Page 34 of His to Take

“It was a comfortable night,” he answered.

Looking at the laden table, I declared, “My goodness, you have outdone yourself! This all looks delicious. Thank you so much!”

“My pleasure,” was his warm reply.

I began filling my plate with servings from each of the different foods he’d made. I put butter and syrup on the pancakes just like he’d done before. I could see him grinning out of the corner of my eye as he watched me. I was just about to get up to make myself a cup of coffee, but he walked over with one already prepared for me.

“Let me know what you think. I made it how I think you like it.”

I took a slow sip, not wanting to burn the roof of my mouth. The sweet deliciousness of the perfect amount of creamer and just the slightest hint of sugar was absolutely divine.

“It’s really good. Perfect,” I grinned, taking a bigger swallow now that I was more certain of both the taste and temperature. So thoughtful of him.

“Good. Then eat up. It’s going to be a long flight and then when we land, we have to go the rest of the way on the ground.”

“On the ground?”

“Yes. We’ll have four-wheel drive, but it’s entirely possible that will only take us part of the way. It’s likely we’ll have to do the last bit on foot.”

“We don’t exactly know where we’re going, though,” I pursed my lips, chewing a piece of bacon thoughtfully.

“With your expertise, we were able to narrow in on a range of coordinates. We’ll find it. We’ve got the support of both of our city states at our backs,” he replied. I couldn’t help but catch that he looked back at me with a certain wariness. I wondered if perhaps he didn’t trust mine.

I focused on my meal so that I didn’t have to think of anything to say in return. Before I knew it, I’d finished my plate and had returned to sipping my coffee. Ryker didn’t wait nor did he listen when I offered to clean. He simply picked up the plates and started washing them in the sink.

“I can do this. You finish getting ready, Naomi. We are scheduled to take off in a little over an hour,” he commanded.

I nodded, hopping up from the table and leaving the room. I finished packing my essentials and several changes of clothes that would be appropriate for traipsing outdoors in unfamiliar terrain. I packed jeans and a few pairs of shorts, not really knowing what we were going to encounter out there. When I walked back out, Ryker glanced down at my sneakers.

“Do you have any proper hiking boots?”

I shook my head. He pulled his comm out of his pocket and slid his fingers across the surface. He typed a short message and sent it along.

“I’ll take care of it,” he murmured. I lifted an eyebrow, wanting to ask but deciding against it.

“I’m ready when you are.” I propped my bag a bit higher on my shoulder and he strode over to my side, taking it frommy grasp. I protested, but he gave me a glance that said he wouldn’t hesitate to spank me again if I said anything to argue. Reflexively, my backside tightened as if it was already bare and back over his knee for another lesson I wouldn’t soon forget.

I liked that with him: a man with dark forbidden desire brewing just beneath the surface.

He said nothing about the expression on my face. Instead, he smiled coyly, cocked his head, and guided me toward the door with an innocent touch on my upper back.

A chivalrous gentleman once more.

His thumb caressed the back of my neck. It was soft but possessive, but just before I reached the front door, his grip changed, and he spun me around to face him while pushing me none too gently against the wall behind me. The breath caught in the back of my throat as I stared up into the dark, stormy depths of his gaze.

“Before we go, I want to make one thing very clear between you and me,” he began.

“What’s that?” I breathed anxiously.

“When we’re out there and I tell you to do something, whether it be to run or hide or just to step to the right, you are going to be a good girl and obey me immediately, without question or hesitation,” he said firmly.

“Or else what,” I retorted defiantly. I don’t know what emboldened me to say those words, but by the time I thought them through, they were already there out in the open.

There was no taking them back.

His fingers wound around my chin, digging in only slightly, but enough to make it clear that he could overpower me in a second.

“Or else I’m going to punish you hard enough to make your belting over the couch the other night look like a gentle caress. Your well-being is paramount to me, and I won’t have you putting yourself at risk when we’re out there,” he growled.

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