Mating Fever (9 page)

Gabriel growled and sucked her tongue,
digging his hand into her ass cheek, slipping his fingers into her
pussy from behind. She wanted to scream from the pleasure of it,
the tight stretch of two fingers pumping inside her, curling into
her with deliberate, probing strokes.

Jessica broke away from his mouth, arching
her head back as he kissed along her throat with sucking, nibbling
kisses. He scored her flesh with his teeth. Shivers chased over her
skin.

“Your scent drives me mad,
petite
. I wanna taste you all over,”
he whispered, his voice hoarse with passion and need. He nipped her
throat, marking her with tongue and teeth and lips. Jessica’s
nerves jolted down to her core. Her body wept with the fierce,
demanding need.

Small, harsh whimpers escaped her, marking a
change in him, a ravenous intent that hadn’t been there before.

An animalistic growl vibrated from his throat
as he thrust his fingers into her again. Harder. Her pussy creamed
with the forceful drive. She felt the excess trickle down her
parted folds to her clit, soaking her, soaking his jeans. Her womb
contracted with a hard, violent spasm of pleasure. The strength
fled her muscles. She moaned mindlessly, rocking her hips on him,
trying to envelop him in her heat. She was empty deep inside, where
not even his fingers could reach, needing the thick heat of him
within her, begging for it with every jerky move, every shaky
breath. Her clit throbbed with achy want, engorged to the point of
pain. Each brush against his hard cock had her pussy spasming near
ecstasy.

Her mind shut down to everything but the
steady, driving pump of his fingers, pushing her toward rough
climax. She felt herself getting closer, and moved on him with
mindless abandon.

A harsh voice interrupted them like a dowsing
of ice water. “What is this?” it demanded gravelly.

Jessica came off Gabriel so hard, she landed
on the hardwood floor with a bone jarring thud to her knees. She
ignored the pain, pushing her dress down her legs to stare up at
the intruder, wide-eyed with shock.

If god had any mercy, she would have died of
embarrassment on the spot. Her pale skin turned bright pink, the
heat of desire changing to the burn of shame.

Gabriel sat up on the couch, giving the
intruder a look to kill. “What are you doing here, Nardo?” he
ground out, standing, his chest rising and falling with sharp,
angry breaths. His hands fell to his sides, clenching and
unclenching with repressed violence.

“Your demands are not important....” He
trailed off as Jessica stood and moved beside Gabriel.

The man was huge, looking like nothing so
much as a muscle-bound wrestler. His insolent stare lingered on her
breasts, and Jessica covered them uncomfortably, moving closer to
Gabriel as if she could melt into his side. She wanted to slap the
knowing look right off the man. She worked up her anger, eager to
put her embarrassment behind her.

“I have as much say in the pack as you do ...
and every right ta claim a mate,” Gabriel ground out.

The man laughed, grating on her nerves,
keeping his eyes trained on her. He looked like he would jump her
at any moment, and what desire Jessica’d had quickly slipped away
as nervous fear took over.

His laughter subsided, and a cruel glint
entered his black, soulless eyes. “Gabriel,” he growled, “did you
really think you could keep her from us?”

* * * *

Nardo “escorted” her and Gabriel outside,
keeping steady watch on them both as if expecting them to bolt at
any minute.

Outside on the lawn behind Gabriel’s Camaro,
a truck waited. As they came out, the driver looked up at them and
started the truck. It came to life with a deafening roar, and a
chug of smoke rose from the tail pipe, clouding the air like city
smog.

“Where are we going?” Jessica asked, wanting
nothing so much as longer legs or faster feet ... or a gun. She
despised this feeling of helplessness and not knowing what was
going on.

“A meeting’s been called. You’re the guest of
honor,” Nardo said behind her, snickering. She felt his eyes bore
into her back and buttocks, and it took supreme effort of will not
to cover her cheeks with her hands. Or turn around and knock his
head off.

Gabriel said nothing to Nardo, but his
tension was evident in every move of his body and the angry clench
of his jaw muscles. He seemed ready to snap at any moment.

