"Hey, it's okay," Liam told me in a soft voice. "I couldn't do the mukluk. You can't do this. I totally get that. Unfortunately, though, we both have to go down to each chamber."
I sucked in a deep breath, nodding. "I'm sorry. I'll try."
His hand slid along my leg, rubbing it to comfort me. We were wearing shorts for this leg of the race, and his hand felt comforting despite the oppressive heat of the tunnels. It was night - they should have been cooler, but it was disgusting inside, and that wasn't helping my panic. "I'm here with you, Katy. You'll be all right."
"I bet Tesla wouldn't be scared of this," I said in a miserable voice. "You got stuck with the wrong partner."
"Nah, Tesla wouldn't be scared of this," he agreed. "But she's scared of animals."
"Animals?"
His hand continued to rub my leg soothingly. "Yeah. She freaked out with the dog sled. Big time. She thinks animals are full of diseases."
I gave a mildly hysterical little giggle at that, trying to picture sexy, sultry Tesla flipping out over a few huskies. "I hope there's a freaking camel race for this leg, then."
He laughed at that. "You know what? Me too."
We sat there for a moment longer, and then Liam’s fingers stroked my hand comfortingly. "You know, we have plenty of time before the next team arrives. Do you want to try and scoot down the tunnel on your backside? That might make you feel better."
I squeezed my eyes shut, picturing that horrible stifling blackness and having to descend into it. "I…I don't know."
"How about I hold your hand, and you keep your eyes closed. You can keep one hand on me, one on the railing, and just kind of scoot down at your own pace." His voice was a low, soothing hum. "We'll take all the time you need."
I sucked in a deep breath, trying not to imagine the walls pressing in around me. If I kept my eyes closed, it was better, but only a little. Panic still threatened to overwhelm me.
"Come on," Liam coaxed in that soft voice. "I moved down a step. Can you move down a step toward me?"
My eyes tightly shut, I reached out and found the railing again, and slid down a bit, toward his voice.
"That's it," Liam told me, encouraging me onward. "Take your time. We can do this."
And a few seconds later, I gave another half-assed shuffle downward.
"Good job, Katy." His voice was warm and full of pleasure that I was trying.
"You probably think I'm the world's biggest idiot," I told him, doing another blind little slide down to the next step.
"Actually, no. I find you pretty damn sexy."
My eyes flew open at that, but then I saw the yawning black behind him and gave a frightened meep, squeezing them shut tight again. "You're distracting me!"
"Is it working?" He chuckled, the sound low and delicious, and gave my hand another encouraging tug. I followed him down another shuffled step.
"Maybe a little."
"You're doing great. Just hold on to me."
"This…this isn't freaking you out?"
"Me? Nah. A bowl of mukluk freaks me out. Going on stage freaks me out. Holding the hand of a pretty girl that I like kissing? That's not freaky at all."
"There you go, trying to distract me again," I said breathlessly, even as I slid down another step or two. "You don't like going on stage?"
"Hate it," he said in an easy voice, and tugged my hand to encourage me along. "Some people love performing. That's their favorite part of the gig. I hate it. I'd much rather sit in a studio and write songs all day long, but the rest of the band likes to tour." He gave a soft chuckle. "The label likes that, too. Imagine that."
"You should tell them you don't like touring," I said, sliding down another step. "It doesn't seem right that you have to tour if you hate it."
"I do. I have the worst kind of stage fright. That's why I'm perfectly happy to let Tesla get in front of everyone and make a spectacle of herself. It means all I have to do is sit in the back and play guitar. Another step. Come on."
I slid down a bit more. "You looked like you were having fun in your video."
"Of course. And another step. There you go. Videos are shot in a studio. And they're shot over and over again until they get just the right look for what they want. No one's going to be excited if they see the guitarist looking like a deer caught in headlights at the sight of a crowd."
I slid down again, and stifled another giggle. "I can't picture that."
"It's not pretty," he said, and his voice was wry. "So I noticed you're avoiding the subject."
