Bound by Blood (Cauld Ane Series) (34 page)

Kade pulled out of her death grip. He covered her lips with his and kissed her until she couldn’t think straight. Within seconds her panic was gone.

He linked his fingers with hers again and smiled. “Better?”

“Much.” She sighed. “Thank you.”

“My pleasure.”

“Um…” She settled against him again. “How are we going to eat with just one hand?”

Kade chuckled. “As long as we stay connected, you’ll be fine. We don’t have to hold hands.”

“Good to know.”

* * *

Samantha had one more panic attack when Kade left her to check in with the pilot. But he didn’t stay away long and gave her another heart-melting kiss to distract her. After lunch, he insisted she rest and led her to a room with a surprisingly large bed.

She crossed her arms. “Just how many women have joined your mile-high club, Kade?”

“Subtle,” Kade mused.

She raised an eyebrow. “Was it?”

He wrapped his arms around her waist. “You’re the only woman I’ve ever brought on this plane outside of my sister and mother.”

“What about the actresses and heiresses you dated?”

He frowned. “Who have you been talking to?”

She shrugged, feeling very vulnerable at his fixed gaze. “Cole mentioned them, and the little news story kind of confirmed it.”

“Bloody bastards.”

“Forget it, Kade. It’s none of my business.” She slipped off her shoes and sat on the bed. “What you did before me isn’t relevant.”

“Of course it is. You’re my mate.” He sat next to her. “I will tell you anything you want to know and maybe some things you don’t.”

“
Great
.”

He smiled. “I have dated a few powerful women, it’s true, but much to my sister’s irritation, I knew none of them were my mate, and the relationships never lasted very long.”

“What did they think about that?”

“I’m sure some of them didn’t like it. They told me as much.”

“What about sex?”

“I had a very nice experience last night, if you recall.”

Sam rolled her eyes.

“Before you, it had been a very long time.”

She cocked her head. “How long?”

“Years.”

“How
many
years?”

“Eons.” He chuckled. “I’ll give you a little back story, shall I?”

“I love stories.”

“I know you do.”

“Especially when they get to the point quickly,” she clarified.

“Duly noted.” He stretched out on the bed and pulled her up against him. “After my father died, I went off the deep end a bit and drank a little more than I should. I didn’t want the lairdship or the crown or the responsibility that came with it. I did everything I could to convince everyone I was the wrong person for the job. Finally, Connall got involved and I came to my senses.”

“When did your father die?”

“1847.”

“Seriously? How did you handle that?”

“I thought I was relieved at the time, but regardless of what kind of father you have, it’s still going to affect you when he dies. Connall helped me see that I could be different than the legacy my father had left me. That I could be better than what he said I was. That I
was
better than what he said I was.”

“He was right. You’re kind of amazing.”

Kade grinned. “Thank you.”

“How did your father die?”

“He was murdered.”

She gasped. “How?”

“I won’t give you the details, love, because they aren’t things you can un-hear. His enemies managed to slip Red Fang into his ale and he was assassinated.”

“Was he alone? I mean, with the amount of security you have, I’m surprised someone could get close enough to hurt him.”

“They turned on him. He wasn’t a kind man, so there weren’t people rushing to his defense.”

“Are you telling me your own people let your father get killed? What about you and your brothers?”

He rolled onto his back and ran his hands through his hair. “We were duped by someone we thought we trusted, and found out after the fact. I don’t want to give you the details, can you please let it rest?”

Sam laid her hand on his chest. “But what if you’re in trouble? How will I know what to do? If you’re slipped Red Fang, what do I do? Are you sure everyone working for you has your back?”

He grasped her hand. “Take a breath.”

Sam blinked back the tears threatening to fall. “Sorry.”

“Nothing is going to happen to me…or you. I made changes when I became king and have done as much as possible to create peace amongst the clans. My brothers have my back, as do my closest friends. I’m not worried.”

“Who do you consider friends? I only ever see you with your brothers.”

He faced her and ran his hand through her hair. “I don’t trust easily, but Duncan is certainly someone I consider a friend. I also trust the MacMillans, Max and Niall, although they’re closer to Connall.”

“There’s also Angus,” she pointed out.

He shrugged. “Angus is more of an annoyance, but I trust him.”

Sam grinned. “I like Angus.”

Kade grunted, but didn’t respond.

“So if I can’t get hold of you or your brothers, I can call them, right?”

“Of course. But you won’t need them, sweetheart. Nothing’s going to happen. If you feel something’s off, let me know, and I’ll deal with it.”

“Like?”

“It could be anything from someone offering you something suspect to drink or…”

“A warm office?”

“Excuse me?”

Sam groaned. “My office thermostat was tampered with.”

“What?” he snapped. “When!”

“The first time—”

“The
first
time?” he interrupted. “Exactly how many times has this happened?”

She bit her lip. “Three. I thought it was the cleaning crew. I left notes, but it happened again.”

He sat up. “Damn it, Samantha! Why didn’t you tell me?”

“At the time, I didn’t realize the importance of temperature control! I couldn’t figure out why Fiona wouldn’t come into my office, but now I know why.”

“
Fiona
knew?”

“The first time. She was there. I told her not to tell you, because I didn’t think it was a big deal.”

“I’ll deal with her.”

