Page 22 of Monsters of Desire and Nightmares of Passion

“No, Ivy. Please, don’t go with him. No. Please, stay.” I beg her. I’m ready to do anything, to turn myself into nothing if that would save her. Yet no sacrifice of mine will keep her safe.

The elevator door closes and she leaves with him.

Nooo.

“What’s the yelling?” Khal is there in the elevator, staring at me.

Is it possible he picked up my mental distress calls? Having no voice is bad enough, but not being able to talk to my mates is worse.

I grab his hand, at least one of them, and pull him toward Ivy.

“Why are you so frantic? Where’s Draw?”

I can’t reply to anyone of his questions. In my despair, all I can think of is that we must hurry. We must get to Ivy before it’s too late. That doctor is part of The Church of Light and has our girl.

As I look at Khal again, he glows. He has connected with that girl Lisa and fed, fed enough to be able to become physical if needed. That girl believes in his existence. Good. I need her, too. We both need Lisa if we want to save Ivy.

“What’s going on? I could hear your mental distress like damn nails on a chalkboard. Okay, I see. She’s with a guy. Well, we all knew she’s going to bone someone sooner or later. What do I care about it now?”

Khal pretended to be indifferent. It’s all a facade, a lie. It isn’t about who she’s boning, as he put it. Yes, I feel a sharp knife hurting me, ripping me open when I imagine someone else inside Ivy. Ivy belongs to me, and Draw, and even Khal.

I shove Khal and we walk down to the office Ivy has gone inside with the good doctor.

Ivy

I look to my left and right, waiting to see the police officer Dr. Martin was talking about, but there’s no one. The entire administrative floor is empty. “Where are they?”

“They probably stepped out to get coffee. We can wait for them. Pegg can manage alone.”

“I… I don’t like being late for work.” My insides clutch tight. I feel like my guts are dancing and trying to escape my belly, a feeling that there’s something wrong.

Dr. Martin rushes me inside an office and blocks the door with his body. My instincts warn me something is amiss. Something has happened to Dr. Martin. He’s changed. I can’t pin it down, but something makes my skin crawl. I look again at his face. His once calm and collected demeanor now appears stern and forced, as if he was trying to keep himself under control but was failing. The small wrinkles between his eyebrows are deeper and his eyes keep darting all over the place with a restless expression.

“It’s going to be fine, Ivy. You’re here with me. I can make an excuse for you, my love.”

My hackles rise as he calls me his love. What’s wrong with this man?

“Dr. Martin, you shouldn’t call me that. It feels awkward and is inappropriate.”

He comes closer to me, his body invading my space, and pushes me toward the desk. My backside crashes against its surface, forcing me to sit on it.

“Why are you running away from me, Ivy? Do you enjoy the chase? Would you like me to chase you around the hospital? Would that turn you on?”

My heart beats like crazy. I’ve always viewed Dr. Martin as a nice guy, harmless and friendly. But now, something has changed. He’s gone from a nice guy to an aggressor. The sparkle in his glassy eyes and the way he presses his lips together make me gasp. He’s fighting with the beast hidden inside him and I’m witnessing his real self.

His palms rest on my upper arm and his large body traps me against the desk. I grab the edge with my hand and try to push away, but he holds me in place.

“I can’t let you go, Ivy. You see, you’re important.”

“Dr. Martin, I don’t know what you have in mind, but I don’t want any of this. I don’t want to be touched. I’m going to ask you only one time, let me go.”

He laughs. God damn it, he has the nerve to throw his head back and laugh at me. Even his voice sounds different and foreign, like broken glass. “Who said you have a say in this, kitten?”

I panic. This is something I’ve never considered—being assaulted by one of the people I work with. I use my hand to search the surface of the desk behind me, looking for something I can use as a weapon. The HR office is exactly like a damn office should be—clean, organized, and lacking any objects that could be used offensively. There’s nothing, at least nothing I could reach without turning to look for it. I’d be happy with a stapler, some paper clips, anything.

Fuck.

My mind is in overdrive. I want to escape. His cock presses against me. His face moves close to mine. I turn away as his rancid breath touches my neck, making me squirm. Dr. Martin pushes his body into mine and pins me to the spot.

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