Bound by Light (10 page)

Thane chuckled and waved her to follow.
“This I added in the 1800s when I redesigned the library.”

“It’s so cool.” Sydney stepped inside. This
room was a third the size of the library and somewhat bare. A
couple of bookshelves held books that looked a lot older than
Thane, and there was a large table in the middle covered with
papers. It appeared to be a research room of some sort.

He pulled a heavy book off a shelf and set
it in the middle of the table. “This is my family history as far
back as we began recording such things.”

Sydney ran her fingers over the soft
leather. “Wow, it’s beautiful.”

“It’s mostly written in Icelandic,” he said,
and opened the book to about two-thirds in. “But here is where my
entries begin in English.”

Sydney flipped back a little bit and pointed
to a number. “What does this say?”

“This talks of when my parents immigrated to
Scotland with the king’s family in 1420.”

“Your parents did?”

“Aye, lass.”

“Are they still alive?”

He nodded.

“Seriously?” Her mouth gaped open.

“Aye. They live not far from here.”

“Are you close?”

“Very.”

She bit her lip. “Do they know about
me?”

Thane chuckled. “Aye, lass, they do. They
attempted to finagle a dinner out of me for this weekend, but I put
them off.”

“You don’t need to do that on my
account.”

“I wanted to give you time to understand
everything.”

Sydney smiled. “Well, you better get to
explaining. I want to meet the people who made you.”

He grinned and kissed her quickly. “Okay. I
will give you the bullet points that pertain to us specifically and
you can ask questions as they arise. Sound good?”

“Sounds perfect.”

“When you walked into the interview room at
the hotel, I knew you were my mate.”

“Your mate? How?”

“Twenty-five is the
ár mökun
, the
mating year. It’s when our hearts turn to whoever our mates are, if
they’re close. So as soon as I reached mating year, I knew I would
know you as soon as I saw you.”

“Will I know you’re my mate when I turn
twenty-five?”

“Possibly,” he said. “It’s different for
humans, so you may not. At least not the way we do.”

“I guess we’ll have to wait a month.”

“Your birthday’s in a month?”

“Yep.” She studied the book again.

He slid his hand to the back of her neck and
squeezed gently. “What, love?”

“It’ll be my first without my mom.”

“Och, sweetheart, it will be. I’m sorry.” He
pulled her close and she did a face plant into his chest. “We’ll
just have to make it extra special, eh?”

“I’m not a big group person, so please, no
party.”

He cupped her face and raised her chin. “No
party. I promise.”

Leaning down, he kissed her and she wrapped
her arms tighter around his waist. He broke their connection far
too quickly, and she reluctantly went back to the book.

“So, the mate thing,” she prompted.

“Aye. When I touched you in the interview
room, our
örlög
…fate, was sealed.” He kept an arm around her
waist as they skimmed the book. “And when I first spoke to you in
your mind, our connection began.”

“Do you have to say special words to start
the connection?”

“No, but the first thing I said to you was
‘Þú verður að vera min að eilífu.’ They are some of the first words
we speak to our mates.”

“But you said that out loud,” she
countered.

“No, I didn’t, actually. You just assumed I
did.” He smiled. “It’s how I knew I found the path to your mind so
that I could speak with you later.”

“Yeah, ’cause that wasn’t creepy,” she
grumbled.

Thane chuckled.

“So, is there more to this ‘mating’ thing?”
she asked with a blush.

“When you’re ready, I’ll bind you, and
you’ll become like me.”

She laid a hand on his chest. “Whoa, hold up
there, skippy. What do you
mean
, I’ll become like you?”

“The binding is our version of a wedding
ceremony, only it’s private. I will bind you spiritually and then
when we make love, I will bind you physically. Your body will go
through a conversion of sorts and you will become Cauld Ane. You’ll
take on many, if not all, of my abilities and you will live as long
as I do.”

“I’ll be immortal?”

“Not immortal, no, but you’ll live a
thousand years or so, very likely.”

She let out a deep breath. “Wow.”

“It’s a lot to take in, love. There’s no
rush.”

“Can you bind me now?”

“No. I can’t bind you until you’re
twenty-five.”

