by Vivian Arend
“Cave-in. They were at an archeological site in northern Russia. Not their job—just their passion. An ancient shifter site, so very low profile in terms of development and news. I was there that week visiting.”
Too many memories to hold back. He pushed past them and allowed the words to escape.
“Dad had taken me into the cave to show me around when a tremor struck. We could see daylight ahead of us, the opening was that close. He pushed me ahead of him, and in the midst of the chaos I simply ran. I thought he was right on my tail. Only when I glanced back, he’d turned. Headed back to get my mom—I didn’t know she was working farther down the dig.”
If he couldn’t have seen Lillie’s face it would have made it easier to keep going. But she was right there, tears gathering in her eyes.
Made it damn hard to stop his heartache from rising.
“Neither of them made it out?” she whispered.
He shook his head. “I got trapped for three days myself. When we finally excavated far enough to find their bodies, they were gone. They had their arms wrapped around each other as if they’d refused to let go, even in death.”
She was weeping, tears pouring silently down her cheeks as she crawled right into his lap and offered him comfort.
He sat there, holding her. Thought about all of his accomplishments over the years. The tricks he’d gotten up to, and the mischief and fooling around and…
Some of what he’d spent time on seemed senseless, but like Lillie had pointed out with her parents, he’d chosen to do the things he did. And that made his life right in one way.
Made him empty as well.
“If I ever find the kind of love that my parents had? I wouldn’t need Lady Luck. Because they had something more precious, more valuable and far, far more rare than any lucky coin.”
Chapter Nine
She woke earlier than him, the same as she had all the other mornings. But this time, instead of crawling away as quietly as she could, she stayed put. Staring at his face and wondering how on earth she could survive.
She’d fallen in love.
That wasn’t supposed to happen. In all the rules of having a final fling, it was supposed to be about having a good time and lots of sex. Period.
She couldn’t even do a simple fling right.
Jim rolled to his side, his arms curling around her possessively. Their limbs were tangled together, one of his big thighs pushed between hers. She wasn’t sure if he was trying to stop her from running away, but even the amusement of thinking that faded as she realized this was the last morning she’d be able to consider sneaking out of his bed.
Addie had warned her she was too tender hearted. The fact her friend would be sad at being correct didn’t make the situation any better.
Lillie stroked Jim’s face, running her fingers through his hair and enjoying the rasp of his morning beard against her palm. She wanted to lean in and kiss him, but then he might wake up and make love to her, like he had last night after he’d shared about his loss.
So tender and caring and…
And if he did it again, she really didn’t think she could stop herself from blurting out her terrible secret.
She was the biggest fool in Vegas, and that was saying something.
It was no use. She eased from underneath him. Jim complained softly, but didn’t wake.
Lillie tugged on his shirt because she couldn’t bear not having his scent around her. She wondered if she swiped the garment, how long it would continue to smell like him after she was gone.
She opened her computer, heading straight to her email. Her IM pinged immediately with a message from Addie. Lillie stared at it, debating if her friend had a tracking device that let her know exactly when to administer a swift kick.
How are you doing, bb?
Was there even an answer to that? You’re right, I’m not cut out to have a fling
There was silence for a moment as her bestie figured out what she was talking about.
Oh, sweetie. I’m so sorry
It’s okay. I’ll be okay
Do you want me to do anything? Do you need me to call anyone, or get on a plane and kick some butt? Because I’m there for you. I really really am. You deserve to be happy, bb
And right then and there, Lillie’s heart skipped. She popped up from her computer and paced the room.
Holy cow. Addie was right.
She did deserve to be happy. There was no reason why she shouldn’t simply figure out a way to take all the happiness she’d experienced this past week and make it a forever thing.
It wasn’t as if she were heading off to meet the love of her life. Ritual and routine be damned. If she hadn’t found Jim, then she would’ve been fine going along with tradition.
But she had found Jim.
Only…she had no confirmation he felt the same way about her. Was she going to throw away her future and potentially piss off some important bigwigs, and her parents, on the off-chance the big grizzly wanted her for more than just a fling?
No question. Damn right she was going to take a shot at it.
She raced back to the computer and signed off so rapidly she was sure Addie would send text messages every five minutes until she responded.
And Lillie would tell her more, once she made it safely onto a plane.
Because while she didn’t know for sure that Jim wanted her, she now knew what it was like to fall in love, and she wasn’t going to give that up for anything in the world.
If it turned out after all was said and done, Jim simply wanted a fling? She’d pull up her big-girl panties and accept…
Little mental sirens went off instantly. Awoooo, awoooo, bullshit warning.
Nope, she wasn’t going to accept anything except Jim falling one hundred percent and completely head-over-heels in love with her. No matter how long it took, and that was the truth.
But in the meantime, she had a contract to dissolve. She’d reached a fork in the road, and it was time she chose the path she followed.
She made a quick call to the front desk to order a taxi. Then she went to work, hacking into the plane registry she’d accessed five days ago. Because she needed transportation, stat, to get where she was going. Even if her methods were a touch on the illegal side.
