Page 24 of Monsters of Desire and Nightmares of Passion

“Why do you have to kill me? I mean, I want to be with you, baby.”

My face heats up. I hate calling people baby, or to be called that. But, damn, what can I do? My mind feels like a gang of crazy kittens running around inside the house and crashing against walls, breaking the deco and furniture in the process.

“I wish there was another way.”

“Wait, can I ask you two things? Please go to my place, take Powder, and give him to my neighbors downstairs.”

“Okay, that I can do.”

“And, Joshua, kiss me. I want to be kissed one more time before I die.”

I chose my words carefully. I don’t want to upset him. I need him hard, and fucking me, to break free.

“I don’t think I can fuck your pussy. It’s better to keep you a virgin.”

“My pussy can stay virginal. Take my ass,” I whisper, ignoring the pain spreading like fire ants inside me. This is not the moment to think about the pain or to fucking panic. I’ll get away. I have to. Dying isn’t on the menu today.

Joshua fumbles with his zipper and tries to pull my scrub pants off, but it’s difficult to do with one hand.

“Can I kiss you?” I become insistent. I can’t do anything so long as he’s sprawled on top of me and chocking me.

“No funny games. I’ll make you come and kiss you like you’ve never been kissed before, but only if you don’t try anything.”

“I’ll be good, I promise.” Even to my own ears I sound so damn fake, but a man with a boner thinks with his dick and not his brain.

Dr. Martin stands slowly and pulls me up by my hair. My skull hurts even worse than before. A sharp, hot pain mixes with the dull thudding already filling my head. Fear turns my legs into jelly worms and my mouth is as dry as the desert. He turns me toward him. I can’t believe that the monster now smiling and stroking his cock is Dr. Martin. He looks like he’s wearing Dr. Martin’s skin, but his insides belong to a different guy or creature.

“Kiss me, Ivy.” His voice has a thick, raspy sound that makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I got this. It becomes a mantra I keep repeating in my mind. I go to kiss him.

Dr. Martin pulls me into his embrace. This is the moment I’ve been waiting for. There won’t be another. My body reacts like a force of nature, with a strength and power I didn’t expect.

I use the height difference to slam the top of my head into his nose. The satisfying crack of bone and the splash of blood that follows makes me feel better. Good, I hurt him.

There’s no time to celebrate this victory. Quite the contrary, I must keep going. I grab his balls with my free hand and pull hard until I hear a plucking sound. Blood sprays from his broken nose, but he only laughs, still holding my other hand. My body shakes. I push away, trying to free myself from his vise-like embrace Dr. Martin lets the blood from his nose drip onto my head and mix with my hair.

“Oh, Ivy. You’re such a fucking bitch.”

Both his hands hold on to my shoulders. He shakes me until I feel like puking. The nurse in me warned I have a concussion. I give up. Let him kill me. There’s no way out.

I don’t see the back of his hand coming. He slaps me so hard that it catapults me across the room and until I hit the wall. White-hot, searing pain erupts from my spine and shoulder, trailing down until it doesn’t matter anymore. The world turns black.

I’m sorry for Powder.

And my books.

And…

That’s it. My life is a mix between work, books, and my cat.

“Draw,” I moan.

Draw’s face, his real face, appears. I hope so badly that he’s not to a figment of my imagination and that he’s here to save me. As much as I hate to admit it, I can use some damn saving right now.

Through the world of pain and darkness, I attempt to make sense of what’s happening, but it’s all a blur. What is Dr. Martin talking about? What’s The Church of Light? Why the fuck did he say he and I are on different sides of the barricade? That makes no sense. Since the moment we stepped into this office, nothing has made sense.

My body feels strange. I’m so sleepy.

Khal

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