Page 45 of Highland Games
Silence echoed around the courtyard.
‘I’m Rory.’
‘Morning, Rory!’ Zoe trilled like a bird on amphetamines.
Rory walked forward. ‘Can I help with your bags?’
Fiona handed him a bag and they followed him into the castle. When they reached the great hall, they dumped everything on a folding table next to a wall. Rory stood back as if the contents might explode at any point. A broadsword was propped against the wall next to three lights on stands.
Zoe was well aware he was here under duress, so quickly got her camera out and attached the lens she wanted.
‘Okay, first I want to get lots of shots of each of the rooms, so wides, mids and close-ups. Fi, can you take my notebook and tick off when I’ve got the photos I need? We’ll then come back here and do the ones involving, er, people.’
She risked a quick glance at Rory. He was looking away. ‘Rory, please can you bring two of the lights?’
He nodded. ‘Where do you want to go first?’
‘I thought we would start upstairs and work our way down.’ She looked at Liam asleep in his buggy. ‘Is there a lift?’
Rory shook his head and took the notebook from Fiona. ‘I can multitask.’ He walked off and Zoe hurriedly followed, mouthing ‘sorry’ back to Fiona who waved at her to go.
Zoe usually liked to take her time composing shots. She loved shooting landscapes because they didn’t move. This, however, was different. Rory was in no mood for artistic faffing. She had to get in, get the photos she needed and get out.
Most of the rooms had enough natural light to illuminate them, so she focused on making the old and tired spaces come alive again. Rory ticked off her shot list and they went through the castle in silence except for the sound of the shutter clicking away. Whenever the room was too dark, Rory added background light. They worked easily together as a team, and in an hour they were back in the great hall to find Fiona trying to entertain a wide awake Liam.
‘Sorry, Zo,’ she said, bouncing him up and down. ‘He wouldn’t sleep any longer.’
‘It’s okay, I can hold him.’ She looked at Rory. ‘Um, could you possibly, erm, get changed now?’ she asked, her face reddening.
‘Can we get the worst of your ideas over and done with first?’
Zoe swallowed. ‘Er, the ones with the erm, sword and er, kilt?’
‘Yes, them.’
Zoe nodded.
He picked up a suit carrier and walked to a door leading off from the great hall. ‘I’ll get changed in here.’ He walked in, closing the door behind him.
Zoe turned away from Fiona, under the pretext of checking through the photos on her camera. She needn’t have worried as Fiona’s attention was caught up with a fractious Liam.
After a couple of minutes, the door reopened and Rory emerged. He was wearing a dark green kilt and a loose white dress shirt that was half unbuttoned. His legs were bare and his feet were back in his work boots. He had a sporran dangling from one hand.
Zoe looked up, then down again immediately, the heat blooming in her cheeks and rushing through her body. The back of her neck prickled, and she tugged at the front of her top to let in some air. She rolled up her sleeves to try and cool down and attached a different lens to the camera.
The brief glance had burned his image into her retinas. He was pure power and sex. His calves were big and strong, almost as bronzed as his arms and covered in light brown hair she felt compelled to feel against her skin. The kilt was slung low on his hips, the white shirt unbuttoned enough to get another glimpse at the expanse of his chest.
His wavy dark gold hair grazed his shoulders, framing his broad face. His full lips were closed and Zoe longed to bring hers to his and run the tip of her tongue between them, loosening them, claiming him. The pupils of his eyes were big and dark, the blue-grey irises lit up from within.
‘Sporran or no sporran?’
Zoe didn’t raise her head. ‘None, please. I want to start with shots at the window, a bit like what we were doing in the cabin.’
He threw the sporran onto the table, stalked to the window and stared out. The two women followed. Zoe put her camera over her shoulder and took Liam from Fiona.
‘What do you want me to do, Zo?’
‘I don’t want it tamed, but I do want separation to get more graduation and depth.’
