AN URGENT KNOCK brought Pepper out of a painful dream. Her head was pounding.
“Pepper?” Connall called through the door.
“Huh?” she said.
“Pepper!” Connall pressed as he jiggled the doorknob.
“I’m here, Con.” She realized the water was cold and she shivered as she stood and grabbed a towel. “What’s wrong?”
“You haven’t answered me in almost an hour. I thought you were asleep, but you weren’t in bed,” he said.
“Sorry, babe. I must have fallen asleep. I’ll be right out.”
She rushed to pull on her pajamas and then stepped into the bedroom.
Connall stood, typing into his phone. He looked up and smiled. “Hi. Feel better?”
“Much,” she said. “Are you done with work?”
“Almost. Just a couple more emails.” He nodded to a glass on one of the nightstands. “I brought you water and was going to leave you something for your headache, but now that I’m here, I can take it away for you.”
“Yes, please.” She squeezed her eyes shut. “It’s working its way to a nasty migraine.”
He set his phone down and laid his hands on her head. She sighed as the relief wove its way through her skull. It was almost instantaneous.
“Where were you all through high school?” she complained.
“Pining for you,” he retorted, and patted her on the bottom. “Now, go to bed. I’ll be in soon.”
Pepper climbed into bed and fell asleep almost immediately, but woke to blinding light, her head feeling as though it might explode. She stumbled into the bathroom and splashed cold water on her face. It didn’t help. When she returned to the bedroom, she noticed that although it appeared Connall had slept in the bed, he wasn’t there now, and neither were the painkillers that had been on the nightstand. She flopped back on the mattress.
Con? Where are those pills? And where are you?
“I’m here, sweetheart,” he said as he slipped into the room, a tray in hand. “The pills are right there, love.”
She covered her eyes with her hands. “I couldn’t find them.”
“I’ll take care of you and we can have breakfast.”
She shook her head, covering her mouth with her hand in an effort not to throw up. Connall set the tray on the nightstand and stretched out beside her, pulling her onto his chest. He ran his hands over her scalp and she took a deep breath and relaxed against him.
“That was a bad one,” he murmured.
She shrugged. “I’ve had worse.”
“Oh, sweetheart, I’m sorry.”
She glanced at him. “What am I going to do if you’re not around?”
“When we’re bound, I won’t have to touch you to heal you.”
She giggled. “Well, then, you should bind me tomorrow.”
“Whenever you’re ready, love.”
“How about today?”
He chuckled.
“I’m serious.” She sat up. “Can we do it today?”
“That might be a bit soon.” He sat up as well. “I’d like to set up a few things first.”
“You don’t need to make it romantic, Con. I just want you.”
He shook his head. “I want to make it romantic, but it’s not just that. We’ll need to be prepared for your change.”
“Oh, right.” She leaned over him and grabbed a strawberry off the tray. “What do I need to do?”
“Nothing. I’ll take care of everything, but I still think we should wait.” Connall ran his thumb over her bottom lip, wiping the juice from it, and then licked his thumb.
“Why?” She took another bite of the strawberry.
“Wouldn’t you like to take some time to explore Scotland?”
“We’ll have plenty of time.”
“I think you should have time to look around a bit. So, we should really wait.”
“I disagree.” Pepper frowned. “I think we should get the pain part out of the way, so we can be free to enjoy everything together.”
“All of this can wait, love.”
“Connall.” Pepper crossed her arms. “Are you changing your mind?”
“No.”
“Then why are you being weird all of a sudden?”
He ran his hands through his hair. “I didn’t realize I was being weird.”
She laid her hand on his leg and sighed. “Babe, I can handle a little pain. Sam’s proof that this whole process won’t kill me.”
He climbed off the bed. “I know it won’t kill you.”
“Okay, then. Let’s do it tonight.”
“How about in a week?”
“Con.” She stood and looped her hands around his neck. “I don’t want to wait a week. I’d like to do it tonight.”
“Well, I’m not doing it here.”
“Oh? Where would you rather ‘do it’?”
“At home. The home we’ll live in together.”
“The big-ass mansion.”
