Bound by Light (13 page)

“If that’s what you want, love.”

Sydney couldn’t stay stoic for long and
burst into quiet giggles.

“You bloody wee ratbag,” he accused and
pushed her onto her back, grabbing her waist and squeezing.

“Thane!” she yelled as she roared with
laughter. “Stop, I’m going to pee.”

He continued to tickle her until she found a
way to reciprocate. He was too quick for her, though, and pinned
both her hands above her head, running his free hand down her
cheek. “You’ve got an evil streak, I see.”

She licked her lips and nodded. “Remember
that.”

Thane grinned and leaned close, running his
nose gently against hers. “I have a sure fire way to counteract
your evil streak, sweetheart.”

“You do?”

“Aye, lass.” He covered her lips with his
and released her arms so she could wrap them around his neck.

Sydney opened her mouth to deepen the kiss
and slid her fingers into his hair.
You’re driving me nuts,
mister movie star.

He broke the kiss with a grimace and dropped
his forehead to hers. “One month, love.”

“I know.” She kissed him quickly and pushed
him up. “I stick with my opinion about all of this sucking,
though.”

He smiled and nodded. “Agreed.”

“I know we need to go back early, but can
early mean Monday? I’d love one more day in our bubble before we
have to get back to reality.”

“Of course,” he whispered. “Perhaps we can
take a walk on the Leith Dock tomorrow. It’s beautiful at night all
lit up and we can eat dinner at one of Brodie’s restaurants.”

“Brodie?”

“Brodie Gunnach. He’s one of the princes. He
owns several clubs and restaurants around Scotland, and one of them
is on the water. It’ll be private and we won’t be bothered. Plus
the food’s outstanding.”

She bit back a yawn. “I would
love
that.”

“Sleep, baby,” he whispered, and she
did.

* * *

Sydney was excited to be going to dinner,
even with the possibility of the paparazzi finding them. The rain
had stopped and the night was clear enough to see the stars, which
meant they could explore a little.

Thane knocked, pushing the door further
open. “Are you ready, love?”

She glanced at him over her shoulder as she
secured an earring. “Almost.”

Crossing his arms, he leaned against the
doorjamb. “You look beautiful, sweetheart.”

She’d pulled her hair into a long braid to
the side and wore jeans, knee-high boots, and a flowy dark red
blouse.

“Thank you.” Sydney turned to face him,
assessing him in all his glory. “You look pretty delectable
yourself.”

He wore dark jeans, motorcycle boots, and a
black, long-sleeved thermal henley. With his black leather jacket,
he looked more
Sons of Anarchy
than immortal Viking.

“I found out Brodie and his mate Payton will
actually be there tonight and have invited us to sit with them, but
only if you don’t mind. If you want to be alone, that’s fine as
well.”

She smiled and grabbed her jacket and purse.
“Sounds fun.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, honey.” She leaned in and kissed him
quickly. “I’m sure.”

“Damn.”

Sydney cocked her head. “If you don’t want
to, we don’t have to.”

“I’m torn.”

“You are?”

“Aye. I want to see them, but I’d rather
spend time alone with you.”

“Then tell them ‘no.’”

He gave her a cheeky grin. “And not have you
to blame it on? No, that won’t work.”

“Oh, I see how it is.” Sydney giggled.
“Sorry, babe. I’ve never met a real life prince. Royalty trumps you
tonight.”

He grinned, grasping her hand. “Fair enough.
But I want the promise of a make-out session on the sofa
later.”

“Well, duh,” she retorted.

Thane laughed and led her downstairs and out
to the waiting car.

* * *

As Thane had promised, there wasn’t an
inkling of paparazzi anywhere near the restaurant. “How did Brodie
manage this much privacy?” Sydney asked.

“He has a few on his staff who have the
power of suggestion, so they are dismissed almost as quickly as
they arrive. We know who’s Cauld Ane and who’s human, so it’s easy
to head them off at the pass.”

“That’s amazing.”

Thane grinned as he opened the door and
followed Sydney inside.

“Mr. Allen, welcome.” A young woman with
silky black hair and pale skin smiled at them. She reminded Sydney
of Lucy Liu, freckles and all. She was gorgeous. “Mr. Gunnach is
expecting you.”

“Thank you, Paige,” Thane said, and laid his
hand on Sydney’s lower back, guiding her in front of him.

