She smiled. “I appreciate your desire to take care of me, even if it’s a bit alpha-male. But—”
“But what? And what’s wrong with being a strong man? If you ask me, there are too many in this world who hide behind their mama’s skirts.”
Payton forced herself not to giggle.. “Times have changed, Brodie. Women have the vote now.”
He chuckled. “And?”
“And I’m quite capable of taking care of myself. In fact, I enjoy it.”
“Payton.” He swirled the wine in his glass. “It’s my God-given right as your mate to provide for you. Why do you find that difficult to understand?”
“It’s not that I don’t understand, Brodie.” She took a deep breath and changed tack. “Let me ask you this. Do you have many friends?”
“What is that supposed to mean?” he asked in suspicion. “I have several.”
“How many don’t actually know, or care, that you’re a prince?”
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “The men in my unit, mainly.”
“So, out of the ones who know you’re a prince, how many of them say no to you? Or at the very least, challenge you?”
She could see the light dawning in his eyes.
“Payton,” he sighed.
“Just answer the question.”
“Max and Niall are about the only ones,” he admitted.
“And you enjoy their company, right?”
“Aye.”
“Outside of them, who do you feel more comfortable around? Your unit and the MacMillan’s, or the ‘friends’ who do your bidding because of who you are, or who you’re related to?”
He raised his hands in surrender. “You’ve made your point.”
“Have I?”
“Aye. I will stay out of your work life.”
She smiled. “Thank you.”
“But if Duncan does anything unprofessional, I will end him.”
“No you won’t. I’ll speak with Kade if that happens. He’s Duncan’s boss.” Payton cocked her head. “You are not. But Duncan’s always professional, Brodie, so you don’t have anything to worry about.”
“You could always come and work for me. My businesses always need a good accountant.”
“No, thank you.”
“No?” He raised an eyebrow. “Just no?”
“I said ‘no, thank you,’” she corrected, and then smiled. “In any event, it would never work. I’d drive you nuts.”
“You would not.”
“Okay. You’d drive me nuts.”
He laughed and dessert arrived, cutting off anything further he may have wanted to say on the subject. “You have two choices tonight, love,” Brodie said.
“Oh?”
“Crème brûlée or…”
She cocked her head. “Or?”
“Hokey Pokey ice cream.”
“You remembered,” she said, realizing Brodie didn’t miss much when it came to her.
“Of course I did.”
She smiled. “How about both?”
Brodie chuckled. “As you wish.”
The servers set the plates in front of them and left again. When Payton had taken the last bite of dessert, she heard music start to play through invisible speakers. Brodie stood and held his hand out to her. “Dance with me.”
Payton loved to dance. In this modern day, she rarely got the chance, and it was one of the reasons she looked forward to formal gatherings at the castle. Some traditions were held onto with fierceness and dancing was one of them. She slipped into Brodie’s arms and he guided her into a waltz. She closed her eyes and let the music cover her.
He was an exceptional dancer, and she smiled as he pulled her closer and slowed. Within seconds, he simply held her, sliding his hands into her hair. “You are so beautiful, Payton.”
She felt her cheeks heat as his mouth covered hers. Her first kiss with a prince. Her first kiss ever, to be honest. As the kiss deepened, Payton realized she had no power of resistance when it came to Brodie Gunnach. She was in love with him.
She felt a shiver shoot up her spine and broke the kiss with a groan. “You did it, didn’t you?” she asked. “You said the words.”
“Aye.” He smiled. “Which is proof that you’re my mate, yes?”
“Say it out loud.”
“Þú verður mín að eilífu.” (You will be mine forever.)
These were the first ritual words a Cauld Ane male spoke to his mate, and Payton’s soul responded immediately. Another shiver ran through her body and she couldn’t stop a smile when he kissed her again. The rain began to fall and Brodie kept her in the shelter of his body as he moved her toward the house. “Let’s continue this inside.”
