Terrified, she could hear them coming, feel the pounding of their imminent paws upon the wet ground. Erin turned to look upon her assailants. There must have been twenty dogs that were about to bore down on her. They ran with seemingly limitless energy, not exhausted like she was. Their teeth shone like deadly daggers in the darkness. Their eyes gleamed with an evil menace. In a matter of seconds, they would be upon her. Curling into a ball, Erin braced herself for the pain, tried to console the rising sense of panic within her that these were to be her last moments on Earth.
She felt a wet nose connect with her and let out a terrified scream in anticipation of the searing bite which would soon follow.
***
Erin awoke, screaming in her own bed, pulled into a ball with her sheets bunched up around her, all of them soaked in her sweat. Confused and shaken, she rubbed her eyes and tried to get her bearings.
She was at home in her bedroom in the grey light of early morning. There were no dogs chasing her; she was all alone. It must have been a nightmare, but it had all felt so real. Erin touched her cheek, expecting to find a fresh cut slashed upon it from the tree branch, but there was nothing.
Pulling herself up, she headed for the shower, needing to wash away the remnants of the nightmare which still clung to her conscious mind, making her movements fearful and tentative. She kept glancing out of the corner of her, imaging she’d seen a dog, low to the ground and snarling, waiting to pounce.
The hot water of the shower flowed down her back and washed away the sweat of the night but did little to take away the memories of the horrific nightmare. Erin felt sickened to have almost dreamed her own death. In the wake of all the current murders, she wanted to stop feeling so connected to death, yet it seemed to follow her thoughts no matter where she went.
She needed to focus on something, anything else to keep herself sane. Sean. Today, she would see him at the office. It would be awkward; he’d not so much as called her since his vanishing act the other night. Erin wanted to tell him how hurt she was, that they’d had this amazing night together and then he’d just left like it was nothing. But she also didn’t want to be airing her dirty laundry at work. The last thing she wanted to become was the topic of office gossip. It was far from professional and she’d always vowed to keep her work life and love life completely separate. Yet for Sean, she’d seemed happy to break all her rules. Being with him at been the most erotic night of her life, but now he was gone and she was left with horrid nightmares about being ripped apart by dogs.
Dressed, Erin bounded out of the house, already running slightly late. She approached her car, unlocked it, and then paused before getting in. The car was a suddenly painful reminder of Sean and the time they’d spent together. She’d kindly offered him a lift home after discovering him in the bushes near the office parking lot. He’d seemed out of it, she should never have let him come back to hers. Clearly, he was on drugs, perhaps that was why she hadn’t heard from him. Maybe he couldn’t even remember having sex with her the numerous times that he did?
Rubbing her temple, Erin sighed. She was starting to feel as though she were on some drug trip herself, as nothing was making sense. The cool morning air whipped around, briefly forcing her to focus and stop dwelling on the strange things happening within her mind. Opening the car door, Erin got inside and headed in to work.
***
“Are you feeling better?” Coleen asked, her voice etched with concern before Erin had even had chance to remove her coat.
“What?” Erin was caught off-guard, forgetting that she’d feigned illness the previous day when really she was just nursing a sexual hangover.
“Yesterday you were off sick. Hope you’re feeling better.”
“Oh,” Erin forced a slight cough to help corroborate her sickness story. “Yeah, bit better thanks.”
“You poor dear,” Coleen shook her head sympathetically. “Hope you had someone to take care of you at home.”
“I was okay.” Erin managed to smile thinly. She didn’t have anyone to care for her at home. She was painfully alone. Even the guy she’d had the best sex of her life with couldn’t stay until dawn. It was a bitter pill to swallow that she was beginning to feel completely and utterly alone.
“You look exhausted,” Coleen commented, watching her young colleague with worried eyes. “Are the nightmares back?”
“Yeah,” Erin sighed, sitting down heavily in her desk chair, “they are.”
“What a shame. Did you hear there was another murder?”
“I did.”
“I think we are all going to end up losing sleep until they catch the killer. It’s terrifying,” Coleen shivered in her seat at the thought of it.
“I’m sure they will catch them soon,” Erin said though of course she wasn’t. She continued to feel haunted by the horrid feeling that she was somehow connected to it all. Her dreams were merely a precursor of the grizzly fate which awaited her. She didn’t want to die, certainly not at the hands of a crazed killer. Resting her elbows on her desk, Erin held her head in her hands.
“Come on now, don’t let it worry you,” Coleen got up and came over, her maternal instincts taking over. She leaned on the desk and rubbed a consolatory hand down Erin’s back.
“I’ll be fine,” Erin sighed, fearing she’d never be fine again.
“Is it just the murders that are bothering you? Or is it something else?”
“Something else?” Erin queried, unsure what else Coleen could possibly think would be bothering her.
“I thought maybe you’d heard that your man candy has left.” Coleen said softly, her tone apologetic.
“What man candy has left?” Erin asked, confused.
“Sean, he quit yesterday. I know you sort of liked him, he was certainly easy on the eye.”
“Sean’s quit?” Erin straightened up and looked Coleen squarely in the eye, not sure if the older woman was teasing her or not.
