Free Black Gold by Vivian Arend Page A

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?”

    www.samhainpublishing.com
    45

    Vivian Arend
    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?”
    46
    www.samhainpublishing.com

    Black Gold
    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.