Diamond Dust

by Vivian Arend

  The lot of them bobbed their heads like a vast display of car-dashboard toys.

  It was what he’d hoped for, all the long days before when conclave had begun. To take charge and be able to make a difference.

  The bears before him had taken a huge step forward in how they operated today, and their courage to move ahead made him proud. Only they had no idea that the arranged relationship they were proposing was not such an easy solution.

  He would love to be head of conclave, Caroline at his side, but he couldn’t do it if it wasn’t what Caroline wanted as well.

  He looked out over his friends. “Thank you for the awesome privilege you’ve offered, and I promise I will pass on your request to Caroline. But I can’t demand she become a part of this deal, not unless she wants to, because blithely ordering her to join me would make me as big of a tyrant as Ainsworth, simply in another way.”

  The bobbing heads stopped, frozen in place.

  Lillie Halcyon stepped forward, her smile brightening as she poked him in the chest. “No one said anything about ordering her around. You’ll just have to be at your most persuasive.” She lowered her voice. “Although I think you’ve already got a bit of shoe-in, if you play your cards right. I suspect she might be a touch in love with you already.”

  He could only hope.

  Chapter Nineteen

  She’d been kidnapped. Whirled away to a private suite in a mansion she didn’t know existed. It was a bit of heaven on earth, and the frustrations and fears of the past hours melted like chocolate in the sun. Especially as a masseuse worked out another set of knots from Caroline’s lower back.

  It had never been difficult for her to ferret out information. Over the years working for the hotel, and then for the Takhini pack, she’d prided herself on having all the connections. On knowing people like Nadia who could stop a disaster from happening. On having the resources to arrange the cover-up even now spilling false reports through the media.

  Only it appeared everything she’d puzzled out over the years had been one side of the tracks. There was a world of money, power and privilege she’d barely touched the edges of. She’d probably never fully test the extent of their borders.

  Lillie and Jim Halcyon were one example. Caroline hadn’t known the bear shifters were local to Whitehorse. She was glad to be able to add them to her friend list.

  The house she currently luxuriated in was another surprise. Silent servants had drifted out of sight when they arrived. Tyler had guided her up a sprawling staircase to a room the size of her previous apartment.

  “When you said you’d like time away, I thought you were brilliant.” Tyler pressed his lips to her temple.

  “I have my moments.” Caroline made her way to the window. The place was incredible, with enormous log posts and windows big enough to hang-glide out of, all looking over the majestic mountain range. “I feel guilty, though, leaving Amanda behind.”

  “Wasted energy, guilt.” Tyler shook his head. “She needs time to adjust. Don’t feel you need to coddle her—she’s stronger than you think. Justin will keep her safe, and Lillie promised to stop by.”

  So.

  Caroline turned her back on one gorgeous view to take in the closer gorgeous view. Tyler had pulled on dress pants and a pristine white shirt, and her heart pounded. “A getaway. Just the two of us.”

  He nodded.

  “However shall we pass the time?” Caroline fluttered her lashes, and he smiled.

  “I’m sure we can come up with something. First, though, I need to make a few calls before I can unwind.”

  Drat. “It’s not a getaway if you’re working,” she pointed out.

  “I won’t be long. In the meantime, you start on the relaxing.”

  Out of nowhere a woman rolled in a padded massage table, and there were no protests Caroline could make without being a damn liar.

  She was laid out on the table in seconds, Tyler squeezing her fingers before leaving the room.

  The massage began, and other than the initial rush of holy cow, we did it and holy shit, those bears are scary beasts, her thoughts drifted into nothing more than holy moly, this feels wonderful.

  The room had darkened when she finally opened her eyes, the nap that had ambushed her once her massage was done washing away the final bits of nervous stress from her limbs. The low lighting from the wall sconces was enough to guide her to the bed where she found another of the outfits from Boutique Belanger laid out. The shimmering blue gown felt like a caress as she pulled it on, sad to cover the sexy underwear she’d also found there.

