Page 23

N aomi

That night, we made camp in the forest. Since there really wasn’t enough room to stretch out and sleep in the trucks, Ryker insisted on setting up both my tent and his.

I felt a need to contribute too though, so I did my best to help.

He taught me a few things along the way, like how to decide which way to face the tent to avoid the wind or how deep to drive in the stakes, which I ended up enjoying more than I thought I would.

Off at the other edge of the clearing, the security team had started a fire and were grilling some food over it. They brought over a plate of dried beef jerky, hard cheese, and dried fruit for both of us, but they mainly kept to themselves.

They were friendly enough, but only in a professional capacity. I found myself not liking their constant presence, wishing that the council hadn’t provided them in the first place. It felt like their intentions were good, but I didn’t like being watched all the time.

Honestly, I just wanted more alone time with Ryker without them constantly nearby.

Ryker had grown up in an entirely different culture than mine, yet despite all that, I knew I was safe with him.

We might be from rival city states, but I knew deep in my heart that he would never hurt me.

I couldn’t really say the same of my compatriots; they gave me an uneasy feeling, being so devoid of warmth or humor.

All my life, I’d heard rumors of Pacifica, about how their men were cruel, controlling, and merciless, but he was none of those things. In many ways, he was quite chivalrous, and while he liked to be obeyed, I had a feeling he would never force me to do anything I didn’t want to do.

That night, we laid several maps out on the ground and Ryker took the time to listen to me when I explained what he was looking at.

It was clear that he respected my expertise, often asking questions to further his understanding until we came up with a game plan that we both agreed upon.

The coordinates where we thought Cressida Labs might be located were about ten miles further south, but from the looks of things from our current position, it might take two or three days to traverse through the woods and deep ravines that cut through the land all around us.

By the time we were finished discussing possible routes, I was exhausted.

“I should get to sleep. Tomorrow’s probably going to be a long day,” I yawned.

“Yes, but I want you to do something for me first, Naomi,” Ryker murmured. His tone had dropped precipitously, and my core immediately clenched with heated arousal at the sound.

“You will go to your tent and ready yourself for bed. Before you go to sleep, I want you to slip your fingers between those pretty thighs and make yourself come for me,” he directed. His voice had dropped low enough so that only I could hear him, but it still made me blush furiously all the same.

“Sir…” I whispered, mortified.

His stormy eyes flashed dangerously.

“Yes, sir.”

“Good girl. Make it a hard one for me. You deserve it,” he demanded, and I covered my face with my hands, but I nodded anyway.

This felt so deliciously scandalous. His gaze sparkled with it as I walked away.

A short while later, I lay in my tent, blushing furiously as I slipped one hand into my panties, finding myself just as wet as I always seemed to be with him. Already sensitive, it wasn’t difficult to push myself over the edge.

I came so hard that I had to slap my other hand over my mouth to keep myself quiet.

Ryker didn’t ask about the night before when we set out that morning. He just gave me a look and cocked an eyebrow. I knew what he wanted though, so I nodded, and he smiled knowingly. I turned my gaze to the ground quickly, both embarrassed and intensely aroused. Again!

“Everyone ready?” Ryker called out. He scanned over the clearing as I pulled the straps of my backpack into place.

This morning, we’d all emptied our bags and packed them with the essentials for travel on foot: thin sleeping bags and tents, food, water, water purification tablets, flint, a change of clothes, the maps, and a first aid kit.

Ryker insisted on carrying much of the heavier stuff.

At first, I’d protested, telling him that a woman could do just as much as a man could.

He hadn’t argued with me, but he hadn’t let me carry more than he deemed acceptable, and that was that.

When I tried to carry more, his expression had turned dark enough to let me know I was treading on dangerous ground.

“Ready,” I grinned.

“Dr. Vaughn, if that gets too heavy, you will tell me,” Ryker instructed.

“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 helped me 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.