Not What She Seems

chapter 29



Walter brought her back to the office. As he made to get out of his car, Sylvia stopped him.

“I’d probably go somewhere else, if I were you. I’ve got things to discuss with Lilith and it’s probably going to get ugly in there.” Walter didn’t need to be told twice and he waved to her as he pulled away from the curb.

Lilith was pacing around the waiting area when she arrived.

“Where have you been? Your flight leaves in three hours, we need to get going.”

Sylvia’s expression was hard. “I’m not going anywhere until you tell me the truth about what I am.”

Lilith froze in place as the meaning of her words became clear to her. “Keith told you. Damn him and his big mouth!”

“So it’s true, then. Adam really was my father and I’m half-human. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because,” she explained as she slowly sat down in the chair behind the front desk, “I always feared this day would come. I assume now that you know you’ll want to give up your dark half, become human, live Happily Ever After with your precious Innocent?” She made an ugly, angry sound. “It doesn’t work that way, Sylvia. By keeping you a succubus I’ve protected you from an ultra-short life span and a world of hurt.”

“You’ve kept me from love,” she countered.

“Love?” Lilith snorted. “Love is for children’s books and bad romance novels. It hasn’t any place in reality. You were in love with Keith, and look at all the pain that’s brought you,” she rushed to point out.

“Yes, it did bring me a lot of pain, that’s for sure. But when times between us were good, it brought me a lot of joy, too. That’s the thing, Mother, you chose for me, you didn’t allow me to choose for myself. Now that I know I have a choice, I’m choosing to walk away from this mess, this life of random sex and loneliness.”

“For what? Some rich guy who lusts after you? What do you think it will be like with Mason, a year from now, five years from now, when he’s had you in his bed for a while and he grows tired of you? Will it be worth throwing your life away for him then?”

“I don’t know,” she replied honestly, “but it’s worth a shot.”

“You don’t even know how to choose to turn it off,” Lilith sneered.

“You’re wrong. I’ve already tried, and succeeded.” The look of shock on Lilith’s face was priceless.

She changed her tactic. “You can’t take it back, you know. Once you’ve refused to allow yourself to be who you truly are enough times, your choice disappears, and there’s no turning back. You’ll be stuck as a human.”

“I hope so,” Sylvia smiled. Nothing made her happier than knowing there was a point of no return. She wouldn’t have to spend the rest of her life fighting her instincts to feed, if she could just fight them long enough to get to that point.

“You don’t know what you’re about to do. Think about it! If you choose your human side, a human is what you’ll become, and you’ll get all the bad parts too. You’ll become ill, you’ll age like the rest of them. Those good looks you’re used to? They won’t last, they’ll be gone in a decade or two and then you’ll look old and worn out like the rest of them.”

“So be it.” She was prepared to take the good with the bad, if it meant she could love and be loved.

“You’re making a terrible mistake,” Lilith warned ominously.

“Maybe I am, but maybe not,” she shrugged.

“Sylvia, you’re my first born and I love you more than I can say, even if I’m not good at showing it. If you do this, you can never come back here again. Never.” Lilith’s desperation was evident in her tone.

