Chapter 13 #3
Cam laughs. “Oh fantastic. Now we’re ghost hunting.”
Raven perks up. “Wait, can we ghost hunt?”
I cross my arms, leaning against the counter. “You planning on running out the front door screaming the first time a shadow moves?”
She scoffs, lifting her chin. “Excuse you, but that would never happen.”
I raise a brow. “You sure about that?”
“Positive.” She folds her arms. “I’ve seen all the horror movies. I know the rules. You, on the other hand, are exactly the type of guy who’d ignore all the obvious signs and end up possessed.”
Cam snorts. “I can see that. Kane’s the one who hears the weird noise and says, ‘I’ll check it out’ right before he gets dragged into the woods.”
Rachel grins. “Or worse, he’d be the skeptic who refuses to believe anything is happening until it’s too late.”
I roll my eyes. “If I hear a weird noise, I'll just assume it’s an intruder, not a damn ghost.”
Raven waves her hand. “Classic denial. First stage of a haunting. Next thing you know, you’re awake at 3 AM in a cold sweat, hearing whispers in this very haunted castle.”
Cam laughs, clapping me on the shoulder. “Could explain why he’s such a joy to be around.”
I shoot him a glare, but Raven’s already moving toward the door laughing. “Alright, Tour Guide Kane, let’s go. Time to see this castle before we conveniently run out of time.”
She’s smiling, but I can see the look in her eyes, she’s dying to know more.
There’s no throne here, but if there was, I’d be telling her to sit her pretty little ass on it while I kneel in front of her. I'd worship every inch of her with my tongue.
I shove that thought very far down before it turns into something I can’t hide.
As for secret rooms? Yeah, there's a few. But I'm not telling her that. We move through the house keeping to the main areas, but when we step into the game room, Rachel’s reaction is immediate.
“Whoa!” She exclaims. Her eyes are wide as she looks around the room. “This place is insane.”
Raven steps past her, spinning slowly in place, doing the same. Her eyes trail over the sleek pool table, the leather couches, and the vintage arcade games in the corner.
“Okay… now this is impressive.”
Cam elbows me, grinning from ear to ear. “Hear that? She’s impressed.”
“Shut up.”
Raven turns to look at me. “These people have way too much free time.”
“Observant as always.”
Rachel's already grabbing a cue stick, “Let’s play! Kane, you’re my partner.”
Raven tilts her head, eying the table with mild suspicion. “Are we even allowed to play?”
Cam leans against the bar, flashing his signature grin. “Well, no one here is going to stop us.”
I suppress an eye roll. He’s really leaning into this whole I-have-all-the-answers act, and I’m definitely going to owe him for it. That’s probably exactly what he’s counting on too. I should’ve just booked them a regular castle tour. This is turning into way more than I bargained for.
Rachel chalks up her cue, grinning. “I’m in. Kane, let’s go!”
Looking at Raven, I ask. “Do you know how to play?”
She lifts a brow, crossing her arms. “Oh, please. I may not have grown up playing darts, but I can handle a stick just fine.”
Cam chokes and Rachel practically spits from laughing so hard.
“Oh my God! Not like that, you perverts!”
I lean in slightly, dropping my voice just enough to watch her squirm. “It’s okay, Princess. Everyone has their kink.”
Her lips part, and for a second, I swear she stops breathing. “Please, if that were the case, I’d be way more into watching you struggle.”
Somewhere on the other side of the room, I hear Cam groan. “Jesus Christ, just hit the damn ball before this turns into full-blown foreplay.”
Rachel howls with laughter, and Raven gives me a triumphant smile as she steps up to take her shot.
I swear to God, this woman is going to ruin me.
She bends forward, lining up her shot. The oversized hoodie she’s wearing rides up just enough to give me an unfiltered view of the curve of her ass. My fingers twitch at my sides and I inhale, trying to tear my gaze away before I do something stupid.
Unfortunately, not soon enough.
Cam notices, but he’s smart enough to keep his mouth shut. Rachel, on the other hand…not so much.
“Maybe if you take a picture, it’ll last longer.”
I drag a hand down my face, already regretting every choice that led to this moment. But before I can say anything, Raven straightens, rolling the stick between her hands as she saunters past me.
