Page 123 of My Five Daddies

He takes my hand as I get up next to him. We walk closer and closer, and I realize that the stone structure is enormous. It’s the size of Stonehenge, but instead of all crumbled and broken, this one lookscomplete.

“Wow,” I say, sucking in a breath. Each stone is the size of a pickup truck and probably weighs even more. They’re stacked on top of each other like Legos, forming a loosecircle.

Nolan walks through them, absently brushing his hand across the stone. I follow him, eyes wide. I can’t believe we can just walk right in here like it’s nothing. Stonehenge is protected and you can barely even get close to it, but this place is literally open toanyone.

We walk right into the center of the stone circle where an altar rises four feet up off the ground. It’s a solid block of stone, with a bowl-like central basin. Images are carved into the sides: a fish, a fox, an owl, some kind of deer orelk.

“Here it is,” Nolansays.

“What isit?”

He shrugs. “Nobody knows. Well, people have guesses. Probably some kind of ritualplace.”

“Religious,” Isay.

“It’s older than anything else around here. Nobody knows who built it, or for what purpose. There’s nothing else quite like it in this wholeregion.”

“It’s beautiful,” I say, walking around thebowl.

“Polovia is more than what you’ve seen,” he says. “I want you to know this country, Hazel. You’re a part of itnow.”

I run my hands along the stone as I walk and the sense of history hits me like a bus. I feel overwhelmed. I’m a part of this royal family now, and it stretches further back into history than I can imagine. Then there’s this stone structure, older even than that, right in the middle of this park. I can actually touch it and imagine the people that put it here, the dreams they had when they were living, the world they inherited and the world theyleft.

Nolan appears next to me and gently pushes me back against a stone column. I gasp as he grabs my hips and kisses me softly, pinning me against the stone. He grabs my wrists and holds them tight, not letting mego.

I kiss him back, desire flooding me. I have a new energy, maybe because of this place, but I want him so badly. I want him to fuck me right here, fuck me right over that altar. I know that I’ll get pregnant if he does it, as sure as I know anything else in this world. I don’t know how or why, but I need it sobadly.

As his hands start to roam down my skin, there’s a sound from over near our car. Nolan breaks off and we watch as three more cars pull into the clearing. They’re large white vans, and as soon as they’re parked, people with cameras jump out and come jogging out towardus.

“Fuck,” Nolansays.

“What’shappening?”

“Paparazzi,” he says, grabbing my hand. “Comeon.”

He pulls me along. We start jogging back toward the car just as the paparazzi begin to snap photos. Nolan doesn’t even look at them, he just charges straight ahead, dragging me along behind him. He almost levels one photographer who tries to get in front of him, but fortunately the guy jumps out of his way at the lastsecond.

We barrel ahead as the men yell things at us. I don’t understand most of it, since they’re yelling in Polovian. But as we get to the car, I head one Englishphrase.

“Go back toAmerica!”

My head snaps toward the guy who said it, and he starts taking pictures. Nolan grunts and moves him aside, practically throwing him out of the way. He pulls open the door to the Tesla and I climbinside.

He shuts the door and walks around, shoving one guy out of his way. He climbs behind the wheel, starts the engine, and begins to pull out. The paparazzi move reluctantly, and soon we’re back on that road, heading away from the stones and thecameras.

“Fucking scum,” Nolan says, more to himself than tome.

“What was that?” I askhim.

“The media. They love the fucking royals, so of course they try and ruin a niceafternoon.”

“How did they know where wewere?”

He sighs and shakes his head. “I don’t fucking know. Someone at the castle leaked it, I’m sure. I’d guess Julian, but I have noproof.”

I frown and look out the window. The guy telling me to go back to my country pops back into mymind.

He does have a point. I don’t belong in Polovia. I’m a total stranger to thesepeople.

---