"Subject?"
"I called you pretty and sexy and told you I like to kiss you, and all you want to ask about is how scared being on stage makes me. Come on, another step. There you go. I kind of think you're avoiding the subject, Katy."
"Nah," I said nervously. "I…kind of thought you liked kissing me because it made good TV."
"You were the one that said you wanted to make good TV. I was just going along with it because it got me some alone time with you."
I felt that prickle of awareness on my body, of his hand holding mine, even as I slid a bit further down the stairs. "Oh."
He chuckled. "That's all you have to say?" I heard his feet hit something and then he gave my hand a small shake. "You can open your eyes now. We made it to the chamber."
I slid down just a bit more, and then squeezed one eye open. Sure enough, the narrow passageway had opened up to a much larger stone chamber that was lit with electric lights strung up along the walls. The room wasn't all that interesting, except for another narrow crawl-hole in the far end of the room and a railing around the center of the chamber that protected a deeper hole.
I breathed a sigh of relief. This room was not all that scary, and I found my anxiety slipping away again. "I guess we should search for the next clue, huh?"
"In a minute," Liam said, and tugged on my hands, helping me to my feet. When I was standing, though, he didn't let go of my hands. He continued to hold them and stared down at me. "You're still avoiding the question."
"The question?" I asked, a little flustered at his intense gaze.
His hand released mine, and he reached up to tug on one of my pigtails. "I want to know if all of this chemistry between us is just for TV."
Just like that, the breath escaped my lungs again. I gazed up at him. "Not on my side," I admitted.
"Good. Mine neither." His hand cupped the back of my head and he bent down to press a light, grazing kiss on my mouth. "You want to know what's keeping me going right now?"
His lips remained so close to mine that it was making desire surge through my body, blocking out any thoughts of fear or the race. "What?"
"The thought that at the end of this leg?" His mouth slicked over mine again, his tongue flicking against the parted seam of my mouth. "That we have enough money for another hotel room." Again, that stealthy, sweet kiss that was more of a tease than anything. "And that maybe we don't have to go anywhere or do anything for a nice, long twelve hours." Again, that flick of tongue. "And we get to spend that twelve hours in bed. Together."
Each stroke of his tongue felt like it was moving directly to my clit. I gave a small moan of response, my hands releasing his to cling to the front of his shirt.
"But maybe I'm the only one that wants that?" he asked in a low, sultry whisper. "Because you're not saying anything."
I shuddered, barely suppressing the moan rising in my throat. "No, I want that too." The thought of sliding into bed with this gorgeous man and exploring each other for twelve glorious hours? It sounded like heaven. I thought of his body curled around mine in our chaste bed in Italy. It had been delicious…and it had been torture. Torture because I wanted the real thing. Liam naked, in bed with me, his skin sliding over mine, his tongue doing that erotic dance along my mouth like it was right now.
And so I decided to show him just how much I wanted it. I dragged his mouth to mine in a hard kiss, my tongue sweeping into his mouth. My leg rose and curled around his, dragging our hips tog
ether.
He groaned and his hands planted on my ass, curving my body against his larger one until I was pressed against him, and our mouths met and meshed over and over again. It didn't matter that we were at the bottom of a pyramid, or that it was hot and muggy inside, or we were in the middle of a race. All I knew at this moment was that this delicious man wanted to sleep with me.
And I wanted him, too. I couldn't wait for tonight.
The kiss broke off after a moment, leaving us both gasping. I could feel Liam growing hard against my thigh, and my nipples felt like they were about to come through my shirt, they were so tight.
"Well," he said raggedly, and then slicked another kiss over my mouth, as if he couldn't leave me alone. "I guess we should look for that clue."
"I guess so," I said, and nipped at his jaw again, not moving from his arms.
He chuckled and gave my ass a firm squeeze with his hands - such strong hands - and slid me back down to the ground. "Come on."
"Gotcha," I said breathlessly. We gave the room a cursory look, though there wasn't all that much to see.
