She wondered what Brodie was doing right now. One of the things she was looking forward to the most was being able to speak to him privately once they were bound. She smiled. If she knew her mate, he was probably waiting in the bed, naked and ready to go.
A shiver stole up her spine. She applied the pineapple lip gloss she’d retrieved from her makeup bag and pulled her glasses off. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and then made her way back to the bedroom. Peeking around the door, she discovered the lights were low and candles had been lit. Brodie was pouring champagne into glasses sitting on the table by the panoramic windows. She squinted in an effort to get a better look at him, but the room was quite dark, so it took effort.
She was able to make out the lines of his body and knew he wore the silk, grey pajama bottoms she’d bought him. She could imagine them hanging from his hips and knew his chest was bare. Payton took a minute to stare at her mate. Even slightly out of focus, he was magnificent.
“Are you coming out of there, love, or are you going to ogle me all night?” he asked.
Payton bit her lip, the taste of pineapple dancing across her tongue. “I haven’t decided.”
He faced her and let out a quiet whistle. “Wow.”
She stepped further into the room and covered her chest with her arms, suddenly self-conscious.
“Don’t do that, love,” Brodie said as he set the bottle down and approached her. “You are magnificent. Lord, I knew you would be, but this is better than I imagined.”
“Oh. Are you sure?” she asked as she forced her arms to her sides.
“Baby, yes.” He searched her face as he ran his fingers through her hair. “You’re the most beautiful woman on the planet.”
She raised an eyebrow. “But not the universe?”
He cocked his head. “I don’t know. I haven’t met all the women in the universe, and haven’t had the chance to meet any aliens, so therefore, I don’t know how beautiful they are.”
Payton chuckled.
“Do you want your glasses?”
She shook her head. “If I get a headache, you can take it away for me.”
He smiled. “True.”
The clock above the fireplace started its countdown to midnight and Payton stared up at Brodie. “What if I don’t feel anything?”
“Don’t say that, sweetheart.” He kissed her palm. “I don’t know what we’ll do. But we’ll figure it out.”
She nodded and kept her focus on him. As the countdown ended with the twelfth chime, she closed her eyes, the charge crawling through her body almost too much to handle. She gripped his arms for stability and took several deep breaths.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
She nodded. “Aye. I just get what you’ve been dealing with for ten years now.”
Brodie grimaced. “I’m sorry, love.”
The absolute, unwavering knowledge that Brodie was her mate filled her mind, body, and soul. The thought of not being with him caused panic and she dropped her head onto his chest and took several deep breaths in order to calm her fear. She felt as though her heart was literally reaching for his, her heartbeat slowing to match his. His arms wrapped around her, his assurance comforting, and she finally relaxed.
She frowned up at him. “How did it not drive you mad?”
He smiled. “You don’t think it didn’t?”
“Did you feel like this the whole time?”
“Whenever I was anywhere near you,” he admitted. “And moments when someone spoke your name, and whenever I saw your photo, and—”
“Brodie,” she whispered. “That’s the real reason you left.”
More of a statement than a question, but Brodie nodded. “Aye. I know it was selfish, love, but I was sure I’d scare you if I stayed. You weren’t ready for this.”
“You’re right. I’m so sorry, Brodie. If I’d had any idea what this was like for you, I would have been much nicer to you.”
“Just to be clear, love, yer sure I’m yer mate, then?” he asked, his accent heavier than normal. Payton found it endearing.
“Aye,” she whispered. “Without a doubt.”
“Because I’m going to bind you now, and after that, I’ll never let you go,” he said.
“Quit yer yabberin’, and do it already.”
He smiled. “Ég gef þér allt sem ég er, allt sem ég vil vera og allt sem ég get verið. Ég er þinn að eilífu. Eining okkar mun aldrei bresta. Ást mín er alger.” (I give you everything I am, all I want to be and all I can be. I’m yours forever. Our bond will never be broken. My love is absolute.)
