She raced to catch up with him, darting past him in the end and into the building. As they came out in the belly of the grotto, Callie stopped in the very middle, turning around and staring up at a tall gap in the ceiling where a shaft of sunlight beamed down upon her.
Beneath her feet were a myriad of seashells pressed into the cobbles, laying a path for her in a perfect mosaic pattern. She looked away from the light to the far side of the grotto, where water cascaded down a fountain over the shoulder of a woman carved in white stone. She barely wore anything but the slimmest stretch of material over her breasts.
“It is beautiful,” Callie said in awe, turning repeatedly around and around. “She could do with some more clothes, though.” She pointed at the statue.
“She has nearly as many clothes as you had on last night,” Marcus teased.
Callie looked at him with pretend outrage.
“We are not supposed to be talking about that!”
“Aren’t we? I cannot help it. That kiss.” He smiled at her. “It’s been on my mind.”
She smiled indulgently and looked away, moving towards a hole in the grotto wall that stood for a window. She looked out, gazing at the beauty of the lake.
“Maybe it has been on my mind too,” she whispered, then her smile vanished. “She has nearly found us.”
Marcus hurried to stand beside her, so near that she looked up at him in surprise.
“I thought you might be getting used to having me close by now.”
She laughed and tapped him around the arm in reprimand just as he saw what had worried her so.
A short distance down the shore of the lake was the maid. She was scrambling through the trees, trying her best to catch up with them. Distractedly, she kept pulling the twigs out of her hair and her clothes, though she was clearly determined in her path.
“She’s protective,” Callie whispered hurriedly at his side.
Marcus chuckled and looked around for another escape. Out of the back of the grotto was a steep climb of mossy steps.
“Trust me?” he asked.
“No.” She shook her head.
“Oi.”
“Ha! I barely know you.”
“Well, maybe this will make you trust me.” He walked towards the steps and climbed up. They were so mossy and slippery that more than once, he nearly tripped up and managed to catch himself on the stone wall. There was a large last step that he had to heave himself over, using his arms on a ledge high above to lever his body up. Once he was safe, he leaned down and gestured for her to follow. “I’ll help you. Unless … would you like to be caught?”
She smiled with that same sense of mischief he was feeling and reached up, giving him her hand. Her fingers closed around his, a thrill passing through him.
She started to walk up the stairs, but each time she slipped, he was there to hold her up to make sure she did not fall. With the last large step, he heaved her up easily, his greater strength pulling her out of the grotto.
“Oh,” she gasped as they tottered together between the trees, in danger of falling over. She fell against the tree behind her as he nearly fell over her. He barely managed to stop himself in time, planting his hands on the tree on either side of her.
They both breathed heavily, staring into one another’s eyes. They were so near he could kiss her again. This felt like such a secluded spot, too, that he couldn’t resist doing something. He drew his hands along the trunk of the tree a little, just brushing the sides of her waist with the edges of his hand. She inhaled sharply again, chewing her lip.
“Don’t look at me like that,” he pleaded.
“What? Why?”
“You make my mind wander, Callie.”
“My Lady?” the maid suddenly called from a distance much nearer than he would have liked.
“Ready to run?” He offered his hand to Callie. She took it, hitching up her skirt so high that most of her long, slender legs were revealed. A curl of excitement coiled in his stomach as they ran off together, hand in hand.
They didn’t stop until they were deep in the trees where the maid’s shouting could no longer reach them.