Payton nodded and walked with him back to the great hall. For the most part, the group ignored the couple. Except for Niall. He raised an eyebrow and Payton glared at him, willing him not to say anything. He smiled, shrugged, and turned back toward his brother.
“I’d really like to unpack,” Payton said. “And maybe change.”
“Why don’t we plan to meet in the conservatory in an hour? I have a few things I need to take care of as well.”
“Sounds good.”
He kissed her cheek and Payton made her way to her room, her fingers covering her well-kissed lips.
* * *
Once unpacked and showered, Payton still had time before she met up with Brodie again and so headed for the library, her favorite room in the castle. Her heart was still full and she hummed quietly as she headed down the hall. An avid reader, Payton couldn’t wait to get her hands on one of the rarer books the library held. Kade had given her permission to read anything in the library, even a couple of the first-edition Jane Austen novels he had in his possession. She pushed open the door and found Brodie and Niall in a heated discussion. They didn’t seem to notice her, and she couldn’t seem to leave.
“This is not what I agreed to,” Niall snapped.
“Damn it, Nye.”
“No! I agreed to get close to Payton and become her friend in order to keep an eye on her, but I’m done.”
“Close, Niall, not be her friend. I never said be her friend.”
“Well, I am. And it’s bad enough you stopped writing to her, but now you’re back and playing the doting and demanding mate? And who the hell is this Heather person?” Niall snapped.
“None of your bloody business!”
“Fine, but it sure as hell should be Payton’s, don’t you think?”
Payton gasped.
Two heads, one blond one dark, turned to her.
“Pay,” Niall groaned.
“You’re seeing someone else?” Payton asked Brodie.
“You don’t understand,” he said.
“Then explain it to me.”
Brodie shook his head. “I can’t, Payton.”
“And you?” She scowled at Niall. “You were in charge of babysitting me?”
“No, Payton, you don’t understand,” Niall said.
“I seem to be hearing that a lot at the moment. Were you supposed to get close to me?” she asked Niall. “So you could feed Brodie information?”
“No, Payton, I swear,” Niall argued.
“And the sudden interest in buying things for me after Brodie left?” She glared at Niall. “Were you instructed to ‘take care of me’? As though I was already Brodie’s property?” She bit her lip, realizing as she said the words out loud, she probably didn’t want to hear the answer.
“No!” Niall said. “It was nothing like that.”
“Really? Then, you won’t mind if I pay you back.”
“You’ll do no such thing,” Brodie snapped.
“Ah, so it was your money, then.”
“Wait, Payton. Honestly. I would have done all of that anyway. You’re my best friend,” Niall said.
“How much did Brodie pay you to say that?”
“He did that all on his bloody own,” Brodie snapped.
“Shut up, Brodie.” Niall shook his h
ead.
Payton rubbed her temples. “I am so thick. You’ve known about Brodie’s claim on me this entire time, Niall, haven’t you? So has Fiona!”
“Pay, please,” Niall begged. “Truly. I’ve been your friend because I wanted to.”
“I don’t believe you.” Payton yanked the door closed with a bang. She could barely see through the veil of tears as she made a run for her room.
“Payton!” Brodie bellowed, and his heavy footsteps sounded behind her.
She slammed into someone and strong arms wrapped around her.
“Payton?” Kade’s concerned voice slipped through her sadness. “What’s happened, lass?”
“Oh, Your Majesty. I’m sorry.” Payton pulled away from Kade and tried to bring her emotions under control. Connall stood next to him and glared at someone over her head…she hoped it was Brodie. He needed to be glared at right now.
“Get your bloody hands off her, Kade,” Brodie snapped.
Kade didn’t release her right away, and Payton was grateful for the support.
“What’s going on?” Kade asked again.
“Pay, please,” Niall added. “You don’t under—”
“Don’t!” She turned and jabbed a finger at him. “Don’t you dare lie to me, Niall MacMillan!”