“I know,” Sylvia said softly, “and I’ll miss you. Goodbye, Mother.” With that she stepped back onto the elevator and pushed the button to close the doors. The last thing she saw of Enchanted Escorts was Lilith, sitting at the receptionist’s desk, cradling her head in her hands in despair.

~~~

Out on the street again she decided to head back to her apartment to get cleaned up and changed. It was almost exciting to take the T again, now that the Hunter was no longer a concern. Lots of people stared at her as she was still stunningly beautiful, even with the changes to her hair and her slightly disheveled state, but no one connected her to the missing blonde woman the police sought in connection to the serial killer’s capture.

It was emotionally painful to see her building again. It looked just as it always had, but it didn’t feel the same to her anymore. It was no longer home, it was a place to just store her stuff. When she unlocked her door she was relieved to see the crime scene cleanup crew had removed all evidence of Tucker’s murder. The carpeting in the living room had been ripped up, presumably taken to the crime lab to examine it for evidence, but otherwise everything looked as she had left it.

She hurriedly showered, eager to get out of there as fast as she could, and put on a pair of soft faded jeans and a long sleeved cotton shirt. Once dressed, she sat on her bed and stared at her cell phone. She hadn’t turned it back on since Mason had tried calling her after she went missing. Finally she switched it back on. It was time.

There were countless texts and messages from Mason overnight, and she erased them all without examining them. Finally she dialed his number.

He picked up almost immediately. “Sylvia, where are you? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” she answered nervously. She had no plan here, and no expectations of how this might go between them.

“I’ve been worried to death about you! Why haven’t you answered any of my calls or texts?”

“I just… I just couldn’t.” It was good to hear his voice again, and she closed her eyes so she could concentrate on it and it alone.

“Where are you? I’ll come get you. Or you can come here. I mean, the police are almost done with their investigation, but we don’t have to be here if you don’t want to.”

She was silent as she considered the options, and he took it as hesitation. “I’m so sorry, Sylvia, I had no idea about Jeffrey. He and I weren’t exactly close, and he just moved back from Europe and I never-”

“It’s okay,” she reassured him softly, “I know you didn’t know.”

“I hope this doesn’t ruin us.” Sylvia could hear he was choking up, trying not to cry. “I wasn’t kidding when I told you I’m falling in love with you. I’ll understand if you never want to see me again, and I’m glad you called so I know you’re okay, but… I just want to see you again, even if it’s the last time.”

“It won’t be the last time,” she blurted out quickly. “I just needed some space, after what happened last night, but I’m okay.” For a moment she hesitated, then she took a deep breath to continue. “I’m falling in love with you too, Mason, and I want to be with you, even after all of this.”

Stunned silence was the only response for a moment while he processed what she had just said.

“Me, too, I want to be with you. So where are you? Can I come pick you up already, or what?” His voice was light with joy.

“My apartment. Yes, please come get me. But- I can’t go back to Beacon Hill, I’m sorry.”

“I understand completely, no problem. I’ll put it on the market tomorrow.”

She dropped her phone and scrambled to retrieve it. “What?”

“I’ll sell it. If you’re not comfortable in the brownstone anymore it’s totally understandable so we’ll move. Wherever you like.”

“But-”

“Don’t worry about it right now, okay? I’m leaving right now to come get you, let me make a quick phone call and I’ll be there in a bit. I’ll book us a room at the Copley, how does that sound?”

“Terrific,” Sylvia replied with a smile. She was making the right decision, she could feel it.

~~~

The SUV had barely come to a stop at the curb before Mason threw open the back door and rushed out of the vehicle.

“Sylvia!” He grabbed her in his strong embrace and held her tight. She returned the hug and sighed with contentment against his flannel shirt. “Why’d you disappear on me like that?” He pulled away and stroked her shorter, darker hair. “I like this, by the way. But I know you didn’t take off to go to the hairdresser, so what’s going on? Wait… this isn’t the place for it. Come on, let’s go, I called my driver to drive us so we could just talk.”

He helped Sylvia into the SUV and slid in beside her.

“Did he hurt you?” he asked, his voice low, being mindful of his driver.

“No, I’m okay.” She unconsciously rubbed one of her sore wrists and Mason grasped it to examine it.

“That bastard,” he hissed through clenched teeth when he saw the bruising and rub marks there.

“I’m fine,” she insisted, pulling her wrist back. “It’ll heal.”

“The police want to speak with you, to find out exactly what happened. Are you up for speaking with them? We can call them from the hotel, if you like. I assume they’ll want you to go into the precinct, but we can do that in a day or two.”

“I really don’t have anything to say to them. I don’t want to rehash and relive it, and I’m sure they have enough evidence against him to prosecute him without me.” The police were the last people she wanted to talk to, but she doubted she could avoid them forever.

Mason didn’t answer her but instead made a quick call on his cell phone. “John, it’s me. She’s with me, she’s okay, a little banged up, but fine… No, she doesn’t want to, can you handle it?... Okay, you know where to reach me… No, we’ll be at the Copley.” He ended his call. “All right, it’s all set. My lawyer will handle the police for you.”

“What? Just like that?” It hadn’t even occurred to her to get a lawyer.

“Just like that.” Mason smiled as he pulled her close. “He’s the best in the city, a real shark. If you don’t want to speak to the police about last night, he’ll make sure they don’t bother you.”

The driver let them off in front of the Copley Square Hotel and Mason held her hand as they checked in. A few moments later the concierge escorted them up to their suite.

“It’s beautiful!” Sylvia squealed excitedly as she enjoyed the view of Huntington Avenue from their luxury suite.

Mason came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin on her shoulder.

“What do you say we stay here tonight, start house shopping in the morning? I mean, if you’re up to it.”

“Are you serious about selling the brownstone?”

“Yes, absolutely. It’s just a house, Sylvia, and I can’t live anywhere you’re not comfortable. I know when you moved in it was supposed to be just temporary, but when I found out my own brother is a serial killer and you were gone without a trace, I realized how precious you are to me. I’m beginning to think there was a reason I didn’t have a relationship for so long after Kate’s death. I was meant to be with you.”

His words filled Sylvia with joy. This, this was the reason she was denouncing what she had always been. She turned to face him and they kissed, the bustle of the city sprawled out before them in the giant picture window of the suite.

Out of habit she greedily received the sweet energy that flowed into her, until she realized what she was doing. It took all of her concentration, but after a few false starts, she was able to block it. The sweetness of their kiss deepened as she realized she could indeed chose to be human, despite the siren call of Mason’s Innocent energy.





