Black Gold (12 page)

If Fate should down you, just get up and take another cuff; You may bank on it that there is no philosophy like bluff,

And grin.

“Grin”—Robert Service

Chapter Eight

She was as punctual as he expected. Shaun loaded her equipment and bags into the cargo section and completed his last-minute checks before returning to the airport hangar to escort her to the helicopter.

Whitehorse was small enough he got to care for everything himself. The next commercial plane wasn’t due in or out for over two hours, so there was no need to rush.

The sensation of panic haunting him had more to do with knowing that somehow in the next two weeks he had to make her fall in love with him, and prevent her from killing herself in the bush. Bloody tangled mess he’d gotten into.

She lit up the area with her smile as he approached the gate. “Shaun.” Damn, she was gorgeous. The urge to scoop her up and toss her into the back of the helicopter to ravish her was strong. His wolf was beyond pissed at him, for allowing them to be separated for the past three days.

He ignored her outstretched hands to pull her tight to his body and take a deep breath of her sweet scent. That was all it took—his wolf calmed in a flash.

“I missed you,” he confessed.

She returned his embrace, the heat of her torso melding with his, and he couldn’t let go. Her slight weight as she relaxed against him comforted the ache, then stirred the ashes. “I missed you as well.” She lifted her mouth and he eagerly accepted her lips.

Public place, man.
It took a ton of energy to keep himself from consuming her like a bag of cotton candy. Instead, he gave her a gentle kiss. Maybe a little too gentle. He leaned away, and she grabbed his head, holding on to him and increasing the greeting to something on a higher-fire warning.

Hello, she tasted good.

They were both slightly breathless by the time they drew apart.

He finally noticed what she was wearing. “Sweet—like the boots.” Gem lifted a foot and displayed her hikers. “All broken in and everything. I’ve been walking around Whitehorse for the past two days to make sure I’m ready.”

Two days? Shaun didn’t have the heart to warn her that wasn’t nearly enough time. “Awesome! Shall we go?”

She accepted his elbow and they made their way to the chopper. He dawdled over strapping her in, enjoying having his hands on her body again, even if she was buried under a bulky shirt and thick cotton
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pants. He liked her in those pants, liked the way they hugged her curves. For one terrible second the image of her wandering Whitehorse alone—and all the guys who got to see her in said pants—flashed into his brain and his temper flared.

Cool. Keep it cool.

“Did you enjoy your time in Whitehorse? Sorry I had to leave you, but there were things to do at the hangar before I could be ready for the trip.”

Her smile dazzled him. “No problem—it was just wonderful. Caroline and I did an aerobics class at the Canada Games Centre, then I went out to dinner with her at the Klondike Rib and Salmon and we ate with our fingers. It was so exciting.”

Her enthusiastic descriptions helped the final preflight prep pass in a blur. He gave her a headset, taught her how to use the microphone to ask questions. Her obvious delight continued as he shared information about the landscape passing under them, but for the most part she simply leaned against the window and took it in. Fascination painted her face as he followed the Yukon River, the many tributaries trickling into the main waterway littered with small-claim shanties, even after all this time.

It was a sight that had always mesmerized him. He could only hope her thoughts were as positive as his, and that she wasn’t aware how increasingly remote they were becoming.

“Do you have any idea yet how long a layover we’ll have in Dawson?” she asked.

Shaun pulled himself back from his mental ramblings. “Looks like a week at the most. The herd is moving late this year.”

“I checked the websites, but the data wasn’t up to date.” She pointed out the front window at a pair of moose darting into the bush at their approach.

“The radio-collar program the government set up gathers great information, but when they had a real-time website posting, the data was accessible to everyone. Including hunters, who then used it to plan their expeditions. Turns out the conservationists were unintentionally broadcasting the exact location of individual animals.”

Gem shook her head in disgust. “That’s terrible.”

Shaun shrugged. “Hey, people use the resources offered. I don’t agree with the hunters using the system, but I understand why they did. So the website is now on a time delay.”

