This Strange Addiction, Julie Steimle [little readers txt] 📗

hand on her throat, pushing up while he yanked down harder to get her pants off. The moment he got them down to her knees, he climbed in between.

Her mind went wild with panic. Her tazer was in her car. But she had pepper spray. It was in her bag. She strained to look for it, barely able to move her head. But her bag was on the other side of the tent. Reaching for it as Hogan pushed into her—it was too far away.

“NO!”

Suddenly Hogan’s heavy weight was off her and she could draw in a breath again. Gasping, looking up, blurry-eyed, Audry saw Bobo, dragging Hogan out of the tent by his neck. Hogan was kicking and punching at him, but none of his strikes had effect on the guy. In fact, with each blow, Hogan started to recoil and curl as if he was the one being beaten. And more, his nose started to bleed and bruises just sprouted on his naked skin. After wielding a blow to Bobo’s crotch, Hogan collapsed, clenching his own exposed groin.

“YA DON’T DO THAT TO WOMEN!” Bobo shouted at him.

Jandra ran in, going straight to Audry, helping her up—especially pulling her pants back on. “We heard the scream. Everybody just said it was just a laugh.”

Hogan looked back into the tent with the insanely savage desire to just pounce on Audry again. Bobo got in his way. “WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?”

Hogan wailed, panting hard like a wild animal. He rushed around Bobo, getting in. With one arm, he shoved Jandra aside, climbing on Audry again, tearing at her clothes, to pull them off. Audry screamed.

Jandra grabbed Audry’s bag, ripping out the pepper spray. She sprayed it in Hogan’s face. The spray spattering on Audry also. She closed her eyes, flinching.

Seizing Hogan, Bobo dragged him from the tent. “ARE YA INSANE?”

He and the others from the campfire encircled Hogan. One within the group mentioned calling the police in hisses.

“My eyes.” Audry gasped as they burned.

“Sorry!” Jandra crawled to their water bottles, grabbing one. She flipped open the top and poured it into Audry’s eyes. The water sloshed over her face and down her neck but slowly the burning stopped.

When Audry caught her breath, pulling her torn clothes over her naked skin, Jandra shook her head. “I am so sorry. What happened? Did he just come in here and jump on you?”

Nodding, Audry could hear Hogan wailing outside, “I don’t know what came over me! Honestly! I never would have done that to her! I love Audry! But her perfume! I swear it is driving me wild.”

“Perfume?” Bobo turned and sniffed the air. “I don’ smell nuttin.”

But some of the men in the group looked to Bobo.

“You mean you can’t smell that?” Neil asked.

Audry’s head lifted up. Perfume? Smell? What?

Bobo shook his head. “Nah. What are you smellin’?”

“I don’t smell anything either,” Jeremy said.

“It’s like… I don’t know how to describe it, sweet,” Neil said. He peered in at Audry. “A really good smell.”

Paling, Audry felt sick. It couldn’t be the balm, could it?

Bobo glared at them all. “Are you sayin’ it’s her perfume’s fault that ya tried to rape her?”

“I don’t smell any perfume,” Jandra muttered.

“I did put on an anti-mosquito balm,” Audry said, which was what it smelled like to her. She didn’t dare say it was a pheromone enhancer.

Jandra shot her a look. “So?” She then walked over to Bobo. “I’m gonna stay here with Audry, you keep that jerk away from here. We need to decide what we’re gonna tell the cops.”

“We’re pressin’ charges,” Bobo said to her, growling at Hogan whose eyes were now red, nearly blinded. “No man has the right to rape a woman—‘specially a friend of mine.”

“No…” Hogan wailed. “Honestly. I’m sorry. I never would have done it if it weren’t for that smell.”

“Drag him out of here and hold him for the police,” Bobo said to the other guys

“It’s kind of late,” Neil whispered.

“CRIME HAS NO TIME!” Bobo looked like he wanted to beat Neil’s face in.

Jandra went back into the tent and pulled the flap closed. She then said to Audry, “We need to take photos for evidence. Do you mind? I’ll try to make it PG.”

Audry nodded, lifting up her shirt. She was sure she had scratches and bruises. Hogan had not been gentle.

Audry did not sleep much that night. They had stayed on the beach. And not to her surprise, the group outside had taken a vote and decided to contact the police in the morning, mostly because none of them wanted to spend that evening in a police station—crime or not.

Bobo was unhappy about that. So was Jandra. Especially since that meant he would have to stand guard all night over Hogan as the others did not seem inclined to. In fact, the crowd of men who could smell the balm—as Audry realized that was what had triggered Hogan to attack her—were sympathizing with Hogan’s loss of self-control, though they themselves ‘never would have done it’. But that remark irritated Bobo so much that he called Matthew Calamori immediately.

Matthew was there with two other cops within the hour. The club watched angrily as their evening was ruined by the police who were now cuffing Hogan who seriously looked worse for wear around the eyes and all his bruises, while also getting Audry’s statement.

Matthew sniffed the air as the lady cop with him who had brought a rape kit was treating Audry in the privacy of the tent. “I smell a little bit of something. It’s like honey and citron.”

Bobo nodded. “Yeah. Mosquito balm.”

