This was simply another part of the adventure, wasn’t it?
“A sandwich would be lovely. Is there anything to drink?”
Shaun winked at her. “You’re not going to believe this, but there are bottles of Perrier.”
Gag. “Really?”
She slipped away to examine the facilities. If they were too freaky she’d shift back to wolf and pee in the corner.
His voice carried to her. “Yeah, I guess one of them figured you being a genteel lady and such, you needed the good stuff.”
“Do they know Perrier tastes horrible? And smells like stinky socks.”
A loud guffaw rang out. “No shit?”
A terrible temptation overwhelmed her. “That’s right. Shit is a perfect description.”
She stepped back into the bedroom in time to see his jaw fall open. “Gemmita Ellen Louise May Jacobs, did my ears deceive me or did you just use the word shit?”
Laughter bubbled up, urged on by the expression on his face.
“Poop? Crap? How did you put it once? Bloody fucking—”
This time his hand slapped across her mouth. “Who are you, and what have you done to my Gem?”
She smiled and he released her. “I do know the big bad words, Shaun, I choose not to use them. But I think in light of our circumstances, there’s a few choice swears that need to be aired.”
“As long as your father doesn’t think I corrupted you or something.”
Her father. “Oh boy, I bet he’s not happy right now.”
Shaun handed her a sandwich as she sat on the lone chair. “You get kidnapped often? Just so I can make plans and such.”
The ham and cheese was delicious after having had nothing but rabbit for the past however many hours. “First time. Maybe that’s part of the reason I was kept protected. It’s a bit of a problem of my own making, leaving the easy-to-protect zone.”
Shaun finished his first sandwich and dug into another. “Love, if people want to grab you, they’re going to try if you’re walking the streets of Whitehorse or hidden away in a cloister. It might be tougher for them to succeed in the second case, but that’s not a great way to live, now, is it?”
Gem chewed thoughtfully. He was right. She was enjoying being out and about in the “real world”. She watched him as he watched her. There was something there, more than the mate bond. For a moment she considered repeating her words from the plane, making sure he heard her this time, but this wasn’t the setting for confessions of love and forever.
She’d been frightened back before they started the return trip to the chopper. Scared by how much she’d come to care for him, and how close she’d come to giving over control to him. Allowing him to make the decision of where they would live, and what they would do.
There had to be the balance, between them being a partnership and being individuals with ideas of their own. It wasn’t about getting what she wanted anymore, but making sure that she didn’t give up on herself in the midst of becoming one with him.
None of that seemed the thing to share while they were locked in a prison.
But once they were free? Look out.
“Gaag.”
Gem glanced up to see Shaun’s face contorted into the most awful grimace. “Are you okay?”
He pointed at his mouth and wrinkled his nose. In his hand he clutched one of the distinctive green bottles and she giggled. He swallowed hard, the exaggerated movement making her laugh even harder.
“I warned you!”
“Actually, I’ve tasted worse.” Shaun winked at her before taking another swig, his expression thoughtful. He shook his head. “Nah, I’ll take a double shot of Sourdough Toe any day.”
Sourdough Toe? She patted her mouth against her sleeve and stripped off the robe. “I guess it’s time to pretend I’m a mole instead of a wolf.”
His gaze followed her as she stood. She bent to drop a kiss on his cheek then walked out the door back toward the open vent. If she happened to let her hips wiggle extra hard, it was his own fault.
“Tease.”
“Uh-huh.” Gem darted a glance over her shoulder to see him following along, eating her hungrily with his gaze. “I hope you don’t have to crawl any time soon, because you’re not going to be able to get that weapon to remain concealed.”
He grinned at her. “Kidnapping has done wonders for your sense of humour.”
Gem had to agree. “I think it’s the whole northern air. I must be allergic.”
She shifted, paws slipping out of her outsized shoes. Shaun moved the door aside farther, and she stuck her nose in as far as she could without actually putting her head into the duct.
“I did brush it out with a stick earlier,” Shaun boasted.
Her hero.
Gem dropped to her elbows and crawled forward an inch at a time, following the fresh air coming from in front of her. Crawling was slow going, the duct squeezed tighter in places where there must have been outside damage to the casing.
Oh God, she’d better not get stuck. She wasn’t claustrophobic, but it would be almost impossible to get out without help.
“You still moving?” Shaun called, his voice echoing strangely in the tight metal quarters.
She yipped confirmation. Crawled another couple inches. Sneezed.
“Bless you.”
She really shouldn’t laugh—it was tough enough already to breathe in the dark with four sides closing in around her. But common everyday politenesses like a gesundheit?
She must be getting giddy. Or steps away from hysterical.
The panel on her right wiggled, and her hopes leapt. She leaned to the side harder, and a gust of fresh air hit her in the face. She howled, and from a distance Shaun’s voice rumbled back with delight.
“You there?”
Not yet, but close. She snuck forward a little more, pushed hard with her nose, and with a crash, the flap beside her fell away and she rolled free.
She shifted and clapped her hands in delight. “I’m out. I did it. Shaun, I did it!”
Even as he crowed back at her, praising her loudly, Gem examined the new room she’d discovered. There was no door on the outside wall, but the window let in a ton of light—more of the storm shutter was broken away in this section.
“Can you see a way to outside?” Shaun asked.
“Maybe. Give me a minute.”
She picked a careful path over the dirt-strewn floor, cold rocks and stray bits of garbage poking into her less-than-wolf-proof arches. But what she discovered more than made up for the aches and pains.
“There’s a fresh breeze blowing in. The window is broken, Shaun, and I’m sure I’ll be able to get out.”
“Awesome. Take your time. Don’t rush. Use whatever you need that helps.”
Gem stopped. While she wanted to race forward and try the shutters, there was too much broken glass to go anywhere fast. She needed some thing to step on, or a broom. There was a desk in the corner, with a chair leaning against the frame. From the dust on the floor showing her steps, the kidnappers had never even entered this section of the building. Boxes of electronic equipment lay piled in heaps beside one wall, along with a discarded lab coat and rubber boots.
Saks Fifth Avenue, it wasn’t, but as if she was going to complain.
As she slipped on the coat, one of the objects piled in the chaos caught her eye. “Shaun, can you hear me?”
“What’s up? You find a way out?”
“Haven’t checked closer yet,” she confessed. “I was putting on some clothes I found. I think there’s something in here you need to see.”