“How are you getting your information, then?” Gem placed her fingers on his arm, and the contact did wonderful wiggly things to his system.

He smiled. “I have my sources.”

Her laughter danced over his ears. “Of course you do.”

The admiration she displayed cheered him inside.
That’s
what he wanted more of—that look in her eyes, that sweet smile on her lips—all for him. Somehow he had to maintain whatever was causing it, because making her happy was like a drug pouring back into his own system. “Local packs have always 68

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Black Gold

shared information to keep their territories as peaceful as possible. There’s a wolf pack in Dawson, and at least a dozen more in the outlying communities of the north. Each one a little more remote, a little less civilized in some ways. I’ve gained contacts with them during my years of flying.” He glanced at her face. She remained enamored with the landscape, staring in fascination, and that was a fabulous start. Now he had to figure out how to make the time in Dawson memorable. And something outside the bedroom, although please to high heaven, could they have some time in the bedroom?

They still hadn’t had sex. Not as far as he could remember.

The hours it took to get to Dawson seemed to pass in a few seconds. Just breathing her scent on the air made him ecstatic. Even though arriving meant they were that much closer to a fight, because another argument was inevitable. Their time in Dawson as they waited would involve mainly sightseeing. No problem there, but the next stage of the adventure, when the research began? Her plans needed to be adjusted, and somehow he didn’t think she would take the news with a happy smile, not after the hell she gave him back at the coffee shop.

Landing at Dawson and arranging temporary storage for the chopper didn’t take very long, and soon enough they were in a cab en route to their overnight stop. The streets were far busier than he ever remembered seeing before.

Arriving at the hotel threw all their positive travel mojo out the window.

Shaun eyed the man behind the counter and debated how he’d taste roasted. “What do you mean, cancelled? I had those rooms on a guaranteed reservation.”

“I’m sorry, sir. I agree, the booking mistake is completely our error. Let me see what I can arrange for you instead.” The clerk typed rapidly, his gaze frantic as he studied the computer screens. Shaun glanced over at Gem who sat behind him in the foyer, people watching. The expression of delight on her face intrigued him.

He wasn’t sure if all the things she found captivating choked him up because he was shocked at her naivety, or because her enthusiasm made him realize he’d spent so much of his life not really noticing what was going on around him. Kind of like living in a constant state of “whatever”.

“Sir? Unfortunately there are limited room choices left.”

“We’ll take anything you’ve got.” Hang on. Back when they didn’t know it was his mate he was ferrying, they had booked two rooms. “Oh, and one room is all we need.” Genuine relief covered the clerk’s face. “Thank you for being so understanding. There’s been a flood of visitors into town in the past couple days, and the extra bookings are making it difficult to do any shuffling.”

“Convention?” Shaun asked.

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The clerk shook his head. “Nothing in the Chamber of Commerce notes or at the regular convention centre. But it’s crazy. I suggest if you’d like to eat out you make reservations early.” Shaun accepted the key card and went to collect Gem. She stared at him from under her lashes as they waited in the elevator. When she licked her lips, his groin tightened.

Oh please, oh please, oh please.

He held the door for her, watching her ass with longing as she stepped past him. She turned and examined the room. There was that expression on her face again. The one that said she thought he was almost, but maybe not quite, out of his mind. He took a quick peek past her shoulder to try and spot what was wrong. This hotel wasn’t the fanciest place in town—he hadn’t wanted to go overboard in trying to impress her. The room was neat and tidy, sunshine streaming in the window.

“Two beds?”

Hope rose in a rush. It wasn’t the lack of fancy amenities that had caught her attention. “There’s some kind of convention in town and everything else was booked solid.”

“I see.” She slipped to the far bed and sat on the edge of the mattress, staring around the room before fixing her inquisitive gaze on him. “Well—what’s first on the sightseeing agenda?” Shaun pushed down the desire to suggest there was nothing he’d like to see more than her naked and waiting on that bed. “So much to do, so little time to do it in. Come on, let’s paint the town red.” Bodies crowded the boardwalks. Far more hulking male bodies than she’d expected, and Gem was glad of Shaun’s solid frame by her side. “Does it seem as if there’s an awful lot of shifters around?” she asked, leaning to whisper in his ear.