  The shoes? She had to take a closer look because otherwise she’d have sworn each was carved from a single diamond.

  There was a vanity in the corner of the room, a full-length mirror beside it. She wasn’t surprised when she discovered a jewelry box waiting for her.

  Were the diamonds really blue, or was it the light reflecting from her dress? She clasped the necklace in place, and the earrings, before stepping back to see the final result.

  The Caroline she knew had vanished.

  Or at least the rough-and-tumble girl who’d clawed her way to the top of the Takhini pack with nothing more than driving need. Gone also was the no-nonsense individual who thrived in the pack chili cook-off and hands-free eating challenges during Spring Thaw festival.

  There was a princess in the room wearing her face.

  The illusion lasted for all of thirty seconds, because that’s as long as Caroline could keep her smile from breaking free. It wasn’t a delicate, polite and how is the weather in the south of France smile. It was a full out, hell yeah, this is fucking cool smile.

  Caroline wasn’t gone. She’d never be gone, because this was the real her—what you see is what you get. Didn’t matter how pretty the packaging.

  She paced to the top of the stairs following the scent of food, her stomach reminding her it had been a long time since that morning’s bacon and eggs.

  She startled him. Tyler stood with one foot on the bottom rung, his hand on the banister as he caught a glimpse of her. The fitted tux and well-groomed hair proved he’d found time to do something other than make his phone calls.

  He swallowed hard. “You are astonishingly beautiful.”

  His compliment sent a thrill through her. “Thank you, kind sir.”

  Caroline considered the stairs and doing one of those princess-descends-without-looking-at-her-feet deals like in the movies, but decided chances were that in the full-length gown, she’d trip and end up spending the rest of their getaway time in a hospital bed in traction.

  So instead, she took a final peek at him, just to last her until she hit the main floor. Then she concentrated on the heels, dress and the rest of her all making it to the bottom in one piece.

  His hand slipped over hers on the railing and he lifted it to his lips. “Goddess.”

  Heat flashed from his lips to her arm and way way farther in a sharp jolt. Good-looking duds, but it was his smile that enchanted her the most. Not his polite-greeting version, but one she’d seen in more private moments.

  The one that involved eating her up with his eyes and promised he’d be eating her up more intimately later.

  “Dinner?” Tyler offered an arm.

  She accepted and let him lead her into the dining hall. “I hope we didn’t kick anyone from their home.”

  He seated her before settling at her side. “No. And once dinner is over, we’ll be alone.”

  Promises of relaxation with a more sexual twist were there in his eyes.

  She’d expected soup or some kind of appetizer to arrive, followed by a long list of other courses, all the while she’d slowly grow more impatient for the meal to be over so they could be alone. Because while the trappings of luxury were fun to play with, she was ready for him.

  Only everything arrived at one. Servants lowered platters to the table and poofed away as if they owned magical vanishing spells.

  Caroline lifted a cover, and the rich scent o
f a cheese sauce seduced her. “I like the casual style of the place.”

  “To be honest, the only reason I gave you the gown for tonight was I desperately wanted to see you in it.” He scooped a serving of vegetables onto her plate, and she smiled. “Once dinner is over we have pyjamas we can trade into.”

  Caroline laughed. “Flannel?”

  Tyler didn’t skip a beat. “Of course. We live in the north, what do you expect?” He clicked his tongue as if scolding her.

  He poured her wine and lifted his glass in a toast.

  He paused for a long time, and Caroline laid a hand on his thigh. “You don’t have to have pretty words. We can toast to surviving my bright idea to have a casual get-together with the ladies.”

  They clicked their goblets together.

  “We more than survived. You made an incredible difference in a woman’s life. By offering the truth. Thank you for having confidence in me.” He cleared his throat. “Thank you for sharing your trust in me.”

  Caroline took a sip of her wine, staring over the edge of the glass as he fixed his gaze on her. They were totally going to waste the food, she could sense it in her bones. Any moment he would sweep her up in his arms and they’d go satisfy a different kind of hunger.

