Female Prey & the Elusive Prey (42 page)

His way of washing her face left something to be desired too. He took her by her hair and ducked her head under the water, vigorously wiping her face and chin with his other hand. She was only under for a very short time, but it happened to be the time when she most urgently wanted another gulp of air. Instead, she got a gulp of water, and when he pulled her up she choked and spluttered, shaking her head to try to free herself from his grip in case he tried to duck her again.

Instead, he put his hands under her arms and lifted her to her feet. As soon as she was standing on her own, he put his arms around her and kissed her, hard.

Chilled half-through, dizzy from lack of air, Kimberley still found herself responding eagerly, pressing herself against him, partly for the warmth of his body and partly for the thrill that the contact gave her. She still felt dazed as he picked her up and carried her back to their campsite.

Her blanket had dried during the night. He spread it out next to the fire and laid her down on it. He had a towel, but that was apparently reserved for his use. Kimberley had to content herself with edging closer to the heat of the fire and turning from time to time to warm parts of her that still felt chilled. In the meantime, Greg started more water boiling before he dug fresh clothes out of his pack and got dressed.

She watched him as he did all those things. He wasn’t as big and muscular as Alpha, and he didn’t have the same intimidating presence. But…while Alpha had led the gang that had hunted her down last year, it had been his job…he had been paid to do it. She knew this. She had known it, and it didn’t change how she still felt about him. He had opened doors for her. More importantly, he had unlocked her so that she could walk freely through those doors herself now. Greg, on the other hand, had chosen her, days ago. There were many other women in this strange and exciting place who he could have had with much less time and effort. He could have bought one at a slave market, one taller or longer-legged or bigger-bosomed, or…Kimberley grudgingly admitted to herself…prettier. Instead, he had pursued his Elf-Girl. And now he had caught her. She wondered what he would do now. Had it been just the challenge of the chase that had kept him going? She didn’t know. She couldn’t ask him. She had been trained not to.

He fed her some of the oatmeal he made for breakfast. She didn’t care much for oatmeal, but she ate it because he was giving it to her. He made some instant coffee and even let her drink the last half-cup of it. Then he began to break camp.

He had all of his own gear packed away before he turned back to her. He removed the hobbles from her ankles and untied her hands, but he kept the rope around her neck and he held on to the end of it. He nodded towards her clothes, still spread out on the tree trunk where he had left them last night. “Get dressed,” he ordered.

They weren’t completely cleaned, and they weren’t completely dry, but they were clean enough and dry enough. She put on the panties, pulled on the loose-fitting pants, sat down to put on her socks and boots. When she went to put on her sports bra, though, he stopped her and took it from her hands. He tucked it into his belt. She picked up her shirt and looked at him questioningly. He nodded, and she put it on, tucking it into her pants. Should she take her blanket also? It was hers, after all. She had stolen it fair and square. She bent down to roll it up, expecting him to pull her away at any moment. Instead, he let her continue. She had been wearing it like a sash before, with the ends tied together with some cord she had found. She wrapped it up that way again, but then handed it to him. It was still damp…wet through in places, in fact. He hefted it, looked at it, and laid it down on the fallen tree.

“Turn around,” he ordered her. “And put your hands behind you.”

She obeyed. He tied her wrists with the nylon rope again, but not as tightly. She wondered where he was going to take her and how much walking it would entail. She remembered how difficult it was to walk with her hands bound behind her, but at least this time she wasn’t naked and barefoot.

He looked her over after he’d finished tying her and shook his head. “Elf-Girl,” he said, “This doesn’t quite suit you. Hold still.”

He unbuttoned her shirt halfway and stepped back for another look. He didn’t seem satisfied with the result. He unbuttoned it down to where it was tucked into her pants and seemed a bit happier. Then he pulled her shirt down off of her shoulders, baring her small round breasts.

“That’s it!” he grinned. He kissed her, taking her by surprise. “You look lovely that way, Elf-Girl.” He slipped her blanket roll over one shoulder and gave her leash a tug. “Come on, now. We’ve got places to go.”

