Chapter 4
CHAPTER FOUR
PENNY
Well, this date just took an interesting turn.
Not that I really thought it was a date.
But I kind of wished it was one. Ryker was hands down the hottest man I’ve ever met, with his shaggy blonde tousled hair and his piercing blue eyes.
He has to be six feet tall, making my five foot six height feel tiny.
I loved it. His clothing was loose, so it was hard to tell what he was hiding under there, but he felt firm as he held me against him on the eagle’s back.
He wasn’t just hot either, the way he spoke to me with his charm and playful spirit, had my panties drenched from the moment we met. And I had to admit, I was glad he jumped up there with me. I might have fallen off without him holding me down.
Dammit, now that I think about it, I put us both in a lot of danger. He’s probably going to be pissed at me. I sneak a glance up at him, but he is just turning in circles as he holds me in his arms, his strong, firm arms.
“Ryker?”
“Hmm?” He looks down at me in concern. “Are you okay?”
He was worried about me after I got us in this mess? “Yeah, I’m fine, you can put me down now.” I didn’t want him to get tired holding me for so long.
“Oh, right.” He lowers my legs before helping me stand.
He keeps his hands on my waist, as if I might fall without him holding me up.
I grip his biceps and can feel the muscles hiding under his shirt.
A shiver goes through me and I’m not sure if it’s from this icy terrain or the thought of what he could do with me, with arms like that.
“Why are you smiling at me like that?” he asks, furrowing his eyebrows. Oh no, was I staring up at him like a love-struck teenager?
I pull my lips in, biting them, before I answer. “I was just thinking this is the most exciting date I’d ever had.”
He barks out a laugh before shaking his head.
“I hate to be the bearer of bad news, Red, but have you happened to see where we’ve landed ourselves for the second portion of our date?
” He grips my shoulders and turns me to face the scenery.
All I can see is snow, it seems to extend in every direction.
Did that bird land us on the top of a snow-capped mountain?
He steps up beside me and grabs my hand, leading us down the snowy terrain.
Instead of harping on our undesirable surroundings, I respond to the last part of his statement as we trudge forward. “Third.”
“What?” he glances down at me from my side.
“This is the third part of our date. It started in the cave, then the second part was flying with Harriet, now we’re in the third part.”
“Hmm…” he says as we keep walking. “At what point does the first date end and the second date start?”
“After we go to sleep. New day, new date,” I say with a nod. I think that’s a good rule.
He smirks at me. “Okay, but how do I know if it’s a date or not?
” Does he maybe not want to date me? Lord knows I sort of just dragged him into my mess.
And he doesn’t even know why. He could already have a girlfriend, or a wife.
No, please don’t let him be married, after the flirting he’s been doing, I would hate to hate him.
“Are you… married?”
“What? No!” he says in alarm.
“Girlfriend?” I ask to be sure.
“What’s that?” he asks in confusion.
How does he not know what a girlfriend is? “Ahh… a girlfriend is a woman you are dating exclusively. I guess you could say it’s what leads to marriage.”
“Then no, there are no women in my life, not even a mother or sister.”
“Good. Urr… well, not that I’m glad you don’t have a mother. I don’t have one either.”
“Husbands?”
Husbands? As in, plural? No, I must have heard him wrong. I shake my head, silently thankful for him glossing over my rambling. “No.”
“Boyfriends?”
“Nope.”
“Good.” I glance up and see him smirking down at me. “Now that’s established, are you going to answer my question? How do I know, when I wake up each morning, that it’s a date?”
“You seem awfully concerned about the definitions of a date.”
“I’ve never dated anyone before, I don’t want to mess this up.” I nearly trip over my own feet in shock.
“What do you mean you’ve never dated anyone? How is that even possible?”
“Well…” he nervously rubs the back of neck with his free hand while his other grips mine a little tighter, like he’s afraid I’ll pull away. His eyes dart to mine quickly before he continues watching our path.
“You see, I don’t have any brothers.” He spits that out so fast I have to think about what he said. He makes it sound like it’s some terrible curse, being an only child.
“Ahh…”
“I’m sorry, I should have told you, but there wasn’t exactly a chance. And then you called this a date, and I wanted that to be true, even if it was just for a little while—”
“Ryker.” I tug on his hand, making him turn to face me. “I don’t understand. Why would I care if you don’t have any brothers?” His eyes widen as he stares at me in shock.
When he doesn’t move after a minute, I wave my hand in front of his face. “Earth to Ryker.”
“You… you don’t care?” he asks, sounding like he’s in awe as his eyes search my face.
I give him a warm smile. “Of course not, Ryker. You not having siblings means nothing to me. I don’t have any either.”
