Pain-Killer (A Miss Hyde Novella Book 2) Read online

  A smile spread across his lips when chills racked me. There wasn’t a single inch of my flesh that wasn’t covered in goosebumps at this point. I was scared, my heart was pumping so hard I felt like it could leap out of my chest, and the place between my legs surged with a need I never knew I could have. The adrenaline coursing through me didn’t know whether to tell me to run and hide or to keep going. What was going on that was causing me to have such a strong reaction to the two dead men before me? Was I awake or was I dreaming? I had no idea which was the right answer, so I just rode the high, pushing up against Dax and arching my back, touching each man in all of the right places. Moans and groans echoed through the room as my hands grazed along their skin while I somehow still clutched the blade like a lifeline.

  I slipped the steel down, so I had a firm grip on it and slid it across the flesh of Dax’s lower back, sending a response of pain and ecstasy through him that was unmistakable. This was just getting weirder and weirder, but my brain was on overdrive, not even caring the level of kink I seemed to be getting myself into. Not just that, but necrophilia. The biggest question burning inside of me at that moment was the question of how they had come to be there. Hyde had killed them, and now they were here and making so many promises with their bloodied bodies that I was confused by what I should be feeling. I reached up towards his shoulder blade and raked my nails along his flesh just enough to leave streaks of bright red behind. Not enough to draw blood. Then I heard laughter, high and feminine, echo and bounce off of the walls and coming back towards me to greet my ears. I knew that laugh, and it was confirmed as I felt her ripple through my gut and up through my chest, filling me to the brim with pure wickedness as I enjoyed the roving hands of the men she had stolen from this world. Now they lived in another where this kind of thing was somehow okay.

  I felt her slide into my throat and out in uproarious laughter and pleasure, my eyes burning with unshed tears as hands, lips, and teeth moved across my flesh. I felt the urge to inflict pain and drug the scalpel over Kyle’s bare chest, blood flowing unbidden down his marred flesh. He grinned at me as he rubbed one of his hands through it, spreading it around over what was left of his gorgeous stomach. Dax followed suit, letting it coat the palm of his hand as he touched the other man. Dax’s hand then slid underneath my thigh, gripping it and forcing it to lift so that my leg was wrapping around his waist as his erection ground against me with the action. This felt too good and too right not to be real. Even the slathering of their blood just seemed right.

  My fist opened, and I heard the metallic clatter of the scalpel hitting the floor as I grabbed onto Dax’s shoulders, urging him to do what all three of us knew was coming. My tongue flicked out, tasting the salty sweat that was collecting over his top lip as well as the iron of his blood. I wasn’t sure how it had even gotten in my mouth, but I found myself not caring. It only spurred Hyde on inside of me, causing her to turn inside of me and flow down to the unmentionable regions of who I was as a woman. I had honestly liked Dax while he was alive. This was just the natural progression of things, right? Well, as long as that person was still among the living.

  I reached down and gripped Kyle’s considerable length, and I didn’t even flinch as my arm grazed a piece of broken rib covered in torn muscle. We were in the moment, and the moment did not dictate a feeling of disgust even though, deep down inside past where Hyde lived, I was revolted just a fraction. It wasn’t enough to stop me, us, from doing what came naturally when a man was pushed up against you. No matter how battered and bloody they were. Hyde wasn’t nearly as refined as I would’ve liked her to be. This was crossing a line, but it felt so right to step over it and be the bad guy, or better yet girl, for once without having my hand held. Dax’s breathing was heavy, and our breaths mingled as his hand slick with blood grabbed my thong and tore it from my body, the ripping sound satisfying as I watched him drop the underwear to the soiled floor. A broad grin spread across his lips and menace was in his eyes.

