Jekyll & Hyde

 

The door hung open, half covered in shadows and filled with the promise of danger. Chemical scents filled the air along with a heavy musk that promised unwashed man. Candles flickered inside where the shadows danced in response. Something heavy shifted within, sliding from the half lit window into the darkness of the room.

I pushed the door closed behind me as I walked inside. The lock was broken and the door didn’t fit into its frame. Gouge marks sat on the inside panel made by powerful claws. I fingered them briefly, raising my brows at the thought of what could have made them in so quiet a neighborhood. Through the window, I could see the nearby homes, unending in the urban center. 

The wooden and brick homes made the mortals here feel safe and simultaneously terrified. They were anonymous, unimportant in a world of hundreds of people in close quarters. A sense of propriety kept them safe and alienated them from each other. How many had called out for help and been met with silence? 

For days the city guard had been hunting him, pulling clues together and running in circles in an attempt to understand what was happening. A man gone wild. A creature gone human. Their guesses were filled with wild tales and their deepest fears. Humanity feared their corruption nearly as much as they feared the great unknown.

I stepped inside the home and let my eyes roam over the shelves and tables covered with various chemicals and tools. Some were spilled, and other beakers were broken. Once carefully ordered books were scattered around the space, haphazardly discarded and knocked over. Claw marks dug into one of the tables, matching the marks on the door.

A single window stood open. The cool air from inside gently blew through the curtains. They were a fine gauze, expensive, with great slashes in them that was somehow beautiful in the low light. Behind them, something shifted in the dark, hulking form hidden in the shadows. I felt eyes on me but couldn’t see them.

“You’ve caused quite the stir,” I said softly, standing on the other side of the window.

The thing in the shadows growled low. 

I tilted my head and leaned against the wall, arms folded, eyes looking out the window. “They say you murdered a poor girl just for getting in your way, and have caused absolute scandals.”

“That wasn’t me,” he finally said.

“Wasn’t it?”

The man took a step forward. He was tall and broad, gentlemanly in his way. A broad back and muscled shoulders sat beneath a torn shirt and suit. Blood was on his hands and a look between misery and anger rested on his face. I flicked my eyes up to his, meeting the quiet rage that rested there before looking back out to the muddy streets.

“No,” he said resolutely to my question. “I…” 

Below guards gathered, closing in around him. He stepped behind me, glancing down below. “They’ve come for you.”

“Not me,” he murmured, a sense of worry finally touching the neutral tone.

“You know it’s you, though, don’t you?” I tilted my head to glance behind me where he stood, nearly touching my back.

“What do you know about it?”

I turned, head tilted to look up at him. He had grown since last I had laid eyes on him, years ago when he was a demure gentleman, something dangerous lurking beneath his skin. “I know better than to try to pull the darkness out of me through magic.”

“It’s alchemy,” he replied evenly, eyes staring into my own.

“Yes. Alchemy. Can’t say I’d do that either.”

“You don’t know what it’s like.” The man turned from me, jaw tensing. His hands curled into fists. “You should go.” His voice was different, deeper, and darker.

“You don’t scare me.”

“I may not, but he should.”

“I’m not a helpless girl. And he isn’t any different than you.”

“I would never–those poor people.” The gentleman staggered away, moving to one of the tables laden with chemicals and scrawled notes. 

“But you did. You just happen to have a scapegoat for your guilt. And rather than face who you are entirely, you tried to deny who you are and subsequently destroyed lives.” I followed him, standing at his back. The muscles were thick and ropey beneath the suit, pressing against it seems and wanting to break out, so much bigger than they had been just moments before.

“Is that what you think? That it isn’t… him… it’s just me? Beneath it all?”

I moved a hand, nearly touching his back but kept my hand an inch from his body. “We are never just one or the other. You know that. We are not wholly good or wholly terrible. We must live with both of ourselves and learn to nurture both or else… well, we can get a little lost.”

“None would care for me with that beast within me.”

“You’d be surprised. A person who has a profound understanding of themselves is often one of the most beloved. There’s a confidence in knowing yourself.”

A barking laugh came from his lips, a sound that didn’t belong to the man but to the thing that he had created within him. “Is that what you think? That we’ll just become the closest of friends and suddenly whole? That’s adorable, girl.”

He turned, looking down at me, a grin on his lips that was twisted and dark. The man was bigger again, claws tipped on his broad hands. 

“I thought there was a serum?”

The smile deepened. “Not anymore. Now I just pop out whenever I get the… urge.” His eyes looked over me as any predator would and it sent a chill down my spine.

“So you can’t control yourself is what you’re telling me?”

He scoffed, stepping back and waving me off. “Shove it up your ass, girl. You’re here. In my home. And I could get very desperate soon.”

“You don’t frighten me, Hyde. Your unwillingness to see yourself wholly and take ownership of who you truly are irritates me, though. So I guess that can be your win.” I folded my arms and sighed.

“I don’t need him.”

“You do, my love. You need each other. He needs to acknowledge your dark hungers and you need to learn to be kind and thoughtful. Together… you’re a full person.”

The man sighed and walked back to me, face softer for but a moment. “If I let him have any control, he’ll hurt people. He’ll hurt you.”

