Free Through the Looking Glass by Autumn Dawn Page A

made the problem worse.
    He looked away and took a deep breath. "I don’t have time for this." Muttering something under his breath, he shifted into gear.
    "Fine," Ali said, turning her back on him. Men never looked twice at her, and she’d bet her virtue that he was the first to notice her breasts. Of course, how could he help it? Her top must have had a built in push up bra--either that or they’d learned to defy gravity. Trying to forget it, she looked up, examining the bright red fruit just above eye level. It looked like a red bell pepper and grew from a twisted tree. It seemed to be the source of the wonderful strawberry scent teasing her nose. Curious, she reached for it.
    "It’s poison, hot stuff. One taste of that, and you’ll never wake up." The biker had stopped and was watching her.
    Ali snatched her hand away and backed up. "It looked like a pepper!"
    He grunted. "Whatever that is. Look, princess, just stay on the path and keep your hands to yourself. You’ll get to the city soon enough." His hands flexed on his handlebars, and he started to roll.
    She looked around, seeing nothing but woods, wondering what lurked within them. Lions and tigers and bears…. "Er, how far is it to the city?" This "dream" was beginning to seem all too real, and she’d never been one to kid herself. She was a Star Trek girl. She knew about wormholes and alternate universes. Suddenly the biker who’d almost turned her into road kill was starting to look like a white knight.
    He growled something unpleasant and looked at her with disgust. "Miles, and you don’t have a babysitter coming along at any moment, do you?" He looked forward and flexed his wrist on the throttle. He didn‘t look back. "Get on, before I change my mind."
    Unreasonably grateful, she straddled the back of his bike and gingerly grabbed his waist. "My name is Ali."
    "I didn’t ask." With that soothing comment, he took off.
    Ali clamped her hands around his trim waist and held on. Oh, this had been bright. Romeo here was going to splatter them against a tree, and she had only herself to blame. When would she learn not to throw herself on the mercy of cute strangers? "What’s your name?" In case she survived the crash and he didn’t, she ought to have something to write on his tombstone.
    "Rabbit. Do you mind? I’m driving here."
    So much for conversation, though she couldn’t argue with him keeping his eye on the road. Much faster and the machine would take off and fly, and she wasn’t ready for that.
    It was difficult to see much of the blurred scenery , but she got a general sense of the odd flora and fauna. Ferns of impossible sizes dotted the forest floor and bright red monkey-like things swung from tree to tree. The dirt road they traveled was impossibly smooth and rock free, and she begun to wonder if it was pavement of some kind.
    It seemed like only a few minutes before they pulled up to a cottage with two men seated before it. The cottage was made of brick and shaped like an upside down top hat. Both men reclined on wooden lawn chairs with worn cushions. An upside-down wooden barrel laden with brown bottles, tall sandwiches, and a plate of brownies sat between them, begging to be eaten.
    Ali’s stomach growled.
    "Rabbit!" the first man called, tilting his bottle to him in greeting. His booted feet were crossed, and he wore brown pants and a vest. Light bounced off his bald black head and the earring in his ear. He grinned, flashing a gold tooth. "Who’s the babe?"
    "Have a brownie?" the second man offered, wiggling his shaggy brows as he held out the plate of treats. His Hawaiian print shirt was two sizes two big and matched his baggy khaki shorts. He wore socks with sandals and badly needed a shave and a haircut.
    "She’s not hungry," Rabbit cut in, before she could accept.
    The hippie rolled his eyes and put the plate back.
    "How about a beer, gorgeous?" the black man offered, snagging one from the barrel top. He tossed it to her.
    Rabbit