Audry remained silent. The experiment had been a terrible idea. The balm had done exactly what Daisy had said, and it freaked her out. Daisy had not lied to her after all. And listening to Hogan’s pleas, she felt a twinge of guilt. Daisy had said it would draw in the men who were attracted to her scent, and she knew Hogan wanted her. They nearly had sex back on that mountain. Besides, the reason the balm had intrigued Audry was that she had heard of scientific studies where scent was a huge factor in human attraction, though she had never noticed it herself. It was likely Hogan, who had been restraining himself all this time from jumping on her, had truly lost control because of the balm. Yet, not all the guys in the campfire circle who had smelled the balm had followed her back to her tent.

“Ok honey,” the lady cop said to her. “All done. I don’t think you have to worry about any pregnancy or anything. He didn’t get that far.”

Audry nodded. It was an attempted rape. Bobo had saved her from the whole of it.

She dressed, then with Jandra, stumbled out of the tent. Averting her eyes from Matthew, Audry cringed.

Matthew’s expression shifted a little, and he smelled the air more as she came nearer. He nodded. “Hi. How are you feeling?”

“I’m still shaking,” Audry replied, clenching her arms around she stomach.

“We’re going to take him to the police station and give him a night to cool off,” Matthew said. But then he drew in another breath. “Are you wearing a perfume?”

Averting her eyes, Audry said, “It’s just a balm.”

Matthew nodded, perhaps hearing her complaints that it just smelled like insect repellant to her. “Ok. Um… regardless of whether the balm triggered him as he claims, he has been caught in the act of attempted rape, and you can press charges any time you want. We have plenty of evidence. You are wearing a very nice smelling, uh, balm, but that is no excuse for rape. So, what is it you would like to do?”

Closing her eyes, rubbing her forehead, Audry said, “I don’t know yet. I need to sleep on it.”

Nodding, Matthew took a step away, hearing her overwhelm. “Ok.” He then headed up the hill, pausing once, “However, maybe for your safety, you should wear less perfume. Crazy people are about, and you never know.”

Bobo slept outside her tent that night, guarding it. Jandra, Audry, and two other gals slept within. That night, Audry had a string of nightmares in the few hours that she had available to her. In the dream, Daisy had come into the camp holding Hogan’s hand then laughing at her while watching Hogan rape her, helping him hold her down. In this dream Bobo was not fast enough. But her wolf arrived and pounced on Hogan with teeth and claws, tearing him apart while Daisy stepped back then ran away. And when he was done, the wolf stalked toward Audry as if he wanted a piece of her too—though she was not sure he wanted to eat her or to climb on her also and finish what Hogan had started. She was shaking when she woke.

When morning broke, Jandra got up and began to pack up her things. She then went out to help with breakfast. The other two gals left silently, leaving Audry to herself while outside she could hear people gathering on the beach to collect any leftover shoreline garbage.

Getting out of her sleeping bag, Audry wondered what would have happened if she had put on the balm in Africa. Would it have had the same effect? They were in the wilderness, alone with a few men and women. Would they have also lost their self-restraint? Maybe she had put on too much. Perhaps a dab would have been sufficient. Just a dab for attraction, not seduction.

“She’s right here,” Bobo said, leading someone to her tent.

The tent flap opened and in walked Rick Deacon.

Almost that same second, he swayed in the doorway as if hit by a powerful gust of wind. His wolf gray eyes almost immediately dilated. Audry had never seen such a thing happen so fast. He breathed in as if the aroma in the tent was deliciously sweet, as one would breathe in fresh air or the smell of baking goods greatly desired—or in his case, meat. His expression shifted from strictly business inquiry to absolute animal hunger. He wanted to lick it up. His eyes said he wanted to lick her up and taste all of her, ‘The better to eat you with, my dear,’ echoing in her head as Rick’s face almost appeared wolfish staring at her. But he pulled back, his breathing going heavy. “Oh heavens… Is that…?”

Bobo stepped in front of him. “Hey, Rick. Get a hold of yourself!”

For a second, Rick almost seemed hairier, like the Wolverine.

But Rick’s eyes had fixed on Audry, going nearly hypnotic. And like Hogan, he looked like he would launch himself at her to tear her clothes off.

Still—Rick recoiled, slapping his hands over his nose. “Are you wearing perfume?”

“No,” Audry protested, not at all mentioning the balm as she retreated to the other side of the tent. There was no way out except past him. And Rick looked strong.

“Are you sure?” Rick asked, panting hard as if it honestly took everything in him to keep himself from seizing her and throwing her to the ground. “Because you smell like…”

Audry backed further way, freaking out. He really now started to looked like the wolf from her dream who wanted to devour her.

“Like I could eat you up.” Rick clutched his forehead, clenching his teeth. “Oh… my gosh this can’t be happening…”

Bobo’s eyes widened. He looked from Rick to Audry. Immediately Bobo snatched Audry up.

She yelped as Bobo dashed with her in his arms, hauling her out of the tent. On his large feet and long legs, he rushed over the sand, carrying her straight to the ocean where he sloshed knee deep in. There, he dropped her in.

Audry barely had any time to draw in a breath before plunging under the salty cold water.

Underneath the waves, Audry churned in the salty brine, clawing to get to the surface for air. The second she felt the ground underneath her, she pushed up and spluttered, gasping for breath.

Another wave dumped over