Five minutes later, she slipped on her shoes and coat, grabbing the small bag Jim had bought her. She had her finger hovering over the call button for the elevator when she realized there was one more task to complete. She darted back into the room to grab a notepad.
Nothing. How could a grown man who claimed to be a workaholic have absolutely nothing in the place to use to leave a note?
Desperate, she grabbed the empty pizza boxes from their dinner, flipped one over and used coloured lip balm to write a message.
Something I need to do. Gone for 2 days at least. I know your race starts tomorrow. Have fun with Damon. Contact you when I can.
There was so much more she wanted to say, but she was out of lip balm and out of time. She dropped her message on the coffee table and fled the apartment before he woke up and stopped her.
Because her vanishing for a short while was the only solution.
She was gone.
Jim curled upright, wondering how in the hell she managed it every morning, but this time round his puzzlement was tinged with amusement instead of frustration.
He hadn’t woken in a cold sweat from being alone in bed. It was as if her presence had remained with him, helping him know someone cared.
It was time to move on.
Damon had expressed his concerns about Lillie, but the biggest thing he’d been right about was the secrecy. It was time for their secret-keeping to be over. Jim was going to find out everything there was to know about Lillie, because he intended to have her around for a long, long time.
He strolled into the living area.
She wasn’t at the coffee table working on her computer.
She wasn’t in the kitchen making coffee.
He double-checked the bathroom, and the guest room, but she hadn’t been hiding in there either.
What the hell?
Then he spotted the pizza box, disbelief rising as he read her message with growing concern.
Dammit, he needed his phone now, no more farting around.
He stomped to the landline and pushed a couple buttons. “Get me the phone I ordered, and find Damon Black. Tell him I need his ass up here right now.”
What the hell did something I need to do mean? Forget about looking for a needle in a haystack, he truly had no idea where she was headed. He forced himself to get dressed so he would be ready to run on a moment’s notice.
Damon and the phone arrived at the same time.
“What happened? You look as if someone died.”
“She’s gone.” Jim dragged a hand through his hair. “I woke up alone and she’s gone and she said there’s something she needs to do, and I’m supposed to go on the damn ride with you, but fuck that, I need to find out where she is.”
“Lillie’s gone?” Damon glanced toward the corner of the room, his face folding into a frown. “But all of her luggage is still here.”
For the first moment since Jim had discovered her missing, he actually got a full breath of air. Okay, maybe she was planning on coming back. “But where is she? What if she’s in trouble and needs my help?”
“Or what if…” Damon wrinkled his nose. “Look. I know I read you the riot act yesterday, but you were right. I had no proof anything was wrong. So what if she simply went to tell Mommy and Daddy she’s planning on staying in Vegas for a while? Did you think of that?”
Jim was far too worried for logic. “She could have said that.”
“Well, she did say she’d get in touch with you in a few days. She’s been pretty honest until now, so maybe you should take her word for it.” Damon clapped his hands. “Tell you what. We’ll head out tomorrow, and by the time we come back—”
“I need to know where she is, now,” Jim roared.
He hauled his new phone from the envelope Damon had passed him and waited for it to boot up.
Damon squeezed his shoulder. “Okay, bro, since you’ve got your panties in a twist, I’ll do what I can to help you. Hey, how did you end up with a phone already?”
“I ordered it right after you destroyed mine, dumbass.”
A million emails downloaded onto the remote access, his voice box filling to the brim. Jim tried to remember if he’d ever gotten Lillie’s phone number. He pressed play and held the phone to his ear as he shouted orders at Damon. “Check with the front desk and see if anybody saw her leave. That will at least give us something to go on. Then check—”
The message in his ear distracted him from his immediate task. He came to a complete stop for a full minute before the cursing welled up and burst free. “Shit. Shit. Fuckdamnfuckers shit.”
Damon frowned. “What?”
“Listen.”
Jim hit play, watching his astounded friend’s expression turn to dismay as the recording continued.
“Mr. Halcyon. We are pleased to inform you that we at the Ursus Planning Board have been working diligently to find you a suitable partner. As you know, your name was added to our list when you reached the age of majority, but with our fierce attention to maintaining a stellar track record, it’s taken until now to find a proper mate for your particular needs.
“Just this last week we were contacted by the family of a lovely young lady who we believe will be a wonderful addition to your clan. She has concluded her education, and in finalization of our contract, she is en route to join you.
“We trust this arrangement will meet with your satisfaction, and that your marriage will proceed as expected within the next short timeframe. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the main UPB office during regular office hours. We thank you for your business. Have a nice day.”
Damon and Jim exchanged horrified glances.
“You’re not serious. You signed up for a mail-order bride? How come I never knew this?” Damon demanded.
“Because of course you knew. It’s the way we bears always do things. We don’t have fated mates like you wolves, and if it was left up to us, all bear shifters would be gone within two generations. So they set up the Board to arrange marriages.” Jim clenched his fist and growled at the ceiling. “I do not need this right now,” he shouted at the heavens.
