Read Online Rebel Kiss: A Historical Romance Novel (Scottish Rebels Book 1) by Jenna Stone - Free Book Online Page B

and
reached below the surface of the cool water.  He ran his hand slowly along the
underside of a large rock and smiled when his hand brushed against the familiar
plane of a mussel.
    “Do ye care for
sea food?” Rowan asked as he broke the cluster of mussels away from the base of
the rock and pulled them from the tide pool.
    “Let’s find out,”
Anna said eagerly.  She arched an eyebrow at Rowan, wondering just how edible
the cluster of tiny shells actually was.  “How do we eat those?”
    “I’ll show ye. 
Let’s head up tae the dry sand.  It might take a bit of work tae get them out.”
    Anna trudged
behind Rowan, her stomach rumbling hopefully at the prospect of food.  Rowan
flopped down in the sand.  He sat cross-legged with a broad smile on his face
and motioned for Anna to join him.  She knelt beside him, tucking the tails of
his linen shirt about her knees.
    “Are you sure that
those are safe to eat?” Anna asked warily.
    “Aye.  They would
taste better cooked with some butter and onions, but they are edible for sure,”
Rowan promised as he pried open the first shell and deftly removed the slimy
contents with his finger.
    Anna gasped and
brought a hand reflexively to her mouth.
    “What is that ?”
she asked with obvious disapproval.
    “A mussel,” Rowan
said confidently as he tossed the slimy mass into his mouth and swallowed it
whole.  “Mmmm!  The fruit of the sea,” he growled with a teasing smile.  The
mussel was salty and nearly unpalatable raw, but Rowan wanted Anna to have
something in her belly.  So, for her benefit, he pretended that the morsel was
tasty beyond belief.  “Try one will ye?” he asked as he tore another mussel
from the shell and dangled it mischievously in front of Anna.
    She extended a
graceful hand and captured the slimy blob between her thumb and forefinger,
examining the strange creature in the afternoon sunlight.  Closing her eyes,
Anna dropped the mussel into her mouth and swallowed.
    Rowan tried to
stifle his laughter, but the expression of horror on Anna’s face was more than
he could bear.  Her eyes were clenched shut and her nose was scrunched beneath
the spray of lovely freckles.  When she swallowed the mussel, her eyes flew
open and she glowered at Rowan, knowing that she had been fooled.
    “You told me that
it would taste good!” she said accusingly as she glowered at the laughing
Scotsman sitting next to her.
    “Nay, lass.  I
didna say that!  Perhaps I misled ye a little bit but…”
    Anna slapped Rowan
playfully on the chest and began to laugh.
    “I dare you to eat
another one,” she challenged, raising one eyebrow in invitation.  “It seems
fair penance for tricking me into eating one!”
    “I didna make ye do anything, lass,” Rowan said teasingly as he stifled another belly laugh. 
“I’ll gladly have another if ye will join me,” he said in invitation as he
shucked two more of the ghastly creatures from their iridescent blue shells,
handing one to Anna.
    Anna took the
mussel between her fingers and arched an eyebrow in challenge before she popped
it into her mouth and forced herself to swallow. 
    Rowan shook his
head and cast his mussel into the waves. 
    “Ye win, lass,” he
said, conceding victory to Anna.  “I canna eat another.”
    “I thought that
you were familiar with the sea’s bounty,” Anna said teasingly as she took the
clump of unopened mussels and tossed them into the waves.
    “Familiar, aye. 
But I canna stomach sea food,” he admitted.
    Anna swallowed
hard and wished in vain for something to wash the salty taste from her mouth.  
She began to laugh, which made her forget about the insistent grumbling of her
empty stomach.
    The sound of
Anna’s laughter was high and melodic and before he knew it, Rowan found himself
laughing along with her.  He flopped back against the sand and raked his hand
through his unbound chestnut hair. 
    How long had it been
since he had laughed like this? 
    Anna