  Which, okay.

  She lowered her wine glass and placed it carefully beside her plate before facing him.

  His rapidly changing expressions were priceless. Lust, confusion, a moment of complete seriousness. “Tyler, is something wrong?”

  He blinked then pulled himself together. “I’m trying to plan the best way to tell you something that will produce the least freaking out on your part.”

  Hmm. “Freaking out is something I like to avoid,” Caroline warned, half-seriously.

  “I know.” Tyler winked. “But there are good bits and bad bits to the conversation.”

  “More than one thing.” He was as bad as Evan had been when in a say-nothing-while-talking-your-ear-off mood. Must be something to do with Alpha shifter blood. “How about you order the items from the least oh-my-Gawd to the most.”

  Tyler nodded. “I’m in love with you.”

  Caroline’s heart jolted hard enough she swore the pretty blue outfit over her chest leapt out a foot before returning to its regular position. She gasped for control. “That’s the thing on your list least likely to freak me out?”

  He caught her hands in his. “It’s the most important thing there as well. I know it’s fast, I know—”

  “Holy smoking gun, you ain’t kidding.”

  “I did warn you.” Tyler made a face. “Okay, I even outdid my fellow bears this time in terms of falling hard and fast. But, Caroline”—he cupped her face in his hand—“you’re unique. That’s why my bear has been shoving me so hard since the first time we met. You understand shifters. You understand power…”

  A moment of fear intruded, an icy finger of doubt. The I love you bit hadn’t been expected—she’d known something was growing between them. She’d felt it as well.

  She didn’t want this to be about admiration for her prowess in shifter-power games.

  Tyler didn’t let her get a chance to complain, though. He was out of his chair and on his feet, pacing beside the table. He twirled on her. “You understand love.”

  What kind of statement was that? “I…think I do.”

  He shook his head. “I saw you with your sister. I know what you did for her, to make sure she could achieve the goals she desired. You might have stepped over a few human boundaries, but you did it out of love. Sacrificial love.”

  Her throat was tightening. “You’ve given this a lot of thought, for it being such a short time.”

  “I’m just getting started. You’ve done things for the Takhini pack, to help them. Giving of your time, your money, your sanity—you’re on a first-name basis with the crew at the RCMP station after hauling the pack out of jail regularly, aren’t you?”

  Okay, that one kind of made her smile. “They don’t mean any harm.”

  Tyler was down on his knees beside her chair. “Caroline, I have to ask. Why the tears last night? When I asked you what you wanted, why did you cry?”

  Oh God.

  Caroline stopped. The urge to keep her real self hidden away was so well practiced, she didn’t know that she could do this. To make the conversation between them as honest and direct as it needed to be.

  Then she remembered the bravery Amanda had shown. How could she do any less? Caroline gathered her courage and let it out.

  “No one has asked me what I wanted for a very, very long time.” She couldn’t keep still anymore, instead allowing her fingers to trace his jaw, the corners of his ear. The fading marks from the fight. “Don’t get me wrong, it’s not as if I haven’t had good things happen in my life, but they’re mostly because I’ve taken. Ordered, demanded, cajoled, teased.”

  Tyler nodded. He threaded his fingers through hers and kissed her knuckles, his touch soft and caring.

  “Caroline, I love you. I love your bravery and what you know about kicking shifter butt. But I love you the most. The human who has been living in the shifter world. I’ve only met traces of her, little bursts. I’d like to spend a long time getting to know her better.” He grinned. “Although that sounds about like me talking about my bear in third person. Which really amuses him as well.”

  Caroline couldn’t stop her burst of laughter. “No, I guess you’re right. There are kind of two of me in here.”

  Tyler paused, his smile turning more serious. “I’ll ask you again, what do you want? Do you want me in your life? Do you need some time away from shifters altogether? I could fly you to a warm island resort where you can do nothing but take care of Caroline for a couple months. Anything. Whatever it is you really want, I’ll give it to you. I’ll make it happen.”

