She glances over the edge, and upon seeing me, breaks outin a smile. The sight warms my heart.When has a woman ever smiled at me like that?
“I’m going for a ride, I’ll bring her back… eventually.”
Is she crazy?“What? No, you can’t ride her. She doesn’t even have a saddle on! You’ll fall. Now, get back down here and I will help you with whatever you need, okay?” I reach both arms up, hoping she’ll drop down into them, but she just shakes her head and looks over Harriet’s head to the opening. The one that has a sheer drop, hundreds of feet down to the forest floor.
“Don’t worry, I’ve been hang gliding, this will be easy in comparison. I’ll bring her back, I’m not stealing her or anything, promise. There’s just someone I have to find.”
“Please, Red, just come down, you’re scaring me.” She somehow manages to get Harriet to move towards the edge of the cave, even without reigns.
“Can’t do that, Blue!” Was she referring to my eye color?She noticed them?
As Harriet takes another step, I realize this crazy woman might actually take off on her own, and without any riding equipment. I hesitate for a split second before leaping onto Harriet’s side and climbing up to her back.
“Please, can we just talk about this for a minute? This is incredibly dangerous.”
“Nah, It’ll be fine, you’ll see!” She nudges Harriet forward again as I throw my leg over, straddling Harriet like she is a few feet behind her.
Before I can do more than grip onto Harriet’s sides, she leaps out into the open. Immediately, we are soaring hundreds of feet above the ground. Red starts to slide sideways, so I throw my arm around her waist and pull her back flush with me. I lean forward and grip onto Harriet’s feathers so my body is braced over Red’s, as Harriet soars through the sky.
Red lifts her head so she can see in front of us. “This is amazing!” Shelets go of Harriet and raises her arms at the sides. I have her caged in so she can’t go anywhere and she starts giggling in joy. Her laugh is infectious and I can’t stop myself from smiling at her pure joy.This woman is crazy.
“What’s your name, Red?”
“Penny, yours?” she tilts her face to look up at me, our faces only inches apart.
“Ryker.”
“Hmm, Ryker. I like it. I guess that makes me the captain and you my first officer.” I frown at her, not understanding. But she just smiles and shakes her head, looking back at the view around us.
“Well, first officer Ryker, I must say this is the most exciting first date I’ve ever had.”
Date?As in what you did when you were courting? Was she—Did she—She must be joking. There is no way any woman would be interested in me, let alone the most beautiful one I’ve ever seen. Maybe a date meant something different to her.
“Have you been on many first dates?” I ask, hoping for more information.
“Unfortunately.” My stomach falls. So this was something she did all the time then, it obviously never led anywhere since she was still single. I mean, I assumed she was, since she was up here alone. Which begs another question. Why was she up there alone? Women never wander around without the men in their lives. Be it their fathers, brothers, or husbands.
“But most of them sucked. The guys were boring, or only interested in getting in my bed. That’s not what I’m looking for.”
I wasn’t surprised men wanted to sleep with her, but she made it seem like that’s all they wanted.
“And what are you looking for, Penny?” I notice how good her body feels under mine. A connection pulses between us, making my heart beat faster than usual.
“Iwant a man that likes me for me. A man who genuinely cares about me, that wants to have fun with me, but also isn’t afraid to settle down and build a life together.”
“Surely all men want those things?” I ask in confusion. Because wasn’t that the point of the mating hunt? A group of men seeking a wife? To take care of her and love her?
“Not the men I’ve met.”
“Sounds like you’ve been dating the wrong sort of men,” I tell her as I press my nose to her neck and inhale. I can’t help myself, she smells of flowers and pine, it’s intoxicating.
“Ryker?” Her voice is almost a whisper over the loud sound of the wind rushing over us as Harriet soars through the skies. Without reins, we can’t direct her, we’ll just have to wait until she lands before we can get off.
“Yes?”
“Did you just sniff me?”
I consider lying to her, but something tells me I could never be dishonest with this woman. “Yes.”
