Farideh Kalani gritted her teeth to keep them from chattering as she felt herself being pulled one way and then another while spiraling downward. She arrived at her destination with a jolt, her thighs spread over the back of a large black horse, her body bent over its neck as the two of them thundered across rolling hills, the horse’s hooves cutting into grass and stone. Which would have been a problem even before the time jump because she’d never ridden anything larger than a pony at the county fair. However, now, she reached down to catch the trailing reins and forced herself back, pulling at the stone bit in her mount’s mouth.

The horse gave a shrill whinny and a little buck, but Fari pressed her knees into its sides, and gradually it gentled, easing into a trot.

She grinned, then raised her head and breathed the clean, brisk air of ancient Scythia in the murky centuries before the Roman Empire was born. Heavy gray storm clouds were rolling in from the south, whipping up a wind that carried the scent of the sea and salt she could taste.

Glancing down, she noted she sat atop her horse with only a padded saddlecloth between her dark woolen trousers and the animal’s warm back. Her boots were stuck in leather stirrups sewn to the saddlecloth. She wore an embroidered jacket trimmed in fur around the cuffs and neck, with a row of gold appliqués embossed with gryphons and lions along the hem. She slipped a gloved hand under her sleeve to check for the wide silver bracelet, her ticket home, and breathed a sigh of relief to feel its warmth against her skin.

Grasping the reins with confidence, she trusted the skill that had been implanted in her mind, along with her new knowledge of the geography around her.

If she didn’t make the fortress city of Tanais by nightfall, she’d be pitching a tent in the rain, tying together two cushioned saddlecloths with those leather stirrups.

Although she had the knowledge to construct the tent, she wasn’t eager to lie on the hard ground within the tiny shelter, huddled for warmth against her current companion.

Sergeant First Class Caleb McAvoy was already too smug and sexy for her peace of mind. Speaking of the devil…

The pounding of a second set of hooves approached at a fast clip behind her.

“Darlin’, you’re pullin’ too hard on the reins.” As usual, the lazy Texas drawl managed to melt her and irritate the hell out of her at the same time. He skillfully slowed his own roan gelding beside her.

Fari gritted her teeth again, then aimed a cool smile over her shoulder. Only the sight that greeted her sucked the air from her lungs. Gone was the short-haired, smooth-shaven man she’d begun the jump with. Yes, his eyes were the same crystal blue, but his hair was long and braided, and his jaw was covered in a short, scruffy beard. She drew a breath to recover. “Cowboy, I don’t need your advice. I’m now an accomplished horsewoman.”

“Havin’ it in your head doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll instantly have all the confidence you need to use it—ma’am.”

“Sergeant, you’re my support for this mission, not the other way around.”

“Just sayin’…” The glint in his blue eyes revealed how much he enjoyed yanking her chain.

Still, she was the ranking member of this two-person team. “I sincerely hope you can manage to censor your advice once we’re inside. Even if they don’t know what you’re talking about, that smart-ass grin you’re wearing will look strange.”

“Babe, don’t worry about me. I’m all about the mission.”

“That’s lieutenant to you.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

He said the right words, but the wink he added…

From day one, when they’d reported to the top-secret laboratory in the Colorado mountains, he’d been on her case.