“I can’t believe this is something you need at any time,” Damon boggled. “You have a woman en route to your home who expects to marry you… Are you expected to just drop everything and go?”
He looked totally confused, and disgusted, and dismayed all at the same time.
Jim was grabbing his coat and his passport. “Normally, yes. That’s exactly what is expected.”
“That’s crazy.”
“That’s how most bear shifters do it,” Jim spoke slowly and steadily, fighting the rising anger in his gut. “I don’t want this, okay? Yes, even a week ago I would’ve been fine with it, but there is no way I want to drop everything I’ve got right now to go play happy families with some stranger.”
He slipped on his shoes.
“Where are you going?” Damon asked. “You’re not still thinking you can find Lillie, are you?” His eyes widened. “Oh shit. What’re you going to do about her?”
“One thing at a time. It’s not this woman’s fault she’s been chosen to be my bride. I can’t just send her a phone message and tell her to go home. It’s possible I’m going to have to do some fast-talking to get out of this contract, but I have to get out of it. Plus, I need to find Lillie, but I can only do one thing at a time. And that means I have to go to Whitehorse first.”
“Or you could forget all of them, say screw the whole business and we take off for an extended bike trip.” Damon raised a brow. “There’s still Lady Luck on the line. I handed her in to the judge yesterday, and the man is not going to give her back to anyone who hasn’t met the requirements we arranged.”
Jim stilled for all of half a second. “Screw Lady Luck.”
“Seriously?” His friend’s jaw hung open. “You know damn well you have a better chance in this race than I do. Your bike is faster and you’re a better rider than I am. You’re really willing to throw away your chance to win rather than staying here for one more day, two tops, and getting it done? I mean, the woman up at your house can sit there for weeks, for all that it matters.”
“And what am I going to do when Lillie returns? Tell her I have to go talk to the woman who is supposed to be my wife, so I can break it off with her, but hey, stick around. I should be back in no time.” The entire situation had turned crazy so quickly, Jim’s head was spinning. “No. You do the ride, and get Lady Luck. I’m going to make my own luck and get what I want. And who I want, and it isn’t this strange woman, it’s Lillie.”
“But—”
“Give it up, Damon. It’s just a damn coin. Lillie is real flesh and blood and passion, and I’ll be damned if I let anything come between us.”
Damon stared for a long while before he shook his head. “Okay. I got your back. You track down your betrothed, convince her to return to the old country, and in the meantime, I’ll do my best to find your missing lady.”
Jim clutched his hands. “Thank you.”
“No guarantees that I won’t have convinced her I’m the better catch,” Damon teased. He ducked Jim’s halfhearted swing. “Go on. Fix your fucked-up personal life, and call me if you need anything. I’ll keep you up to date.”
Chapter Ten
It should have taken him five hours max to go from his condo to McCarran Airport to Whitehorse. Instead, it took twice that long as he scrambled to find transportation. He had to hire a new private plane.
He’d forgotten that part of arranged marriages. When the Board had failed to reach him, they’d probably contacted his assistant who would have ordered the Halcyon plane to pick his fiancée up.
But after a bunch of
finagling and crossing palms with cash, Jim finally made it. The snow-lined runway reflected the blinking red and white plane lights as the small jet rolled up to the single-story square building that was the main terminal. He took deep breaths of the icy-cold winter air as he transferred to the ground, marching straight through the building and back out to crawl into the private car waiting for him.
Whitehorse in February. This was why he owned a place in Vegas.
Thirty more minutes to kill as the car headed up the Alaskan Highway from the tiny Whitehorse airport to his home in the mountains. Jim fought to keep from drumming his fingers on the fine leather upholstery.
In his earlier scramble, he’d convinced someone to come up with a name. Katherine Lileas Ruadh. He’d never heard of her, or her clan, giving him even more reason to believe she was a European import. But at least he had that much—the name of the unfortunate woman he was about to send packing.
He stared out the window as the trees grew thicker and the car wove its way up the long approach to his driveway. The sun had already set, but there were twinkling lights visible at moments through the trees.
The last time he’d been in Whitehorse he’d rented a Jeep, hauling his parents along to show them the spot he’d selected for his home.
The aching sensation in his chest wasn’t just from missing them. They were gone, and that was always going to hurt, but they’d given him so much and always been there for him when he needed them.
They’d shown him a perfect example of a couple in love.
He wanted that, and he wanted it with Lillie. The sooner he dealt with this escalating situation, the better.
It would be dealt with, though. This wasn’t going to ruin him, or his future. He had to reach out and take what he wanted, with both hands, and that he could damn well do.
They approached the front entrance to his home, and curiosity finally won. Updates had arrived on a regular basis from his general contractor, along with the occasional swatch of granite or paint sample to make decisions about. But mostly, after his parents had died, he’d allowed others to deal with the day-to-day issues.
