Bound by Secrets (Cauld Ane Series)

by Tracey Jane Jackson

  “Wooing thing?” he snapped. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

  “I’m just saying that she’s smart, bro. She’s funny and far older than her years, and I think you’d do better with her face to face.”

  “You think I’d do better?” Brodie rubbed his forehead. “Did she say I wasn’t doing well?”

  “No.” Niall’s heavy sigh sounded through the phone. “Look, I know she likes you, but you left so soon after you met her that I think she may have made you up in her mind a little.”

  “So you’re saying the reality isn’t as good as the fantasy.”

  “No. That’s not what I’m saying.” Niall swore. “Brodie. You’ve got two years left. You’re going to drive yourself mental if you don’t quit trying to figure her out without getting to know her. Fiona took pictures today, so have her send you some.”

  “No. If I see her, I won’t survive the next two years.”

  “Well, there’s that. She’s growing into a pretty stunning woman.”

  Brodie scowled. “If you try anything with her, Niall, I will end you,” he threatened into the phone.

  “Whoa. Calm the hell down. We’re friends. She’s not my mate and I’m not my brother. I don’t shag my way through town. I would never touch her.”

  Brodie took a deep breath and squeezed his eyes shut. Niall was right. He didn’t sleep around and he respected women too much to make a move on someone who wasn’t his mate. This is why Brodie trusted him. This is why he asked Niall to look out for Payton. He didn’t just trust him with his own life, he trusted Niall with his mate.

  “Sorry,” Brodie grumbled.

  “Okay. Look, I’ve gotta go. You decide if you want to email her or whatever. I sent you the address…with her permission of course.”

  “Thanks. I’ll talk to you later.” Brodie hung up and made his way to the tech room. He hoped no one was in there, so he could check his email in private.

  Just as Niall had said, there was an email waiting for him from his sister. He clicked on the letter and hovered the cursor over photo attachment, debating on whether or not he should open it or ignore it. Against his better judgment, he opened it…and tried not to react.

  Payton’s long red hair was now past her waist, the blue of her eyes visible even behind her thick glasses. It appeared Fiona had caught Payton unaware, as she was laughing at something out of the frame.

  Probably something Niall was saying, he thought ungraciously.

  Brodie sighed and flopped back against his chair. Damn it! She was stunning. Not that he was surprised, necessarily. Of course he’d find his mate beautiful. It would just be better if he was the only one who did.

  He shouldn’t have looked. He fired off a quick response to Fiona, took a look at other correspondence he’d received, and then shut off the computer and headed for his bunk. The next two years were going to be hell.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Five Years Ago

  PAYTON STOOD IN the large kitchen of Gunnach Pharmaceuticals and turned on the water for tea. She had a busy day today, but Fiona Gunnach wanted to talk, and Payton always listened. And not just because she was a princess and the king’s sister. Fiona was often unwell and Kade insisted she come to the office at least twice a week for blood draws. They were desperate to find out what was wrong with her, and in the process, she and Payton had grown close, almost as close as sisters.

  “Kade refuses to marry,” Fiona complained. “Angus and I can’t be bound until he chooses a wife.”

  “Do you think this is the appropriate time and place to be talking about your brother’s love life?” Payton slid a cup of tea in front of Fiona then sat down at the table. “In fact, do you think it’s appropriate to be talking about your brother’s love life, period?” she whispered. “I think as king, he knows his own mind.”

  Fiona scowled. “Maybe, but he doesn’t seem to know his own heart.”

  “Fi,” Payton sighed. “He hasn’t found his mate.”

  “So what?” Fiona complained. “I have.”

  “I know, Fiona. I know that this is frustrating, but if Kade doesn’t wait for her, then how can he expect the rest of us to wait for ours? He leads by example.” She stirred sugar into her cup. “It’s one of the things that makes him a great king.”

  “But it’s a stupid rule! It’s ridiculous that an ancient decree makes it impossible for me to be bound to Angus before my brother binds his mate.” Fiona ran her finger over the table. “Kade has the power to change that law, but he refuses.”