“No… that’s not possible. You must have brothers.”
“Well, I did have a brother once, but not anymore.” Sadness fills me with the memory of my brother, Charlie. Thinking about him always brings my mood down, so I try not to let it affect me for long.
“Hey, it’s okay, Red. You’ve got me now.” Ryker brings my hands up to his chest where he rubs it with both hands, giving me a soft smile.
“Thanks, Blue.” We turn and continue to walk.
I’m not sure how I lasted so long without noticing the cold, maybe it was the adrenaline from the flight here.
Whatever was keeping me warm is gone now and I can’t help but wrap my free arm around my front, trying to keep in a little bit of body heat.
My feet are soaked. I have decent hiking boots on, but this snow is between twelve and eighteen inches deep, well above the top of my boots.
The wind whips right through my thin top and I’m starting to realize we may be in trouble here.
If only we could find a freshly killed tauntaun and climb inside for some warmth like Luke did in Star Wars.
This did look a lot like the planet Hoth, come to think of it.
“Where are we?” I ask, hoping he has some idea.
“I believe we are in the Silverpeak Mountains. Although specifically which one, I’m not sure.”
Well, it was nice to know the name, but it didn’t really help me. I didn’t know where anything was in this world. Were there many continents? Countries? How long would it take me to find Ria? Did they have the internet or some sort of directory I could use?
“Do you have a cell phone on you?” I ask, realizing we could call for help if he had a signal.
“Cell phone? What’s that?”
His question shocks me. No cell phones? “Like a normal phone, but it’s portable.”
“I’ve never heard of a phone.”
Ohhhhhh shit. What kind of backwards world did I land myself in?
No phones meant likely no technology at all.
Their clothing does have a medieval quality to it.
I know I wasn’t sent back in time, but it seems like this realm is like the human one was hundreds of years ago.
We are in even more danger than I thought.
How would we ever get off this mountain alive?
“Shit, Penny, you’re freezing!” I look up at Ryker and see him looking at me in alarm.
“Y-you must be t-too,” I say through chattering teeth.
“I think I might be used to colder temperatures than you. Besides, your lips are turning blue. Hell, I’m the worst date ever, come here.
” He doesn’t wait for me to turn to him, instead he steps in front of me and picks me up.
I immediately wrap my body around him like a spider monkey and bury my face in his neck.
He places one arm under my butt while his other wraps around my back. He turns and starts walking again.
I just cling to him for a few minutes, too cold to speak.
After a little while, my chattering teeth have stopped and my body feels warm where it’s pressed to him.
I can’t help but like him even more. Carrying me and helping to keep me warm shows me he seems to genuinely care about me.
It drives me want to know more about him.
“Ryker?” I whisper, tilting my head up to see his face.
“Yes, Penny?” he whispers back.
“Tell me about yourself.”
He’s quiet for a moment before he replies. “What do you want to know?”
“Everything.”
He chuckles. “Okay, how about we take turns asking questions, I want to know about you too?” He does? My insides warm at the thought of him wanting to know more about me. I try to scooch my body a little closer, but considering how I’m already pressed to him, it’s really more of a wiggle.
“Okay, I’ll start. What do you do for a living?”
“I take care of the skyreachers. I train them, care for them. Today I was taking care of the skyreachers for anyone at the mating hunt.”
“Oh no! I hope I won’t get you in trouble for leaving in the middle of it?” I ask, worried.
“Nah, I’ll be able to get another job. They won’t be happy that I’m not there to get their birds ready for their departure, but they can all do it themselves if they have to.”
“Whose bird did I… borrow? Will they be upset?”
He chuckles. “You mean stole? I can’t actually remember the man’s name. But don’t worry, Harriet will find her way back to them. Skyreachers are smart like that.
“Skyreachers, that’s a good name for them.”
“I suppose it is.”
I smile into his neck while he asks his question. “Why were you in the cave? Why were you at the mating hunt? Why were you alone?”
“Alright, birdman, that’s three questions. And the answer is a little… complicated.”
Before I continue, a loud roar fills the air, making Ryker jump back a step. I loosen my grip and turn to see a giant white beast in front of us. It looks similar to a saber-tooth tiger with two giant canine teeth extending below its jaw.
Ryker turns and drops me on my feet, spinning back around to put himself between me and the beast. Dammit, just when I found the perfect guy, he was going to be killed by a giant prehistoric cat!
Before my life flashes before my eyes, a large fur covered thing jumps out between us and the beast, letting out an ungodly roar in its direction. The beast quickly tucks its tail and runsaway from us.
As the new creature turns to us, I peek out from behind Ryker. My wide eyes take him in as I whisper in awe, “Wow, a yeti!”