Not What She Seems

chapter 20



“Why would you do that to me?” Sylvia hissed at Keith as she swatted his arm once they were safely enclosed in the elevator.

“Gee, I don't know, Sylv, maybe I don’t think you should be making out on the sidewalk late at night when a Hunter’s after you?” His sarcastic tone only fueled her anger.

“I was fine, no thanks to you. You could have ruined everything for me! What if Mason doesn’t believe you’re my cousin? I don’t think cousins act like such dicks to their kin’s significant others.”

“Oh, is that what you two are now, ‘significant others?’” he sneered.

“You know what I mean. You can’t go acting like that!” The elevator deposited them on the correct floor and Sylvia stalked off down the hall, keys in hand. She unlocked the door and threw it open but stopped in the doorway to yell at him once more.

“You have no right to interfere in my business, none! If I didn’t need you here…” she cut herself off before she said something she’d regret, but it was too late.

“If you didn’t need me here what? What? Just say it. You’d rather have Mr. Moneybags boy-toy than me, is that it?” He raised his voice to match her level.

“No,” she replied softly, “I’d rather not him than you. This isn’t a choice for me, Keith; you know that.”

“Isn’t it though?” Keith stopped yelling but anger still shone clearly in his eyes. “You do have a choice. You can leave town with me, and start over somewhere else, where it’s safe. But you won’t, you refuse to. You’re so hung-up on your own pride you can’t even tell which way is up anymore. You’re running around town with Mason, trying to bed him before Elora beds her Innocent so you can show her up and keep your hunting grounds. For what, Sylvia? At the end of the day, you and I have a chance to start over, leave this city, leave the Hunter behind us… but you won’t. All for a territory that’s easily replaced and an Innocent who’s into you. Aren’t I worth more to you than that?”

“Once upon a time, you were, Karl, but that time has passed. You left me to rot, to waste away, and Lilith helped me pick myself back up again. I learned to get along without you, and I’ve been fine ever since, thank you very much.” They glared at each other, the anger and hurt between them a palpable thing. “You stroll in here, tell me you love me, tell me you’ve changed- but you haven’t, have you? You’re still the same old Karl looking to keep me on a tight leash, and I think you’re just using this ‘Hunter’ excuse to try to get me to bend your way.”

He opened his mouth to reply but she cut him off before he had the chance. “I can’t believe I was so dumb, and for a second time. Yes, I love you still, but I refuse to be in a relationship with someone who doesn’t have the self-confidence to allow me to do what I need to do. And you know what? I do have feelings for Mason. He’s kind and attentive and sweet and actually gives a damn about me and my happiness. He’s not into ‘owning’ me like you seem to wish to do again.” Sylvia spun on her heels and stomped off to her room before he could see the tears that were about to fall. “God, how could I be so stupid?” she yelled back down the hallway to him. “For a while there, I thought you really had changed, or were at least trying to!” With that she slammed her door and locked it. She didn’t want him in her bed that night.

She collapsed on her bed and wept into her pillow so Keith wouldn’t hear her. What a fool she had been, to think he was different now. She had wanted them to work out so badly this time that she was lulled into a false sense of confidence in his ability to change and control his jealousy. He had just proven her wrong. Now she was dependent on him to help keep her safe and there was nothing she could do about it. Or maybe there was.

Lilith picked up immediately when she called. “What is it?” Sylvia could hear the stress in her voice.

“I want him out! This isn’t working.”

“Come now, I’m sure whatever’s going on between you two can be fixed.” She paused a moment. “You didn’t sleep with him, did you?”

Sylvia didn’t answer her but she assumed the answer in her silence. “What did I warn you about?” she sighed. “Now he’ll have to go, I agree. You two can’t properly be on the lookout for the Hunter if you’re caught up again in the personal drama between you. You’ve ruined it completely and now your personal affairs are getting in the way of your safety. I’m very disappointed in you, but I agree, Keith needs to go. Give me an hour, I’ll find someone else to send over to stay with you. And Sylvia?”

“Yes?”

“Keep your pants on this time.” Lilith’s words stung her, but she knew it was deserved.

She took a moment to pull herself together and went to find Keith. He was in his bedroom, packing up his things again. She stood in his doorway, watching him, but said nothing.

“Lilith text me,” he told her tersely. “So this is what you want, huh? You want me to go?”

She nodded cautiously but didn’t speak.

He offered her a bitter smile. “So that’s it then. You’re kicking me out to be with your Innocent.”