“Ég gef þér allt sem ég er, allt sem ég vil vera og allt sem ég get verið,” she repeated. “Ég er þín að eilífu Eining okkar mun aldrei bresta. Ást mín er alger.”
“Together,” he instructed.
“Ég gef þér allt sem ég er, allt sem ég vil vera og allt sem ég get verið. Ég er þinn að eilífu. Eining okkar mun aldrei bresta. Ást mín er alger.”
Brodie caught her as her legs gave way, carrying her to the bed.
Brodie settled Payton gently on the bed, kissing her gently as he tore the lace of her panties to get them off. He drew a nipple into his mouth and slid a hand between her legs, thumbing her clit as he pushed a finger inside of her.
“Brodie,” she breathed out.
“Spread your legs, love.”
She dropped her knees so he could have better access and he slid another finger inside of her, gently biting down on her nipple. She mewed, her breath coming in pants as he sped up his hand between her legs.
“Are you all right, love?”
“Aye. More, Brodie.”
His hand slipped out of her and Payton whimpered, but his mouth replaced his thumb and his fingers slid back inside of her.
As Brodie continued his assault on her pussy, Payton felt as though she were somewhere else… but fully in the moment—emotions, sensations, and desire swamping her. As her orgasm ripped through her, she cried out and Brodie slid into her. “Yes!” she moaned.
“I’m going to go slow, love. Let you get used to me.”
She nodded, but every move he made was sensational, so she didn’t want him to stop. Brodie grabbed one of her thighs and hitched it up higher, burying himself further into her and Payton arched against him. When he started to move, Payton thought she might lose her mind… in the best of ways.
“I’m good, Brodie.”
“I don’t want to hurt you.”
“You aren’t. You won’t.” She stroked his cheek. “I trust you.”
He kissed her and his tongue swept against hers again as he surged in, faster and faster. He slid out partially and then back in slowly. “You sure?”
She arched her hips, drawing him further in. “Yes,” she breathed out.
Guiding her hands above her head, Brodie held them there with one hand, sliding his other to her breast. As he rolled her nipple between his fingers, he continued to kiss her as he buried himself deeper and deeper into her.
Payton cried out his name as she came, trying to drag her hands from their prison to touch him, but he held firm and didn’t release her until he came inside of her.
She held her emotions in check until the very end. When the bonding was complete and she was wholly Brodie’s, she allowed herself to break.
Brodie settled her against his chest and stroked her back. “Shh, baby. I’m sorry. Did I hurt you?”
“No. I just wasn’t expecting… so much… I don’t know how to describe it.”
“I know, love. It’s okay. I feel it too.”
She glanced up at him and widened her eyes.
“What?” he asked.
“I can see you.” She sat up, uncaring that she was naked. “I can see you perfectly.”
He sat up as well. “You can?”
She nodded and climbed off the bed, rushing into the bathroom. She found her glasses where she’d left them and slid them on. The room was a blur. She removed them again and set them on the co
unter, leaning forward to study her face. She looked different somehow. She felt beautiful.
That’s because you are, he said.
Payton stalled for a second, relishing the feeling of hearing Brodie in her mind. She closed her eyes with a sigh.
Come back to bed, Payton.
Now? she replied.
Aye, love. Or I’ll come get you.
She grinned. Come and get me.
Payton couldn’t stop the quiet squeal when Brodie stormed into the bathroom and wrapped his arms around her, lifting her off the ground. “I’m going to love this new ability,” he said.
“Me too.” She giggled. “You’ll be able to talk dirty to me and no one will be the wiser.”
“Or you’ll be able to talk dirty to me,” he pointed out. “Of course, we’ll have to work on your blushing for it to work, love.”
“What? I don’t blush.”
He laughed. “Oh, really?”
Want me to prove it? she asked.
He raised an eyebrow. I can’t wait to spread your legs and taste every inch of your pussy until you drip with—
“Brodie!” she groaned, covering her face with her hands.