They walked. They walked for a long time, in a northerly direction as near as Kimberley could tell. She remembered enough of her map to know that sooner or later, if they kept to the same heading, they would come out on the main road to Gordburg, but some distance to the east of the town. Was he taking her back there? Was he planning to sell her in the slave market? She tried not to think about her future. It was hard enough concentrating on walking and not falling down.

Greg didn’t seem to take any rest halts. Once he paused, but only to take a drink of water from his canteen and hold it to Kimberley’s lips so she could have some as well. Then they kept hiking.

After what seemed like many hours, they came out of the woods and onto a dirt road. It looked a lot like the one that led to the farm she’d raided, and it was in about the right place for it to be that road. If they turned right, they would be heading towards that farm. She breathed a sigh of relief when Greg turned left. She really didn’t want to go back to that farm. The people…well, the men there might be a little sore at her…and Greg was carrying the blanket she’d swiped. They might recognize it.

After about a mile…Kimberley was counting her steps…there was little else she could do…the road they were on joined another road that came up from the southwest. It was also dirt. She guessed that it was the one that connected all of the little trading posts to the south of Gordburg. She had a much better idea where they were now. If she was right, there was another trading post not too far ahead, where the road they were on joined the main road. She hoped she was right. Greg might finally stop for a rest there, and her feet were getting sore from wearing and walking in not-quite-dry socks. As for what might happen to her when they got to town…well, she learned last year not to try to think too far ahead. She had no power to influence events. None at all.

Greg began walking in the middle of the road. Leashed as she was, Kimberley had to follow. She could see some buildings up ahead now and people. If this was another trading post, it was the biggest one she’d seen so far.

“I CAUGHT HER!” Greg suddenly bellowed as they came nearer to the place. He boomed it out so loud he startled a Bluejay in the trees nearby. It’s angry scolding followed them all the way into town.

“I CAUGHT HER!” Greg bellowed again. Kimberley could see people coming towards them, some walking, some at a trot. Almost all of them were men, but she could see one or two women as well, including one dressed all in black like Evelyn had been. A small crowd lined the street as Greg led her into town.

Kimberley couldn’t understand all of the attention she seemed to be drawing. She certainly couldn’t understand why all of the men were staring at her so intently. They must have seen dozens, no, hundreds of captive women. She was just one more, and she wasn’t even naked.

One of the men pointed at her. “It IS her!” he called out. “It IS Elf-Girl! She’s caught! He got her!”

There was a murmur among the men. What the hell? Kimberley didn’t recognize the man who had pointed her out. She didn’t recognize anybody here. How did he know who she was? She saw one of the few women in the crowd looking at her and shaking her head sadly. What did that mean?

Greg looked back over his shoulder at her. “You’re famous, Elf-Girl,” he grinned. “Get used to it.”

Get used to it? She was still having trouble believing it. But there was no way Greg could have possibly set something like this up ahead of time, and he had no reason to do it anyway. What the hell? She wished he hadn’t pulled her shirt down like that. She could feel many, many pairs of eyes on her breasts. Well, that’s how it felt.

The black-clad woman came forward, blocking Greg’s path. He stopped. Kimberley stopped very close behind him. It was the only way she could cover herself, even a little.

“You didn’t report this,” she said to him sternly.

Greg seemed too happy to care. “I’m reporting it now,” he replied. He turned and pushed Kimberley forward. He reached into a zippered pouch in his pack and pulled out one of those electronic identification thingies. “Here,” he said, holding it out. “It just crapped out on me. I didn’t drop it, I didn’t step on it, I didn’t get it wet. Check it for yourself if you don’t believe me.”

“In a moment,” the woman told him. She pulled out her own device and held it to Kimberley’s ear. The whole crowd seemed to lean forward expectantly.

“Elf-Girl,” the woman announced before she held the device up to Greg’s ear. The men in the crowd cheered, and once again, Kimberley thought,
What the hell?

“All right, Mr. Phillips,” the black-clad woman went on. “As you said, you’re reporting it now.”

She held out her hand for his device. “I’ll take that, please. If it cannot be fixed you’ll be provided with a new one.”

