Page 145 of Charlie

"Prove it."

He grabs my hand and presses it against the front of his pants, pushing his cock against my palm.

"Stand down, soldier," I laugh, giving him a light squeeze before stepping onto the elevator.

As we exit the lobby, a sleek black limousine pulls up in front of the hotel. There's a dangerous charge to the air once we climb in and the driver closes the door. Desire crackles between us, and I wonder if we'll even make it out of the car when we pull to a stop. My heels click on the stout drawbridge as we cross over the moat and enter through a portcullis. The castle is even more impressive up close. An impenetrable fortress perched on a long-dormant volcano.

Cam has an animated chat with the lady at the ticket desk and returns to us with a grin.

"We have full access," he says excitedly, his eyes sparkling.

Lach groans. "Cam?—"

Cam holds his hands up. "I know! I'll only show you guys the best parts. Just enough to walk the food off."

"I can't even pretend to be annoyed when you're so fucking cute," Lach laughs. "Lead on, Dr. Cameron." I watch, fascinated, as Cam's eyes darken, a little shiver shaking his shoulders. He pulls himself together quickly and motions for us to follow him. I pay more attention to him than his words, falling more in love with every story he tells us. He takes off his jacket and rolls up his sleeves as we enter the Crown room, and I have to bite my lip to keep from groaning. I must make a sound because he looks up slowly, our gazes colliding and jolting my system.

"Are you doing okay?" he asks softly, pushing his hair off his forehead even though it falls right back into place.

"Yep!" I cross my legs to stem my body's response to him. He raises his eyebrow but doesn't push.

"This is The Stone of Destiny." He gestures toward a rectangular stone nestled in a swath of black velvet. "This stone was used for centuries during the inauguration of Scotland kings. Edward, the first of England, stole it in the late 13th century. He built his throne around it, and it was used during England's coronation ceremonies for hundreds of years. On Christmas day in 1950, four students stole the stone, and its whereabouts were unknown until it reappeared three months later, five hundred miles away at Arbroath Abbey.

"That sounds like a movie," I say, wondering if the students were courageous or maybe they just did it on a drunken lark.

"Are you ready for the last part of the tour?" Cam asks, his eyes sparkling with mischief. "We're going down into the vaults."

"The what?" My heartbeat picks up.

"There's an entire underground city to explore beneath our feet. The lady at the desk told me there's an event tonight. We can enter the vaults through a passage here in the castle."

"How many ghosts do you think we'll see?" Lach asks nonchalantly.

"Ghosts?" I echo.

"Goddamnit, Lach." Cam shoots him a dirty look. "It's not haunted," Cam says, trying to placate me.

"Then why is it known as the most haunted place in Scotland?" Lach asks, antagonizing us.

"It's not scary, Sassenach. Promise." Jack slides his hand over my lower back and hooks it around my waist.

"You've been down there before?" I ask, looking up into his face.

"We all have." He tucks a lock of hair behind my ear, tracing the shell of my ear with his fingertip.

"And why were you down there, Jack?" Lach asks, his eyes dancing.

Jack clears his throat, looking guilty. "A ghost tour."

"There will be a bunch of people down there tonight, Charlie. It won't be scary," Cam assures me, taking my hand and guiding me into the hallway.

"Fine," I mutter, slightly ashamed about my overreaction. Cam leads us down several flights of stairs, the last carved from stone, through a long hallway that ends in a door that looks like it hasn't been opened in five hundred years. He wrenches on the handle, the resulting groan of metal sending a shiver down my back.

"This is the last set of stairs," he says, turning on his phone's flashlight and illuminating rough rock steps. He takes my hand and helps me down the uneven treads.

"I thought you said this wasn't going to be scary," I whisper, looking around at the cobwebbed walls. I take a deep breath and look down the dark passageway, blowing the air out slowly to calm my nerves. It doesn't help.

"We'll be through this part and into the lighted area in less than a minute," Cam promises, pulling me along. Lach flanks my other side, sweeping his hand down my back. I squeak when he grabs my ass, but it quickly turns to a stifled moan as he hikes up my dress and runs his hand over my bare bottom.

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