  Kyle groaned as he stood against me. Both men were insatiable in their new state, and it was so lovely I could’ve cried. Or was it Hyde? I was beginning not to be able to tell the difference between the two of us in this situation anymore. I raked my free hand through his gorgeous hair, and my eyes met his blue ones as I continued to stroke Kyle, who was now nibbling at my collar bone. Then I felt cold steel against my wrist, and I froze, not sure what Kyle was planning as I turned my head to gaze at him through the haze of adrenaline, fear, and sweet heat between the three of us. I wasn’t even scared of the blade that he had laid against my flesh as I worked him and the presence of the blade seemed to do something for him that I hadn’t anticipated. There was a heat that licked through my belly at the sight of it glinting against my pale skin that made me feel like I could melt right out of my skinsuit and flow down the shower drain with the water just moments before now.

  “Do it,” He whispered again, sliding the blade across my skin. I shivered as the action of it caused my nerves to rapid fire. What did he want me to do? Was he even speaking to me? I wasn’t sure. The presence of both of them had confused and terrified me at first, and it was now a heady combination of those emotions and sex if it happened to go that far even. A small part of me didn’t even know what was going on. Was I hallucinating or was I even awake? If I was awake, I needed a very long vacation at the nearest psychiatric hospital. Hell, that may need to happen either way.

  My question was answered as Dax rammed into me, his body warm and hard inside of me. The stinging pleasure of it was intoxicating as he moved within me; his body pressed tight against mine as he gripped my legs and wrapped my other one around his gorgeous hips. His teeth grazed my neck, and I moaned, still feeling the coolness of the scalpel against my skin. But it had moved to the place at the bend of my elbow where a network of veins called home. There was a sharp intake of breath between all three of us as he moved, my back scraping against the tiled wall behind me and my dress riding up further and further until it was rolled against my belly. He pulled away from me and stared into my eyes, sweat glistening off of forehead and chest as he mouthed something to me. I could barely read his lips past the motions of our passion and Kyle had gone silent, but he was still next to me with the scalpel and his other hand kneading my breasts through the fabric of my clothes.

  As he watched, I felt the metal at my throat, pressing hard into my skin. Dax was still pushing into me as he said one word.

  “Choose.” The one word sent a stab of pain into my heart and a ripple of terror through me that was so deep I couldn’t breathe. Kyle’s hand slid the scalpel across my throat, deep and penetrating as it slashed its way through my flesh and to the arteries underneath. It stung at first but then turned into blinding, searing pain as I felt my blood flow down my chest in a river of crimson. Dax’s face was covered in spray, and his chest was completely coated in it. I couldn’t speak, I couldn’t breathe, and I was starting not to be able to see. “Choose,” he said once more as he continued to thrust into me.

  I shot up in my bed with a startle, my hands grasping at my throat making sure the skin there was smooth and intact. I breathed a sigh of relief as I realized all was well, and it was only a dream. An intensely terrifying and erotic dream at that. What the Hell was going on inside of my head to where I would dream up something like that? I was covered in sweat. The only reason I knew it was that and not blood was the light from the street lamps below coming through the windows illuminating me, causing it to sparkle as some had dried on my legs into a salty crust. My hair was matted against my forehead and neck, and my throat was dry, begging to be quenched.

  “What the fuck was that?” I asked myself, knowing I could only get an answer from one person and one person alone. I didn’t think she was in the talking mood unless it was to mess with my psyche in some way, which she was doing an excellent job at as far as I was concerned.

  The air conditioning roared to life and the cool air rolled over my body, causing a chill to move thro
ugh me as it hit the soaked nightgown I was wearing. The sheets were wet beneath my palms as well, meaning I would need to change the sheets tomorrow. No point in changing them now. I turned to look at the alarm clock. It read three in the morning, and I groaned, swinging my legs off of the bed and walked to the kitchen to get something to drink. I was so thirsty now that I’d even be willing to ring the wet gown into my mouth just to feel something wet slide down my throat. I pushed my hair out of my face as I opened the fridge, letting the cool air hit me as the light bathed me. The gown was dripping with sweat, and I could hear small drops of it hitting the floor. As I perused the contents of my fridge, I grabbed the bottom of the gown and pulled it over my head, slipping my panties off not even two seconds after and letting both fall to the floor.

