Dance Of Desire (8 page)

“Fuck,”
she muttered, then braced for more pain.

"Shtupid girl! We will break you, you will shurrender. You shhhall giiive yourshelllff to uuussh,"
the creature declared with utter conviction.

Her eyes darted about as her vision filled with tears and sweat. She looked hard, but she saw nothing certain in the reddened, grayish and inky black shadows. Like the trapped animal she was, all her thoughts scampered wide and far from her, while her pain magnified tenfold, making her body tighten and bend taut as a bow with its demand. It was so painful that she could not scream. If she had, her ears were so numbed by her own raw shrieks and the demon’s “voice” that she hadn’t heard her own voice screaming.

The voice was frustrated with her and the creature's manic howling filled the cavern, filled her with such throbbing pain, like explosions of knives from different parts of her body, all at once, to center deep in her core. Not once did she ever bleed. Her sweat poured out in hot rivers down her body, dripping and sizzling to the ground, the steam rising back to her to make her boil all the more in the heat.

Cassie's vision dimmed and became small and pointless. She panted for each smothering breath as her body became dehydrated. Each breath was coming shorter and shorter, gasp after gasp, as wave upon wave of unbearable contraction of pain cut into her ability to stay awake.

But she did not succumb to the nightmare. For some reason, Cassie managed to fight the desire to surrender, as the beast said, and give herself to them. She somehow knew that whatever would come after her surrender would never be as worthy as what she would give up. But she could not know where she had find the strength to stay alive.

Until finally, miraculously, Cassie fainted away.

Her girlfriends and neighbors are having exhausting nightmares, too. Isn’t that strange? And who’s the “secret hottie” one girlfriend won’t stop talking about but refuse to name?

Can a chance meeting with her gorgeous dance partner from the club, Paulo, become more than loving sex? Can he be her refuge and protection against her nightmares?

Or is this magical man, with the strange and frightening tattoos that resemble much of the monsters in her nightmares, a part of it all?

Thank you for reading,
Dance Of Desire
. If you feel this story was the perfect little treat you needed, please
leave a review at All Romance Ebooks

I'm always looking for feedback and will provide anyone who completes a review about this book with a free book, passionately written and fresh from my tiny writer's enclave.
Here's how to get it:
1. Write a short review at
All Romance Ebooks
2. Email me at
[email protected]
with a link to your review and I'll reply with my favorite book for free!

* * *

CASSIE WOKE UP slowly, a dreamy lethargy about her. She pushed the smothering pillow from her face. She was glad to have been able to sleep despite all her apprehensions the night before. She stretched to get the sleep out of her bones.

Searing, white-hot pain shot through her body.

“Ow! Fuck! Oww!”

Every single part of her was painfully sore. She felt banged up, like she’d been tortured.

All at once, her mind cleared. Everything came into sharp focus. She would’ve shot straight up from bed but she could barely move. She felt heavy, her muscles and bones felt thick and incapable of proper movement. Her sheets felt damp and uncomfortable.

Gingerly rolling her body to the side, she gradually got herself upright until she was seated on the bed. Every movement hurt. Inch by slow inch, she finally was able to swing her legs and plant her feet on the rug. The familiar texture of it between her toes and under her feet put her at ease.

It may be an ugly-ass rug but it sure makes me feel at home,
she thought.

As she stood up, her thighs all the way to her ankles felt stiff and strained—it reminded her of the first time she tried to do Cross Fit.

Rolling her shoulders back was painful, stretching her wrists and arms were painful; so she moved as little as possible.

However, none of the muscular tenderness she felt had prepared her for what she saw when she turned to make her bed.

On the bedspread was a large damp spot in the shape of her body that took up the middle of where she had just laid. She stared at it dumbfounded.

What the hell? Night sweats? I’m decades away from freaking menopause! Was it that hot last night? I could never sweat that much, could I? At least I hope it’s sweat…
her thoughts trailed off as she landed on another possible explanation to the unusual wetness on her bed.

Curious and anxious to prove to herself that she did not just urinate in her sleep, she reached out to touch an edge of the stain. She pulled her fingers back as soon as she was able to. Not only was the bed wet, but the spot was warm to the touch.

“No. No-no-no-no-no!” she said to herself over and over.

Her face was a mixture of disgust and embarrassment as she bent over the bed. She inhaled and immediately felt relief wash over her for a second when she determined that she didn’t pee on herself while sleeping. Still, the volume of the liquid that took up her bed sheets was very unsettling.

She shook her head as if to clear her mind of the incident and move on.

“Okay, Cassie,” she started telling herself aloud. “It’s there. It’s done. Better to just clean up, grab something to eat and down a couple painkillers. Might have been a hot night but who knows and who cares. Let’s just get on with the day.”

