Not What She Seems

chapter 15



Mason stiffened in surprise for the briefest moment before returning the kiss. He wound his fingers in her hair as she wrapped her arms around him, their mouths exploring each other tentatively at first but with an ever increasing need.

Sylvia’s head swam. She could feel the tiniest bit of his pure energy leaking into her and it thrilled her. Never had she fed except through intercourse. To find she could feed off him without actual sex was confusing and empowering all at once. He tasted pure, like his energy. Like sunshine, and ocean breeze, and freshly cut meadows. The sensations that washed over her as they kissed overcame her and she began to rub his chest through his tuxedo, hungry for more.

He rose to meet her passion, kissing her with a fervor she had not anticipated. His mouth was insistent and soft all at once. She couldn’t recall a kiss such as this in all her centuries of seducing men. It made her giddy and she was eager for more. Doing what came naturally to her she moved her hands down, seeking to undo his pants.

Gently he grabbed her hands to stop her and broke their kiss. His eyes shone with the heat building up inside of him.

“Don’t.” He pulled away from her and sat back against the seat as her heart fell and she silently chastised herself for pushing him too far. Her greediness for him had overtaken her common sense.

“I’m sorry, I… I just need to take things a bit slower than that between us, okay?”

Sylvia sat back in silence, not daring to answer him. What could she possibly say to that? It wasn’t okay, she wanted him now. She had spent all night tortured by his electric touch, dreaming of bedding him. Was he hung up the whole virginity thing? If he was saving himself for marriage she had a big problem on her hands.

He sighed and turned his body back to her, watching her quietly until she dared to meet his gaze.

“I know it sounds cheesy, but it’s me, not you. Trust me, it’s not you.” Silence hung between them for a moment before he continued. “I feel like a fool, turning you down tonight, but I have my reasons. I don’t care to discuss them right now, if you don’t mind, but I have my reasons.”

She nodded. “I can respect that,” she said softly. “We can go slow.”

“I’m probably the most foolish man in Boston right now, but it’s important to me that we don’t rush these things. Thank you for your understanding. I like you, Sylvia, I like you a lot. I don’t want to ruin it by doing something impetuous.”

To her surprise he leaned over and kissed her again, but this time it was sweet and slow. She met him eagerly but fought to keep herself in check as she absorbed a touch of his Innocent energy again. Finally she broke away, against her inner desires, but she felt it best to reign in her passion lest she push him too hard again.

Mason gazed at her intently, practically glowing from their intimacy.

“I really should be heading home.” She didn’t want the night to end but she knew she couldn’t stay pent up in the limo making out with him. Her willpower could only go so and she knew she was already pushing its limits. If she spent much longer kissing him, she didn’t trust herself to refrain from getting sexually aggressive with him again. It was clear to her that was not the way to pursue him. The best thing she could do would be to allow him to move forward with her when he was ready instead of throwing herself at him.

“Sure.” He alerted the driver to take Sylvia back home. He took her hand in his and conflicting feelings plagued her. The larger part of her, the part that was used to running the show and doing as it pleased, wanted to spend the rest of their time together moving towards sex. The smaller part of her just wanted to enjoy the time they spent together without worry over sex or Lilith’s Challenge. The Hunter inside of her was at war with the human emotions long buried within her. Her desire for him was fierce but a softer part of her respected and even admired his need go slowly when it came to their sexual relationship. She could have kissed him all night, but she was happy to be with him even if they weren’t making out. He made her feel special for who she was, not just what she looked like or what was between her legs. No human had ever done that before. Her suitors always wanted to enjoy her physically and had little interest in anything outside of sleeping with her.

“Might I see you again soon, maybe somewhere we could actually talk?” He pulled out his phone and scrolled through his calendar. “How’s Tuesday night? I’d love to take you to dinner.”

Sylvia pulled out her phone to check her calendar and stifled a gasp when she saw she had missed 53 calls and 17 texts from Keith. With Mason to distract her she had forgotten all about him.

“Tuesday would be great,” she said brightly, trying to hide her unease at the thought of facing Keith when she got home.

“I’ll pick you up at seven, then?”

“That would be fine.”

The driver pulled up to the curb in front of her building and came around to open the door for them. Mason climbed out first and then helped Sylvia out of the limo while the driver stood discreetly on the opposite side of the limo, facing away from them.

“I had a great time tonight, Sylvia. I’m sorry I couldn’t be more attentive. Next time,” he promised.