I shifted, closing the distance between us. “Do you want to hurt me?”

He hesitated, glancing down. “No.”

“Is that true?”

Jekyll swallowed. “I shouldn’t want to.”

I finally touched his cheek. He froze, body standing perfectly still with his eyes fixed on me. “It’s okay. It’s okay to want that. That doesn’t make you a monster.”

“What does it make me then?” 

“It’s just another part of you. It doesn’t change all the good you’ve done. You have needs. We all do.”

He gave a laugh and pushed my hands away. “And what are yours then?”

I shrugged. “Maybe I want to get a little hurt. Maybe I want to feel a beast inside me.”

His brows knit together. “That’s what you want?”

“Is that so hard to believe?”

Hands touched my shoulders and trailed down my arms, somewhere between human hands and the clawed paws of Hyde. “Tell me that’s what you want.” His voice was husky and filled with need.

“I want you to hurt me.”

A chill moved through him and the hair on the back of my neck. Before I could blind, the man pushed hard, sending me back against the wall in one rough motion. I grunted, hitting the wood with a hollow thud. He was on top of me before I could find my balance, hand around my throat, teeth bared.

The hand pushed down, forcing me to lower myself to my knees before him. Fingers slid upward to my cheek, caressing the flesh. Claws gently raked over my jaw. His hand moved back and came back with lightning speed, hitting the side of my face with a loud smack. I grunted, head turning with the force of him. 

He made a grunting sound of delight, somewhere between surprise and the feeling of sudden satisfaction. I turned back to him, cheek stinging. A thumb brushed over my lips as he stared down at me. “Is that what you want?”

I nodded, looking up at him. “Yes.”

He struck again, the sound of flesh hitting flesh echoing throughout his home. My cry followed closely behind. Another slap hit the opposite cheek. A thrill moved through me and I whimpered, lost between shock and the pleasure of pain spreading through my face.

“Open your mouth.”

It was a gruff instruction. I obeyed, opening my mouth, only to feel it suddenly filled with his thick and eager length. A hand wound into my hair, holding me in place as he began to thrust forward, forcing himself into my mouth and throat with each rough stroke. Saliva dribbled down my chin and dripped onto the floor as he dominated my mouth, claiming it for his own. 

I gagged as he shoved himself deeper, holding himself there until my throat tightened. He pulled out and slapped my cheek again. The fingers in my hair tightened and pulled upward, dragging me across the apartment to the table of chemicals. With one angry arm, he pushed everything off sending glass containers to the ground below. 

My face was pushed down on the wood as his hand slid over my hip through the fabric of the dress. “Is this what you want?” he snarled again, claws tracing my thigh through the cloth.

I nodded against the hand holding me down. 

The man snarled, hand moving back and then landing with a deep thud on the flesh of my behind. I gasped, body tensing beneath the sudden pain. My hands gripped the edge of the table, holding to it as an anchor in the burning of my flesh. He groaned and then struck again, and again… and again.

The thudding sounds of his hands hitting me filled each moment. I cried out at each strike, the pain building as waves rolled through my body. He pulled the skirt upward, revealing the bare flesh beneath. Warm fingers played over the exposed flesh, marveling at the red tones that covered the skin.

He slid his powerful digits between my legs, caressing the lips of my entrance. “Hmm,” he groaned. “You’re slick, girl. You must like this, hm?”

Jekyll brought his fingers to my lips, smearing my wetness across my face. “See this? See how much you’re excited? Do you want me inside you, girl? Is that what you want?”

“Yes,” I groaned, keenly aware of the hunger within me that was screaming to be used by him. 

He had barely heard my answer before he shifted and pushed himself deep inside. A grunt came from his lips as he pushed me against the table, slamming within. I cried out, pleasure ripping through my body with his invasion. A moment passed as he gave a soft groan of delight, letting himself feel how tight and eager I was.

Then he began to move, thrusting with supernatural power and speed. The table shuddered and jerked with each thrust, my nails digging into its wooden flesh. Wet smacking sounds and the cries of our animalistic pleasure filled the air. The creature grabbed my shoulder, pulling me back against him each time he pounded forward.

Teeth bit into my back, sending new pain through my body. I writhed beneath him, filled with his lust and anger, consumed by the rising pressure within me that threatened to swallow me. Our bodies moved roughly together, his groans becoming faster and shorter as his hunger swallowed him too.

He cried out, thrusting upward and holding himself within me as he twitched and tightened within, spilling thick seed. The pressure within me broke, swallowing my mind and body with its explosion. My cries mixed with his deep grunting. 

We crumpled to the floor, me half on top of him. He was sprawled beneath me, panting softly in the cool air. I shifted, laying across his chest. 

Jekyll reached up, caressing the hair back from my face. “You’re quite the creature.”

I shifted, straddling him. “You’re not bad yourself.” His hands gripped my thighs, rocking me gently atop his softening member.

“Now what?”

I smirked, leaning forward just enough that I could lean down, nearly promising a kiss. His head lifted to meet me before I moved my hand sharply slapping him. His eyes widened before a slow knowing grin spread across his lips.