She grasped his arm. “No! Don’t, honey. It was the day before our shopping excursion and we were all distracted. It’s my fault. I should have told you. Please don’t blame your sister.”

“She knows better,” he snapped.

“Maybe. But she was also letting me make the call. I’m your mate and asked that she let me deal with it. She was being loyal. Not to mention the fact, I was human! It’s not like they could hurt me.”

“But they could have hurt me,” he pointed out.

“I didn’t think of that.” She sat up on her knees. “They were trying to get to you…I’m so sorry!”

He shook his head and sighed.

“I promise I’ll tell you if it happens again.”

“It
won’t
happen again,” he said.

“Okay.” She smiled and stroked his cheek. “So…are you telling me you haven’t slept with anyone in over a hundred and sixty years?”

Kade smirked. “Your ability to get back to your original point is quite impressive.”

“Thanks…I think.”

“I haven’t slept with anyone in almost a hundred years.”

Her mouth dropped open. “Really? Who was she?” She held her hand up. “Wait, if it was Shannon, I don’t want to know.”

His lip curled up in a sneer. “I have never had any kind of romantic relationship with her.”

“I’m surprised.”

“Why?”

“She’s beautiful.”

“If you think vipers are beautiful,” he said.

Sam couldn’t stop a smile. “I love that the most about you.”

“That I don’t like snakes?”

“That you can see through the façade.”

He stretched out on the bed again and held his hand out to her. “Come here, love.”

She snuggled against him and wrapped an arm around his waist.

“The woman was someone I thought I could marry. She was a great friend and she would have been a good partner. It would have been more of an arrangement, somewhat like my parents, I suppose, although without the mutual hatred. I had no intention of sleeping with her. She pursued the physical part of our relationship and at the time, I didn’t see any reason why it would be a bad idea.”

“Outside of your faith, you mean?” she challenged.

“Admittedly, at the time, I wasn’t particularly living the way I should have been, so sex meant a lot less to me.”

“Why didn’t you marry her?”

“She found her mate.” He ran his hand down Samantha’s back. “He’d come from Iceland to Scotland to visit family. The moment his ship came into port, she changed. She became distant and irritable. I realized that even if she “got over” whatever was ailing her that we wouldn’t work. This mating process really is similar to magnets. As soon as you’re close to your mate, you can’t help but gravitate toward them. They had both been invited to a party by two different people in Edinburgh and as soon as they touched we were done.”

“Like us.”

“Sort of.”

“What was different?” she asked.

“He had to deal with the fact that she didn’t save herself for him.”

“Did he save
himself
?”

“No. But in our world there’s still a double standard. He bound her and moved her back to Iceland. Away from me, even though I was no longer a threat.”

“It’s a good thing you don’t care about that,” she said with a cheeky grin.

He chuckled. “I wish I was that evolved. I knew before I bound you that you’d be mine only.”

“I’m never going to have any secrets in this relationship, am I?”

He lifted her chin. “Do you really want any?”

“Not really. I think I just want the option.”

“I’ll pretend I know less, then.”

She kissed him. “That’s all I ask.”

“You should try to sleep. We have several hours before dinner.”

“I have something else in mind.”

“Oh, really?”

She sat up and straddled him. “I’d like to check out the membership requirements for the Mile-High Club.”

“Would you now?” He settled his hands on her hips. “It starts with you passing a particularly
stiff
test.”

Sam licked her lips. “I can see you’re already in the full and upright position.”

“I’m sorry. I wasn’t paying attention during the safety demonstration; can you please show me your flotation devices?”

“I’d be happy to, so long as you don’t experience a sudden loss of cabin pressure.”

“Very well, then, you might want to brace yourself for turbulence.”

* * *

Kade woke Samantha an hour before they were set to land. They had time to eat and freshen up before they were forced to buckle up. Sam gripped Kade’s hand as the plane began to descend and didn’t let go until the plane came to a complete stop.

“You made it, love,” Kade said. “I’m very proud of you.”

“I couldn’t have done it without you.” She pulled her cell phone out of her purse. “I completely forgot to call my dad.”

“You don’t need to. There’s a car waiting for us.”

“Of course there is.”

“The driver will take us straight to the hospital and then drop the bags at the hotel.”

She shook her head. “Honey, I
cannot
stay at a hotel. My mother would be really hurt. I have a feeling she won’t want you to stay at one either.”

“We have to remember our limits, love.”

“Our limits?” Sam asked, and then it dawned on her. “Oh! Right. Luckily, my parents are cheap. Thermostat is set to sixty-five or below during the winter. They always told us that if we were cold we could put on more clothes.”

“Dr. Gunnach?” Maureen inquired as she stepped from the cockpit. “Your bags have been transferred to the car, my lord. You may disembark anytime.”

“Thank you,” Kade said, and squeezed Sam’s arm. “Ready?”

“Absolutely.”

Kade guided her out of the plane and to the awaiting Towncar. Once settled inside, Sam dialed her father, but it went straight to voice mail. She left a quick message and then called her mother.

“Hi, sweetie.”

Sam smiled. “Hi, Mom.”

“Have you got your flights?”

“Actually, we’re here. We just landed.”

“Wonderful. Do you need Daddy to come and get you?”

“No, we have a car.”

“We’ll be picking Dalton up from the hospital some time before dinner, so you can come with us if you like or hang out at home.”