Brodie grinned. “We’ll work on that.”
She shook her head and ran her hands up his chest. “Let’s skip the dirty talk and just go back to the action.”
He kissed her. “I can make that happen.”
PAYTON’S PHONE PEALED in the darkness of the room, forcing her from sleep. Brodie groaned beside her as she reached toward the nightstand. “Sorry, love. I forgot to silence it.” She didn’t recognize the number, but answered it anyway. “Hello?”
“Hey, Payton.”
Shouting sounded in the background. A nightclub perhaps? She checked the clock. Two-thirty a.m..
“Bronwen?” she asked. “Is that you?”
“Aye. I’m at Slàinte. I thought your husband would be here. Doesn’t he own it?”
For whatever reason, Payton felt a coldness roll up her spine. She hadn’t told Bronwen of her wedding plans, due to the fact she was unaware herself, and speaking of bonding to her human friend would have raised more questions than she was willing to answer.
“Payton?” Brodie whispered, sitting up behind her.
Payton grasped his arm. “Bronwen? What do you mean, ‘husband’?”
“Didn’t you just get married?”
How would she have known that?
She felt, rather than heard, Brodie leave their bed.
“Yesterday,” Payton said. “How did you know?”
“Ah, Pay, I’m not at liberty—”
“To say,” Payton finished. “I believe I’ve heard that before from you.”
Bronwen chuckled. “Congratulations.”
“Thank you. Are you okay?” Payton asked her friend.
“Aye. Why wouldn’t I be okay?”
“You sound strange.”
“Do I?” A second of silence.
“Bron?” Payton pressed.
“Sorry, was just taking a drink. They make the best cocktails here. Have you heard that before?”
“Yes. I have,” Payton said. “Aren’t they closing?”
“Aye. Just about, but I’m using the next half-hour to the fullest of my ability. Are you in Edinburgh at the moment?”
“No.”
“Oh, that’s good,” she said. “Well, I just wanted to say that I was thinking about you. I’ll talk to you soon. Cheers.”
The line went dead. Payton silenced her phone and stared at it for a minute.
“Cole’s on his way to the club,” Brodie said from the other side of the bed.
Payton nodded. “She asked me if I was in Edinburgh and seemed relieved when I said ‘no.’ Weird, right?”
“A bit, aye.”
Payton rubbed her forehead. “She called me a few weeks ago, and that was strange as well. It’s as though she’s checking up on me.”
“You mentioned you haven’t spoken in a while. Did you have a falling out?”
“No. If Bronwen was upset with me, she’d tell me. I never have to worry about where I stand with her.” Payton set her phone on the nightstand. “She said she’s working for Scotland Yard and asked if I knew Molly Adams. She was a girl I went to school with.”
He smiled. “One of the mean girls?”
“No, not mean, just not genuine. She started to pay attention to me when she found out I was friends with Niall, but I never trusted her, so never let her get close.” Payton sighed. “Bronwen sounded off tonight, Brodie. Not like herself at all.”
He climbed back in beside her and held his arm out. “Come here.”
Payton settled herself against his chest and squeezed her eyes shut. “I just can’t shake the feeling that something’s wrong.”
“Which is why I’m sending Cole to check it out.”
She frowned. “He doesn’t mind?”
“No, love. He doesn’t mind. This is all part of his job. Ali’s back guarding Kade and Sam, so Cole has been sent to find out what’s going on. She’s human. It’s better this way. He said he wanted to show Dalton the club, anyway, so that can be his ruse.”
“Good idea. Is Cole still planning on hiring more people?”
“As far as I know. Kade felt having a human security team was a good idea, especially with what happened at the Tin Ear in Savannah.”
She slid her chin into her hand and raised an eyebrow. “Is there a plan to tell anyone outside of Cole and Dalton that we aren’t human?”
Brodie sighed. “I don’t know. Kade wants to talk about it in a few weeks.”
“Why wait so long?”
“Are you forgetting a honeymoon?”