  I chose a lemon flavored Gatorade and closed the fridge, hearing the glass bottles in the door clink together which brought back the sound of the stainless steel scalpel hitting the floor of my bathroom. I had opened the sports drink, but now I was curious. I half ran, half walked to my bathroom, throwing the switch. I blinked against the assault of light on my retinas and searched the room for any sign of the two men and their ghastly images. Nothing. There was absolutely nothing there. Just confirmation that it was a concoction of my fucked up mind that was split between Hyde and myself, where only one of us could have control of my body at a time with the other trapped inside of the confines of my skull. My body relaxed and I took that moment of relief to chug at least half of the bottle, barely even tasting the flavor of artificial lemon as it moved down my throat and settled in an odd way in my stomach. It was going to be a long night, and I knew I wasn’t headed to bed anytime soon.

  Why not do what I had told Lauren I was going to do the night before? My TiVo was calling my name, and so were the unseen episodes of “The Walking Dead.” Not that I had not seen enough of them tonight in my own mind. My eyes were drawn to the mirror in that instant, though and I took a few tentative steps towards it. I only saw myself and no sign of Hyde. Not even the green eyes that were her tell and I let my body sag I in relief as the thought crossed my mind that she wouldn’t be coming out tonight. That I would be thankful for. The horrific dream seemed to have done enough for her and sufficiently rattled my nerves. Without even a second thought, I stalked out of the bathroom and to my closet, finding a pair of underwear in the chest of drawers and a thin robe, slipping it over my shoulders and tying it in a knot around my waist. I did need a shower, but I wasn’t ready to be that close to where the action had taken place just yet. Not until the morning. Even if it had just been a dream.

  My mind reeled, trying to put together everything from the dream that had not only terrified me but aroused me in such a way I wasn’t even sure what to think. That was a new feeling, being turned on by the fear like that and I couldn’t shake the feeling it wouldn’t be the last time either. Hyde laughed from within.

  Chapter Six

  I didn’t want to dwell on it. I didn’t want to think about it at all, but I knew that if I didn’t now that nothing would change, and I’d still be afraid of what I would do to people. Only one man that I had killed I actually knew would’ve hurt me, but the others? They had been at my place, in my bed, on my turf and she had killed them without provocation. I had no clue why but knew that there was something inside of her too that caused her to murder in cold blood. From the time I was a little girl I could remember what it was that my mother and father had been able to tell me before they died. They had said that that I was cursed. Was that what Hyde had meant by damned? The only questions after that were how and why? For how long? And how did I stop it? Furthermore, when did it all begin? And where?

  What could I do to find the answers? The only person that seemed to know anything about this at all was Cyra and how did she know? It couldn’t have been just the visions. I didn’t believe that they gave her that much information. She knew something and was at the forefront of something even bigger than I could fathom. If I hadn’t been living it, I wouldn’t have believed that someone else could truly live inside of someone and take control whenever they wanted at a whim. Not only that, but I was an only child. Was I the owner of this curse because of that? Or would it have happened regardless if I had a sibling or not. Could men possess it? So many questions were racking my brain that I couldn’t sit still. I had tried to sit down and watch some television, catching up on whatever was on my TiVo, but there was nothing that could soothe my already violent thoughts. I was pacing back and forth across the living room floor, the wood cool on my feet as I nibbled on a piece of chocolate that was flavored like strawberry cheesecake. Lindt and Sprüngli had a way of making some of my favorite chocolates, and I thought it would help ease my anxiety like usual. That was proving not to be the case.

  The only soothing piece of information I had was that at least I didn’t have to try to hide anything. Hyde took care of all of that, and I shivered as I thought of what she couldn’t possibly done with the remains. I knew where the hearts were and took a glance towards the kitchen; the hearts were now just a frozen mass of muscle in the freezer. My stomach growled, and I chose to ignore it. At this point, there was no way I was feasting on that. I had a tendency to cook them, which apparently wasn’t what she had wanted. I found that out the hard way when I came to, feasting on a raw heart fresh out of Kyle’s body. I shivered again, but it wasn’t from the air conditioning. It was from something more primal. I popped the rest of the candy in my mouth and chewed, the taste of strawberry and a tiny bit of cheesecake fill my mouth as I continued to pace. I had to stop. This wasn’t getting me anywhere fast.