“Yes, he quit yesterday. Surprised us all. Apparently, he said the job just isn’t for him and he wants to look for something else.”
“Are you serious?” Erin felt a rising sense of panic growing within her.
“Afraid so.”
“So he won’t be back in the office again?”
“No. Shame isn’t it? Now what will we look at?” Coleen chuckled but Erin failed to feel the merriment of the situation. Sean was gone. Not only had he suddenly left her bed without saying a word, now he had quit the job in the office where they both worked. Erin couldn’t help but feel that both behaviors were linked, that Sean was doing anything and everything to completely and utterly avoid her.
Erin had been dumped by guys before, but never quite to this level. No one had ever left a decent job just to avoid seeing her.
“There will be other guys,” Coleen said gently, noticing Erin’s troubled look that bunched up her face and made her eyes narrow.
Erin wanted to correct Coleen and state that no, there wouldn’t be. While there may be other guys, none could compare to Sean’s sexual finesse. He’d made her have the most intense orgasm of her life and now he was gone and she had no way of ever seeing him again. She felt soiled and dirty by the way he had so blatantly used her. How could she have been so stupid to trust him?
“Did something happen between you two?” Coleen enquired, her female intuition picking up on Erin’s deep unhappiness over his sudden departure.
“No, gosh no,” Erin hurriedly replied. “I’m just still feeling really out of it with being sick.” She pushed herself up from her chair and ran a hand through her dark hair.
“Do you need to go back home and rest some more?”
“No, I’ll be okay, I just need a minute.”
Erin strode off toward the bathroom, desperate to be alone. She wanted to cry and scream at the same time. How could Sean just leave like that? Why was he so desperate to avoid her?
In the bathroom, Erin splashed cold water on her face and then studied her reflection. She was stri
kingly beautiful; people were always telling her as much. So what had she done wrong to push Sean away?
A slight rustling in the far stall caught Erin’s attention and she immediately turned, her eyes wide and fearful. In her chest, her heart began to beat rapidly, anticipating the arrival of one of the hounds from her nightmares. When she heard the toilet flush, she knew it was just a colleague using the bathroom and she turned back to the mirror, feeling foolish about her own skittishness.
Reaching in her pocket for some lipstick, she ran the red stick over her lips, staining them the color of blood. Sean was gone, she had to accept that. Erin gave herself a once over and steeled herself for the day ahead. She didn’t need Sean. She was a strong, successful woman. Striding out with long, confident steps, Erin was starting to feel better about herself. But as she left, she cast a fearful look back in to the bathrooms, just to check that there were no dogs there lurking in the darkness, waiting to pounce.
***
As the day progressed, Erin’s mood failed to improve. Around lunch time, her overactive sense of smell kicked in again and she found herself being repulsed by the various aromas which were wafting throughout the open office space.
She could smell the dressing on a salad, the strong scent of cheddar on a sandwich, and the pungent lingering of curried rice. Individually, each smell would be tolerable, but mixed together, they overloaded her senses and Erin began to feel unbearably nauseous, as she had at her house when she smelled rotting flesh.
Initially, she tried to ignore the sickening sensation and focus on her work. She clicked through her emails, desperate for a distraction, but nothing could take her mind off the overbearing smells that were engulfing her in a thick, unpleasant fog.
“You don’t look so good,” Coleen noted when she saw Erin’s face pale. Erin rubbed at her eyes and her temple, willing the smells away.
“I’ll be fine.”
“I’m not so sure. You look awfully pale. Why don’t you go outside for a bit of fresh air?”
Fresh air. That was exactly what Erin needed. Fresh, clean air, free from the clutter of various lunches. Nodding in agreement, she got up and pulled on her coat, suddenly eager to leave the office.
Outside in the parking lot, the air was bitter and crisp, but wonderfully clear. There was the constant underlying smell of car exhaust, but it couldn’t overwhelm her out here in the open. Erin breathed deep, savoring the cleanness of the air, letting it fill her lungs and clear out her senses.
She was leaning against the hood of her car, taking a moment to let the sick feeling pass. Looking around, she recalled that it was in the parking lot that she’d found Sean and their fateful night together had commenced. She wished again, looking back, that she’d had the fortitude to turn him away, to realize that he was high on drugs and leave him be. But instead, her fascination with all bad boys got the better of her and she invited him in to her car and, ultimately, her home. And finally her bed.
The sex had been so good, amazing even. Closing her eyes, Erin allowed herself to revisit their night of passion together. The way Sean had so skilfully gone down on her as she lay sprawled upon the stairs. It had been the most intensely erotic moment of her life and now it would never happen again. Sean and his sexual prowess were gone, leaving her alone, distraught, and feeling unwell and unhappy.
“Men,” Erin sighed aloud, shaking her head. Men always seemed to be the source of all her problems. If only she could break old habits and meet a nice, reliable guy but for her. However, history seemed destined to forever repeat itself.
Some nearby shrubs shivered in the breeze and for a brief, vainly hopeful moment Erin wished it was Sean, returning to the scene of their union to apologize. She pondered on what she’d do if she saw him. She’d be mad, of course. She’d demand to know why he had left her during the night and then quit his job. Was he really just avoiding her? But as much as she’d be angry at him, another part of her would be desperate to have sex with him again. Her legs quivered at the memory of the night alone. Erin could almost forsake his rude aloofness if it meant they could be together again. The sex more than made up for any bad behavior.