She waved her hand dismissively. “I understand you had business to attend to. It was fine. I had a great time tonight.”

He leaned in and kissed her on the lips, his tongue lingering in her mouth before he pulled away. “Tuesday?”

“Tuesday.” They parted ways and Sylvia was pleased to see he stood outside of the limo, watching until she was safely inside, before heading home himself.

~~~

In the elevator Sylvia read the first few of Keith’s increasingly panicked and hostile texts before deleting the lot without reading the rest of them. He was furious she had left, as she knew he would be. She dreaded the confrontation she knew was coming between them and hoped he had taken her advice and gone out for the evening himself.

No such luck. Just as she began turning the key in her door to open it, he threw it open. He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at her, fire in his eyes. Sylvia stood frozen in place, waiting for the fire storm to begin.

“Come on in, there’s no use loitering on the doorstep,” he snapped. “I know you just spent a night out on the town with some boyfriend or another while the Hunter’s on the loose, but by all means, stand there with your mouth hanging open some more.”

She stepped inside and closed the door behind her before doing up all of the deadbolts. She kept her back towards Keith while her cheeks reddened. She didn’t want him to see how much his nastiness was upsetting her.

“Well? What do you have to say for yourself? Do you think it’s smart, ducking out of here by yourself right now?”

She turned slowly to face him. “I’m sorry, I had something I had to do, something you couldn’t come with me for.” Her voice was soft but strong as anger bubbled up within her. Who was he, anyway, to act as if she didn’t have the right to a life of her own, Hunter or no? She expected him to be upset about tonight, but she hadn’t expected him to insult her intelligence.

“I know just what you had to do,” he snarled, “I can smell him all over you.”

Sylvia placed her clutch on the counter and went to the closet to hang up her stole. She refused to dignify that remark with a reply.

“So tell me, Sylv, did you do it? Did you ‘beat’ Elora at deflowering an Innocent? Was it worth risking your life over?” His voice crumbled on the last question.

She turned to him, wide eyed with surprise that he knew about the Challenge. “You know about that?”

“Don’t kid yourself, everyone knows about it. I just didn’t think you were foolish enough to put your claim on your territory above your safety.” He was close to her now, directly in front of her as she stood in front of the closed closet.

Before she had time to react, he cupped her cheek in one hand. “You have no idea how worried I was about you. You just took off and left a note like everything’s fine. It’s not, Sylv. It’s dangerous out there for you alone.”

“I wasn’t alone.”

“No, I know. Your Innocent isn’t the Hunter, we all know that, but that’s not to say the Hunter won’t go after you with him around. I can’t keep you safe if you won’t let me.” His eyes searched hers and Sylvia melted, her anger over his fury forgotten. His concern was touching, and though she would never admit it, she knew he was right.

“How else am I supposed to win the Challenge? Have you follow me around while I try to get an Innocent in bed?”

“No, I know you won’t allow that, though I would if I could. I think right now you need to forget about Lilith’s Challenge, at least until the Hunter’s put away.”

“I can’t do that,” she whispered, her eyes brimming with tears. She hated to see him upset but she wouldn’t give up her territory to make him happy.

His hand dropped away from her face abruptly as he spun on his heels and stalked off to his room. Sylvia followed him and he began ripping his clothes out of the closet and hastily stuffing them back into his luggage.

“What are you doing?” she cried.

“Just what you want, Sylv. Packing, leaving, getting out of your way. You know what’s best, right? You can sneak out, run around the city all night while I sit here thinking the worst, then come back like nothing’s happened. Well, I won’t sit by for that. I’m out of here. I should have left the moment I saw it was you Lilith sent me to protect. What a fool I’ve been, thinking we could make this work. I’ll call her before I leave, have her send someone else. They can sit here rotting in this apartment while you’re out trying to win some stupid, meaningless Challenge. I can’t, I won’t.”

She grabbed his arm to keep him from heading back to the closet to get more things to pack. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you, I thought it’d be no big deal.”

“No big deal? Do you know what it’s like for me, knowing you’re out there somewhere with a killer stalking you? You wouldn’t even answer your phone or text me back to at least let me know you were okay. No way, Sylv, I can’t do it.” His words sounded final but he didn’t try to pull away from her.

The tears would be held back no longer and they spilled, unbidden, down Sylvia’s cheeks. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what else I can say!” She was desperate to have him stay.