  Payton smiled sympathetically. “I know, Fi. I’m sorry. Angus is anxious to bind you as well.”

  “What about you? You have several admirers. Are you going to have a little fun before you meet your mate? Kinnon MacMillan for one would be a nice diversion.”

  “Absolutely not.” Payton rolled her eyes. “Kinnon’s not quite right, Fi. He’s mean…and I think he might be doing drugs.”

  “Okay, what about his brother, then?”

  “Which one, Niall or Max?”

  “Niall, duh.”

  “Niall’s just a friend, who also thinks Kinnon’s on drugs, by the way.” Payton sipped her tea. “And I know for a fact Niall’s not my mate.”

  “How do you know that?” Fiona asked.

  Payton rolled her eyes. “He knows, and I trust that he’s telling me the truth.”

  Since she wouldn’t definitively know who her mate was until she turned twenty-five, she had to rely on the word of the older men in her life.

  Lately, Payton was beginning to feel as though Niall and Fiona were in on some private joke about Brodie where she was the punchline.“What’s your problem, Fi? You’ve been all devil’s advocate lately. Are you trying to tell me something without saying anything?”

  “Like?” Fiona asked, a little too innocently.

  “Nothing. Never mind,” Payton grumbled.

  “Well, whoever your mate is, let’s hope he knows how to build a gazebo,” Fiona retorted.

  Payton giggled. “Oh, you’re funny. That was years ago.”

  Fiona raised an eyebrow. “Are you telling me you no longer want a romantic gazebo wedding?”

  “I was playing make-believe. The Cauld Ane don’t do romantic gazebo weddings, Fi. We are bound and then we write our names in the book.” Payton shrugged. “Besides, I haven’t really given it much thought.”

  “Oh, I can tell,” Fiona quipped.

  “Ladies,” a deep, quiet voice came from the doorway.

  Payton glanced up and her heart raced.

  “Brodie!” Fiona squealed and made a run for him.

  Payton rose to her feet, pressing on her stomach, willing herself to calm down, and took a deep breath in an attempt to bring her breathing under control. Brodie Gunnach had returned. He stood with his arms around his sister, a wide grin on his face, and then he looked at Payton. Her schoolgirl crush came back in droves, along with the hurt of his sudden disinterest and long absence.

  He studied her. “Hello, Payton.”

  She licked her lips and managed to remember a curtsy. “Your Highness. Welcome home.”

  “Thank you.” Brodie set his sister aside. “I heard you and your father were working here now.”

  Payton nodded, glanced at Fiona, and then focused back on Brodie. What did he ask again? Right. “Your brother assigned my father to business here…um…several years ago.”

  “And Payton’s been here for about a year,” Fiona provided.

  “Yes, right. About a year,” Payton said distractedly.

  “You cut your hair,” Brodie observed.

  Payton nodded as she touched her hair, now just below her shoulders. She’d cut it years ago and almost forgot what it felt like to have hair down past her waist.

  “Doesn’t she look great?” Fiona said. “She’s nearly done with school as well. Duncan can’t stop raving about her.”

  “Speaking of Duncan,” Payton said. “I should get back to work. I have a busy day.”

&nbs
p; She set her cup in the sink and virtually ran out of the room and back to her desk. She fell into her chair and forced air into her lungs. Brodie Gunnach was back.

  Just when she thought she’d come to terms with his sudden departure, and then the just as sudden stop in his correspondence, he returned. She’d originally chalked her emotions up to teenage fantasies of the handsome prince heading off to slay the dragon, and then when she found out he’d written to her, hope had surfaced. But when the letters stopped suddenly, and no emails had followed, she’d forced her hope down again. She didn’t know what the heck she was going to do now.

  Her phone rang, causing her to jump. She took another deep breath and answered it. “Payton McFadden.”

  “Good morning, Payton. It’s Connall.”

  She smiled. “Well, hello, Connall. How are you this fine morning?”