Her pep talked cheered her spirits a little. And then flashes of horrible, half-remembered memories resurfaced in her mind. She recalled her wrists being bound over her head. She remembered the absolute terror that she was feeling.

She stared at the disgusting wetness of her bed and rationalized that it was the clammy wet spot in her bed that had caused her inner fears to run wild in her dreams.

“Ach, I’m disgusting!” she admonished herself.

She made her way to the bathroom. A quick shower would snap her out of this funk. Right, it’s just what she needed. And she’d have a good day.

The water was delicious, running from the top of her head and down her body with soothing freshness. It felt like her worries were being washed away. It felt so good that Cassie even began humming. Then when she felt a twinge somewhere, she looked down. She gasped at what she saw and finished her shower as fast as she could.

She wiped the mist off the mirror and stared in horror at the reflection.

“Oh my God…”

Large circular bruises dotted every inch of her upper torso, her front and her back. These new ones weren’t even a bit subtle. They looked too perfectly round to be hickeys.

“Damn.”

There was no running away from it. Something was wrong with her nightmares. But they couldn’t be real… yet… of course… something must explain why when she was tortured by monsters in her dreams, marks were left on her body when she woke up. She supposed she should be grateful that she even woke up. She felt lethargic. Even her brain felt rustic. But somehow… somehow she knew, if she even dared think she could succumb to the monsters when they say surrender, she would be in a lot more trouble.

Like not waking up?

This is impossible,
she thought as she shook her head. This must be psychological, a reaction of her brain to the new changes that were happening to her life.

But if it were so, weren’t they too much? Like… like it was almost paranormal. Like she was being hunted?

Again, she remembered that menacing presence she felt when she woke up after a forgotten nightmare two nights ago. She closed her eyes very tightly, and convinced herself that it was impossible. There couldn’t be supernatural creatures in a building built just recently.

But her body had started to shake uncontrollably. Same thing as happening to her hands even as she put on her clothes. She needed to get out of here now!

Without checking what she’d grabbed, she stormed off for school, slamming the door behind her.

CASSIE was earlier than usual, hoping she would find a temporary relief in the logic and clarity of class by being among other people. The normalcy was a far cry from the vivid living nightmare she had been suffering through the past couple of days.

Any other time she’d have dismissed it all as absurd. That she was probably hallucinating with all the stress she’d be going through at school. But there had been absolutely no other explanation for it. She was being haunted. Or maybe her new place at the apartment complex had been built over an old graveyard or a burial site, like in horror flicks. Absurd, she thought as she shook her head.

Then it occurred to her that some of those films were supposedly based on true events. Stranger things have happened to real people living real lives day by day.

Cassie's hope of a temporary reprieve from her turmoil proved short-lived since her thoughts of a possible haunting wouldn’t let up. Her growing paranoia was starting to seep into her day-to-day. She was skittish, easily startled by sudden loud sounds, and she cowered at shadows. Her body was having a visceral reaction towards her residence.

“You lost a few pounds since the weekend, Cassie?”

Cassie was startled by Lauren’s comment. It was her second class of the day. While it barely registered that Lauren was addressing her, just the sound of her voice was enough to make her jump. Clearly, Lauren had gotten over her hangover and she looked impeccable as always.

Cassie admonished herself for acting like a nervous Nellie.

“Um, I don’t know. Haven’t really been checking. Maybe,” she mumbled.

Naturally, losing a few pounds would’ve been a compliment. But under the circumstances Cassie felt far from celebrating dropping a dress size. Eating food had taken the backseat lately. Her head hurt, not just from the overall soreness, but she suspected from all the dehydration since all her bodily fluids may have very been on her bed back at the apartment. She shivered, as if she were jolted by an unexpected electrical shock.

“What’s the matter, Cassie?”

“N-Nothing,” she stammered. “Must be all the caffeine in my system.”

“Right.” Lauren peered at her. “So, you’ve been seeing that hottie from the club?”

“No!” Cassie exclaimed. Lauren looked at her harder, suspicion in her eyes. She didn’t believe Cassie’s answer, making her even more nervous. Luckily, Lauren soon gave up and left her alone.

Unfortunately, just like the day before, Cassie had started to see “things.” Ghastly faces, demons, sinister unexplained creatures plagued her all day. Other people were oblivious to these hideous beings. Everywhere she looked, there they were. She saw them in the soup and in the grass. The cloud of smoke of a nearby smoker held menacing specters that took her breath away.

There were times, too, that she felt as if she was being followed. At one point she thought a man in a hoodie was stalking her.

Then again, when she had a flash of rational thought she’d laughed at her ridiculousness and say—
“But this is a freaking university! Every student has a hoodie! You’re being silly, Cassie!”
—to herself, her laughter hollow, unconvinced.

She shook her head and wrung her hands in a feeble attempt to rid herself of her own paranoia.

