Diamond Dust (30 page)

“You’re not serious.” Tyler laughed and hid his hands behind his back. Or at least he did until she raised a brow.

He sighed. Brought forward a hand and allowed her to slip it on.

Caroline took advantage of his momentary distraction to escape his lap and race for the stairs. Tyler was up and after her in a flash. Chances of her making it to the top without getting caught were slim to none, kind of like her chances had been of not falling madly in love with the big brute.

If it was her house, she was going to enjoy christening each and every part of it with her fiancé. And there was no time like the present.

Chapter Twenty

It wasn’t the wedding she’d thought she would have.

Nahh
, she had to be honest—dreaming of weddings had never been a part of her agenda. Other girls might have pored over catalogs and imagined lofty cathedral settings. She’d wondered if she’d ever get married, because matrimony wasn’t a deep desire of hers.

Love was what she wanted, far more than the trappings of the occasion.

Although, in a kind of “ode to bear timing”, blessed by Caroline’s organizational skills and aided by Tyler’s money, the trappings had come together in only three days.

As she and Evan finished the long, slow walk to the front of the room, as she pulled away from Evan’s unexpected farewell kiss, she turned to discover Tyler stood only inches away from her. Heat poured from him, wrapping around her and protecting her from more than the cold of the world.

He would always ask her what she
really
wanted. With a smile on his face as he waited for her to decide.

Tyler had lost his smile, though, as he examined Evan coolly. “Good friends who don’t
ever
kiss from here on. Just so we’re clear.”

With his usual
laissez-faire
, Evan shrugged. “No problem. Got it.”

Tyler stared him down. Nodded. Then shifted his gaze to meet Caroline’s. “You ready?”

He held out his arm, elbow raised high. She pulled herself together once more, and rested her hand on his tuxedo-clad arm. Left Evan standing behind as she and Tyler walked up the short flight to the dais. Left her old life behind.

Emotions of panic had no place in this. What she’d done, she’d done for love. Tyler stood beside her as they repeated the words they’d picked for the ceremony. Simple and short. Vows to cherish each other. To be there for each other.

He was slipping another ring on her finger far sooner than she expected as a buzz began in her ears, the murmur of wolf and human voices rising to fill the hall. People she’d known her entire life all smiling and enjoying her good fortune.

The bears watching? Out of the corner of her eye she saw some pleased expressions, some unreadable. The only face she was completely surprised to see was Ainsworth, three rows back flanked by Nadia and her guard.

The shock was forgotten in a wave of happiness as she spotted Amanda safely in the front row, Justin at her side.

A throat cleared and Caroline’s attention snapped back to the woman leading the ceremony. She’d missed something. “What’s that?”

The justice of the peace smiled. “Do you have a ring for Tyler?”

“Oh, yes.” She reached into her bodice, smirking as Tyler’s eyes widened.

He whispered. “You did not…”

Caroline held out her hand, the heavy weight of the diamond cluster he’d already slipped on her ring finger unfamiliar and yet right. Definitely there, making her aware something had changed.

Tyler eyed her warily, but she slipped the shiny silver cooking decoration over his knuckle, keeping her expression serene. “I bought a caseload. So when you break them, you’ll have spares.”

Lillie and Jim Halcyon met them at the doors following the service. Lillie hugged Caroline tight, then handed over an envelope. “The final count was a joke. Most of Clan Ainsworth took off the night before the vote.”

Jim lowered his voice and leaned in close. “I heard they’re trying their best to distance themselves, and their finances, while we still have him here under surveillance.”

Tyler chuckled evilly. “Well, let’s make sure they have enough time to prove their real colours before Caroline and I go check things out. Ainsworth is staying as a guest here in Whitehorse until we’re back from our honeymoon, Nadia babysitting him. Once we return we’ll accompany him home and start guiding changes.”

It wasn’t as bloodthirsty a justice as Caroline would have liked, but it would have to do.

A wedding dinner followed, bears and wolves filling the banquet hall at the Moonshine Inn. There was no fighting. Caroline almost felt not herself, surrounded by shifters and yet no simmering violence to have to put down.

The only destruction caused at the wedding dance was when Evan rushed into the room, all his earlier fooling around vanished. He knocked over a table covered with small desserts, darting out and looking around frantically. Staff rushed to clean it up, as Evan ignored the mess and stomped straight across the dance floor. He tapped on her shoulder, interrupting what was supposed to be her and Tyler’s final dance before they snuck away.

“Caroline, I need your help.”

Tyler refused to let her go, and she refused to stop dancing, so Evan slipped an arm around both of them and joined in, light on his feet in spite of the panic on his face.

Tyler grumbled softly. “Find someone else to put out your fire. She’s mine now.”

Caroline shivered at the possessiveness of his words. She definitely liked getting to decide what she wanted. But sometimes what she wanted? Was a big, growly, domineering bear who knew how to listen.

Evan snarled at Tyler, two Alphas refusing to give an inch. Then Tyler laughed and let go of Caroline as he dipped Evan toward the floor, sheer shock twisting the wolf’s face.

Tyler snapped him back to vertical, twirled Evan away, and without skipping a beat, slipped his arms around Caroline to finish the dance.

Caroline was going to die.