“Payton. What you heard in there is not what you think,” Brodie said.
Kade released Payton and she crossed her arms. “Oh? Then what is it, Brodie?”
He shifted his feet. “I can’t tell you.”
“Right.” She turned back to Kade and Connall. “Will you please excuse me? I need to make arrangements to go home.”
Brodie shook his head. “I’ll take you home.”
“No,” Payton said. “I don’t want to spend another second in your presence. I’m uninterested in hearing any more of your lies.”
Brodie sighed. “Payton.”
“What?” she snapped. “If we are in fact mates, then I guess I’ll have to face the fact that I’ll be bound to a liar and a bully. But that’s not for another five years, and until then, I have no desire to speak to you, see you, or hear your name spoken in my presence.”
“Damn it, Payton!”
“Brodie,” Connall warned. “Watch your tone.”
Brodie scowled at his brother and then focused back on Payton. “You don’t understand, Payton.”
“And you refuse to explain, so I suppose we’re in a quandary. I’m leaving.”
“You don’t have to go,” Brodie said. “I will.”
Payton sneered up at him. “It’s your bloody welcome home party, Brodie! Don’t be ridiculous.”
“I’ll have Alasdair drive you to the airport,” Kade offered. “My plane is at your disposal.”
Alasdair Ryan was head of security for the royals and always on call.
“Don’t interfere, Kade,” Brodie snapped.
Connall laid his hand on Brodie’s shoulder and squeezed.
Ignoring Brodie, Payton turned back to Kade. “I’ll be ready in a few minutes.”
“No!” Brodie growled.
“No?” she asked, crossing her arms. “Is that an order, my liege?”
“Please, Payton. Let’s just talk, okay?”
“So that you can lie to me some more?” she accused. “No thank you.”
“I’ll go with you,” Niall said.
“Are you high?” Payton narrowed her eyes. “If I never speak to you again, Niall MacMillan, it will be too soon!”
She made a run for her room, packing quickly and dragging her bag downstairs to find Brodie and Kade standing in the foyer. Kade insisted on riding with her to the airport. In some ways, this brotherly act of kindness drove the dagger in deeper.
How could the man who’d betrayed her so completely be related to two of the kindest men she’d ever known?
Payton pushed aside the doom of her imminent fate. She was determined to forget Brodie Gunnach, hoping he was wrong and that someone else, someone she could love and trust completely would be her mate. She figured she had five years to find him.
CHAPTER SIX
FOUR MONTHS AGO
PAYTON AND FIONA arrived at Dr. Samantha Moore’s childhood home in Savannah, Georgia. Samantha was a hematologist and had been hired by Kade and Gunnach Pharmaceutical under the guise of blood research for a new drug. Kade, however, had hoped she’d find a cure for Fiona. What he’d found instead was his mate.
When Kade’s mother realized he’d found his mate, she admitted that she’d had an affair with a human and that Fiona was only half Cauld Ane. This was why she had such extreme symptoms compared to other women of their race.
Kade bound Samantha, which left Angus free to finally bind Fiona. Once he did, she became fully Cauld Ane and her illness disappeared.
The men would join them in America for Sam and Kade’s human wedding, but not for several days. Kade and his brothers, along with Max and Angus, were in Iceland to deal with threats being made on the family. Samantha was concerned about her mate, and her worry reverberated through the tight-knit group.
Payton and Fiona sat in the kitchen while Samantha went about making tea.
“Sam? Do you need some help?” Payton asked.
“No, I’m good,” Sam said.
“He’ll be fine, Sam,” Payton said.
“I know that... ” Sam grimaced. “…logically.”
“Brodie’s with him. No one gets past Brodie.” Payton grimaced, realizing what she’d just said. Her heart was turning toward Brodie and she wasn’t quite prepared for the pull he had. “And Connall, of course.”
“Do I hear a little softening towards Brodie?”
Payton shrugged. “No.”
Fiona snorted from her place at the table.
