Shaun didn’t seem to mind she was a klutz. “We must stop meeting like this.”
She attempted to untangle herself, but he trapped her, leaning down to press their lips together and kiss her tenderly. Warmth poured from him, and for a minute she forgot all about trying to make a good impression.
Kissing was so much fun. At least, with Shaun it was.
He licked her lower lip, tugged it lightly between his teeth before dipping back into her mouth with his tongue. Gem let go of the straps she’d been clinging to, instead, catching hold of his shoulders and keeping her balance by using his strength.
They would have continued for a lot longer if the wind hadn’t chosen that moment to pick up and flap the loose edge of the tent.
Shaun slipped away. “Whoa, I’m not being a very good teacher. Make camp first, fool around second.”
“Is that in the official rule book?” Gem followed his pointing finger and tugged the fabric until it settled into its proper place.
He laughed out loud. “Oh, darling, you can’t ask me about anything official. I’m afraid the only reason I ever found out the rules was so I could break them.”
Now that was just silly. “That’s not true.”
Shaun paused in the middle of unzipping the tent flaps. “Sure it is.”
Men. Gem raised a brow. “So you didn’t register our flight? And you don’t do safety inspections on the helicopter?”
He sat back on his heels. “Of course not. I mean, of course I did. I mean…”
She giggled and he smiled sheepishly.
“See? Rules aren’t all bad.”
Shaun nodded. “I guess. I usually just do what I think is right. It’s not always what others have in mind.”
Gem settled on the rock he’d brought over for her. That sentiment wasn’t as foreign an idea to her as he imagined. “I know you might not believe it, but I agree with you. At home when I disagreed, there were occasionally better ways to get what I wanted than out-and-out rebellion.”
Shaun pulled out the rolled-up mattresses and set them to inflate on the floor of the tent. “You said your father wasn’t pleased with you taking the trip north.”
Gem sighed. “No.”
“Then how did you manage to get the project approved?”
“Signed up without him knowing.”
He squeezed her shoulder, approval in his tone. “Sneaky.”
Guilt mixed with satisfaction. She was glad she’d done it, but… “Devious. Deceitful—”
“I like sneaky. Sneaky has its place.” Shaun patted the ground beside him. “Come on, I’ll show you how to link together our Therm-a-Rests and our sleeping bags. Then from now on that will be one of your chores when we make camp.”
A burst of spontaneous joy hit. Gem wrapped her arms around him and squeezed as tight as she could. Her off-balance hug forced the two of them to tumble to the surface of the still uninflated mattresses.
Shaun laughed and kissed her nose. “What’s that all about? Can’t wait to jump me?”
Hmm, yes. But the sexual heat rolling through her veins was less intoxicating than the happiness spreading tiny tendrils that tangled all around her.
She did like learning new things, and trying new adventures, even if her feet throbbed like crazy. She rolled up on an elbow and smiled at him. “Thank you for escorting me on the trip. I’m glad I get to do this with you. Very glad.”
His cheeky grin lit the whole tent.
The flames crackled, and Shaun added another branch, pushing the glowing embers together to make the coals flare upward with the extra fuel. The air around them was full of soft noises—the shifting of birds and small animals in the scattered brush. The gentle trickle of the creek running along the perimeter of the rise behind them.
The sound of a contented sigh as Gem relaxed at his side.
“You okay?” He’d been impressed. The entire hike she’d never once complained, even though he knew she had to be dying.
His princess had more steel in her spine than he’d ever expected.
Gem rested against him as they stared into the fire. “I’ve never done this before.”
Shaun chuckled. “Not many people have. Which particular new experience is catching your attention?”
She tilted her head back, and the dark stars in her eyes twinkled. “It’s bright daylight out and yet we’re sitting by a fire. I always associate fires with darkness. Something to look at and fill your senses.”
“Ahhh, but you’re talking about southern fires. Here in the north, our fires are multisensory.”
Gem wrinkled her nose. “Go on.”
“Don’t look with just your eyes. Look with all your senses. Then it won’t matter that the sun is shining, you’ll have the whole picture.”
He settled her against the backrest he’d made, then reached to unlace her boots.
“What are you doing?” Light suspicion hovered in her eyes.
“Just relax. Check out the fire. I’m fixing your feet.”
She leaned back, and as he pulled off the boot she groaned, a pure unadulterated sound of pleasure.
He worked the massage, pressing his thumbs into the arch of her foot, smoothing the cream he’d grabbed over the places where her footwear had rubbed. She had fewer hot spots than he’d expected. He lifted her foot and examined it closer. A newbie hiker and no blisters? Impossible—the boots had to be more than two days old.
“You said you’d worn these boots around Whitehorse.”
Gem cracked open an eye. “I did.”
“These boots were broken in more than that.”
She waved a hand in the air. “I just meant I’d worn them recently. Ever since I got approval for the project, I’ve been all over the estate grounds to do conditioning walks. I went out first thing in the morning before my father got up.”
“Sneaky again. Well, you did great.”
Her pleased expression warmed him. She relaxed and let him take care of her, and he enjoyed every second. Watching her face, seeing the minute responses to his touch. Then she took a big breath, staring up into the still-light sky.
“There are strange things done under the midnight sun…” she recited. “The poems make a lot more sense, having seen how light it really is.”
Shaun grinned. “Robert Service. Now there was a man I could relate to.”
She wiggled upright, wrapping her arms around her legs. “I read a bunch of his work in preparation for this trip. I enjoyed some of it, but the occasional bit that—”
A shiver shook her whole frame, and Shaun laughed. “Didn’t like the part with the sizzling bonfire?”
She poked him. “No. Definitely not.”
Shaun stared at her. The fire was dying down, but he didn’t want to go to bed yet. She had to be sore, and there was one sure way to cure some of those aches.
His wolf pranced with excitement, nudging closer to the surface. Gem’s smile faded slightly, changing to awe. He sensed her wolf wanted to come out as well. Wanted to meet his. They’d been denied for long enough.
“Gem?”
She swallowed hard. “I…I don’t know why I’m feeling like this.”
“It’s our wolves. Don’t you think it’s time that they got to meet? Got some time to play?”
She nodded slowly.
“Changing will make your feet feel better. A couple shifts can help cure the little things like rising blisters and muscle aches.” And he’d get to see her. See the colour of her fur and the way she moved—to appreciate how her human dignity and power would adapt as she shifted into her animal form.