by Mina Carter
When she did, she tried not to gasp out loud. A large four-poster bed, made for a giant apparently, sat regally against a long wall. The dark wood, ornately carved with different instruments and musical notes, gleamed like it had just been waxed. A loveseat was positioned at the foot of the bed and as Pepper stepped farther into the room, she noticed a large bay window with two high-backed chairs and a table settled neatly in the alcove. She noticed the table had a similar motif as the bed.
“This is beautiful,” she said and turned to face Connall. “Where did you find the furniture?”
“We have a master craftsman in our clan,” he said, and took her hand. “Wait until you see the bathrooms.”
She paused. “Who?”
“It’s not important.”
She giggled. “The only time you get that look on your face is when you talk about Max.”
“What look?”
“You look a bit like you might throw up.” She pointed to him. “The one you’ve got on your mug right about now.”
He shrugged. “I don’t know what you mean. Anyway, I thought we’d find different furniture together. Which is part of the reason I’d like to wait.”
“Find something else? Why? This is gorgeous.” She gave his hand a squeeze. “It’s not like Max fashioned it out of a tree or anything, right? I love it.”
Connall shook his head. “No. But his father did.”
“Really?”
“Aye. Years ago.” Connall sighed. “He taught some of his trade to Max and Niall. Max has used that knowledge to build some pretty impressive guitars.”
She grinned. “Can’t wait to see them.”
He rolled his eyes and tugged on her hand. “Come with me. There are two bathrooms with a large closet and dressing room in between. You can pick which one you like.”
“I’ll just take the one you’re not using.”
“I don’t use either of them.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ve never slept here.”
“What?” she said in surprise. “Where do you sleep?”
“Downstairs. I’ll show you in a bit. I saved this room for you.”
She frowned. “So we won’t sleep together?”
“Sorry. Yes, we will. I mean, I have been saving it for when I met you. This would be our private escape, away from the rest of the house.” He smiled. “Away from the children’s wing.”
“There’s a wing… for the children?” she whispered. “But I don’t want to sleep away from our children. Certainly not a wing away.”
“We’ll sort it out.”
“I want to raise our children, Con. Not some nanny.”
“Whatever you want. Okay?” He squeezed her arms. “Don’t overload on me, love. You’ll get used to this.”
She took a deep breath. “Can I pick a bathroom later? I’d like to see where you sleep.”
“Of course.”
He led her back to the landing, but instead of descending the main staircase, he led her down another hallway, perpendicular to the one leading to the master suite and then down two sets of stairs. At the bottom of the stairs, he pushed open a door and she followed him into a relatively normal-sized room, similar to the Moores’ family room. There were a couple of chairs and a matching sofa surrounding another large-screen television mounted on the wall. She could see a wet bar, with what looked like a dishwasher, sink, and a side-by-side refrigerator installed seamlessly into the woodwork. There were three other doors that must lead to other rooms, but they were closed, so she didn’t know what they would open to reveal.
“There’s a bathroom there.” Connall pointed to a door at the back of the room then led her in through another door which she guessed was his bedroom, considering it had a large bed in it. “And this is my room… was my room.”
She was surprised to find there wasn’t much to the space. It was immaculate, but sparsely furnished with one dresser and a closet.
“It’s nice,” she said.
“It works.”
“What’s through the other door? The one that’s not the bathroom.”
He grinned. “My second favorite place in the house.”
“Ooh, show me, please.”
He led her back through the main room and opened the door. To her left was a glass booth and as she moved farther into the room, she squealed in surprise. “Recording studio? Shut up!” She walked the perimeter, in awe of the guitars hanging on the wall.
Connall pulled one from the wall, a periwinkle-blue electric, her favorite color, and plugged it into one of the amps on the floor. As soon as he strummed, she stomped her foot and groaned. “You sneaky snake!”
He grinned and started to play one of the riffs from her favorite Fallen Crown song.
“It’s you. You’re the guitarist on those songs!” She cupped his face with her hands and lifted his chin. “I absolutely want to kill you right now.”
He laughed. “Are you as impressed with me as you are with Max?”
“I have always been far more impressed with you, silly man.” She kissed him. “What I don’t get is that the credits list a D.C.G. as the guitarist. Do you have another name you’re not copping to?”
“Doctor Connall Gunnach. The band has always called me Doc. It’s annoying as hell, but it’s my lot in life.”
She clapped her hands and grinned. “Play more.”
“Later.” He stood and placed the guitar back on its hook. “I promise. I have more to show you.”
“But… but… ” She pointed to the drum set. “I want to see more of this. Is this where Niall did the drum tracks?”
“No. He did the drums at Max’s studio. Those are mine.”
“You play?”
“Better than I play guitar,” he admitted. “Percussion was my first instrument.”
She turned slowly to face him and ran her hands up his chest. “If you don’t bind me tonight, I will hurt you.”
He laughed and wrapped his arms around her, lifting her off the ground. “Hmm, had I known the ability to play music turned you on so much, I may have revealed that before you met Max.”
She wrinkled her nose. “When you bind me, does that mean you’ll stop worrying about what’s-his-name?”
“What’s-his-name?”