  Dax and Kyle’s words were like a broken record in my head. “Do it,” as a scalpel was placed firmly in my hand. I had only known to do what came natural to me, but it seemed to be more of what came natural to Hyde, and it was a level of kink that I had never witnessed before. If I hadn’t liked it, I would’ve vomited all over Dax’s unmarred perfection. Had it been Hyde that loved it, or was it the both of us? Dax had also told me to choose before Kyle had slit my throat, but what did he want me to choose? If only, I knew. I would really need to dissect the dream to really be able to answer that question which I was sure was going to open a whole other can of worms I wasn’t prepared to deal with. We would have to take this one step at a time. None of these words meant anything to me. I wanted to scream and cry in frustration but knew that would get me nowhere either.

  My stomach growled again, and hunger hit me, hard and unrelenting. I stopped pacing and stared at the path to the kitchen, biting on my thumb nail and questioning whether I really wanted to give in or not. The same old question popped up then. What would she do if I didn’t? Did I really want to find out? I shook my head and dropped it in shame, making my way to the kitchen like a scolded child who was told they were going to eat their broccoli or go to bed without dinner. Oh, I’d be getting dinner alright; just nothing I actually wanted to eat. Once I got to the fridge my hand hovered over the handle to the freezer, the rest of my body frozen in place again after so many times in one night. I had no control over it as my hand clamped around it and pulled the door open. Oh, Hyde, how you were coming into my life in new and unexpected ways.

  Plucking a Ziploc bag from within the cold chasm of the freezer, I moved to the microwave. There was no way to sugar coat this. The only way to get her to leave me alone for even just a little while was going to be to stick this in and hit defrost. Too bad it wasn’t still covered in blood and beating erratically, huh?

  I had the bag in my hand and was standing in front of it, staring at the plastic and metal box and wondering if this was something I really wanted to do knowing that she would make me do it regardless of my feelings. Before she decided to do it herself, I opened the door and placed the bag inside, pressing the button as quickly as possible before I changed my mind. There was a whirring sound as I watched the bag spinning on the glass plate inside of the microwave. I could feel the burning anxiety rise in my throat, but I swallowed it do
wn. I had never willingly eaten the heart raw before in any capacity, so I still wasn’t sure about it in the slightest. Not only that, but I felt like I was being pushed into it just because I didn’t want her to be able to take control over me again. Hyde had had enough control over our shared body for a while to suit me just fine. Something about this situation had to change; I just wasn’t sure what.

  I turned and eyed the clock on the stove. It read four in the morning. I had been in the living room marching back and forth like that for an hour and hadn’t even realized that much time went by. No sleep would be gotten by me tonight. The few hours I did get after crawling into bed without remembering doing so would be all I was getting as far as Hyde was concerned and from what I knew about her already in the years we had been together, she didn’t very much care at all. And that was the nature of our relationship. We may have shared the same body, but only one of us could have control at one time which was a mixed blessing. I got the peace of mind that I hadn’t actually done anything wrong, but also knew that even if that wasn’t the case my hands were still the ones doing it. And that I would take the fall if it ever came to that.

  I shook all thoughts from my head and went back to watching the heart slowly spinning, defrosting back to its raw form so that I could make her happy. My stomach growled again and turned all at the same time, the iron smell of whatever blood was left in the muscle permeating the air as I stood there transfixed. It wasn’t me who was mesmerized by it. It was Hyde, and my body was reacting as she moved through it, just waiting underneath the surface for the beeping to sound. I wasn’t as giddy about it as she was. I could practically feel her humming inside of me, buzzing like a tiny bee that had been pissed off and was now stuck in a jar hitting the glass. As I cleared my throat, I crossed my arms over my chest, waiting impatiently and trying not to watch the green numbers tick by in the darkness. I hadn’t even bothered to turn any lights on since I had been up, trying so hard to focus on the television in my living room that the need for it never occurred to me.