A strong breeze blew across her face, forcing her dark hair to tangle before her eyes. And with the breeze came the smell of cooked meat, carried from some distant kitchen preparing for the lunchtime rush. The smell burnt against Erin’s nostrils and stung her throat. She gagged as it set root in her senses and then, powerless against it, she turned to the side of her car and began to violently vomit.
Embarrassed, Erin looked sheepishly at the mess she’d made and tentatively removed a tissue from her pocket to wipe her mouth. She loathed being sick. Usually it was a painful reminder that she’d drank too much. But today she’d not been drinking. She’d not done anything. Steadying herself against her car she became certain that something was wrong, she was most definitely not herself.
***
“Do you feel better for getting some fresh air?” Coleen asked kindly as Erin shuffled back in to the office and removed her coat.
Before she sat down, Erin reached in to her desk drawer for a bottle of perfume she kept there and began to spray it wildly around her person, paranoid that she smelt of sick.
Then, covered by the sickly sweet smell of vanilla she sat down at her desk and sighed wearily.
“You feeling better, hon?” Coleen asked again, pausing from typing, her hands poised above the keyboard, ready to spring in to rhythmic action.
“A little,” Erin answered though she still felt wretched. The lingering stench of lunch still clogged the air but her perfume thankfully kept the brunt of it at bay. Currently, all she could smell was the vanilla sweetness, which was better than the putrid food smells.
“If you don’t mind my saying, you really don’t look so good.” Coleen said carefully, not wanting to upset her young colleague but also concerned about her.
“I don’t feel so good,” Erin admitted sadly. Her mind refused to focus on work. She kept thinking about Sean, wondering where he was and why he had left so suddenly. A part of her felt he was responsible for her sudden bout of sickness. The more she dwelled on it, the more it made sense.
Erin feared that when she’d slept with Sean she’d caught something from him, and now, ashamed, he was doing all he could to avoid her. They’d certainly not used protection and looking back, Erin was shamed with how stupid and reckless that was. She knew nothing about Sean and his past. And now, she was feeling sick and out of sorts. It would be just her luck to have caught something from him. Her mind raced, jumping to fearful conclusions about what it could have been.
“When Sean left, did he mention to anyone where he was going?” Erin dared to ask, hoping to source some information she could use to locate his whereabouts.
Coleen pondered for a moment and then shook her head.
“Nope, don’t think so. Not as far as I know, anyway. Pretty much left without a word, shocked everyone.”
“Yeah, it’s certainly strange.”
“Are you sure everything is all right?”
Erin was feeling drained and confused by the whole situation. As much as she feared becoming the latest subject of office gossip, she needed to confide in someone, needed some advice. She trusted Coleen. She’d known the older woman for several years now and they’d grown fond of one another. They were too different to truly be friends. Coleen was married with children and let a settled life whilst Erin was chasing after unobtainable bad boys and enjoying reckless sexual encounters. Despite their differences, a mutual respect had developed between the two.
With Erin, Coleen could let her maternal instincts take over and that suited her just fine. And in the absence of her own mother who lived far away, Erin had to admit that she enjoyed having Coleen looking out for her. It made her feel safe, less alone.
“Col, could we talk somewhere a bit more quiet?” Erin asked, her voice small.
“Yes,” Coleen got up, immediately dropping everything she was
doing, her face pinched with concern. “Yes of course, come on.”
In the office bathrooms, Coleen methodically checked each individual stall to ensure that they were completely alone and then she turned to face Erin and waited patiently for what she had to say.
“Remember when you asked me if anything happened with Sean?” Erin began carefully, embarrassed to divulge the full details about what had occurred, even to someone she trusted.
“Yeah.” Coleen nodded, her face was open and without judgment.
“Well, something did happen with him. The other night. I found him wandering on the parking lot after I worked late. He seemed out of it, like he was drunk, and I offered him a ride home, but we ended up at mine and one thing kind of led to another…” Erin trailed off, looking down at the tiled floor, unable to meet Coleen’s gaze.
She half expected Coleen to jump up with excitement and clap her hands together over being right about their liaison, but instead she just nodded solemnly.
“I’m guessing he didn’t mention he was leaving his job,” Coleen said, her voice soft and sympathetic.
“He didn’t even say goodbye in the morning,” Erin scoffed, looking up at the ceiling in an attempt to hold in her tears. Talking about it all aloud made her realize just how stupid she’d been. She was a grown woman; she shouldn’t be standing in the bathroom, crying over a boy who had hurt her. This was high school stuff, yet somehow she just couldn’t progress past it.
“Not much of a gentleman then,” Coleen noted sourly.
“Not at all.” Erin sniffed.
Coleen stepped away in to one of the stalls and returned with a handful of tissue paper that she handed to Erin, who gratefully accepted it and dabbed at her eyes.
Phases of Passions (Trilogy Bundle) (Werewolf Romance - Paranormal Romance) Page 5