My foot sinks into rabbit holes and divots multiple times as I run, but I keep my focus on the dog.The closer we get to the forest, the more excited I get.
I have to slow down and let Muohta get ahead of me so that I can compose myself.
Once I reach the destiny waiting for me inside this forest, something seismic will happen.
I know it.I can feel it.And that feeling is enough to make my body react in a very unpredictable way.I don’t fight it as certain parts of my body fill with blood.But can I master myself enough to ride the wave of lust as it engulfs me?
Lust.Such a pragmatic word.One of the “sins” they tried to imbue with evil properties a thousand years ago.
There is nothing bad about the way I feel right now… because it is so good.I relish the possibility of intimacy waiting for me in the dark.A delicious aroma wafts in the air.Sweat, fear, anguish.The taste of war.But it’s mixed with a delightful feminine flavor, too.Flowery armpits, strawberry lip balm, and… a hint of pussy.
Peering through the swirling mist, my senses fill the scene with light.
Same scent, same hair.She’s lying on the ground like an ensnared doe.
Tempest?
No.Like, but not the same.
By the breathless panting the woman makes as she sees the shape of me materializing out of the fog, I know she’s scared.
But there’s something else there, too: the stubborn refusal to let me see her fear.The obstinate determination to fight me tooth and nail if I take one step out of line.
I’m intrigued.
“Good evening, my little sacrificial lamb…”
She seems to shrink back from me.Good girl.Trust your instincts.
“Are you ready for me to help you?”She has to accept me first.
Blowing the hair away from her perfect heart-shaped face, the woman huffs with exasperation at her unwelcome predicament.“Mister, you might just be the answer to my prayers—I think.”
The way she says it makes me chuckle.“You think, or you hope?”
Shaking her hair back, the woman boldly shows me her face.“Both.Are you here to help me?”Her voice goes up at the end of the question.
Right off the bat, she wants to set the record straight with me.
Am I here to help her?
The ball’s in my court now.
The stainless steel trap glints.A rusty chain tethers her to the stake.
How very ironic.
Caught in a trap.Chained to the earth.And a stake driven in so deep it cannot move.
“What sort of help do you need?”
Taking a few steps, I get closer.The familiar scent hits me again.
Tempest Aherne.Young, carefree, and glowing with love.So long ago.
Even in the darkness, the similarities between this woman and Tempest are uncanny.
“Please, can you find me a nice sturdy tree branch so I can jemmy this bloody trap open?That would help.”
