I lean in a bit more, and her lips brush against mine. "Stop harassing me, Ashley."
"This job is exactly your kind of thing. You want to do it, so just say yes."
Shaking my head, I push away from her. "The Grand Canyon treasure is a myth. I might enjoy hunting for lost relics, but only ones that actually exist."
Ashley folds her arms over her chest again, and the action lifts her breasts. "You'll give in one day. If I have to spend years chasing after you, Mr. Murdoch, I will seduce you into saying yes, eventually."
My entire body has tensed in anticipation of something I know I shouldn't do. Myslathas stiffened, and my brain is no longer in control. Walk away, that's what I should do. But Ashley drags a finger down her chest until it meets the neckline of her dress, then she drags it back up to her throat. I'm breathing harder now, and my cock jerks.
Ashley licks her lips.
Mhac na galla. I surge forward, pinning her to the windowsill with my body, my hands gripping the edge, and I crush my mouth to hers. A bolt of lust rips through me like lightning, hot and fierce and irresistible. I thrust my tongue between her lips. She moans and relaxes her jaw, pushing her tongue into my mouth, while I rub my stiffslatinto her belly. She lashes her arms around my neck and plows her fingers into my hair, moaning again, more deeply this time. That ravenous sound spurs me to grind my cock into her like a rutting animal.
She locks one leg around my hip.
Outside, a car door slams.
I shove my hand under her dress to palm her mound.
Footfalls clap on the spiral staircase. Someone calls out, "Errol! Are you up there?"
Magnus.Bloody hell.
I tear my lips away from Ashley's mouth and stagger backward a few steps.
The lass stares at me wide-eyed, her swollen lips parted.
I gesture toward her body. "Fix your dress. My cousin is coming."
But if Magnus hadn't arrived when he did, I would've been the one coming—inside Ashley Hartman's body. She would've screamed my name for sure.
The lass fixes her dress and pats her hair, then she hurries down the long gallery to the stairs. She bumps into Magnus and yelps. He says something to her that I can't hear, but it causes her to race down the spiral staircase.
Magnus shakes his head and marches toward me. "What did ye do to the lass, Errol? She seems upset."
"Ashley is fine. Donnae worry about her." I meet him halfway across the room. "Why are you here, Magnus? Piper left already."
"But she forgot her purse." Magnus glances around, apparently sees what he wanted, and ducks behind a crate to pick up a small purse. "Here it is. Why donnae ye come to dinner at our house tonight?"
"No, thank you. I have, ah, things to do."
Magnus shrugs, and we walk back to the spiral staircase together. As we trudge down the steps in silence, I can't stop my mind from replaying that moment in the long gallery when I kissed Ashley. Aye, that woman is a menace—to my self-control.
I need to shag her.
Chapter Two
Ashley
As I climb into my car and yank the door shut, my mind keeps torturing me with images of Errol Murdoch—his muscular body, those gorgeous blue eyes, that silky light brown hair. Is it my imagination, or has he developed more muscles lately? He had a good body the first time I saw him, but over the past several months, he seems to have gotten more buff.
Damn, that man can kiss.
But I will never let that happen again. This is business, as I keep telling Errol, and I do not mix business with pleasure. Never. Not even if I know the pleasure would be incredible. Okay, yes, I'm attracted to him. So what? I do not seduce men into doing what I want.
So…why did I say the word seduce when I was trying to talk Errol into going on my expedition?
I start up the car and turn around too fast, which makes gravel spray up.Get a grip, woman, he's not that hot.Even if he is, I have willpower. As I drive out of the courtyard and through the massive wooden gateway, I can't help gawking at the castle walls and the building itself. Rory MacTaggart and his wife actually own a medieval castle.