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.
“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.
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.
That didn’t mean she didn’t want him.
The crowds thinned by the time they reached the hotel, all the traffic on the street headed the opposite direction.
“It’s a madhouse out there.” Shaun pushed through the door then froze. “Fuck it. Sorry.”
She gave him a wry smile. “Shaun, I won’t knee you in the groin if you occasionally forget to open the door for me. I can handle doors.”
He grinned sheepishly. “Good, because I totally want to keep my groin un-kneed.”
She flushed. Thinking about that portion of his anatomy made taking their time to stroll to the elevators difficult. He leaned past her to press the call button, and his scent filled her nostrils. Made her mouth water and her knees quiver.
Suddenly, having been apart for a few nights seemed like the most insane—there was that word again—thing. And this time, it was her fault.
Two other couples joined them in the small compartment. Shaun stepped in front of her, as if to guard her. A terribly naughty thought popped into her mind, and as the doors clicked shut, she grabbed a handful of his shirt and tugged upward, hard. He stiffened, but didn’t move as she slipped her hand under his T-shirt and let her fingers roam over his warm skin.
Oh dear, she was getting turned on just touching his back. Touching his side. Firm edges to the muscles, the swoop of his waist lined by the cut of his obliques. The elevator stopped and one couple left, opening more room. Rather than shifting away, Gem stuck to his side, sneaking her hand around to his abdomen. Under her fingers, his muscles quivered as she stroked the ridges of his six-pack. She watched his throat move as he swallowed hard, changing her touch to play with the faint dusting of hair lower down. The intriguing trail disappeared into where his shirt remained tucked into his pants in the front, and Gem longed to be able to dip her hand under the waistband.
The elevator door dinged, and she withdrew her hand quickly, dragging her fingernails lightly over his skin. Leaving her mark on his body.
She wanted her mate.
The door slid shut, and he whirled on her, his eyes more feral than human. “You playing games?”
She shook her head, mouth gone dry. “No games. I want you.”
The elevator couldn’t open fast enough for either of them.
When he dropped the plastic card for the third time, Shaun was tempted to kick the door down. Gem scooped up the key, slammed it into place and shoved the door open all in one motion. She grabbed him by the back of his belt and yanked him in after her, finishing the job of stripping his shirt away rather handily.
“Your bed or mine?” She mouthed the words against his neck. Gem was wrapped around him, her lips on his skin nibbling and sucking as frantically as he felt.
“Don’t care. Floor. Wall—”
“Wall?”
Oh, his sweet innocent. He latched onto her shirt and stripped the fabric off without bothering to unbutton it. “I’ll show you sometime.”
Not now. In fact, as much he wanted to simply throw her to the bed and thrust into her, he couldn’t.
This lovemaking—with his mysterious memory gap—was their first time, and damn if he’d screw things up.
They got lost in the kissing business for a bit. Her mouth was warm and soft. Shaun held her, his thumb and fingers curled gently around the long column of her neck. Sweet. Intoxicating. It wasn’t so much her flavour as the emotions that went along with the kiss. Knowing she was his, to care for, to be with.
Knowing she wanted him. Powerful, yet very intimidating.
Shaun leaned back to gaze into her eyes and fell headfirst. What had he done to deserve her? Nothing. A big fat nothing. All his life he’d run from responsibility. From being the man he could have been. Maybe he’d done a few good things along the way, but that was in spite of himself, not because he planned it.
That was going to change, and now, because this woman before him, staring back at him?
She deserved more than he’d become.