She snapped her fingers and retorted,
“Shoot.”

Thane chuckled.

“So, mating, is it like marriage?”

“It’s far more permanent. When mates find
one another, even if they aren’t bound, they are connected
forever.”

“So, no cheating or whatever?”

He shook his head. “It’s impossible for
us.”

She leaned into him. “That would be so nice
to never have to worry about something like that.”

“I suppose so, yes. We’ve never known any
other way, but thinking about the possibility isn’t pleasant.”

She shuddered. “No, it’s not.”

“Have you had to deal with that?”

Sydney smiled. “No. I haven’t really dated
much. I met a couple of guys at church, but with all the stuff
going on with my parents, I didn’t go back. Crisis of faith
maybe.”

“It’s understandable, love.”

“Lucy says I’m a little like my mom... I
bury my head in the sand when things get sad.”

“We all process things differently,
Sydney.”

She bit her lip and nodded. “I’m coming out
of it, though. Even with my mom’s death. I’m trying to understand
that sometimes shit just happens and it’s not God punishing me. I
just have to remember that when I’m really sad.”

He turned her to face him and stroked her
cheek. “If you forget, I’ll remind you.”

“I already feel like He’s watching out for
me.”

“You do?”

Sydney smiled through the tears. “He brought
me to you.”

“Och, sweetheart, you’re killing me.”

“I am?”

He nodded and leaned down. “I love you,” he
whispered, and kissed her, gripping her waist and lifting her onto
the table. He moved to stand between her legs and cupped the back
of her head, deepening the kiss.

Sydney slid her hands up his chest and into
his hair. She wasn’t sure how long they were there, but he broke
the kiss all too soon and dropped his forehead to hers. “A month
you say?”

She giggled with a nod. “Way too long.”

“Aye, love, ’tis.”

“I love you, too, by the way,” she said, and
looped her arms over his shoulders. “Sounds strange to say it so
soon, but I mean it.”

“I do too, lass.” He ran his hands through
her ponytail. “I can’t wait to make this permanent.”

“Same. Am I meeting your family this
weekend?”

“Aye, lass. If you’d like to.”

“Aye, I’d like to,” she mimicked.

“I’ll set it up,” he promised. “But tonight,
you’re all mine. I won’t share.”

“Wine and snuggling better be on the
table.”

Thane laughed. “I’m not a monster.”

“Good to know.”

“Shall we shelve this discussion, or do you
have more questions?”

“We can shelve it.”

“You can ask me anything you need to and
this room is open to you any time you want.”

Sydney smiled. “Thank you.”

“Come on, let’s go find something to
eat.”

“Mmm, yes, please.” She slid off the table
and took his hand, following him out of the library and toward the
kitchen.

* * *

At almost midnight, after Thane kissed her at
her bedroom door, Sydney stepped inside and started to prep for
bed. She couldn’t help peeking outside at the storm. She’d always
loved a good thunder and lightning show, but rarely got them in
California.

A shot of lightning hit and she was drawn to
a shadow out by the cottage. At first she thought her eyes were
playing tricks on her until lightning lit up the sky again. She
gasped. A man stood looking right up at her, if that was even
possible.

Sydney, you okay?

I think someone’s out by the cottage.

I’m coming in.

“Okay,” she said distractedly, still staring
out the window.

Another flash of light and the man still
stood where he was. Thane reached her and wrapped an arm around her
waist, leaning forward to see if he could see what she saw. It took
a little longer than the last time, but lightning flashed and there
was no one there. “He was just there,” she whispered.

Thane gave her a gentle squeeze. “Are you
sure you saw someone?”

“Well, no. I guess not. It could have been a
shadow from a tree, I suppose.” Lightning hit again and there was
still no one there. Sydney sighed. “I must be seeing things.”

Thane smiled and turned her to face him. She
licked her lips at the sight of him in dark pajama pants and black
wife-beater. Running her fingers up his muscular arms, she stroked
the pulse at his throat.

“Lightning can create all manner of
illusions, but my land is secure, love,” he promised. “If someone
was on it, I’d have been alerted.”

She nodded. “It was probably a tree or
something.”

“Probably.” He kissed her nose.