He glared at her, fury in his eyes, for just one moment before grabbing her roughly and pulling her into a hot, steamy kiss. Where Mason’s kisses had been soft yet firm, Keith’s were aggressive and demanding, seeking no permission.

Sylvia melted in his arms as the stress of their argument melted away with every flick of his expert tongue, every pull of his gentle teeth on her bottom lip. She surrendered to the kiss without thinking, without considering the ramifications of it. It felt so right, back in his arms, just like before. Before everything had gone wrong between them two hundred years earlier.

He could not be contained. Urgently he grabbed the zipper to her gown and pulled it down so the whole thing fell to the floor. Never breaking their kiss, Sylvia reached behind her to unclasp her bra and that too fell away, forgotten in a pile on the floor with her gown. Keith pulled away long enough to whip off his shirt and she tensed with anticipation when she saw the ripple of his muscular abdomen. A soft moan escaped him as he stood back to admire her, naked save her black thong.

“I’ve never seen anything like you,” he managed to sputter before grabbing her in a desperate kiss again. He guided her to the bed and sent the clothing he had been packing, and his luggage, crashing to the floor. Her eager fingers undid his jeans and worked them down. He stepped out of them and slid his boxers off as well.

His need was obvious and Sylvia felt excitement ripple through her as he straddled her on the bed. She had wanted to have sex all night, and while Keith wasn’t the Innocent she needed to win the Challenge, she was so wound up at that point between Mason’s magical touch and Keith’s red hot passion, she couldn’t see anything beyond the aching need inside of her.

Keith moved her thong aside to sample her with his fingers as she moaned beneath him, her own hand finding his straining erection. She raised her hips up to meet him as she guided him towards her, her body yearning to feel him inside of her. He refused to enter her yet and instead lavished attention on her large breasts, nuzzling and biting and suckling while she wordlessly groaned low in her throat, anxious for him to fulfill her. Even once he removed her thong he still kept himself at bay, prolonging the anticipation of their union.

Finally he could stand it no longer either and he entered her as their groans of pleasure mingled. Sylvia rocked her hips to meet him, encouraging him to thrust harder, faster, deeper. He eagerly complied and she gasped as he filled her entirely to the edge of pain.

She could hold it back no longer and she cried out as the dam burst, her climax overtaking her while Keith pounded her relentlessly. Pushed over the edge by her climax he came with a roar, clenching her to him as he spent himself inside of her. They lay like that, Keith draped over her sweaty body, panting and satiated for a few moments before he eventually rolled off of her to lie beside her.

Still high from the little sips of energy she had sapped from Mason earlier in the evening and now sexually satiated for the time being, Sylvia closed her eyes, lost in thought. The sex had been phenomenal, just like she remembered it all those years ago. But where did this leave them?

Keith finally broke the silence. “That was better than I remembered.”

She grinned, her eyes still closed, but didn’t reply.

“Do you want me to stay, or should I go?” he asked softly.

She opened her eyes and rolled up onto her elbow to face him. “Of course I don’t want you to go. You’re the one who wanted to go. But if you’re going to stay, we have to figure this out. I’m not dropping out of the Challenge against Elora,” she reminded him firmly.

He sighed with resignation. “I knew you wouldn’t. You’re too stubborn.” He rolled onto his side to face her, his gaze meeting hers. “You don’t know what I went through tonight, finding you gone, knowing you were out without me when the Hunter has his eye on you. I felt sick, Sylv, literally sick. I kept waiting for a call from Lilith to say they had found you and the Hunter had gotten you.”

“I’m sorry I worried you. I knew you’d be mad, but I didn’t realize it would upset you so much. I’m not giving up my Innocent, and there will be times I’ll need to be with him. Without you.”

An uncomfortable silence surrounded them as they both contemplated how to move forward with all of it. She wanted him to stay. If they could work it out, they could try their relationship again, but she wasn’t willing to give up her home she had known all these years to do so. Her territory was part of who she was, and she wasn’t about to give that up, even for Keith.

“I was afraid you’d feel that way about it. I’ll stay, I guess, and not complain when you go out alone… but only if it’s solely to meet your Innocent, and only if you promise to respond to my texts or calls while you’re gone. I need to be able to check in on you and know you’re safe.”

“Okay,” she agreed immediately, relieved his proposal was so reasonable. If he was willing to meet her half way about it, it all might work out after all. She could seduce Mason on her terms, without a babysitter keeping watch over her, and keep Keith by her side while reclaiming her territory.