Page 58 of Wild Highland Rose
Her face grew even hotter. "I…I…that is…"
Her voice seemed to have deserted her. Fortunately, she was spared having to try and summon it. His mouth covered hers, opening for a long deep kiss. Marjory felt the heat building inside her again. She pressed against him, feeling his arms lock around her. She reveled in the feel of him, giving and taking as the passion of the kiss intensified.
He pulled back, a question burning brightly in his golden eyes.
But before she could answer a loud rumble erupted from the beneath the blanket.
"What was that?" Cameron sat up, holding his hand to his chest in mock terror.
"'Twas my belly." She admitted, fighting embarrassment. Cameron reached to run a hand down her cheek, smiling with tenderness. Marjory felt her heart skip a beat.
"Well, I suppose if I were a true warrior, I'd go and kill something for us to eat, but I'm afraid my skill set doesn't extend that far."
Marjory had never heard the phrase, but she understood the meaning. And again it reinforced what Cameron had claimed last night. Ewen had been a great hunter. Evidently, the new, and greatly improved she might add, Cameron, wasn't.
Not a problem. She'd been hunting since she was a wee lass. "I could try and snare a rabbit."
Cameron shot her a look of open amazement. "Beautiful and a huntress, too? What luck."
Marjory blushed at the compliment. Even after the morning's extended intimacy, she felt shy around him.
He smiled and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I guess we really ought to be getting back." He looked at the sky through the roof.
She followed his gaze, shocked to discover that the day had progressed well into the afternoon. "I think perhaps 'tis too late to try and make Crannag Mhór this day. 'Tis quite a distance on foot. The loch stretches from one end o' the valley to the other, climbing up into the mountains at either end. Without horses 'twould take more than a day. We're better off waiting until the morning." She ducked her head, her mind already imagining another night spent in his arms.
"Well, I suppose we'll just have to make the best of it, then." He bent and dropped a kiss on her cheek. "But, first, I suggest we find something to eat."
Nodding her agreement, she rose from the makeshift bed, dragging one of the blankets with her. Picking up her scattered clothing, she turned her back and began to dress, imagining his amused stare boring into her backside. With a last tug at her ensemble, she turned back to face him, only to find that he was gone. "Cameron?"
"Over here." He stepped out from behind a pile of rubble, a wooden dipper held triumphantly in his hand. His plaid was slightly askew, but he had managed to secure it in place, without her help. She smiled.
"What have you found?"
"Water."
She frowned in confusion. "Here?" She walked over and looked into the dipper. Itwasfilled with water. She smelled it. It seemed fresh. He offered it to her and she drank thirstily.
"More?" He turned and gestured to an odd contraption behind him that was made of wood with a metal handle sticking out of the top. It looked like a giant urn of some kind with a spout on one side. She watched as Cameron moved the handle up anddown. Water flowed from the spout. She crossed herself. What magic was this?
"Marjory, what is it? You act like you've never seen a pump before." His concerned gaze embraced her and some of her panic receded.
"What did you call it?" She took a step toward the contraption, curiosity overcoming her fear.
"A pump. You know, it brings water into the house. I'd guess from the stream we followed."
She tentatively touched the handle. The metal was cool to the touch. "I've never seen anything like it. A pump, did you say? Does it work by magic?"
"No, physics."
"Physics." She repeated the strange word and, holding her breath, lifted the handle bringing it down. Water spewed from the spout. With a start, she jumped backward, then stepped back to the pump when she was certain nothing else was going to happen.
Cameron came up behind her, turning her to face him. "Are you saying you've never seen one of these before?"
"Nay, never." She pulled away, moving the lever up and down again, fascinated with the resulting fall of water. "Will it run out, do you think?"
"No, not as long as there is a sufficient amount of water in the creek."
"How does it work?" She couldn't pull her eyes away from the magical water maker.
