Free Black Gold by Vivian Arend Page B

If you want to talk, I can’t have you naked or the only talking will be our bodies.”
    “Then you’d better find something to wear, so I don’t become overwhelmed with lust as well.” She winked before turning to examine the shirt he’d tossed her. An adorable little frown appeared on her face as she wrinkled her nose and sniffed. Gem left his shirt on the bed as she headed to her suitcase and took out a long shimmery…thing. Shaun watched in fascination as she pulled it on, the floor-length garment wrapping her trim body in meters of mouthwateringly see-through fabric.
    “I don’t know if that’s going to help the situation.”
    She sat in the corner chair, legs crossed at the ankle. The swath of layers around her hid enough his brain functioned. He stepped into his room and scrambled until he had managed to turn his jeans right side out and tug them on sans underwear, since that article of clothing seemed to have vanished altogether.
    If they hadn’t talked last night, maybe he wasn’t as far up shit creek as he’d supposed. A moment’s unease snuck in. While it was fairly normal for strangers to discover they were mates, he had never imagined the logistics of what having it happen to him would mean. Saying there was a lot for them to discuss was an understatement of massive proportions.
    Shaun took a deep breath and hoped like hell whatever good karma he’d earned in his life to this point would somehow descend right about now.
    He marched back into her room feeling somewhere between being ushered into paradise and being offered a long walk off a short plank.

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    47

    Chapter Six
    Gem was sore in all the right places. The only thing that made her sad was the lack of a warm body snuggled against her. She’d been looking forward to waking in Shaun’s arms and seeing what other mischief they could get up to. While she didn’t have a ton of experience, sex with a mate was much better than anything she’d experienced before—she had so many things she wanted to try with him.
    Shaun returned to her room and nabbed his shirt off the bed, snapping the wrinkled garment a few times before tugging it on and flopping down opposite her. Even rumpled and a total mess, he was all kinds of sexy. She imagined he’d look more impressive yet in a silk shirt. A pale blue would be spectacular against his skin.
    “You come here often?” His delicious voice stroked her, and there was that smile again. The one that made her heart rate double.
    She shook her head as she laughed. “My first trip north. You?” Shaun rearranged the pillows against the headboard and leaned into them. “Born and bred in the Yukon. My family has been a part of the Takhini pack for generations. We have stories dating back to the gold rush. Of course, none of us hit it rich, but we did okay.”
    “Do you work for the pack?” She could already hear the questions her father would ask, so she’d better get those out of the way first.
    “Nope—well, lately I’ve been giving Evan a hand and doing the bouncer thing in the bar, just to keep out of trouble.” He paused and made a funny face.
    A bouncer. Gem kept her smile firmly in place. Well, at least his position wasn’t something that would lock him in the north. He could get a job in one of the local bars.
    Or they could buy a bar for him if he wanted. There were many possibilities to consider.
    Gem pulled her legs up and hugged them tight. “I’m not employed right now. Once I finish my degree, I hope to get a position with one of the family companies. Maybe working in environmental research for green products and controlling the impact of industry. It’s a fascinating field.”
    “But you’re here for the summer?” he asked.
    “I’m here for a few weeks, yes.”
    Shaun frowned. He opened his mouth and paused. When he did speak, it was obvious he’d changed tangent.

    Black Gold
    “Anyway, I own an aviation company with a friend. Tad does less flying and