You’ve been here before.

Aye, lass. Several times.

She glanced around the room.
Is there
anyone who works here who isn’t gorgeous?

I wouldn’t know, sweetheart.

She glanced at him over her shoulder. “Smart
man.”

“Thane!”

Sydney followed the sound of the booming
voice and stepped back a little. A tall blond man rushed for Thane
and picked him up in a bear hug. “You bloody bastard, how the hell
are you?”

Thane laughed and shook his head. “I’ll be
great when you put me down, ye daft bampot.” The man lowered Thane
and he reached for Sydney’s hand. “Sydney, this is Brodie and his
mate, Payton.”

Sydney hadn’t seen the gorgeous redhead,
considering she was behind Brodie and he was huge. Like WWE huge.
He was handsome... almost model pretty, but she also could imagine
him on an ancient battlefield, a sword in one hand and a dagger in
the other, able to kill a man with his bare hands.

“Ignore him, Sydney.” Payton smiled and gave
Brodie’s bottom a gentle smack. “I try to when he’s being
rude.”

“Was I being rude, love?” Brodie asked with
a cheeky lilt to his voice.

Sydney shook Payton’s hand and chuckled.
“It’s lovely to meet you both.”

“Come and sit by me. It’s date night, our
little boy is home with Kade and Samantha, and I’m dying for some
adult conversation.”

“Hey, I’m adult conversation,” Brodie
countered.

Payton grinned. “You keep telling yourself
that, love.”

Sydney giggled and took the seat next to
Payton. Thane sat next to her and Brodie sat on the other side of
Payton.

“Connall and Pepper may be here later,”
Payton said. “They’re visiting Megan before the baby comes, so they
said they’ll stop by if they have time.”

Connall is Brodie’s brother. Megan is
Pepper’s mother. They’re almost ready to have their second
child.

Sydney squeezed Thane’s leg in thanks.

Paige arrived at the table and smiled at
Thane and Sydney. “May I get you both something to drink?”

“I’d love a merlot, please,” Sydney
said.

“Whatever costs Brodie the most money,”
Thane said.

Paige chuckled. “Perfect.”

She left and, before the group could fall
into comfortable conversation, another tall blond man walked in, a
gorgeous blonde woman, her small frame overtaken by her large round
belly, at his side. Payton let out an excited squeak and shot out
of her seat, pulling Sydney with her before hugging the woman
gently. “Pepper! You made it.”

“We did. Cody was
not
happy that
mommy and daddy were leaving, but we prevailed.” Pepper glanced
over at her husband. “Remember when he couldn’t speak? I liked
those days.”

Connall grinned. “Aye, love. I do.”

“Pepper, this is Sydney,” Payton
offered.

“You’re the one on the video singing with
Fallen Crown,” Sydney blurted out.

“Guilty,” Pepper said.

“Sorry. Sometimes I forget to filter.”

Pepper chuckled. “I know a little about
that.”

“Well, you were amazing.”

“Thank you. I understand you’re from my neck
of the woods.”

“You’re from California?” Sydney asked.

“By way of Georgia, yes. I lived in San Jose
until second grade.”

Sydney smiled. “Willow Glen until about ten
years ago.”

“Holy cow, me too. We lived on Louise
Avenue.”

“Minnesota... well, until we moved to Menlo
Park.”

“We were practically neighbors.”

Sydney nodded. “Definitely.”

“And now you’re here.” Pepper smiled. “If
you have any questions about your bonding night or anything, let me
know. I was human as well.”

Sydney gasped. “You were?”

Pepper nodded.

“I have a million questions,” she admitted.
“But I didn’t realize Thane had told everyone about me.”

“He didn’t,” Pepper said. “We feel your
connection.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I don’t know if I can explain it, honestly,
but there’s a vibration of sorts with the two of you, and Con and I
knew you were mates.”

“Wow, this is all really bizarre.”

I’ll help you sort it out, love. Don’t panic
on me now.

She glanced over at Thane and gave him a
reassuring smile.
I’m not panicking, just a little
overwhelmed.

She saw him relax, so she turned back to
Pepper.

“The telepathy part freaked me out at
first,” Pepper admitted.

“Yeah, it’s super weird,” Sydney admitted.
“I’m still not sure how it works.”

