Gem packed away the last of her supplies and tucked them into the small bag that attached to her main pack. Wandering back to the campsite, she took pictures. Not ones for her studies, more to help her remember the time she’d spent with Shaun. A shot of where he’d taught her how to light the tiny white gas stove. They’d cooked supper using a dehydrated meal pack, and it had actually been edible. Another of the once-again pristine spot where he’d demonstrated how to build a small fire and leave no trace.
Where she’d made a primitive latrine—okay, that one she didn’t take a picture of. Some things were better left to the imagination.
She made the final approach to their campsite to discover him lying flat out in the tent, his feet sticking through the open flaps of the door.
“Lazybones.” Gem gave his ankle a gentle kick. She lowered her bag to the ground as she squatted to peek in at him.
“Hmm, you called?” His boots rotated, and she squeaked as he shot out a hand and pulled her on top of him. “You want to be lazy with me?”
Gem wiggled, widening her knees to get comfortable. “I’m ready to break camp when you are.”
“That’s not relaxing.”
She placed her hands on top of his chest and arranged herself so she could stare into his eyes. He was laughing again, but she didn’t feel as if she were being insulted anymore. “I’m sorry, Mr. Stevens, were you saying that you’d like to stay out here longer? Did you miss the part of the contract that said you were required to not only get me into the wilderness, but out?”
He raised a brow. “That wasn’t in the contract I read.”
Gem punched him lightly. “You.”
“But just think about the possibilities.” Shaun crossed his arms behind his head and let out a huge sigh. Contentment rolled off him. “I think we should go back to the land. Go bush. You want to give up civilization and just move into the wilderness? I know this great—”
She slapped a hand over his mouth, blocking the words. “Thank you, no. I’ve enjoyed the trip, but I’m not quite ready for this as a permanent state of affairs.”
Shaun licked her palm, and she sat up with a grimace. He smiled. “You make the best faces. And I mean that as a compliment. I know exactly if I’m in shit or deep shit when I look at you.”
Fighting to keep from smiling, Gem folded her arms and considered how incredible she felt—far more relaxed than expected. Even his swearing seemed normal and nothing to fuss over.
She wasn’t sure that was a good thing or not.
“Then what does my face tell you right now?” She imagined sitting in the Jacuzzi tub on the balcony of her bedroom back home, with Shaun at her side. Warm water surrounding them, icy cold drinks in their hands—the sound of the river as it swept against the shore a rumble in the background.
Shaun froze, lifting one finger against her lips. He whispered, “Do you hear that?”
Impossible. Had he really connected with her vision? “You heard the river?”
He shook his head, the words a hint above a whisper. “More like a waterfall.”
Shaun twisted, pointing toward the side of the tent and Gem cocked her head to listen better. Oh my, he was right. There was a steady ribbon of water pouring out to the north. Only, there were no water sources that direction, and there was the distinct smell of…urine?
Ugh. What?
A snort sounded from the east, and Shaun swore. “This is not good. This is so not good.”
It took a minute to untangle themselves, both trying to remain as silent as possible. Gem wiggled as he sat up until finally they faced the front of the tent.
“Do you see anything?” she asked. Talking in hushed tones just seemed proper.
“Smell.”
Gem took a deep breath through her nose and recognition hit. While the first and strongest scent was her and Shaun, the biggest one after that was something she hadn’t expected. Through the narrow gap in the unzipped fly, she watched in horror as the hairy but slender legs of a caribou wandered past.
They were here? Already?
“Shaun. Oh…drat.” Gem shuffled forward to take a cautious peek. The herd had arrived. “They aren’t supposed to be here. And they shouldn’t be anywhere near this far north for a week.”
“Something sped them up?”
She blew out a long slow breath. “We have to leave, now.”
Shaun touched her arm lightly. “If you didn’t notice, we’re trapped. You really think leaving is a good idea?”
Gem held out a hand toward him. “Let me take a better look, okay? If this is the leading edge, we might have a chance.”
“What—?”
Ignoring his grip on her arm, Gem slipped through the tent fly and stood as slowly as she could.
Caribou surrounded them as far as the eye could see. The pregnant females, the yearling calves following their dames. An ear twitched in her direction, a couple of heads swiveled. Silence hung in the air for a moment until it was broken by the buzz of a fly and the call of a bird.
Then the entire herd ignored her as the animals went back to nibbling on the sparse June growth.
There was a gentle tug on her pant leg. “I swore I wouldn’t use the word insane again, but I’m very, very tempted.”
Gem twisted slowly to smile down at him. “Trust me, it’s okay. Are you hungry?”
His grimace was hilarious. “Um, Gem, protected animal. You want to go hunting again, I’ll take you out for more bunnies later, okay?”
“Silly. Are you hungry, as in—if you’re not we can get out of this. We’ll have to abandon the tent.”
Complete concentration replaced his earlier concern. “You’re talking about shifting?”
Gem nodded. “We can walk amongst the caribou in our wolf forms. As long as we’re not hunting, they won’t care. It will spook them less than if we make the attempt as humans.”
“Even with the pregnant cows?”
There was a risk. “They’re a lot more skittish right now, yes, but I still think our wolves would be the best.”
He was already removing his boots. “Then get naked, woman.”
She took another slow glance around as she lowered herself back into the protection of the tent. The herd had come in on a more northern route than she’d expected. Shaun was right. Something must have spooked them to make them go off course this far, but then animals’ movements never were completely predictable. It wasn’t as if the yearly migration followed a set road.
As she shrugged off her coat, Shaun reached to help her. His touch distracted her more than simple assistance required. She wiggled in protest. “Timing is everything.”
Warmth crowded against her back as he snuck her shirt from her shoulders and cuddled up close, their naked torsos in contact. “I agree. We don’t really have to leave this exact moment, do we?”
Tempting, but no. Gem mustered her meager reserves and twisted away. “We do. Because the goal is to not rile up the herd any more than necessary. If we start fooling around, they’ll be traumatized for sure by your screaming.”
She tugged off her pants and folded them out of habit before she realized he’d gone dead quiet. Turned to stare into a very wide smile.
“Why, Ms. Jacobs, I do believe you just suggested offering me sex scandalous enough to cause me to scream.”
She kept her gaze fixed on his. “I believe, sir, what I insinuated is that was the status quo…”
Their whole conversation was held at a mere whisper, but the sense of joy spilling through her was powerful enough to make her feel as if they’d been shouting at the top of their voices. They grinned at each, and satisfaction rose higher.