A clap of thunder rattled the windows and
she couldn’t help but startle.

“Are you afraid of storms?”

“No. Actually, I love them.” She smiled up
at him. “I just feel a little off-kilter.”

“Do you want to sleep with me?” He stroked
her cheek. “No monkey business, I promise.”

She giggled. “But monkey business is so much
fun.”

“Aye, I agree, lass.”

“I’m okay. Really,” she said. “I won’t
sleep. I never do and I don’t want to keep you awake.”

“Why don’t you sleep?”

“I don’t really know. I haven’t for
years.”

“Do you get
any
sleep?”

“Maybe three hours a night.” She shrugged.
“Anyway, I don’t want to keep you up, so I’ll just read or
something.”

“We can watch a movie, love.”

“It’s way past midnight, honey.”

“So?”

“Don’t you need to sleep?”

Thane chuckled. “Sweetheart, if I’m with
you, I never have to sleep again.”

“Is that a Cauld Ane thing?”

“It’s a you and me thing.”

“Oh, really?”

“I don’t want to waste a second of our time
together sleeping,” he whispered.

She slid her fingers into his hair.
“Charmer.”

“Wanna make out some more?”

“Does a bear shit in the woods?”

* * *

Thane laughed, leading her out of her room
and into the private sitting room right off his bedroom. He loved
her sense of humor. He loved everything about her. “If you fall
asleep, I’ll carry you to bed.”

She giggled. “I won’t fall asleep.”

“What do you want to watch?”

“Nothing I have to think about.” Sydney
flopped onto the sofa facing the television. “Would it be weird to
watch one of yours?”

Thane grinned and pulled open a
floor-to-ceiling cabinet two-deep with DVD’s. “Yeah, love, it would
be weird.”

“You don’t watch your own movies?”

“I watch the premiere and then, no, I don’t
watch them again.” He ran his fingers over cases and pulled a
couple from the shelves.

“But I love your movies.”

He grinned at her over his shoulder. “I
appreciate that, sweetheart.”

“Did you really date all of your costars?
Except Charlotte MacMillan, of course. I heard that somewhere.”

“No.”

“Really?”

“Really.” He closed the cabinet and sat next
to her, setting the movies on the coffee table. “Want to
choose?”

She leaned forward, grabbed the shoot ’em
up, and handed it to him. He slid it into the player and sat beside
her again, pressing play. She took the remote and hit pause.

“Did you date
any
of them?” she
asked.

“Aye, lass, I did.”

“Were any of them Cauld Ane?”

He raised an eyebrow. “No.”

“How many of them did you sleep with?”

Thane let out a long sigh. “I think it would
be better if I don’t answer that.”

“
All
of them?” she squeaked.

“No. Not all of them.”

“Who?”

“I’m not going to tell you that,
Sydney.”

She gasped. “What? Why not?”

“Because I can feel your irritation.”

“So that means you’re never going to tell me
which ones you slept with?”

“Not ‘
never
,’ but for now, love,
aye.”

“Fine.” She crossed her arms and sank
further into the sofa. “Let’s just watch the stupid movie.”

He nodded and pressed play again... and
waited. He didn’t have to wait long before she paused the movie
again.

“Why not?”

“Because when I tell you about my dating
history, you need to be calm,” he said. “Right now, you’re
not.”

“I’m calm,” she argued. “I’m so calm, I’m
like Zen calm.”

He chuckled. “Sydney, you are so far from
Zen calm, it’s not even funny.”

“You’re so far from Zen calm, it’s not even
funny,” she mimicked in a sing-song voice.

“Shall we watch the movie?”

“Go ahead.” She waved her hand toward the
DVD player and then went back to her guarded posture. Ten seconds
in, she huffed. “So, did you sleep with most of them?”

He paused the movie again and leaned his
head in his palm, resting his elbow against the back of the sofa.
“No.”

“Just tell me.”

“No.”

“I’m going to bed.” She threw the blanket
off and rose to her feet. “
My
bed.”

Thane watched her leave with a sigh. He
should probably give her a few minutes to calm down, but he could
feel her frustration. He shut off the television and stood, heading
to her room and knocking on the door.