She leans in just slightly, and whispers, “Excuse me, sir, it’s not polite to stare.”
Then she keeps walking, completely unbothered, and high-fives Rachel like she just scored a winning shot.
And I’m standing here, gripping my cue stick way too fucking tight, caught between wanting to throw her onto table and making her pay for every single one of her smartass remarks. I'm getting tired of pretending like none of this is getting to me.
I shake my head, trying to clear the haze of frustration and lust clouding my judgement. But then Cam leans in, whispering something in Raven’s ear and she laughs like it was the funniest thing she's ever heard. She’s enjoying this way too much.
I line up my shot, forcing my focus back on the game. Just as I’m about to take my shot, Raven casually strolls by and perches right on the edge of the table, directly in my line of sight.
I miss.
The grin tugging at her lips tells me exactly what she’s doing. She's playing dirty.
Cam whistles under his breath. “She’s got you wrapped, mate.”
I glance at him, then back at Raven, who’s doing a piss-poor job of pretending to be innocent. “Oh, you think this is funny?”
Raven tilts her head, the picture of innocence. “Got to use all my resources to win, and it looks like it’s working.”
She spins on her heel, walking past Cam and giving him a high-five like she just won the bloody Olympics. Cam practically doubles over laughing, shaking his head in admiration.
That little brat.
My cock twitches in response. I really need to get a grip. This is getting ridiculous.
At least Cam is entertained. “You have to hand it to her, man. That was a solid move. We’re going to crush you.”
Raven leans on the edge of the couch. “What does the winning team get?”
“What do you want? A gold star? Or maybe a cookie?” I deadpan, still annoyed that I fell for her stunt.
Her grin widens and I can see her eyes glistening with the challenge. “I, for one, would like both a gold star and a cookie, since you asked so nicely.”
Cam lines up his shot, and at this point, I almost hope he just puts me out of my misery and finishes the game. He could try to lose and still manage to pull off a win.
The sound of the final ball sinking is quickly followed by an ear-piercing scream.
“AHHH! We won!!”
She bolts toward Cam, jumping into his arms, and he catches her effortlessly, spinning her around.
A sharp, unwelcome pang of jealousy flares in my chest. I shove it down, telling myself it’s just because I haven’t been laid in a while. My body’s just reacting, nothing more. I don't get jealous.
Raven brushes past me and her arm grazing mine, sending a jolt through me like a live wire.
“I’ll take my gold star now, if you don’t mind. And as for my cookies, I like chocolate chip,” she purrs, throwing a look over her shoulder.
She’s teasing me, waiting for me to bite. “Are you sure you’re going to be okay? I'm sure losing was hard for you.”
Rachel snorts and Cam covers his laugh with a cough.
I take a slow step forward, closing the space between us just enough to catch the heat that flickers in her eyes. “Careful, Princess.”
Her lips part, and her tongue darts out to wet her bottom lip. Then, in true Raven fashion, she scoffs, flicking her hair over her shoulder. “Whatever helps you sleep at night.”
And just like that, she walks away, adding an extra sway to her hips as I watch her go. I clench my jaw, every muscle in my body is wound like a fucking coil right now.
Cam claps a hand on my shoulder, shaking his head as he puts up his stick. “Yeah, you’re so screwed.”
I drag a hand down my face, forcing myself to breathe. She’s a menace. A gorgeous, sharp-tongued menace who has no idea what kind of fire she’s playing with. That cocky little smirk and the way she taunts me like she’s untouchable is infuriating. And the worst part is, it’s working.
She thinks this is a game and that she’s winning. She has no idea that I never start something unless I’m prepared to win.
I’ll let her have her fun. For now.
I move to follow Cam, gesturing toward the door with a bow. “After you, your highness.” She rolls her eyes but doesn’t hide the way her lips twitch. I can read her like a book, she enjoys pushing me just as much as I enjoy pushing her.
She narrows her eyes, glaring at me, but there’s no real heat behind it. “Enjoying yourself?”
Oh, sweetheart, you have no idea.
We move through the halls, passing roped-off doors and Rachel slows, eyeing them with barely concealed mischief.
“I wonder what’s in there,” she muses, her fingers twitching like she’s debating whether to push her luck. “Should we sneak in? What do you guys say?”
I huff a quiet laugh, already knowing where this is going.