“No, of course not.” She ran her finger over the sinew of his chest. “But I didn’t take three weeks off, love. I took one.”
“Well…” His body went rigid and Payton stared at him.
“What?” she asked.
“Are you planning to keep working?”
She sat up. “Are you?”
“Of course I am.”
“Then so am I.” She searched his mind, trying to hear his thoughts, but he’d managed to shut her out. She narrowed her eyes and asked, “Were you assuming I wouldn’t?”
He sat up and kissed her shoulder. “Stop staring daggers at me, love. I won’t stop you from working if you don’t want to.”
“Oh, thank you, my liege,” she droned.
“Payton.”
“You don’t have the power to stop me from working, period, Brodie. I love my job and I don’t want to stop working.”
“Then don’t,” he said.
“You’re staying out of it, right?” He studied her for a few seconds and Payton’s irritation rose. “What did you do?”
He shook his head. “Nothing, sweetheart. I simply let Kade know you’d be absent for a few weeks.”
“Brodie!”
He raised his hands in surrender. “Look at it as a surprise holiday.”
“I should have done that, Brodie. It’s my job.”
“I wanted to surprise you, sweetheart. And I approached it as a request, not as a demand. I promise.”
“Are you sure you even know the difference?”
Brodie smiled. “If I haven’t figured it out, Kade is able to decipher me… most of the time.”
“Was he really okay?” she asked.
“He was really okay. He was worried you wanted to quit altogether.”
She smiled. “He was?”
“Very. He seems to think he can’t survive the office without you. Sam agreed.”
“And what did you say?”
Brodie pulled her back onto the mattress and up against his chest. “I told him that I would support whatever you wanted to do, even if it meant living in Edinburgh most of the year.”
“You did?”
“I did.” He kissed her temple. “I have this burning desire to make my mate happy for some reason.”
Payton giggled. “Wow. I guess you do.
”
“So, am I out of the dog house now?”
“You weren’t really in it, Brodie.”
“Good to know.” He chuckled. “Once we’re back from our honeymoon, we’ll go house hunting in the city.”
“Where are we going on our honeymoon?”
“Where have you always wanted to go?” he asked.
“Venice,” she said without hesitation.
“Oh? Not Paris?”
“We’re going to Paris?” she asked. “Paris will be nice. I haven’t been there, either.”
“No, we’re going to Venice.”
“You are horrible.” She punched his chest playfully. “Are we really going to Venice?”
He laughed. “We’re really going to Venice. On Tuesday.”
She sat up again, clapping her hands. “Ooh, the weather’s perfect for us right now. Can we ride in a gondola? Where are we staying? How long are we staying?”
He sat up and wrapped his arms around her. “Yes, surprise, nine days.”
She wrinkled her nose. “But you’ve already told me where we’re going. Why not just tell me where we’ll be staying?”
“Because it’s a surprise.” He laid his fingers over her mouth when she opened it to argue. “I know you, love. I know your tastes. I recruited Kenna to help me with the planning and the booking.”
She relaxed and smiled. Kenna McFadden, Payton’s half-sister, was Fallen Crown’s tour manager, and the person Payton went to for suggestions on where to book people when the executives traveled. Kenna knew just about everyone in the tourist industry and was a wealth of knowledge when it came to travel. She was also a ridiculous snob and tended to fall on the side of only the best will do.
“So it’s going to be somewhere grand, then,” Payton mused.
“I bloody well hope so, for the price.”
Payton giggled. “If you really wanted to save money, Kenna’s not the person to ask, love. She has the same tastes as Max when it comes to the finer things in life.”
“Which is why I asked her.” He smiled and kissed her. “I also asked her because Niall hates Venice, so he’s a lousy resource.”
“Niall can go jump in the canal. He’s always so grumpy about everything.”
Brodie gave a mock gasp. “Something negative about the great Niall MacMillan? Say it isn’t so.”
Bound by Secrets (Cauld Ane Series Book 3) Page 19