Page 43 of His to Take

“Of course,” I replied quickly. It remained unsaid, but I knew the underlying threat was there. Or at least, I thought it was. Unable to keep my curiosity at bay, I glanced up at him to see his stormy gaze still assessing me. Something about it gave me pause. He’d spanked me once with his hand and with his belt, but neither one was meant to truly punish me. Would he punish me for real? Out here? With the guards around all the time? I certainly didn’t think he would dare, but wasn’t willing to push it either way, not yet ready to find out the answer to that question.

My bottom twitched and a shiver raced down my spine.

“I’ll take the lead. Dr. Vaughn, I want you to be just behind me. Seth, you and your men behind us,” Ryker directed.

“Got it, boss,” Seth answered.

We set off soon after that. I walked forward a bit so that I was walking side by side with Ryker. He taught me how to use a compass. He paid attention as I pointed out several different kinds of trees and plants that I recognized from the books I’d catalogued in the museum archives. His knowledge complemented mine because much of his was more practical while mine tended to be more on the educational side. When we stumbled on some mint, I broke off some of it for us to chew. He’d looked like he doubted me up until the point that he started to nibble on it.

“Mmmm! That’s tasty,” he exclaimed.

“I know,” I replied with as much sass as I could muster before I sauntered off.

In several places the undergrowth was too thick to hike through, so he used a machete to hack his own path. At one point, my foot rolled on a rock, and I tripped, but I didn’t fall. He’d caught my upper arm and held me up.

“Thanks,” I mumbled.

“Careful,” he said softly. He wasn’t scolding me. I heard the genuine concern in his voice, which made my heart quicken. Gently, he released my arm as I righted myself.

“There was a loose rock,” I explained. He smiled and nodded, not saying anything further.

Thankfully, the rest of the day passed without incident. It took us a while to find a reasonable clearing to set up camp for the night, but eventually we came across one by the time the sun was setting so that we didn’t have to search in the dark. Ryker helpedme set up my tent once again. I insisted on helping him set up his own.

He said nothing, but I could tell from the smirk on his face that he was amused at least a little bit.

“We made good time today,” he said. He passed me a small flask. I looked at him quizzically and took a sip. It was brandy, which warmed me in the chill of the evening. I handed it back to him with a soft chuckle.

“Necessary goods, huh?” I teased.

“Keep it up, sassy girl,” he said under his breath, but his eyes were sparkling with amusement. He liked it when I pushed back a little. Honestly, I kind of liked it too.

“Or else what?” I baited. For a second, I sat there a little bit shocked at myself. The words had fallen off my lips the moment they had come into my mind. He chuckled, looking pointedly in the direction of the security team before looking back at me.

“Don’t think that pretty little bottom is safe because we have company. I can certainly find a few quiet ways to teach you a lesson if you need it, little girl,” he taunted, and I had to press my fingers against my lips to keep my resulting gasp silent.

“You wouldn’t…” I whispered.

His turbulent gaze met mine and I knew immediately that he would.

“So… When should we reach the estimated coordinates?” I asked, wanting to change the subject as quickly as I dared.

“Likely by tomorrow,” he sat back, crossing his arms with a smirk. I yawned and he cocked his head. “You should get some rest. It’ll probably be another long day tomorrow.”

“I think I will,” I nodded. I stood up, feeling the stiffness from the day’s hike in every muscle in my body. He wasn’t shy about the fact that he looked me up and down, enjoying the sight of me even though I was covered in sweat and dirt. It made me feel attractive even though I hadn’t felt that way all day.

“Good girl,” he murmured under his breath, and I turned on my heel, hiding my face so that he couldn’t see how much those two words affected me, every damned time.

“I don’t see any way around it. We’re going to have to go down through it,” Seth mumbled. His body language screamed annoyance, as if he hadn’t expected to have to exert himself on any part of this journey. He wiped the sweat dripping off his brow with a frustrated sigh.

We were standing at the edge of a ravine, but as I looked down, I saw nothing but a sheer rock cliff. There was no way down except by traveling probably a day’s walk south to find a more manageable section to climb down. The ridge cut through the earth as if it had been sliced open by a knife long ago. When I narrowed my eyes though, I could see the reflection of water far below. Whitewater rapids splashed, stark against the wet rock.

Beside us was an old bridge. At some point, there might have been wooden planks across it, but those had decayed away, leaving only rusted metal struts behind. The steel cables still looked relatively strong though.

Not a single member of the security team wanted to chance it. I had other ideas.

“I think the bridge could hold us if we went one or two at a time,” I said. “Cressida should be just over that ridge right there, in the valley on the other side.”

Ryker looked at me quizzically. He grasped one of the long cables in his hands. It was so thick that his fingers didn’t quite close around it. With all his strength, he tried to shake it, but it hardly moved. It swayed slightly, but it was still solid despite the years of decay all around it.

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