Jessica didn’t know what to think about what
was happening. That intuitive warning she’d ignored before came
back full force. She should not have ignored her inner voice. She
should’ve left town without answers. But then, she would likely
have never met Gabriel....

Nardo pulled the back gate of the truck down,
and Gabriel helped her climb up. She settled down in the back, the
metal cold against her back and buttocks, making her shudder.
Gabriel climbed up and sat beside her, wrapping an arm around her
shoulders, pulling her tightly against him. His heat made her feel
better, warmed her when she felt unaccustomedly cold. Jessica
appreciated his comforting, protective gesture, but she didn’t know
how much good it would do them.

Nardo closed the gate and sat across from
them, ever watchful. Jessica drew her knees up to keep her feet
from touching him. He noticed her movement and sneered at her
before turning slightly to the driver. He tapped the back window
and the driver took off, heading West, further down the road that
passed in front of Gabriel’s house. The truck picked up speed,
bouncing them in the bed and sending plumes of dust into the air
like a thick fog.

The dark swallowed them whole as they left
the lighted yard and drove down the oak shrouded road. The moon’s
light pierced the thick canopy marginally as they progressed, and
Jessica gave up trying to keep up with where they were going, since
it didn’t seem to make any difference--they were headed in a
straight line.

She snuggled against Gabriel, comforted by
his presence and fearful of what would happen. The nervous fear had
her stomach tied in knots. She hated the feeling.

Normally, she could handle herself pretty
well, but there was something infinitely bizarre about the whole
situation. She was completely out of her depth. If she’d known from
the start what trouble she would dig up by trying to find her birth
parents, she damned well would have brought her gun ... and enough
ammo to take out an army of Rambos.

Jessica closed her eyes and tried to ignore
the piercing stare across from her, not that she could see him, but
she inherently felt that he could see her. Her skin prickled like
she was being watched. She felt like throwing dirt in his eyes just
for the satisfaction of it.

The truck slowed and swayed as it turned, and
Gabriel tightened his arm around her. He still hadn’t said
anything, and hadn’t tried to kill their abductors. She wasn’t sure
if that was good or bad, but she’d rather see anyone’s blood but
their own spilled.

They moved down a road narrow enough the tree
branches scraped the sides of the truck. She thought perhaps they
were going down some hunter’s trail, or possibly a long, winding
driveway. The truck stopped after several more minutes of driving.
Jessica looked around but even with her eyes adjusted to the dark,
she could see nothing but trees and more trees, and little patches
of light striking the ground.

“Get up,” Nardo said roughly, kicking the
gate open and jumping down.

Gabriel hopped down and Jessica sat on the
edge, her legs dangling. He wrapped his warm hands around her waist
and lifted, helping her gain her feet on the ground.

A woman came up, startling Jessica with her
sudden presence. “I’m to take you with me,” she said in a cold,
angry voice, grabbing Jessica’s wrist with a bruising grip.

She’d never felt more violent in her life
than she did tonight. Everywhere someone attacked her. She’d had
enough of it. Screw being a lady. Jessica pulled back. “No.”

“You must go with her,
chere
. It’s da only way. I’ll come
for you soon,” Gabriel said reassuringly.

Jessica didn’t feel the least bit reassured.
“I said no.”

“You don’t have any choice,” the woman ground
out, tugging her forward.

Jessica dug her heels in, grabbing Gabriel
with her free hand. She was just before ripping the woman’s hair
out.

“Please,
chere
, for me.”

She sighed and released him. “Okay. You have
to come back for me. I don’t want to be wondering if you’re dead or
alive all night.”

“You know I live ta please,
cherie
,” he said, and she could hear
the smile in his voice.

“I’ll kick your ass for you if you’re lying.”
She felt a little assured that he wouldn’t run off and die on her.
But not much. She refused to dwell on it.

Grudgingly, she went with the woman, who
pulled her through the woods at a pace too fast for her to easily
keep half blind. Brambles tore at her exposed legs, dirt and
pebbles skittered into her sandals and under her heels. She kept up
as best as she could, since she had no other choice.

She said nothing as the woman brought her to
a lighted tent that looked big enough five adults could easily
spread out inside.

The woman released her and opened the flap,
gesturing for 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.