Mating Fever by Celeste Anwar

her to move inside. When Jessica didn’t move fast
enough, she pushed her. Jessica tripped over the opening and fell
on the floor, sucking in a sharp breath as her knees bruised on the
hard ground.
     
    Jessica whipped her head around, giving the
auburn haired woman a scathing look. “You bitch,” she gritted out,
her hands clenching with the need to rip that shiny red hair from
her skull. She’d taken as much of this shit as she was about to
take.
     
    “Fuck you,” the woman sneered and raised her
hand to slap Jessica.
     
    Jessica lunged for her, her fingers curved
into claws, digging into the woman’s legs as she dragged them out
from under her. The woman went down and rolled instantly, slashing
at Jessica with her nails. She growled primitively, missing
Jessica’s eyes by a hair’s breadth.
     
    Jessica drew back in a split second,
crouching on her haunches, sidling past the center pole of the
tent, keeping the woman distant. She eyed the tent opening,
wondering if she could make it past. She decided to risk it. She
dove for the opening, running into the dark. The woman’s fingers
scrabbled at her dress, pulling her back just as Jessica ran into a
meaty wall.
     
    Cruel fingers dug into her arms, making her
gasp as she fought the hold. Jessica kneed him in the groin, and he
barely grunted before crushing his fingers into her biceps.
     
    “Lavinia, can’t you do any fucking
thing you’re told? Are you so weak you can’t hold on to a human ?” the man sneered the last word
like it left shit in his mouth.
     
    The woman, Lavinia, came up behind her and
snatched her hair, pulling her head back until she thought her
scalp bled. “Kiss my fuckin’ ass, Lado,” she ground out and dragged
Jessica back inside.
     
    Jessica growled in impotent fury as her arms
were forced behind her back and tied to the center pole. She kicked
out as Lavinia came around her, connecting with her shins. Lavinia
cursed and grinned maliciously before slapping her hard across the
face. Bright light exploded on the left side of her face, and
Jessica tasted blood as her teeth rattled.
     
    The woman chuckled and tied her feet together
while she sat there, stunned. Lastly, she gagged Jessica, then
zipped the opening closed as she left.
     
    Jessica blinked the pain back, focusing on
her surroundings. Inside was lit with an LED hurricane lamp, giving
off a surprising amount of light. There was nothing inside but
sleeping bags rumpled from their fight. She craned her head around,
looking for a weapon or something to cut the cord, but still found
nothing. The tent was empty of anything even remotely useful.
Obviously, they’d been expecting to house her inside it. The
thought left her cold and miserable.
     
    She couldn’t sit there and worry about
it. She refused to worry about
it. Worrying caused more harm than good.
     
    Jessica wiggled her fingers, thankful the
rope was at least loose enough the blood flow hadn’t instantly cut
off. No amount of wiggling could free her, however, and trying to
rip her hands loose only made her shoulders and muscles ache. She
tried pushing against the tent pole, but the post was so secure, it
didn’t move no matter how hard she pushed--almost like it was
mounted in a cement foundation. If that was true, then they
routinely stayed out here ... or held prisoners inside.
     
    She fervently wished she could do something
useful, like dislocate her shoulders and slip her hands under her
feet. But the pole would still be in the way even if she could do
that trick. She considered her options and came up empty. With the
gag tight on her mouth, she couldn’t work it off and chew on the
ropes.
     
    She sighed heavily through her nose, shaking
her hair out of her face.
     
    There was nothing to do but wait and see if
Gabriel would uphold his promise to her. She just hoped he didn’t
do anything stupid--like getting killed before he could rescue
her.
     
    The wry thought did little to ease the
tension cramping