“The man who pales in comparison to you, my love.”
“Oh, him.” Connall smiled. “That is good to know, and yes, I’ll probably stop worrying.”
“Put me down so we can call Sam.”
“We’ll call her in a bit.” He lowered her to the ground. “The phone won’t work in here.”
“Is this you stalling?”
“Not at all. We built the studio this way for a reason. We don’t want our sessions interrupted. You’ll be able to use your phone once we get upstairs.”
He led her back up the stairs and down yet another hallway. Pepper was convinced she’d need a map to navigate the place. They walked through one room that Connall informed her was the butler’s pantry… she wasn’t quite ready to ask if he had a butler … and then into the kitchen.
This was the point in the tour that Pepper thought she might lose it. Connall grabbed her hands and gave them a gentle squeeze. “Deep breaths.”
She nodded and did as he suggested. “This… this kitchen is bigger than my mother’s house, Con.” She glanced around the room. “How am I going to keep this house clean? I’m just one person.”
“We have staff, love.”
She relaxed a bit. “Like a housekeeper?”
“Yes.”
“Oh. Okay. How often does she come?”
He cleared his throat. “She lives here.”
“Here, here? Like, in the house?”
“Aye.”
Pepper pulled her hands from Connall’s. “I don’t know if I can do that. I know I hate to live alone, but I also don’t know if I can live with a bunch of other people. I really like my privacy.”
Connall shook his head.
“What?”
“Don’t freak out.”
She settled her hands on her hips. “Telling me not to freak out only makes me freak out.”
“We have staff, love. More than one person.”
She felt the prick of tears. She was overwhelmed with the magnitude of his life.
“You won’t even know they’re here, sweetheart. They have their own quarters and a few of them live in the other homes on the property.”
“Do they wear uniforms and act like servants?”
“Not at all. Well, Dick and Helen wear uniforms if we’re hosting royals, or there’s a formal council meeting, but for the most part, they just dress however they like.”
“So it’s not like in Downton Abbey?” Con stifled a laugh and Pepper scowled. “Don’t laugh at me.”
“I’m not, sweetheart. Truly! It’s just that when you meet Dick and Helen, you’ll realize how down to earth they are.”
“There’s just the two of them?”
“Well. No. They just do all the hiring and manage the day-to-day running of the household and grounds.” He held his arm out to her. “Come here.”
She bit her lip but let him wrap his arms around her. Her heart returned to normal and she relaxed against his chest.
Voices sounded from the back of the house. The door opened and an attractive woman who looked to be in her fifties entered the kitchen followed by a man about the same age. They carried linen grocery bags and stalled when they caught sight of Con and Pepper.
“Oh, my… ah… Doctor Gunnach,” the woman said as she set the bags on the counter. “I’m sorry, sir. We don’t mean to disturb you.”
“No, you’re fine, Helen,” Connall said with a smile. “Pepper, this is Dick and Helen Smith.”
Pepper reached to help Dick with his bags. “Hi. It’s nice to meet you.”
“It’s lovely to meet you too,” Helen said.
“Let us deal with this, m’lady,” Dick said. “You must be tired after your long trip.”
Pepper stepped away, feeling like an errant child. Connall laid his hand on her back.
Helen pulled celery from one of the bags and opened the fridge. “We’ll just put the groceries away and get out of your hair.”
“Why don’t you leave them, Helen,” Connall suggested. “We’ll put everything away.”
Dick looked taken aback. “No, we—”
Helen grabbed her husband’s hand, cutting off his argument. She smiled gently at Pepper and then addressed Connall. “Thank you, sir. We’d certainly appreciate the help.” She dragged her husband from the room and closed the door behind them.
“They looked at me like I was an alien,” Pepper said as she opened cabinets and tried to find where the various items went. It wasn’t difficult. Everything had a specific place and she was quite impressed with the organization.
“No, they were just surprised I offered to help. Helen doesn’t typically let me in the kitchen unless it’s to eat.”
“I can see why Helen doesn’t let you in the kitchen,” Pepper said as he set soup mix on the top shelf of the refrigerator.
“Eh?”
“That doesn’t get refrigerated.”
“Oh. Sorry.”
She smiled. “Just sit there and look pretty, I’ll take care of this.”
He sat on one of the tall barstools while Pepper finished putting the groceries away. When she was finished, he held his hand out to her.
Connall pulled her between his legs, and she looped her arms around his neck. “I don’t know if I can do this, Con. It’s not me.”
“Outside of the bonding and your recovery, if you feel like you can’t be here, we can stay in the guest house as long as you need to.”
She cocked her head. “Really?”
“Really. Although, I’d love it if you’d give this place a chance, because I don’t want to have to move that bed upstairs.”
“What’s wrong with the bed at the other house?”
“Way too small.”
She leaned against him again. “I’ll give this place a chance.”
“Thank you,” he said. “Maybe we should wait until you feel a bit more comfortable here before I bind you.”
“Nice try.” She pulled away from him and slid her phone from her pocket. “I’m calling Sam now.”
“I’ll make you lunch.”
“You’ll make me lunch?”
He opened the refrigerator. “I make a mean cucumber sandwich, if you must know.”