“It’s not because of him, personally. I can’t have you interfering with my life outside of you,” Sylvia explained gently. Now that it had been agreed that he would go she felt calmer, despite the pain losing him again was causing her.

“That’s the thing, Sylv, I thought we might have had a life together.” He turned his back on her and continued packing.

Sylvia watched him for a moment before going back to her room. Half an hour later she heard the front door slam shut, and he was gone, out of her life for good. She felt empty, hollow inside, but she knew it was for the best. She had gotten too wrapped up in Keith again in their brief time together and it wasn’t good for her. Best to cut if off before things got any worse. His behavior around Mason had just proven that it had all been a farce; he was no different than before, and his jealousy was out of control.

~~~

Her new body guard arrived a few hours later. He was a short, solid fellow named Tucker that looked like a stout wall of solid muscle. He was polite, but distant, as Sylvia showed him around the apartment and helped him to get settled in. He was all business, and she was certain she didn’t have to worry about him trying to start something up between them. He was purely there on business, at Lilith’s request.

“So when do you go out?” he asked her.

“Only when I have to,” she replied. “Oh- I bet you’ve heard about the whole Challenge between Elora and me?” Tucker nodded. “Well, I’m working on that, and there will be times I will need to go out without you.”

“Is that okay with Lilith?”

“Sure,” she lied. Lilith didn’t know about Mason and she wanted to keep it that way. Luckily Tucker seemed very disinterested in her personal life. He wasn’t about to question anything if she convinced him that the boss was fine with it. “Oh, I’ll be away this weekend, so you can go do, well, whatever it is you do.”

“I’ll probably hunt while you’re away,” Tucker replied.

She found it was easy to have him around, almost like living by herself again. He stayed out of her way and spent most of his time in the guest bedroom. Sometimes she almost forgot he was even there.

Keith was constantly on her mind, but she wouldn’t allow herself to contact him. Nothing good could come of it, she figured. As much as she missed him, it was good to know that it had ended on her terms this time around, and she vowed there wouldn’t be another time. At least she had pulled out before the situation between them had gotten messier.

Mason was a good distraction. He called her each day, whenever he had a few spare moments. Sylvia found herself looking forward to his calls more and more as the week progressed. Their conversations broke up the monotony of being apartment-bound. Tucker wasn’t much for conversation, and she didn’t have any reason to leave the apartment as Lilith had not called for her services, so his calls became the bright spots in her day.

She spent Friday night packing for her weekend getaway to New Hampshire with Mason. The trip was coming up just in time as her inner Hunger was demanding to be fed. She hadn’t wanted to go out hunting, even with Tucker to keep her safe. If she could just make it until Saturday morning she could feed off of Mason. If she could wait that long to feed.

Somehow she managed to ignore the primal need screaming within her and Mason picked her up early Saturday morning in his BMW X5.

“Hi,” he kissed her lightly before putting her bags in the back of the SUV. She felt small shudders of pleasure run through her as she received some of his energy. That would tamp down her Hunger, at least temporarily.

“Are you planning to move into Marjory’s or are we just going for the weekend?” he teased her when he saw how much she had packed for one overnight trip.

“Sorry,” she shrugged sheepishly, “I guess I went a little overboard with the whole packing thing.”

“It’s no big deal. Come on, let’s get on the road, I can’t wait to get there.” His good attitude was infectious and she found herself increasingly excited about arriving in Peterborough as each mile passed. It was a pleasant ride on Route 2, and the fall foliage became more spectacular the farther out from the city they went. Sylvia felt her stress melt away as they traveled. A weekend out of the city was just what she needed to recharge herself. No Hunter, no Elora, no Keith. Nothing but a weekend away with Mason.

He seemed to be in excellent spirits himself. They chatted as he drove, and he finally told her about his inheritance from his Grandfather, though he didn’t specify how much money had been left to him. She feigned surprise at this news and took it as a good sign he found her to be trustworthy. It would be far easier to get him into bed if he was comfortable sharing intimate details of his life with her.

A few hours later they arrived in Peterborough after turning off the highway and following a slew of back roads. The little town enchanted Sylvia with its quaint shops and small town New England flavor. She could see instantly why Marjory Bennett had chosen it for her second home.

“There’s Mt. Monadnock,” Mason pointed out as they drove down a long dirt road outside of the center of town. Sylvia stared at the looming mountain before her, decked out in its fall colors.