  Payton still found it difficult not to refer to Connall as “Your Highness,” but he’d insisted she call him by his given name and refused to respond to any other address.

  “I’m well. Is Duncan in?”

  Payton grabbed a pen and her notebook. “He’s at a lunch meeting at the moment. Shall I have him ring you back?”

  “No, that’s fine. I just wanted to let you both know that Brodie’s back.”

  “Yes, I know,” she said, a blush heating her cheeks.

  “You do?”

  “Aye. Brodie’s here. In the office.”

  “Is he now?” Connall said with a chuckle.

  “Yes. Um, I’ll let Duncan know you rang.” Payton cleared her throat. “And give him the message.”

  “That’d be great. We’re having a welcome home party for Brodie this weekend at the castle. Would you please let him know? You’re invited as well, of course.”

  “Thank you.” She scribbled the information down. “I’ll let Duncan know.”

  “Thank you. Will you come?” Connall pressed.

  “Uh, no, I can’t. Thank you so much for the invitation, but I have a previous engagement,” she lied.

  “Well, that’s too bad. It would have been lovely to see you.”

  Payton smiled. Connall really was a nice man. “Thank you. Some other time.”

  “If anything changes, please feel free to come. It’s an open invitation.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  “Good,” Connall said. “On second thought, please have Duncan call me when he has a few minutes.”

  “Of course.”

  “Thanks. I’ll talk to you later.”

  The phone disconnected and Payton set the handle on the cradle. She dropped her face in her hands and groaned.

  “That’s not a good noise.”

  Payton squeaked and jumped up, her chair slamming against the wall. Brodie stood in front of her desk. She hadn’t even heard him approach. She took a precious second to study him. His hair was shorter and a tiny bit darker, and he’d lost weight, but he was still just as gorgeous as she remembered. “Your Highness. Sorry. I didn’t see you.”

  He smiled. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

  “That’s okay,” Payton stammered. “Duncan’s not here right now.”

  Brodie cocked his head. “I’m not here to see Duncan.”

  “Oh. You’re not?”

  “No, lass. I’m here to see you.”

  “What? Why?” She silently berated her familiarity. “Sorry. I mean…what can I do for you?”

  “You can go to lunch with me.”

  No, she couldn’t go to lunch with him. She’d lose the tiniest shred of dignity and sanity she was grasping if she spent any time with him. He’d left her, indicating he was uninterested, then wrote to her, but didn’t write again, and no follow up emails either, further reinforcing his disinterest. She couldn’t open her heart again just to have him break it. Some may call the refusal to have a simple lunch with a man overdramatic, but nothing about Brodie Gunnach was simple for her.

  Payton picked up her notepad and pretended to read it. “I should really check with Duncan. We have a busy day.”

  “I’ve already checked with Duncan. You’re free.”

  “What?” Payton tried not to scowl, but she was pretty sure she failed, considering Brodie’s amused expression.

  How dare he interfere with her work! He had no right.

  “I mean,” she continued, “I appreciate the offer, but even if Duncan was kind enough to give me the time, I have quite a bit to get finished today that he may be unaware of.”

  “Is that a no?” Brodie asked, surprised.

  “I’m sorry…yes,” Payton said as she took her seat again. “It’s a no.”

  Brodie seemed to stand there for ages, but finally turned and walked away. Payton let go of the breath she was holding and focused on her computer screen. She managed to respond to three emails before her phone rang and she saw Duncan’s cell phone number come up on the screen She picked up the receiver. “Hi Duncan. Is your meeting over already?”

  “Not quite. Did you really refuse to have lunch with Brodie Gunnach?”

  Brodie tattled on her?

  “Refuse is a bit of an overstatement. I was unable to join him for lunch, because I have work to do,” Payton stressed.

  “Work that I excused you from.”

  “Oh.” Payton forced back tears. “Um…am I in trouble because I didn’t go to lunch with Brodie Gunnach?”

