Free Finding Love in a Dark World: A Steamy Post-Apocalyptic Romance by Unknown Page B

the community. There was no longer an option to be a victim or the luxury to leave personal safety in someone else’s hands. Luckily, Jessa was raised to defend herself from just about anything.
    A person could not be over ten years old without a gun or some similar type of weapon. People used crossbows, spear guns, or just hammers or crowbars. What you could count on was that everybody was packing something. While many would think this would make things more violent, it seemed to have the opposite effect. People respected each other and their space a lot more than they used to back when government and business ran the world.
    Women had more of a choice, though they had to stick to groups to not become prey to some man’s indiscretions. In the few years since Kraven’s passing she had been in groups and on her own at times. She found the group she was now with and had stuck around for those reasons. It was just safer in numbers, especially for women. If you were an attractive woman, with a face like Jessa’s, and an ass to boot, you had to be twice as careful.
    Jessa stuck with the group for many reasons. A group would typically accept anyone to boost its numbers, but her survival skills and planting and herb knowledge made her a valued member. The fact that she already had one son boasted towards her fertility as well, which was highly valued. She was 29, a bit older than society used to like, but she was a survivor and that was what was needed more than a delicate figure now. Of course she happened to be both skilled and hot. She was tall and lean, with a mind that was sharp and thoughtful. She could grow, preserve and cook food better than most and she knew the skills needed to thrive in the rough landscape. She was a prize in many eyes, yet she had no desire to give herself up to a man. Still, she missed being with a man in some aspects and not just because of the protection such an arrangement offered. Her needs often drove her to consider a toss with one of the locals, though she hadn’t broken down just yet.
    Jessa was in the kitchen next to Teresa talking about their day and making final touches to the meal. In addition to being her annoying neighbor, Teresa was the local teacher to the colony. Shane adored her as a teacher, so despite her irritation with the woman in general, Teresa tried to keep it in check for his sake, as well as for the sake of being a good neighbor. Besides, as much as it pained her to admit, she could see that Teresa had the best intentions.
    Teresa was a typical woman of the colony, soft spoken with a hidden strength in her eyes. She was about a half a foot shorter than Jessa and quite a bit smaller because she lacked the heavier muscles and body structure. Teresa had health problems that kept her from hard work and her skin and muscle mass showed it. The new breed of women were either independent like Jessa, with bodies that showed it, or they were like Teresa, living from one man to the next to ensure their safety and survival. Jessa thought of them as leeches or some other kind of parasite.
    The two women used the two wood stoves to finish making dinner. They even added some meat making this meal a treat. Once there had been meat in every meal and acres and acres of domestic pigs and cows to make such extravagance possible. That was a thing of the past now. At this point almost all meat came on the point of an arrow, though some chicken and milk cow domestication was still practiced. There were two milk cows, a couple of goats and about ten chickens in the community. One chicken apparently met an untimely end just for this occasion, and was now the main dish of their feast.
    “Jessa, can you grab that skillet out of the bottom cabinet, I just can’t seem to lift it.”
    Trying not to huff, Jessa grabbed the pan and hoisted it up onto the top of the table, it was not but more than 20-25 pounds, she thought, struggling to mask her annoyance.
    The back door swung open at that moment and