IT WAS GETTING late.

The crowds of students on campus were thinning out as everyone went home, to work, or somewhere else. Cassie was desperate to some place to go to other than her haunted apartment. A few night classes were starting but Cassie wasn’t enrolled in one.

Instead, she sought comfort and headed to a dorm apartment just off campus. She had to grin at the closed door before she knocked. On it were posters and clippings of hot men. Seemed a little high school girl-ish but she thought it was fun.

She shifted her backpack of books and rapped on the door. Someone threw the door open and yelled at her.

“Well, look who’s finally crawled out of her cave and graced us with her presence! Get in here!” Anne commanded as she stepped back to let Cassie into the apartment. Anne shared the place with Lauren and she bounded towards the couch. “Krystal didn’t come with you? That girl is such a chicken. She said she might come over after classes. Which means…”

Cassie, Anne, and Lauren all looked at each other.

“Not happening!” they said in unison.

“You looking for a free meal, Cassie?”

“N-No. Um. Do you have the notes from Simons’ class, Lauren?”

Lauren nearly choked on her soda. “You were right there!”

Cassie did her best to look noncommittal. She shrugged. “Brain hasn’t been functioning this week.”

“Neither has Lauren’s,” Anne piped in. “I slept a little funny myself. Hell, I think I’m starting to think her nightmares are contagious,” she giggled, her laugh had a touch of hysteria. “Here, I’ll email my notes to you both. Simons does the same lecture in my class as she does in yours.”

Cassie was a bit crestfallen. She had hoped to spend at least a half hour to copy the notes, and then she’d stall for more time with some inane conversation. But with a push of a button, had sent the email and Cassie had no viable reason to stay.

“So,
why
isn’t your brain functioning, Lauren? Nightmares?” Cassie asked.

Lauren blushed, which was uncharacteristic of her. She looked embarrassed about something. “No particular reason,” the other girl said.

“I say she just needs a man,” Anne volunteered. Lauren shot a glare at her roommate, who backed away, hands up then giggled. “Hey, I think she’s been getting serious about some hottie, or at least some serious action!” Then Anne ducked, laughing as Lauren sent a pillow in the direction of her head.

Cassie was curious. “Really? Who?”

Anne continued, in spite of the obscenities Lauren was yelling her way. “She won’t say, and I haven’t figured it out yet. But mark my words, I will!

Although I can’t figure how he gets in her locked room, I never catch him in the morning. He has to be someone we met at the club that night. Maybe the blond…?” Lauren shook her head “no.” “Well, L finds the males of our student body to be such boys. She wants ‘a man.’ The Asian guy with the gorgeous eyes? No? And the way she’s been moaning in her dreams. Yikes. He must be really good in bed! Who is it, Lauren? Tell us. We’re friends. I’m your roomie, and I pay half of everything so tell me!”

“Not happening.” Lauren crossed her arms, stood up and stalked out of the room.

“Well,” Anne commented, loudly. “Whoever he is, he must be seriously packing some hard dick between his thighs!”

“Shut up!” Lauren called from the bathroom.

They laughed at that and changed the topic. And later, Anne asked Cassie to stay for dinner, much to her relief.

Their meal was good. Anne may be a student but she could actually cook. It was a homemade pizza. Nothing frozen or microwaved here.

Several times Cassie wanted to confide in her friends about everything. But seeing how Lauren was being scrutinized and ridiculed didn’t really help. Besides, what’s there to tell? That she thought she might have been raped by a ghost? That her dreams after that night involved really twisted torturous acts against her body? That the bruises on her skin resembled those that she’d gotten while she was struggling in her sleep?

As if Anne could read her mind, she asked, pointing to the black and blue marks on her neck. “Hey, how’d that happen? That sure doesn’t look like an ordinary hickey to me!”

Cassie hearts raced. “What?” she asked, trying to keep the panic from her voice and instead tried to reach for the pizza.

Anne caught her wrist. She turned over Cassie’s hand to expose the underside of her wrist. There, peeking slightly from the sleeve of her sweater were rope burn marks. Anne dropped her friend’s hand.

“What the hell, Cassie!” she exclaimed.

“Listen, I know it looks bad but really, it’s fine.” Cassie said as she took a bite out of her pizza. “Besides, it’s really none of your business, okay?” she said, managing a weak smile.

“If you say so, Cass,” Anne said cautiously. “I know that BDSM shit is all the rage nowadays but… promise you’ll be careful, okay? Oh, and take lots more vitamin C. It’ll help heal that faster. In fact, have some of mine,” Anne continued as she got up to look for her vitamin supplements. Cassie nodded her thanks as she took the bottle Anne offered her. “My sister sells them online. I have more than I really need.”

Before long, it was time to head back to her apartment. Cassie anxiety started to grow as she said her goodbyes.