Free Surrender to Love by Julia Templeton

so mean. I don't like him."
    Lame Deer. The name was appropriate for the man who walked with a limp, his knee twisted inward.
    Jordan watched helplessly as an older woman rushed over and grabbed Rebecca by the neck of her dress, pulling her to her feet and into a teepee. Her stern words vibrated throughout the camp. Although Jordan couldn't see what was happening, she heard the unmistakable sound of flesh hitting flesh. Holding her breath, Jordan waited for Rebecca to cry out, but there was only silence.
    As the night wore on endlessly, Jordan watched as little by little the Crow villagers made their way to their teepees, until only Lame Deer remained. He stood next to the dying fire watching Jordan, his black eyes menacing even from a distance. Fear knotted her stomach until the bile rose in her throat. Jordan knew what he intended, and with her hands bound, she was helpless to do anything about it. So she did the only thing she could. Closing her eyes, she prayed.
     Hearing her captor approach, she opened her eyes just as he went down on his haunches before her. His ugly face just inches away from her, he grabbed her chin roughly and smiled, displaying a row of rotten teeth. The smell of his breath and unwashed body gagged her. Trying not to breathe, she pulled away from his touch, but he grabbed a handful of hair and yanked her up against him, not caring that the rope was cutting off her air.
    His gaze slipped to her lips and for a terrifying moment she thought he would kiss her. When his hand touched her breast, she tried to scream, but his other hand clamped over her mouth. Although her hands were bound behind her back, she struggled, kicking him, and biting the filthy hand covering her mouth. He cursed out loud, then snickered at her futile efforts to hurt him, pulling the rope tighter.
    Kicking and screaming, her matted hair hanging in her eyes, she didn't see his fist until it was too late. Pain exploded in her jaw, and she could taste blood in her mouth. His expression was positively sinister, proving he was enjoying her agony far too much.
    When he hit her again, this time harder, she could feel the blood run down the side of her face. "Why don't you untie these ropes," she hissed. "Maybe then it will be a fair fight, you coward."
    Pulling the rope free of the post, he yanked her to her feet. A wave of dizziness washed through her as she stood on unsteady legs. His sinister laughter echoed throughout the village and she knew death was imminent...she actually welcomed it, preferring the end of her life to his assault.
    His smile grew wide as he jerked the rope higher and her knees buckled. The breath left Jordan, the leather choking the air from her body as she struggled to get to her feet, only to have Lame Deer knock her back down, watching cruelly as she suffocated.
    Images of her life flashed before her eyes; as a child living with her parents, going to live in Virginia, meeting Kari...and Gray Hawk. A wave of regret washed over her when she thought of the tall half-breed. If only they had time...if only she hadn't pushed him away.
    Her dream took on reality as a low voice said from the darkness, "No one takes what belongs to me." A second later a large arm slithered around Lame Deer's throat and a knife sliced his neck wide open.

         GRAY HAWK seethed with mounting rage as he untied the ropes from around Jordan's neck and wrists. Though it was dark, he clearly saw the purple bruises on her face. Guilt raced through him, knowing she should have never been taken in the first place. Who knew what else she had endured?
     Gray Hawk had meant to prolong the man's death, to make it slow and painful, but when the bastard began beating Jordan, he couldn't control his rage.
    "Let's go," he said, lifting her in his arms, knowing there was precious little time before others noticed the dead man's body and their prisoner