewed toe of a sock, the fabric shredded to fuzz, some no doubt stolen away for a nest or a burrow. She carefully pulled the rest of the sock apart and deposited the scraps into the scoop of a hollow at the edge of a bush. One of the small creatures of the tundra would find the supplies soon enough.

Pulling her hiking boots back on was painful, yet not as bad as she expected. The happiness she experienced every time they bumped elbows or rocked into each other in the tent…there was no containing how much she truly enjoyed being with him now.

They hit the path, and once they’d walked far enough their voices wouldn’t disturb anything, conversation began again.

“I’m sorry if I blew it with your father.”

Gem laughed. “He should be apologizing to you. And to me. That wasn’t what I expect of him.”

“Really?”

Well… “Okay, yes, he’s very decisive about what he wants for me, but I didn’t think he’d question if we really were mates.”

Shaun fell silent. She understood his reticence. There wasn’t much he could say. While neither of them had ever denied their mating, they hadn’t been shouting it out to the world either, had they? She hadn’t marked him, she hadn’t confirmed they would stay together.

A string of swear words bubbled inside, wanting very badly to escape. Northern air getting to her again, or simply what really needed to be said.

Gem paced closer to Shaun, to make sure he heard her question. “We going to camp one night on the way back?”

“I think so. You good to hike for a little longer tomorrow?”

Definitely, since she had plans for tonight. “That’s fine.”

They fell silent, the rhythm of hiking smooth and almost hypnotic as his feet hit the path ahead of her again and again. Thoughts raced through her mind in an endless loop.

North, south, north, south.

She had no idea, no way to know which was better. The only thing she knew for certain was that she had to be by his side.

They set up the tent again, got a pot of water going. Shaun sat across from her as she leaned away from lighting the stove, the most peculiar expression on his face.

“What?”

“You look… No, it’s silly.”

Gem knelt back and planted her fists on her hips. “What?”

“You look good.”

Lot of work for a little compliment, but she’d take it. “Thank you.”

He didn’t stop staring. And she couldn’t stop staring back. Her wolf bumped her, hard. Really hard, and she swallowed with need.

Screw supper, she wanted her mate.

She turned off the burner and his brow rose. When she stood and reached down a hand to him, he smiled. “Are we fasting?”

“Shut up.”

“Shutting.”

The tent was small and cozy after the cold metal of the DEW Line building, the light making the blue nylon fabric glow above their heads. She scrambled out of her clothes, reaching to find he’d already joined her.

They tumbled together onto the sleeping-bag-covered Therm-a-Rests.

“Shaun?”

What to say? Or should she simply do? The questions disappeared when he rolled her to her back and lowered his head to kiss and suck on her breasts. He held her, cupping and supporting her as he drew the tips into his mouth and made her crazy.