Epilogue



The sun beat down on Sylvia’s bikini clad body and she basked in its powerful rays as the waves lapped gently against the yacht. She dozed in and out, content in the warm Caribbean sun. At Mason’s insistence they had flown to St. Lucia and rented a private yacht and crew for a few weeks. “To relax after all the stress we’ve been under,” he insisted. He was right, it was plenty relaxing.

He came up on deck and sat next to her. “I just spoke with the contractor, everything’s ahead of schedule and the house will be ready for us when we return.”

Sylvia sat up and clapped her hands with glee. They had toured home after home in the Boston area, looking for a suitable place they both liked and finally settled on a mansion in Belmont, just outside the city. With the help of Mason’s interior designer they were having the place redone from top to bottom, with fresh paint, flooring, a new kitchen and baths, the works. It was good news to hear that after their trip they’d be moving into their new home.

“Shall we celebrate?” he asked, standing up again. “Come on, I had the staff put some chilled champagne in our room.”

Sylvia followed him below deck to their room. He popped the cork on the champagne bottle with a grin and poured them each a glass.

“To us, and our new life together,” he toasted her.

“To us,” Sylvia agreed.

“I know champagne is usually reserved for after such a thing, but I thought we’d start with celebrating the new house, maybe end with this?” He dropped to one knee and pulled a small box out of his pocket. Sylvia almost spit her champagne out in surprise.

“Sylvia, you are the best woman I’ve ever known. You’re smart, and kind, and beautiful and you bring joy to my life every day. You enrich my life more than I ever dreamed possible. Will you do me the honor of making it official and becoming my bride?” He opened the little box to reveal a huge, stunning yellow diamond ringed with smaller blue diamonds in an intricate design around it. It took her breath away.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she pulled him up and hugged him tight. “Yes, the honor would be all mine.”

He pushed her gently away and grasped her hand so he could slide the ring on her finger. It was a perfect fit. “I know it’s not the traditional white diamond, but I wanted something special for my wife to be.”

“It’s stunning.” She could hardly breath, she was so excited. She pulled him back into a passionate kiss but he broke it off again.

“So, I was thinking, since we’re engaged and all now, and it is the ‘perfect day…’” He grinned suggestively at her.

“Why, Mr. Kent, I thought we’d never get around to that!” she teased mischievously.

~~~

Mason took his time with the foreplay and Sylvia found her body responded with a matched yearning despite the energy she refused to take from him. Even without the feed, it was immensely enjoyable for her; he had quickly learned what she liked best in the bedroom. It was a learning process for her as well, as sex with a human had never given her physical pleasure before, only tamed her inner Hunger. Fear still pushed firmly in the back of her mind as their romp progressed. While she had become quite adept at pushing back the energy he might have transferred to her during a kiss, she worried actual intercourse would make it much harder to resist his pure, Innocent energy. She had remained faithful to him since the day he picked her up at her apartment, after Jeffrey had been captured. It had been difficult, at times, resisting the temptation of his energy, and there were days when she felt physically ill without feeding the succubus within, but she refused to give into it. It had gotten easier with every day that passed, but actually having sex with her Innocent would be the real Challenge.

Finally, Mason was ready. He stared into her eyes in the afternoon light as the waves gently rocked the yacht, and ever so slowly pushed into her. Her body clenched with panic as she ripped at the bed sheets with her hands. She was terrified she was about to lose it all and revert back to the very creature she fought to extinguish inside.

“Is this all right?” Mason whispered with a frown when he saw her expression.

“Yes,” she gasped, willing herself to relax, “it’s wonderful, don’t stop.”

He picked up the pace and swiftly became lost in his own pleasure as the two became one. Her fears melted away as she realized that while she did need to push his energy away, it wasn’t nearly as hard as she thought it would be, no harder than refusing it when they kissed. As her inhibitions melted away she concentrated on her own physical pleasure as well as enhancing Mason’s.

Too fast he finished, calling out her name as he collapsed on top of her. Sylvia smiled to herself as she lazily stroked his hair. Her decision to choose her human side, to open herself up to real love that valued her for who she was, and not just what she looked like, was turning out to be the best decision of her life. She knew it wouldn’t be long before the succubus within was silenced forever and she could live life as she wished, by her husband’s side, no longer driven by her inner Hunger, but by love instead.




About the Author

T.R.Raven lives in a quiet rural New England town with her family, a herd of pugs, and two uppity cats. Her hobbies include watching bad TV court shows and fretting over the inevitable zombie apocalypse. If you asked her local librarian what kind of stuff she tends to check out for her personal reading you’d probably hear “Too many zombie books, lots of paranormal novels, and a smattering of financial books here and there.”

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