“It’s not that big, Pepper,” he argued.
She grinned. “Okay. Let’s do it at the ‘not that big’ mansion.”
He squeezed his eyes shut and pulled her close. “Let me make sure that works for Sam.”
“We need Sam?”
He nodded. “Aye. She’ll need to monitor you and make sure that nothing goes wrong… unless you’d rather have Kade.”
“Fine.” She rolled her eyes. “Sam will work. She doesn’t need to be in the room when we ‘consummate’ the binding, does she?”
“Absolutely not.”
“Good.” She kissed him. “I’ll be fine, Con.”
“I think you should see the house first, though.”
“Why? Afraid I’ll back out?”
“No?” he said unconvincingly.
“I’ve messed up your plan, haven’t I?”
“Not at all.” Connall chuckled. “It’s just that when I think I have you figured out, you zig when I think you’re going to zag.”
Pepper grinned. “And that bugs you a lot a bit?”
“‘A lot a bit’?”
“More than a little, but less than a lot…”
“Damn, I love you,” he said, and kissed her.
They ended up back on the bed and Pepper knew with the thoughts running around Connall’s mind that if one of them didn’t stop, she’d be bound and going through the conversion within a matter of seconds. She pushed on his chest and broke the kiss, squeezing her eyes shut in an effort to block him out.
“Do you see why we can’t wait?” she challenged.
He nodded and took a deep breath. “Why don’t you get dressed and I’ll take you over to the house and then to see Jonesy. If I bind you tonight, you won’t be able to do much for a few days.”
“Okay.”
Connall left her to make arrangements and Pepper dressed in her warmest and most comfortable clothes.
* * *
The weather was too cold for Pepper to walk to the main house and she was grateful Connall warmed the car before she climbed inside. Even if sixty-seven still felt cold to her, it was a heck of a lot better than the arctic chill outside.
Connall drove into the large garage attached to the house and turned off the car. Pepper shook her head. The garage was twice the size of her mother’s home and it housed four cars, probably each worth more than her mother’s home.
“What?” Connall asked.
“Boys and their toys.”
“All of them serve a purpose.”
“Really? Enlighten me. What purpose does the Ferrari serve?”
He smiled. “Except the Ferrari. That one’s just for fun.”
She sighed. “I’m nervous now.”
“Why?”
“What’s the inside of your house going to look like if your garage is this extravagant?”
“You can make any changes to the house you want if you don’t like what you see.” He slid out of the car and made his way to her side and opened the door. She climbed out and took his hand. He gave her a gentle squeeze and led her through a door that opened into a mudroom, filled with rubber boots, coats and towels, and various sizes of shovels.
“Wow,” she said. “You’re prepared.”
“We have to be when the weather changes as often as it does,” he said and pushed through another door, standing aside to let her walk ahead of him.
Pepper entered the room and stalled. “Con,” she whispered in awe.
“What’s wrong?”
She shook her head as she took in the space. “Absolutely nothing.”
Pepper felt like she’d been transported into a lodge more akin to something in Montana than what she’d imagined a Scottish home would look like. The room was vaulted and dark wooden beams were exposed in the ceiling, with a large picture window that revealed a view of snow-covered trees that seemed to go for miles.
“This place is perfect.”
Large, overstuffed furniture was positioned in front of a fireplace that had to be taller than Connall, and a flat-screen television was hung artfully above the mantle.
Pepper shrugged off her coat and turned to face Connall. “I really thought a place this big would be cold and uninviting.”
“This is my favorite room in the house,” he said. “I just hope you like the rest.”
“Lead the way.”
Connall led her from the great room, through a giant foyer, and up a wide staircase that just happened to be identical to the one on the opposite side of the entrance. Pepper felt like she was visiting a governor’s mansion in some historic state.
“This is out of control.”
He squeezed her hand. Once at the top of the stairs, they turned right and walked down a hallway. Double doors opened to an anteroom of sorts and Pepper realized the house was much, much larger than it appeared on the outside. Connall pushed open another set of double doors and waited at the threshold for Pepper to enter the room.
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.