There was, however, a black hole carved into the shadowy wall. Another tunnel, small and cramped and barely wide enough to crawl into.
Liam glanced over at me. "I don't suppose you want to go in there and check?"
"How about no?"
He grinned and dropped to his knees in front of it. "Somehow, I thought you'd say that."
"I'll make it worth your while," I said in a flirty voice. "Later tonight."
He looked back at me and grinned. "Now you're talking." Then he dropped to his elbows, and began to shimmy into the hole.
I shuddered and looked away, unable to watch him climbing even deeper into this hellhole pyramid. Rubbing my arms, I glanced around the chamber…
And just barely caught a green light flashing. Frowning, I headed over to that light, and noticed that there was a small camera mounted in the wall next to one of the lights.
Well, damn. So much for not caring about making good TV. We'd just made some pretty awesome TV with our impromptu make out session.
And somehow, I couldn't find it in me to be upset. I was looking forward to more kisses far too much.
~~ * * * ~~
By the time we'd visited all three pyramids, the sun was coming up and we had eight different figurines. Liam had done all the hard work. I'd mostly clung to him and suffered my way through the series of small tunnels. The Great Pyramid had been the worst; the others were just mildly unpleasant.
When we were finished with the last, we laid the figures out on the ground outside and studied them, moving words around. When we figured it out, it read: Head to the Sphinx Temple for your clue.
We were like a well-oiled machine at this point. Liam and I looked at each other. Wordlessly, he grabbed my backpack and we sprinted back towards the Sphinx. It was a bit of a trot and by the time we arrived, we were both winded.
There was a flag at the entrance, and a man in a white cotton robe and turban waiting for us. The sun had come up and it was getting warmer, and I envied him his cool-seeming clothing. I took the disk with a thank you, and then retreated to read it.
"Individual Task," I read aloud as Liam dropped our packs. "One of you will go step by step and reproduce a traditional Egyptian mummy, complete with linens, scarabs, and mummification rituals. A judge will be waiting nearby to give you your next clue once you have completed the task to his satisfaction." I looked up at Liam in horror. "Please tell me we're not going to have to mummify a real body."
"This is TV, Katy. I doubt they found someone willing to volunteer for that."
Good point. I considered things, then shrugged. If it was nasty, well, I had the stronger stomach. "I'll do it."
Liam grinned. "I was hoping you'd say that."
I gave him a quick kiss and dashed into the designated area. And stopped being amused. There were six tables laid out, each one with a 'body.' A cameraman dashed forward, recording my flinch of reaction. I moved closer to the nearest table and heaved a sigh of relief when I realized that the 'person' on the table was plastic. Thank god for that. Next to the table was a scroll, and next to that was a series of tools and jars.
I considered the implements laid out before me, and picked up a small hook, then shuddered. I did not want to know what that was for.
After examining the items, I unrolled the scroll. It was done in a cheesy sort of hieroglyphic, complete with pictures detailing each step of mummification. Here was where you washed the body. Here was where you removed the internal organs and put them in jars. Here was where you shoved the hook up the nose and scooped the brains out.
I brushed my fingers over the dummy’s skin…and it felt almost like real skin. It was even warm.
Ew.
I swallowed hard and looked down at my dummy. "You're lucky it's me and not Liam, mister."
~~ * * * ~~
A short time later, I wiped my hands clean and took the disk that the judge held out for me, feeling vaguely queasy. That had been a little more realistic - dummy and all - than I had preferred.
No sooner had I received my disk and went out to greet my partner than another team showed up - Summer and Polly. Damn. How did they constantly get to the head of the pack? It was crazy. Hot on their heels were Abby and Dean and Tesla and Brodie. Almost everyone had caught up. I didn't see the other two teams, but I was pretty sure they weren't far behind.
Off to the side, Liam waved me down and I raced over to him with the disk. We hunched over it, reading the clue quietly. "Head to the harbor of Alexandria and look for the Pharos Lighthouse," I read aloud.