“Can we hike it?”

“Yes, of course, but it’ll have to wait until next time. It’ll require more time than we’ll have today if we’re going to ride.” Sylvia grinned. She had been so busy checking out the scenery, she’d forgotten they would be horseback riding that weekend.

Finally they arrived at Majory’s place. Her ‘country house’, as she had referred to it, was actually a sprawling estate with expansive manicured grounds, a huge stone faced mansion, a swimming pool, a tennis court and pasture after pasture of horses.

“It’s lovely,” Sylvia gasped.

“We’re only in the driveway, Sylvia, save some excitement for the rest of it,” Mason teased her.

As they got out of the car a butler came to bring their bags inside for them. Marjory met them at the entryway with a hug and kiss on the cheek for each of them.

“I’m so glad you two have come up here,” she announced. “I’m sorry Edward isn’t here as well, he’s in Tokyo on business for the week. Perhaps you can meet him next time, Sylvia. Where shall I have Gerome put your things? Mason, would you like the guest house, or shall we situate Sylvia there?”

Sylvia held her breath as she waited for his response. They had agreed to share the guest house together, but what if that was unacceptable to Marjory? She seemed certain they would stay separately and Sylvia suddenly worried what she might think if they roomed together for the night. She didn’t actually care about Marjory’s opinion on sharing a room, but she didn’t wish to offend her.

“Actually, Marjory, if you don’t mind, we’ll both stay in the guest house,” he answered her smoothly.

“Very well then. Gerome, please take everything to the guest house.” If Marjory found it improper they would be sharing the guest house she didn’t let on. Sylvia breathed a silent sigh of relief.

“Well then, you two must be famished after coming all this way. Come on, we’ll have a bite to eat in the sun room.”

The sun room was aptly named, with huge picture windows on three sides, one offering a direct view of Mt. Monadnock, and numerous skylights. A server brought them a vast array of sandwiches and finger foods to enjoy. As they ate, Marjory told them all about her stables and the various horses she owned. Some were merely pleasure horses for trail riding around the scenic area, some were thoroughbred champions purchased for breeding, and some were Olympic-level jumpers.

“Mason tells me you’ve ridden before?” Marjory asked Sylvia.

“Yes, though not in a while,” she confirmed.

“Well, I’ll have Stanley select your mounts, he’s the barn manager. Do you wish to ride after we’ve finished here?”

Sylvia caught Mason’s eye to see what he thought and he smiled at her encouragingly. “Yes, if that’s okay with you. Will you come with us?” She hoped the answer was no. As much as she liked Marjory, she was really looking forward to some time alone with Mason. It was hard to be romantic with a third wheel tagging along.

“No, you go on.” She dismissed the idea with a wave of her hand. “I’m not in the mood to ride today. You two have fun without me; I’ll stay here.”

After lunch Marjory showed them to the guest house. It was more like a house of its own, with two stories, four bedrooms, a media room and a game room. Sylvia had been hoping it was a small guest house, with one bedroom, one bed. Now that they had four bedrooms to choose from, she wasn’t confident that Mason would invite her into his. No matter- she had been seducing men for a long time, and despite the fact that he was an Innocent there had to be a way to coax him into sharing a bed together. Even if they didn’t have sex, sharing a bed was a step closer to her ultimate goal. She would find a way to make it happen, she had to.

Marjory left them to change for their ride and Mason grabbed his bag and ducked into the bathroom. “Pick any room you like,” he called to Sylvia, “I’ll change in here.”

She chose the largest bedroom, one with stunning views of the forest lining the property and the small stream that ran on the edge of it. It had a four poster mahogany King sized bed and a fireplace with a fresh stack of firewood beside it. Maybe he could start a fire for them this evening, to lend a romantic feel to the room. She had the perfect set up for a special night in the bedroom, now all she needed was the man himself. It wasn’t evening yet; she had time to work on it.

He was waiting for her in the front entryway when she made her way downstairs. She had thrown on a faded pair of jeans and a warm sweater in tones that brought out her eyes. Her hair was done up in a bun on top of her head, and she could see his approval in the look he gave her.

“Ready?” He extended his hand to her and she took it, pulling him into a sultry kiss.

“We’ll never make our ride this afternoon if you keep that up,” Mason teased when he finally pulled away from their kiss.

“That’s what I was kind of hoping,” she said boldly.

“Come on, there will be plenty of time for that tonight,” Mason reassured her as he led her out the door. Sylvia went along without a fuss, temporarily satiated from the small bit of energy she had just taken from him. She would have preferred they spent the afternoon in bed, but if that wasn’t going to happen, horseback riding was the next best thing.