  His voice dropped to a whisper, the words wrapping around her nerve endings and teasing. So many choices, so many options.

  And yet…

  “I want you to tell me what you want…for us,” she answered. Tyler’s eyes widened, but Caroline pushed on. “Because while getting away and hiding from the world sounds lovely, it’s also wrong.”

  “It’s not wrong to want to be happy,” Tyler insisted.

  “Oh, Tyler.” She shook her head. “I am happy even when I’m giving to others. Maybe…maybe more happy because I’m giving to others. I just wish I didn’t always have to be the strong one.”

  He nodded. “I’d like you in my life. I’m a bear—so falling in love will only get stronger with time. So I could grab you a wedding dress and make it a big fancy do for all your pack to attend. And I’d give you a pretty house here in Whitehorse so you could live here when your sister is in town running her medical practice. And when Shelley is gone north, I’d take you to Yellowknife to my house. You could fall in love with my hometown. You could help me make my father smile.”

  He pulled out a ring case and held it to her. “You could fall in love with me.”

  Even as his words jolted her heart to a stop, the case brought her back to life. She’d known it was coming. Suspected it, really. There had been no ring with the jewelry he’d laid out for her to wear.

  She cracked open the lid, and the light reflecting from the stone nearly blinded her. “Holy shit, Tyler.”

  She stared at the ring. Glanced back up at him. He held up a finger, asking for a moment.

  “Before you answer, I have to tell you the rest of the freak-out list.”

  The list? Now? “You have weird timing, even for a bear.”

  He sighed. “I know. Item number two. Conclave is over—all my friendly opponents have withdrawn and I’ve been promised enough support by the clans to defeat Ainsworth.”

  Caroline couldn’t believe it. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier? That’s wonderful.”

  Wait.

  She narrowed her gaze. “Why is this on the freak-out list?”

  He cleared his throat. “They offered the leadership of conclave to Clan
Harrison. Tyler and Caroline Harrison.”

  Dead stop. “Well. That explains why you didn’t tell me earlier.”

  Sorrow and frustration mixed on his face. “How did life get this complicated? I don’t want you to feel obligated to marry me to help the bears. But having you at my side would be the most incredible thing. They trust you. They look up to you.”

  “And the women think I’m pretty awesome as well.” Now that the initial arghhh moment was past, Caroline saw the solution far more clearly than she’d expected. She poked him firmly. “Hey, they’re trying to blackmail me into an arranged marriage. It’s not the end of the world.”

  “It’s not fair. I wanted you to make the decision based on your heart, not guilt or anything else.”

  If the rush of emotions washing through her wasn’t love, she didn’t know what love was. “You’ve forgotten one thing, Tyler. You promised me I could make my own decision. That I could pick what I wanted, right?”

  He nodded. “Exactly. I meant it, with all my heart. And that’s why I didn’t tell you at first, because I honestly and completely love you. I want you to want me as much as I want you. Although…if you don’t pick me? Fair warning, I plan to woo the hell out of you for the next ten years or so until you give in.”

  “Nice. Stalker with warning label.”

  “I promise not to sneak into your room and stare at you while you sleep.”

  Caroline smiled, then she pressed the ring box back into his palm, folding his fingers over it. “Then, here’s my choice.”

  His face fell. “What—?”

  She thrust out her hand. “You have to put it on me. I’m not about to place my engagement ring on my own damn finger. Enough with the making me do everything, right?”

  His hands were steady as he slipped the massive stone on. He stood her up and brought her close, fingers firm under her chin to lift her lips to his.

  Caroline savoured the kiss. Soaked in his warmth. Passion blossomed in her core as he swayed them together, his body intimately close.

  When he let her go for air, she caught him by the suit-jacket lapels and hung on tight. “I would be honoured to marry you, Tyler Harrison.”