Vivian Arend: Black Gold

Oh boy. Damn those gods of karma— as soon as possible didn’t mean right here, right now. Caroline suddenly got very busy doing something, but Evan happily stared, his gaze darting back and forth between Gem and Shaun as if he was watching a Wimbledon tennis match. Shaun wondered if having an audience was safer than dragging her from the room to complete his confession.

He motioned with his head for Evan to turn away. His Alpha shrugged as if confused, but his smile got wider. Asshole .

So be it. Time to man up—or wolf up. Whatever.

“No. I don’t remember anything between talking with Evan—”

“—and drinking my hootch,” Evan cut in.

Shaun squeezed the bridge of his nose. What a great thing, having a helpful friend in an already tough situation. “Yes, and I was drinking his hootch. The next bit I remember is waking up with you in the morning.”

Gem patted his arm gently. “That must have been simply terrible for you.”

The softer her voice, the more frightened he got. “It was. Wait…I mean it wasn’t. I mean, I loved finding out we were mates, at least once we got past the fighting bit, and I have treasured every touch and every minute since… Oh shit.” The longer he spoke, the higher her right brow rose. So much for sweet-talk—this conversation had gone south faster than an out-of-control tailspin. He cupped her face in his hands. “I was going to tell you, but…”

Faint music drifted through the shut door. Everything else went absolutely still as Shaun scrambled to find the best way to beg for forgiveness.

Evan’s loud burst of laughter cut the silence. “Shaun, you mean you can’t recall your first kiss with Gem? That’s terrible. I remember kissing her in perfect detail.”

This time both Gem and Shaun stiffened. Shock rolled through him as he watched her eyes widen. “You…you kissed Evan?”

Evan shot to his feet. “Oh dear, cat’s out of the bag. Caroline, maybe we should—”

Shaun flung out a hand. “Whoa, puppy. You aren’t going anywhere. You kissed my mate and you didn’t tell me?” He turned to Gem in consternation. “You kissed him and never said a word?”

She gave him a dirty look. “You’re really going to give me heck for not sharing that tidbit of information when you can’t remember the first time we made love?”

Good point. Backing down immediately seemed vital to his continued health and happiness. “Right, you’re right. I mean, it was only a kiss, and not anything else, but I’m still surprised…”

He stopped, distracted by Gem’s reaction. She had flushed red, her mouth opening wide before she slammed her lips together.

Evan snorted.

Shaun spun to give his friend the evil eye. “What else did you do to her, you bastard?”

Caroline snickered in the background, and when all three of them pivoted to face her, she raised her hands in protest. “Sorry, just reacting to the sheer wolfishness of the moment. Let me summarize. Evan kissed Gem, Gem mated with Shaun, Shaun can’t drink Evan’s hootch. Sounds about typical for a day with the Takhini pack. You guys want to return to celebrating becoming Betas?”

Evan lifted his glass in the air in agreement before tossing the evil liquid back. Shaun discovered Gem nestling herself tight to his side. She smiled up at him as she tangled her fingers in his hair. Her lips twitched with amusement as she spoke quietly. “I think we can leave the rest of this discussion for later, don’t you agree?”

“You’re going to kick my butt, aren’t you?”

The innocent delight in her eyes said more about forgiveness than pain coming his direction. “Most definitely. But we can do it in private. Don’t you think you deserve to grovel for a while?”

Shaun breathed a sigh of relief. Groveling in private could be enjoyable. He’d have no problems letting her chastise him for his mistake in keeping secrets too long. Hmmm…punishment. “I definitely deserve whatever you want to hand out. You should make it real official and dress-up for the occasion. Any chance you have thigh-high five-inch-heeled leather boots and a whip somewhere in your luggage?”

Her eyes nearly popped out of her head. “Shaun!”

He grinned. Oh yeah. Apologizing was going to be a ton of fun.

Shaun led her back to the couch and tugged her halfway into his lap. The light brush of her lips across his cheek reassured him as he turned to speak to Evan. “So…where’s the rule book for being Betas? My mate and I have to check to see what regulations we can break first.”

Gem leaned against his chest and sighed, her fingers curled around his thigh. Something caught his eye, and he laughed as he lifted her hand into the air.

“You have pink nails.”

The bright flash of her smile warmed him more than any hootch ever could. “And toes. I found this great little shop downtown that does fabulous manicures and pedicures. I have a standing appointment every week.”

Caroline and Gem high-fived each other, and Shaun stared across the room at Evan. A deep sense of family rolled over him with a satisfying thud. Maybe this wasn’t what he’d been looking for, but in the end? All of it was exactly what he needed. The pack, his mate.

In spite of looming bear wars, an overzealous father-in-law and more responsibility than ever before—his life was damn near perfect.

Vivian Arend has hiked, biked, skied and paddled her way around most of North America and parts of Europe. Throughout all the wandering in the wilderness, stories have been planted and they are bursting out in vivid colour. Paranormal, twisted fairytales, red-hot contemporaries—the genres are all over.

Between times of living with no running water, she home schools her teenaged children and tries to keep up with her husband—the instigator of most of the wilderness adventures.

She loves to hear from readers: vivarend@gmail.com. You can also drop by www.vivianarend.com for more information on what is coming next.