Pepper smiled. “Sounds yummy. Thank you.”
While Connall went about fixing lunch, Pepper called Sam. The call went to voicemail, so she left a message and took a seat at the enormous island just as Connall’s phone rang.
He wiped his hands on a towel and answered the call. “Hi, Kade. No, we’re at the house. I’m making lunch. Yeah, that sounds good. Ride on over. Come through the back. ’Bye.”
“Ride over?” Pepper asked.
“They wanted to know if we wanted to go for a ride with them.”
“And you said yes, as you should.”
Connall grinned and went back to the sandwiches. “Of course. Ahearn’s tacking up two horses for us.”
Pepper sagged on the barstool. “Right. Because Jonesy’s in quarantine.”
“Not for long, love,” Connall promised. “And you’ll like Viking. He’s a beauty.”
“Viking?”
Connall handed her a sandwich. “One of my Friesians.”
“Oooh, pretty! I’ve never ridden one of those.”
“I can’t wait to hear your opinion.”
“Yoo-hoo,” Sam called from the back of the house.
“In here,” Connall said, and slipped out the door briefly, returning with Sam and Kade.
“Hi, Pepper.” Kade kissed her cheek and then went straight for the fridge, pulling out four beers and opening them.
“Hi,” Pepper said.
Sam wore khaki jodhpurs, tall black boots, and a white down vest over a black sweater. Her hair was swept away from her face and pulled into a bun at the base of her neck.
“You look ready for a show,” Pepper said as she hugged Sam.
Sam chuckled. “Well, my husband won’t let me jump on a horse without the proper safety gear. This vest is bullet proof.”
“It’s not? Is it?”
“Sort of. It has the stuff in it that bull riders wear. To protect the chest.” Sam sat on the stool next to Pepper and reached for a sandwich. “I’m starving.”
Pepper handed her a napkin. “Con’s got cucumber sandwiches down to an art form.”
Sam took a bite and hummed in appreciation. “Yum.”
As Kade and Connall talked about where they would explore with the horses, Pepper used their distraction to conspire with Sam. “I want Con to bind me tonight, but he’s trying to delay it.”
Sam wiped her mouth and sighed. “He’s not happy about the pain part of the process.”
“He said you’d need to be there.”
“It would be a good idea,” Sam said. “I’ll talk to him. Tonight’s actually good for me. Kade’s got a business call and I’d be roaming until he was done. None of the rest of the family will be here until tomorrow, and since you aren’t staying at the house with me, I won’t have anyone for distraction.”
“You have to convince Connall, then. Honestly, I just want this over and done with.”
“Ahh, romance,” Sam retorted. “So lost on you.”
Pepper rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah. Whatever.”
“I’ll take care of it.”
“Thanks.”
“Do you have the stuff we bought before we left?”
Pepper blushed. “My cheap excuse for a wedding trousseau? Yes.”
Sam giggled. “I give you six months before you’re demanding La Perla.”
“I don’t even know what that is.”
“You will,” Sam promised.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
PEPPER STOOD IN what would be “her” bathroo
m in the big house, staring at herself in the mirror. She wore the periwinkle-blue baby-doll underwear she had picked out when shopping with Sam. The lingerie fit everywhere except the bust. Pepper wasn’t overly concerned, considering this was her mating night and a potential wardrobe malfunction wouldn’t be seen as a hindrance, but she had to admit, she was still nervous.
Sam had convinced Connall that she’d make sure Pepper was safe during the conversion and Pepper had reminded him that it was going to happen sooner or later. Wouldn’t it be better to start their lives together sooner?
Pepper adjusted the top. Mating night. What a strange phrase.
She heard Connall’s chuckle.
Well, it is.
Think of it as your wedding night instead.
Yeah, that doesn’t really help.
All on your time, love. We can wait.
I don’t want to wait. I’m simply making an observation.
Fair enough.
She smiled. Besides. I’m looking forward to blowing—
Promises, promises!
Dr. Gunnach, let me finish.
He chuckled again. I will gladly let you finish… in here.
You’re beyond redeemable, my love. But I promise I’ll still blow your mind. She grinned as she ran her light pink lip gloss over her lower lip and pressed her lips together. I hope you like cotton candy.
What’s cotton candy?
You know the stuff you get at a fair? Sugar spun into web-like confectionary?
Ahh, we call it candy floss. I do like it. Why?
You’ll find out.
Tonight?
Pepper giggled. Keep your pants on.
The goal is to take them off, love.
She studied herself in the mirror again. Satisfied with what she saw, she took a deep breath. Ready?
The bathroom door opened and Connall stepped inside, letting out a quiet whistle. “You are exquisite.”
Pepper settled her hands on her hips and frowned. “You were supposed to close your eyes so I could do a grand reveal.”
“You have revealed that you’re grand.” He grinned and Pepper’s breath caught as she studied him. He wore black flannel pj bottoms that hung from his hips and a black wife-beater that seriously hid nothing, and made her wonder why such a sexy article of clothing was given such a nasty name. She could still see the outline of his chiseled-in-granite chest and knew that when she touched him, his six-pack would feel more like twelve.