“You’ll find more shifters in general in the north. Living up here is safer, for one thing, and we all enjoy the open spaces. Gives us room to let our animal sides run when they want.” Shaun pointed down the street. “Bears, wolves, cougars. Yeah, there is a huge variety of shifters here. Not as much as in Chicken, but—”

“Chicken?”

He led her into an old-fashioned theater. “That’s a town just over the border in Alaska. Shifters-only for some strange reason. The original founders wanted to call the place Ptarmigan after the flocks of local birds, but no one could spell the word properly, so…”

“Chicken.”

“Yup.”

She laughed, then got distracted by the shimmering lights reflecting off the walls.

There was a stage at one end, noisy casino machines along the other. The center of the room was filled with tables, mostly occupied. Shaun urged her toward a couple empty seats, his fingers warm around hers. He gestured with his free hand.

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“Welcome to Diamond Tooth Gertie’s. The theater’s been revamped. They did a great job of bringing her back to life like in her heyday.”

Gem didn’t know where to look next, everything was so fascinating. Turn-of-the-century fixtures, honky-tonk music. Waiters and waitresses in costumed garb. “Oh, her costume has a bustle. I have a dress like that.”

Shaun plopped into a chair. “Really?”

She stood for a moment longer, and he bounced up like a yoyo.

“Shit, sorry.” He held her chair as she sat, and she bit her lips to hide her smile. He was trying. That counted for something.

That counted for a lot.

Then the floorshow started, and she got lost in the narration. History filled her mind, more than just the disconnected bits of information she’d read over the years. The actors on the stage took her back and immersed her in the gold rush. In the daily struggles the Klondikers faced as they fought for survival in the wilds and scratched out a living from an uncertain future.

Gem found herself clinging to Shaun’s hand as the tales unfolded.

When the curtain fell, she applauded as loudly as anyone in the room, strangely touched. It wasn’t just the remembrance of people who had died long ago, but a sensation of something else. There were so many possibilities in her own future, so much more for her to experience.

His lips brushed her cheek. “Come, let’s walk.”

Outside, the sky was still daylight bright, the hills around them clear and the air fresh. Even at this time of night, the crush of people remained overwhelming. They ducked and dodged a constant stream of bodies, and the contentment she’d felt after the show slipped away. This wasn’t what she wanted.

She’d enjoyed the flight to Dawson, and the attention Shaun had paid her. The respect he’d given in agreeing to her terms—letting her remain on her own in Whitehorse for three days… Well, she hadn’t really let him do anything
but
agree with her, if she was honest. Still, exploring their relationship was what they needed now, not fighting a swarming mass of humanity and shifters, crowding and bumping into their space.

“Can we get away from this?” She ducked an errant elbow, and Shaun curled himself around her a little tighter.

“Back to the room?”

Their room. “That would be…lovely.”

They stared at each other for a moment, and she wondered if all he could picture—like her—were the beds waiting for them at the hotel.

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She’d felt some guilt for walking out on him at the restaurant the other day. And when he had caught up, she’d used all her strength to insist her decision was final. It had taken another ten minutes before she managed to get back to her room, forcing him to leave before she changed her mind.

Her wolf was very put out with her.

Shaun didn’t seem to understand why she needed to do this trip. Yes, things had dramatically changed when they’d discovered each other. It didn’t mean she was willing to abandon what she wanted to accomplish. If anything, it made her goals even more important.

She didn’t want to be a weak person, not for him. And the way she’d been going was being weak.

Depending completely on others’ opinions and following the paths they planned for her—that was wrong.

Plus, she didn’t need another older man in her life making all the decisions. One father was enough. Shaun had to see her as his equal, or this partnership of theirs was going to go nowhere fast.