“Fine,” Greg grinned, handing it over. “But for now, maybe you can help me with my prize here.” He rested his hand on Kimberley’s bare shoulder.

“Help you? I don’t understand. You don’t need my help to take her to your room or put her in a stall.”

“I don’t want to just put her in a stall,” Greg replied. “I want to put her on display for a while.”

“Oh,” the woman nodded. “I see.” She looked at Kimberley again. “I think I can help you there. This way, please.”

Not long afterwards, Kimberley knew what “on display” meant. She was in a small shed attached to a wall in this place’s woman-barn. It was completely open on one side, and it was that open side she was facing.

She was naked. There was a wide leather collar around her neck and heavy leather cuffs around her wrists and ankles. That wasn’t too bad, but… there was a metal bar connected to her collar and wrist cuffs, holding her hands up at a level with her head and about a foot and a half to either side of it. There was another metal bar connected to her ankle cuffs, spreading her legs wide and holding them like that. Worse yet, from her point of view, a chain ran from her collar to a beam just overhead, keeping her up on her feet. She couldn’t sit down. She could barely move. And men kept coming to stare at her. Some women, too. There seemed to be some kind of rule against any of them touching her, which appeared to be enforced by a very large dog that had been left to guard her. It looked like a cross between a Rottweiler and a cat’s nightmare. It also seemed to take its job very seriously and showed no interest sniffing her, licking her, or humping her leg. While she was grateful for that, she had no idea why she should be of such interest to everybody. And, even if they weren’t allowed to touch her, the comments from some of…well, most of…the men kept her permanently blushing. How long was Greg going to keep her here?

The woman in black kept checking on her. She brought her water, but otherwise did nothing. The shadows lengthened and still Kimberley was kept on display. She could endure it. Well, she had to endure it. She didn’t think she’d ever get used to it.

At long last, Greg came back for her accompanied by the black-clad woman. They freed her legs first, and she found that now it was hard for her to stand on her own. She started to fall once they’d freed her hands and unhooked the metal bar from her collar. As she toppled, Greg caught her and slung her over his shoulder. To a few scattered cheers and a little applause, he carried her out of the shed and into the barn. A stall had been prepared for her. She recognized her pilfered blanket, washed and dried now, spread out on top of a layer of fresh hay. Greg laid her gently down on it, and then padlocked a chain to her collar. The other end of the chain was bolted into one of the thick planks that made up the sides of the stalls in here. She expected him to just leave her there, but to her surprise he laid down alongside her and drew her close for a kiss.

“We’re going to spend the night together, my little Elf-Girl,” he smiled as his hand slid up her torso to cup a breast.

Chapter Fifteen

It was late at night. It was very, very dark in the barn, and very quiet, except for the soft grunts and weak moans of some woman two or three stalls away as some man, or men, did things to her. Kimberley listened to the noises, trying to picture what might be going on.

Close behind her, Greg stirred once, muttering something unintelligible in his sleep. His breath gently caressed the back of her neck. His arm lay across her body, and she hugged it to her with both arms, feeling somehow protected by the contact. Protected, yes, but not safe. She still did not know what he had planned for her, but he had guarded her so jealously since they had arrived in this little town that she thought that he had no intention of sharing her with anybody. Well, not until he tired of her, anyway. How long would that take?

She snuggled into a slightly more comfortable position. The heavy chain linking her collar to the plank wall of the stall clinked faintly. Strange as it might seem to someone else, that small noise also made her feel protected.

Greg had fed her before he had used her. That meal had been no rehydrated stew or lumpy oatmeal. He had brought strips of still-warm fried chicken, small, savory cubes of marinated beef, wedges of potato, cooked and seasoned, and wedges of tomato, lightly salted. Her hands had been freed, so she could have fed herself, but it seemed to please Greg to pass each morsel to her mouth himself, sometimes teasing her by snatching it away just as she opened her mouth for it.

He had brought wine to drink. After long days of nothing but water and the occasional warm beer, it was especially delicious and she drank enough of it to make her tipsy. No one interrupted their meal. When all of the food and the last of the wine were gone, Greg had wiped her mouth with a napkin and taken away the basket everything had come in. He returned quickly.