  She constantly felt as though her job could be terminated at any time. Irrational, perhaps, but her father had pulled strings to get her in and she didn’t want to mess up the opportunity.

  “No. Not at all,” Duncan assured her. “I’m just surprised.”

  “Well, I felt I needed to keep my priorities straight, and having lunch with the prince would take away from my job,” she said, sounding a little more irritated that she meant to.

  “You’re absolutely right. I apologize. Did you manage to put together the salary matrix for London?”

  She forced herself to relax. An “all business” Duncan, Payton could handle. “Aye. It’s in your inbox.”

  “Excellent. Do I have any messages?” he asked.

  “Connall called to invite you to a party this weekend at the castle for Brodie. He asked that you give him a ring back when you could.”

  “Okay. I’ll do that.”

  “And Rònan had a question about some of the accounting numbers.”

  “Okay,” Duncan said. “I’ll give him a ring. Actually, would you mind transferring me?”

  “Not at all. Just a moment.”

  “Thanks.”

  Payton waited for Rònan Fraser to answer the phone then patched Duncan through and hung up. Before she could dwell further on her strange morning, she saw Brodie striding purposefully toward her again.

  “Come with me,” he demanded.

  “What? Why?”

  “Because I’m your prince and I’m telling you to.”

  She bit back a retort and rose to her feet. He led her into Duncan’s office and closed the door. Payton stood against the wall as Brodie paced. “Why won’t you go to lunch with me?”

  She tried not to scowl. “I already explained—”

  “No. You told me something untrue.” He leveled a pointed stare. “I know for a fact you have time.”

  She fisted her hands at her side. The arrogant, egotistical, narcissistic dictator!

  “Well?” he pressed.

  “Oh, sorry, is this the part where I’m allowed to speak?” she snapped, and then immediately lowered her eyes. Her mother would kill her for speaking to royalty in such a manner. “I apologize, Your Highness.”

  With her head still down, she heard him approach and saw the tips of his expensive leather boots. She found her chin lifted and calmed instantly at his touch.

  His blue eyes sparkled as he smiled at her. “Speak freely, Payton.”

  She stepped away from him and shook her head. “I don’t think that would be a wise idea, sir.”

  “I believe I gave you leave to call me Bro
die.”

  “Sorry.”

  “Payton.” He sighed. “I asked you to lunch because I wanted to discuss something of importance with you.”

  “Is that a request or a demand?” she mumbled.

  “I’m sorry?”

  “Nothing,” she said quickly.

  Brodie dragged his hands down his face. “I think we should get to know one another.”

  “You do?” she asked, trying in vain to force down her excitement.

  “Aye.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “Why?”

  He crossed his arms and studied her for several tense seconds. “Because you’re my mate.”

  “What? I am?” she squeaked, and turned to flee.

  Before she could escape, he grasped her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. Payton calmed instantly, any nervousness speaking with her prince disappeared with his touch.

  “I know we still have five years before your Ár mökun, but my heart has already turned to you and I would like for us to get to know one another as we wait.”

  Thank you so much for reminding me I have five years until my mating year, she thought in irritation.

  Payton frowned. “I don’t know.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because, quite frankly, you have a habit of scaring the pants off me. What kind of mate does that?”

  She held her breath. His touch apparently made her quite bold.

  He frowned.

  “Never mind,” she said. “I need to get back to work.”

  “When have I scared you, love?” he asked.

  His endearment sent a shiver up her spine. She pulled away from him. “It doesn’t matter.”

  “It does to me.”

  Payton forced a smile. “Look, Your High…I mean, Brodie. I’ve had all of two conversations with you, neither of which lasted as long as the one we’re having now. You’re a bit of a bull in a china shop and that worries me.” She bit her lip. “I’ve heard rumors of your temper and I’d rather not incite it.”

  “Excuse me?” His eyes darkened. “What kind of rumors?”

  Payton swallowed, forcing down her nervousness. “Well, you’re kind of…um…you’re scowling at me right now.”