“It’s something to do with empathy. It’s
actually a gift humans and Cauld Ane share, so it’s why you can
speak telepathically.” She smiled. “You’ll have some very
passionate arguments as well.”

Sydney groaned. “Great, something to look
forward to.”

“I’ll make sure we exchange numbers so you
can call me if you want to.”

Sydney smiled. “Thanks, I appreciate
it.”

“Sitting down now, love,” Connall ordered,
and Pepper rolled her eyes.

“I’m coming, I’m coming,” Pepper droned.
“Sydney, this is Connall. I thought he’d be a little less of a
fusser with the second kid.” She lowered her voice. “He’s
worse.”

Sydney giggled and Connall shook her hand.
“It’s nice to meet you, Sydney.”

“Nice to meet you too.”

“Come on, love,” he said, and guided Pepper
to the table.

Sydney felt Thane’s arm slide around her
waist from behind as he kissed her temple. “You okay?”

She turned to face him with a grin. “I’m
fine. Don’t worry, honey. I’m not going anywhere.”

He stroked her cheek. “If you find this at
all overwhelming, you let me know. We can leave. I have a bottle of
wine waiting and a movie queued up.”

“Nice try.” Sydney rolled her eyes. “I don’t
want to leave. I want to get to know your friends.”

“Damn it,” he breathed out, kissing her
quickly before leading her back to her seat.

“When are you due, Pepper?” Sydney
asked.

“A couple of weeks. Our three-year-old is
with Grandma and Grandpa right now, so we have a rare night
off.”

“How long are you staying?” Thane asked.

“We’re staying through the birth. Provided
this little one comes before Liam’s big birthday.” She laid her
hands on her belly. “Kade and Sam have been here for the last month
and have to stay for another few weeks, and since she’s bossy and
my best friend as well as my sister-in-law, I am required to stay
put until Doctor Sam delivers the next baby Gunnach into the
world.”

Payton giggled. “She’s not a very good
patient herself though, and she’s also going to have another baby
in few weeks, so she’s a little more hormonal than normal.”

“Sweetheart, can we please refrain from
discussing the queen’s hormones?” Brodie interjected.

“Lighten up, Brodie,” Pepper teased. “You
know if Sam heard you refer to her as the queen, she’d have a
coronary... or throw something at your head.” She focused back on
Sydney. “Sam has been a pain in my butt for the last three months,
so discussion about her hormones is open season. Back me up,
Pay.”

“Well, I wouldn’t say pain in the butt,”
Payton countered.

“That’s because you’re nice... and she’s
nicer to you than to me.”

Payton laughed. “She’s nice to you.”

Pepper grinned. “Sure, let’s go with
that.”

“I take it you’ve known Samantha for a
while,” Sydney said.

Pepper nodded. “Since second grade. She’s
the best friend I’ve ever had.”

“Aw, that’s sweet.”

“Until she’s a pain in the butt.”

Payton choked on her wine and let out a
surprised laugh. “Bloody hell, Pepper, you have to warn me when
you’re going to make me laugh.”

“Comic relief and eye candy, Pay. I just do
my thing, hon, I don’t plan it.”

Payton shook her head as she took several
deep breaths. Brodie slipped his hand to the back of her neck and
she leaned against him.

“Sam was also human, by the way,” Pepper
added.

“Should we just start introducing you and
Sam as the ex-humans?” Payton asked.

“Sounds too harsh. You know, like when we
started saying pre-owned car, rather than used car? How about
pre-mated?”

Payton wrinkled her nose. “Too close to
cremated.”

Pepper laughed. “You might have a
point.”

Sydney forced a smile as she watched the two
women. She really missed her mom. Thane took her hand, giving it a
gentle squeeze.
I’ve got you, love.

Thank you.

The rest of the dinner passed all too
quickly for Sydney. For the first time in a very long time, she
felt part of something. She’d never been one to have a lot of
friends in high school and college, probably because she became
more withdrawn after her father died. But tonight, seeing how much
this family adored Thane, and how they treated him like one of
their own and, by extension, her as well, she felt like she could
be totally herself. Now she just had to figure out who she was in
this new world she was falling in love with.

“Do you want to walk the dock, love?” Thane
asked as they filed out of the restaurant.

“I’d love to,” she said.

“We’ll say goodnight here,” Payton said, and
hugged Sydney. “But please say we’ll do this again.”