“It’s not like I hate him, Fi,” Payton insisted. “He’s just intimidating, and I don’t trust him.”
“In five months, you’ll think differently.”
Payton bit her lip. “Unless he’s wrong.”
“He’s not wrong, Payton,” Fiona insisted.
Payton hoped he wasn’t.
“Why don’t you trust him?” Sam asked.
Payton shrugged again.
“It’s because of Heather,” Fiona offered.
“Fi!” Payton snapped.
“What? We’re all going to be related. If you can’t talk to us, who can you talk to?” Fiona argued.
Heather was a name Payton would rather forget, especially since she was a woman Brodie spent more time with than one would a casual acquaintance. Even Niall said Brodie never spoke about her. Somehow, this information didn’t make Payton feel any better. She must mean a lot to Brodie, if he was so tight-lipped about her.
Over the past years, Niall had worked hard to rebuild his friendship with Payton, which she appreciated. But the subject of Brodie Gunnach was off-limits, which made some conversations awkward, as Brodie seemed to insert himself into anything he could relating to Payton.
“Who’s Heather?” Sam asked.
“She’s a woman Brodie has been seeing for the past couple of years.” Fiona sipped her tea.
Five years, Payton corrected silently.
“No one knows anything about her,” Fiona continued. “Just her name.”
“He can see whoever he wants to see,” Payton said. “I’m not his keeper.”
Sam raised an eyebrow. “Why do I get the feeling that bothers you a lot more than you’re letting on?”
“Did Kade tell you about the American security Connall set up?” Payton said, trying to deflect attention off of her.
“Payton!” This time it was Fiona’s turn to admonish.
Samantha still wasn’t quite used to the needs of a queen, including the mass amounts of security that followed the royal family. She hated the inability to go where she wanted without someone always being with her, but Kade insisted on her safety.
Sam smiled. “Security’s security, Payton. It doesn’t matter where it comes from. Now, quit changing the subject.”
<
br /> Payton flopped into one of the kitchen chairs and groaned. “Brodie says he’s my mate, but he spends all his time with another woman. In five months, I’ll know in my heart if what he’s telling me is true. I don’t think I can believe him, though.”
“Why?” Sam asked.
“Because siblings don’t mate with siblings,” Fiona said.
Sam wrinkled her nose. “That sounds very wrong.”
“Not like that!” Fiona chuckled. “Because I’m bound to Angus, it would be unusual for Payton to mate with Brodie. I mean, there aren’t any references to it in our books, and those records go back over a thousand years.”
“That doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen, right?” Sam pointed out.
“I guess not,” Payton admitted. “But until I know for sure, it’s better that I keep my distance.”
Sam gave her a sympathetic smile. “We all assumed Brodie’s been going through hell all by himself. We’ve been wrong, huh?”
Payton shrugged. “I didn’t realize he’d been ‘going through hell.’”
Fiona snorted. “Then you’re blind. He’s been a blitherin’ idiot since the day you arrived.”
“He says two words a year,” Payton snapped. “Neither of which sound blitherin’ to me.”
Sam shook her head. “Okay, okay. I don’t think a contest on how incapacitated Brodie Gunnach has become is necessary.”
“I don’t think any of this is necessary,” Payton said. “Let’s just drop it, okay? If I’m to be bound to Brodie, I’ll know soon enough. I’d rather not think about it for now.” She stood and placed her mug in the sink. “I have too much on my plate as it is.”
Fiona’s phone rang and she grimaced. “Hi, Brodie.”
Payton let out a frustrated squeak and rushed out of the room. Sam followed her and guided her into the family room. Payton paced the room.
Sam sat on the sofa and watched her. “Do you want to talk about it?”
Payton shook her head.
“It might help,” Sam pressed.
“Sam, I can’t talk to you about this.”
“Why not?”
“Things have changed.”
Bound by Secrets (Cauld Ane Series) Page 6