"One of the seven wonders of the ancient world," Liam murmured. "Interesting. I thought it was destroyed."
I'd never heard of the darn thing. "So how do we find something that's destroyed?"
"It says to head to Alexandria," he pointed out. "Maybe someone there will know more."
We gathered up our things and returned to our waiting taxi.
~~ * * * ~~
Several hours later, we departed the train that had taken us to Alexandria and hailed another cab. While riding on the train, we'd borrowed someone's smartphone and had a chance to do some research on the Pharos Lighthouse - it had apparently been found under the sea and there were diving tours that could get us to where we needed to go. I suspected that we'd find a flag at one of the diving stations.
With our cab driver, we searched the bay section. I spotted the cameras before I spotted the flag, and nudged Liam. "Over there."
He nodded, and we bounded out of the cab after paying the driver. Off atop a nearby hill, I could see Chip Brubaker waiting at the finish line. This had to be the right place. I took Liam's pack as he headed to the scuba diving shop, meeting the judge with the flag.
The man handed him his task and Liam read it aloud. "Dive in the waters of Alexandria's Eastern Harbor. Search the treasure chests along the bottom of the ocean for ten coins that depict the Lighthouse of Alexandria. Once you have all ten coins, proceed to the finish line." Liam glanced back at me and grinned. "Wish me luck."
“How about a good luck kiss?”
“Even better,” he said, moving toward me. Before I could take the initiative, his hand went to the back of my neck and he dragged me toward him in a quick, fierce kiss that left my knees weak.
"Good luck," I said, hugging his oversized backpack to my front, wobbly. "I'll, um, be here."
He disappeared off with the production crew, and I sat down on a chair at the dock, waiting. I could at least watch and see who else showed up and make note of the order they arrived in. Unless Joel/Derron and Hal/Stefan showed up ahead of the others, they had to be in last place. A bad flight, maybe. It didn't matter. We seemed to be safe for now.
Of course, as soon as that thought crossed my mind, I knocked on wood.
The diving shop sold snacks and cold bottles of water, and I made myself comfortable, waiting in a shady spot and eying the flag stop.
At least an hour crawled by. No Liam. No other contestants. I spun my water bottle and then purchased another and more snacks for Liam, because I knew he'd be hungry. We'd been going all morning long, and if his dive was taking this long, he was bound to be exhausted when he returned. I peered at the waters of the harbor, but didn't see anything. I'd just wait here for him to return, since Chip was so close by.
A taxi pulled up a few minutes later. To my dismay, Brodie and Tesla jumped out of the cab. They'd gotten ahead of the rest of the group. Damn it. And now I was going to have to sit with one of them. Double damn.
I nearly groaned aloud when Tesla disappeared into the dive shop, leaving me with Brodie. Figured.
My brother sprawled onto the deck next to me and rested his head on his pack. "Hey, sis." He gestured at my water bottle. "I don't suppose you'd give that to me? I'm wiped."
"They sell them in the shop, Brodie."
"Yeah, but Tesla and I are pretty low on funds at the moment." He grimaced. "She likes to spend money and we keep running out."
I eyed my brother's sweaty hair and cracked lips, and sighed, handing the water bottle to him. "You hungry, too?"
"God yes, I'm starving."
I wordlessly handed him the bag of trail mix I'd been saving for Liam. "I'd give you some money but it's not just mine."
"That's okay," Brodie said, stuffing food into his mouth and taking a huge swig of water. "You are awesome, Katy, you know that?"
I just shook my head at Brodie. "I'm your sister. I'm not going to let you die on a dumb race."
He grinned and flopped back down on his bag. "This race is pretty awesome, actually."
It was, I had to admit. I was having a lot more fun than I'd anticipated…but most of that was due to Liam. "I'm still a bit mad at you for the partner swap," I told him. "You should have talked to me first."
"I just didn't want Tesla to go, you know? I didn't realize they were going to flip us." He shielded his eyes from the sun and squinted up at me. "I am sorry. You’re my sister. I didn’t want to screw you over."
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