Page 2 of The Castle of Carnal Desires

“Nae, I’m your sexologist.”

I blinked dumbly. I wanted to say something intelligent, but all that came out was, “oh.”

Derek laughed again. “There isn’t that many sexologists in Scotland, Miss Gowan and even less who are willing to travel and stay in such a rural location. When Harris told ye boss that that his brother was a psychologist who minored in sexology at university, he was most eager. Wanted to ‘keep it in the family’ and hired us both sight unseen.” He said the last bit with a terrible American accent, probably trying to be Mr Ellengrew, and it made me laugh.

Harris came up behind me. “I see you’ve met my brother. Come on inside, it’s starting to get real chill out here. We got ye suite ready for you.”

Most of the castle was dark when we walked through, and I only made out vague shapes. Derek picked up a halogen lantern when we reached the kitchen. “This is the sitting room, but we are currently using it as a kitchen. The kitchen will be the first place on the inside to be renovated, but it’ll be down in the basement. There’s a small petrol generator out the back that will give you enough power to run a microwave and the fridge in here. Maybe ye hairdryer, but only if you unplug everything else first.”

He led us up a stone stairway, the edges of the steps worn smooth with time. We made our way slowly up two flights of stairs and down a multitude of hallways. I was well and truly lost by the time we got to a well-lit room.

Harris pushed open the heavy door and motioned me through. I stepped into a beautifully appointed bedroom.

“Wow.”

A huge four-poster bed was the centerpiece of the room. It had to be an antique, the craftsmanship was amazing. A large fireplace was roaring along one wall, and a leather wingback chair sat a few feet away on what appeared to be a genuine bearskin rug. A large armoire lined one side and a large oak desk was pressed against the remaining wall. Derek pointed to a small door was off to the side on the same wall as the fireplace.

“That’s ye ensuite. We had this room modernized for you first, because we figured you couldn’t work stuck in the Dark Ages. So, it has power from the generator. There’s a satellite internet, the router is over there. The bathroom has plumbing and hot water. The fireplace is the only heating, but if you can keep it going of a night, Harris or me will light it for you in the evenings.” He placed my bag down next to the armoire. “We’ve given ye the pick of the furniture, and the rest of the undamaged antiques are in storage, and what was salvageable is at a restoration workshop in Inverness. We’ve taken photos of all the pieces so you can decide what to sell and what to keep. They’re on ye desk.”

There was a small silence, and they shifted from foot to foot awkwardly. Finally, Harris spoke up. “Are ye sure you’ll be alright here by yourself, lass? One of us is happy to sleep on the floor if ye worried.”

Part of me, a part that happened to inhabit the region below my navel, was screaming yes, but my brain told me it was a bad idea. The temptation either one of them provided was too great.

“No, I’ll be fine.” I sounded more confident than I felt.

Harris gave a Derek a pointed look, and Derek sighed. “There’s one more thing ye should know. The place, well, it’s haunted.” I blinked at him dumbly. “By a ghost,” he clarified, needlessly.

I didn’t think it was haunted by a clown, though that would be equally as terrifying. I looked between them, trying to figure out if they were joking. It had to be a joke, right? Freak out the soft American girl?

I forced out a laugh. “That’s a terrible joke to tell a person who is about to spend the night alone in an abandoned castle.” I expected them to give me that glorious grin, but there wasn’t a single lip twitch between them.

“Unfortunately, lass, it isnae a joke. The place is haunted by the last Laird of Dun Durell. We just call him Durell, and he only speaks in a very old dialect of Gaelic, so even we have trouble understanding him, but I promise you, he willnae hurt ye.” My incredulity must have been painted on my face. “Trust me Aili, I would not have believed it if I hadn’t seen it with my own two eyes. I have no doubt ye’ll be seeing him yourself soon enough, but we thought it was best if we gave you a bit of warning. He knows ye here, and he’ll respect ye privacy.”

A ghost. There was a goddamn ghost roaming the halls. I must have murmured something reassuring, because the worried faces of the twins eased.

“There’s actually one more thing,” Derek said, and I groaned out loud and sat on the bed. Great, there’s more. “There’s been a little, er…”

“Resistance,” Harris provided.

“Aye, resistance, to the idea of putting a hotel of this nature in Fulcairn. Some of the locals have formed a committee and put out a petition to get the permits revoked. There have been a few instances of vandalism, and some breaking and entering by the more radical members of the group. We notified the police on ye behalf, but if you hear anything, just call them or us. Here’s our numbers,” Derek gave me his business card. “Harris’s number is on the back, as well as my home line and the number for the local police station. Call anytime, day or night.”

I dropped my head in my hands and contemplated the pros and cons of just picking up my bags and going home; career and Ellengrew be damned. Derek put his strong, warm hand on my shoulder.

“It’ll be alright, Aili. When they see how much this will bring to the town in tourism, they’ll change their minds. Fulcairn needs this to survive in the 21stcentury. Now, are ye sure ye don’t want one of us to spend the night?”

That was a loaded question. If I was going to damn my career and go home, what would one night with a hunky Scotsman really hurt?

Even as I entertained the idea, I knew I couldn’t do it. I was just too pigheaded and stubborn to give up so easy. I didn’t get where I was in my career by running away from a challenge. I looked up into Derek’s eyes, which I now realized were a vivid blue, and lust stirred in my belly. But damn, he would have been a good way to blow my career.

“No, I’ll be fine. But thank you guys for everything. The suite looks great. I’m just going to collapse onto the bed and deal with everything tomorrow. But I’ll put your numbers on speed dial, just in case.”

I forced a friendly smile, and it must have worked, because a few minutes later they left, reassured that I didn’t have any intention of leaving my suite until morning anyway.

I collapsed back onto the bed, still fully clothed, and fell into a deep, jet-lagged sleep.

Chapter Two

Thirteen hours of glorious sleep later, I was awoken by the sounds of construction. I pulled back the blankets and sat up. My shoes were gone and I was under the covers; I must have finally gotten into bed some time during the night like a zombie.

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