Evan turned his most beguiling smile on Caroline as he wandered like a puppy at their side. “I opened an email attachment, and suddenly the computer is frozen. I can’t get at the bank accounts, so the bill payments have gone to hell. And somehow it transferred to the hotel computer as well and all the bookings for the hotel are fucked up.”

Oh dear.

Caroline stared over the short distance separating herself from her husband. They had his private plane arranged to take them for a honeymoon before returning to the work of leading conclave.
Somewhere warm
was all Tyler had told her.

While she felt bad for Evan, the beach was calling. Everyone had to take the steps and learn to do it themselves at sometime, righty?

Caroline patted Evan’s cheek. “Don’t open email attachments from people you don’t know. It’s a very simple rule. On the desk, right-hand side, there’s a file folder with all the names of the companies the pack and the hotel use on a regular basis. The computer-repair company is there. You’ll have to contact them to get things debugged.”

Evan let go and stepped back. He straightened his collar, and the calm, cool, in-charge-of-everything Alpha was back. He sent out a warning glance at the pack members who’d started whispering.

A whole lot of wolves suddenly found things to do.

Evan rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I guess I have to learn to live without you. Caroline, Tyler. May the spirits of the north always guide you home.”

He gave a quick nod to Tyler, squeezed Caroline’s shoulder. Then he was gone, the dynamic wolf who had so much to look forward to. Like finding his mate.

Falling in love…

“You ready to go?” Tyler’s lips brushed her ear. She would have stumbled if his arms hadn’t been around her.

“Ready. For anything.” Including something that had been on her bucket list for a while. “So tell me, Tyler, how big a plane do you own?”

He led her from the floor, waving at well-wishers, laughing as shifters and humans blew soap bubbles into their path in lieu of confetti. Ducking as a few misguided souls used water pistols. “It’s big enough. Is this some kind of wolf-humour size-joke I’m not getting?”

She stopped to hug Shelley and Chase, promising to keep in touch. Then she slipped into the limo and waited for her husband to join her.

Tyler had barely settled when she crawled into his lap. While his eyes lit up, his words said otherwise. “Caroline, it’s a really short trip to the airport.”

“Consider this foreplay.” She kissed him into silence and was rather proud that by the time they pulled up next to the plane, his pristine suit was more than a little rumpled.

He guided her into the aircraft, his palm hot against her lower back. “Is it big enough for you?” he asked, still husky with lust.

She left him to explore, a sigh of contentment rushing out as she found what she was hoping for. She hung on to the door and grinned at Tyler.

He was at her side in a flash, staring in at the bedroom. “I should have known. Mile-high club?”

“Once over every continent?”

“
Ohhh
, nice. I love a challenge.” He tumbled her onto the bed and nuzzled the sweet spot under her ear. “I love
you
.”

Sunshine beckoned, a remote paradise without any shifter politics to play. But right now, Caroline had a bear to cuddle.

All was right with her world.

About the Author

Vivian Arend in one word:
Adventurous
. In a sentence:
Willing to try just about anything once
. That wide-eyed attitude has taken her around North America, through parts of Europe, and into Central and South America, often with no running water.

Her optimistic outlook also meant that when challenged to write a book, she gave it a shot, and discovered creating worlds to play in was nearly as addictive as traveling the real one. Now a
New York Times
and
USA Today
bestselling author of both contemporary and paranormal stories, Vivian continues to explore, write and otherwise keep herself well entertained.

Website:
www.vivianarend.com

Blog:
www.vivianarend.com/blog

Twitter:
www.twitter.com/VivianArend

Facebook:
www.facebook.com/VivianArend

Look for these titles by Vivian Arend

Now Available:

Granite Lake Wolves

Wolf Signs

Wolf Flight

Wolf Games

Wolf Tracks

Wolf Line

Wolf Nip

Forces of Nature

Tidal Wave

Whirlpool

Turner Twins

Turn It On

Turn It Up

Pacific Passion

Stormchild

Stormy Seduction

Silent Storm

Xtreme Adventures

Falling, Freestyle

Rising, Freestyle

Six Pack Ranch

Rocky Mountain Heat

Rocky Mountain Haven

Rocky Mountain Desire

Rocky Mountain Angel

Rocky Mountain Rebel

Takhini Wolves

Black Gold

Silver Mine

Paradise Found

If a tree falls in the forest, duck…

Silver Mine

© 2012 Vivian Arend

Takhini Wolves, Book 2

Life in isolation is the safest place for Chase Johnson, a crossbreed who doesn’t know which form he’ll assume next—cougar or wolf. Once a year, his unelected position as spokesman for the Yukon outcasts forces him to visit civilization. This time he runs across someone unexpected. She’s not his mate, but she pushes all the right buttons.

It’s taken years for Shelley Bradley to gather the courage to return to her home pack. In spite of being the lowest of the low—a shifter who can’t shift—she’s determined to make a place for herself as the Whitehorse locals’ new vet-slash-doctor.
 

There’s definite electricity between her and Chase, but sex with fellow shifters and the inherent mind games got old a long time ago. Ignoring him seems best. When he shows up at her office with a wound that won’t heal, she’s stuck—yet drawn to solve this medical mystery.

As they journey deep into outcast territory in search of answers, their powerful sexual attraction crumbles her resistance. But time is of the essence. If a cure can’t be found before his human and cougar succumb to his injury, he—and others like him—will die.