“Don’t even think about it, Rach,” Raven warns, nudging her friend.
But I don’t miss the interest that flashes through her eyes. Raven might not say it outright, but I can tell she wants to. The temptation is there. And fuck if that doesn’t stir something dark and dangerous in me.
I can see it now. Raven sneaking through these halls at night, her body pressed against the stone as she listens for footsteps, hiding in the shadows. But she'd get caught.
I swallow hard, shoving the image down before my thoughts go somewhere I won’t be able to control.
She catches me watching her and I can see the curiosity flickering across her face.
“You thinking about breaking the rules, Princess?” I murmur, keeping my voice just low enough to make it feel like a challenge.
She lifts a shoulder in a lazy shrug. “No, I would never do something like that.”
Liar.
I arch a brow. “Oh, so you only break rules when no one’s looking?”
She flashes me a grin, and fuck, it’s lethal. “I never said that.”
I chuckle under my breath. I know I should stop provoking her. I also know I should definitely stop imagining what she’d do if I caught her sneaking around in one of these rooms.
Rachel interrupts, stopping in front of a massive portrait. “Look at her dress! Can you imagine if we had to wear that every day?”
“I’m sure you’d trip at least once a day if you had to wear that,” Cam teases.
Rachel glares right back at him. “Rude.”
Raven just shakes her head, laughing softly. “Hey, don’t make fun of her baby deer ankles.”
We keep moving until we reach a large room lined with glass cases. When I see them, a curse burns the back of my throat, but I swallow it. Their eyes light up and Raven practically presses her nose against the glass.
“What are these?”
I should’ve known she’d be drawn to them.
“They’re just… old things.” I clear my throat. “Daggers, knives, and some random artifacts.” I hesitate for half a second, “I think they belonged to—the original owners of the estate.”
Fuck.
Her fingers skim the edge of the glass, tracing the outline of one of the daggers. A small, knowing smile tugs at her lips, but she stays quiet.
Cam senses my tension and steps in. “It’s wild how much history is packed into these places, huh? Who knows what kind of stories these things could tell.”
Raven hums, nodding. But her attention stays locked on the display like she’s trying to absorb every detail.
“Too bad you don’t know more about them,” she tilts her head as if trying to puzzle something out. I can practically hear her brain working. “They’re actually pretty cool.”
Rachel chimes in, clearly bored. “Yeah, shame.”
“Maybe I'll look into it sometime for ye.”
Raven’s face lights up, and fuck, I wasn’t expecting that reaction. “I would love that,” she exclaims, her voice brimming with genuine excitement. “I’ve never seen anything like them before… I’d love to know…”
Her voice trails off, and I can see her mind piecing together theories and reaching for answers no one else would think to ask.
I hesitate for half a second before asking. “Would you ladies care to sneak into the library or move on to the next room?”
Raven’s eyes go wide, and the knives are all but forgotten as she practically bounces on her feet.
“YES! Oh my God, YES!”
I chuckle, shaking my head. If I didn’t offer, I have a sneaking suspicion she’d find a way to break in.
The doors swing open to reveal the library and I don’t miss the way Raven’s entire expression shifts. Sunlight streams through the tall windows, casting a golden glow over the black shelves, the plush armchairs, and the ladder that glides across the cases.
She steps forward and her whole face lights up. “This is incredible,” she whispers, more to herself than anyone else.
She moves like she’s in a trance, fingers trailing along the spines of the books just like she did in the bookstore. Something about the way she does it makes me pause to watch.
She spins, looking over her shoulder at Rachel, and they both gasp at the size of the collection.
“This is insane!” She exclaims, turning back to me. “If I lived here, I’d never leave this room.”
Something inside me flickers at those words. A dangerous, treacherous thought. Because the first thing that comes to mind is that my mother would love her, but I shove the thought down so fast it nearly chokes me. Absolutely not. No.
Cam is oblivious to my internal struggle and is laughing at something Rachel said, pointing to some of the taller shelves. Meanwhile, Raven continues moving through the space, running her fingertips over the books like they mean something to her.
It’s been a long time since I’ve seen someone experience this kind of joy over something so simple. A long time.
Head in the game, Kane.
But the more I watch her, the harder it is to remember where the lines are supposed to be.