Not What She Seems (16 page)

Spent,
Sylvia rolled off of him and lay beside him as she worked to recover her breath. That was a fantastic way to start the day.

“You can use my shower, if you like. You might as well move in
here. I mean, if you want to.”

“I’ll do that.”

“I’ll go get something together for breakfast while you get ready.” She slid out of bed and slipped on a light silk robe from her closet before heading into the kitchen. Inspecting the contents of the fridge she found Keith had purchased lox, cream cheese, red onions, and bagels. She chuckled to herself, pleased he had remembered lox was one of her favorite foods. In the 1800s it had been a rare treat usually reserved for only the richest people who could afford to have it imported from the western part of the country, but he had once managed to find her some as a gift.

He
came to the kitchen freshly showered and dressed just as she finished making the bagel sandwiches. He kissed the back of her neck before grabbing the plates to bring to the table.

“Are you happy, Sylvia? I mean, about what’s going on with us right now?”

“Yes, I am. But I’m a bit confused about where it’s going.”

“What do you mean?”

She put down her bagel and regarded him solemnly. “I mean… what do we do now, with this, we? I’m happy to be with you, but even you admit you’re still jealous when I hunt. I’m always going to need to hunt, Keith. That’s never going to change. So now what?”

“So now I work on that. Yes, I’m still the jealous type, and yes, I know you’ll always need to hunt.
But you know what, Sylv?” He gently grasped her hands in his as he looked earnestly at her across the breakfast table. “You’re worth it. I didn’t get it before; I didn’t see how selfish I was being and how much it was hurting you. No, I did see it, I guess, but I didn’t want to admit your wasting away was due to my demands. I’ve hated myself every day since you left me all those years ago. Now I have a chance to redeem myself, not just to you, but to myself as well. I won’t blow it. You mean too much to me. It may take some time on my end, but I’ll do my best to work on not being so jealous. I know, in my head, those guys don’t mean anything to you, but it still hurts my heart to know you’re with them like that. Just give me some time for my heart to catch up with my head, and let me worry about my jealousy issues, okay?”

“Okay,” she
agreed, pleased to hear he understood her concern. Satisfied she was doing the right thing by giving their love another chance, she asked him where he wanted to hunt that evening.

“I’m not picky, really. How about a bar?
Something low-key though. I don’t feel like going upscale tonight. You sure you want to come? You’d probably be safer here, now that the alarm system’s installed.”

She
considered it a moment before shaking her head. “No way, I’m not staying here alone, even with the alarm system!” Now that the Hunter was escalating his game with her she feared being alone, even in her own apartment.

“It’s settled then. Finish your breakfast so we can get going on that jog.”

~~~

They rode the T to the Public Gardens. It was the perfect day to be outside. The air w
as unseasonably warm with just the hint of an autumnal nip in the air. The trees were almost at their peak colors for the season and Sylvia smiled to herself as they entered the park and passed rows of maple trees in brilliant reds and oranges. She wasn’t crazy about the Boston winters, but the autumn air and foliage more than made up for it, in her mind.

Keith set the pace for their jog
, moving not so fast that she couldn’t keep up with him but just fast enough to push her. They wove wordlessly down the Garden paths, winding around pedestrians and fellow joggers alike. He chuckled and shot her a knowing glance when her appearance in the park disrupted a game of college Frisbee. The young men playing lost all interest in their game as she passed by, lithe and graceful in her spandex pants, her blond ponytail swishing gracefully behind her.

The Public Gardens were more crowded
than usual that day since the glorious weather had drawn out so many folks looking to enjoy it while they had the chance. She paid them no mind, concentrating instead on feeling the pavement pound beneath her feet as her lungs sucked in the fall air.

“
Yoo-hoo! Hello there!” A loud voice calling to her from the right made Sylvia falter mid-stride. Her jaw clenched as she turned to face the woman greeting her.

Elora
perched daintily on the edge of a park bench set back between some high evergreen bushes. Sylvia hadn’t seen her as she passed by, nor the Innocent sitting next to her. She let out an inner sigh of relief to see Elora’s Innocent wasn’t Mason after all. Hers was a tidy looking young man in his early twenties.

“Hello,
Elora,” she offered reluctantly.

“Sylvia, I’d love for you to meet my new
boyfriend
, Edward Hall.”

“Edward, lovely to meet you.”
Edward jumped up to shake her hand while Elora looked on with a self-assured expression. Sylvia chose to ignore the ‘boyfriend’ remark. It was just Elora’s way of pointing out she had found an Innocent. Like she wouldn’t have picked up on that herself.

“I’m Keith.” He pushed his way past Sylvia to introduce hi
mself to both Edward and Elora.

An awkward moment passed in silence among the group before Edward spoke up.

“Listen, we’re headed to ride the swan boats in a few minutes, would you two like to join us?”

“Oh, we couldn’t, but thank you for the invitation,” Sylvia replied before Keith had a chance to answer for them. “We wouldn’t want to intrude, and besides, we’ve got a jog to
finish. Don’t we, honey?” She didn’t care for the way Elora was devouring Keith with her eyes, as if she were already picturing him entangled naked in her bed sheets. She had to put the kibosh on that idea before Elora tried to take it any further.

Edward seemed not to notice his date’s inappropriate interest in Keith. He also didn’t seem the least bit interested in Sylvia, which marginally disappointed her. She could begin an argument
between strangers simply by walking past a couple, if the man took a blatant interest in her in front of his wife or girlfriend.

“Well then, perhaps another time.”

“That would be nice,” she lied. “We’ve got to be going now, but it was nice meeting you, Edward.”

“I’m sure we’ll be seeing each other soon,”
Elora smirked as they said their goodbyes before Keith and Sylvia resumed their jog.

Down the path a bit Keith slowed down enough to talk while they jogged. “She’s a piece of work, huh?”

“Elora? You bet. I can’t wait to put that bitch back in her rightful place, which is anywhere but
my
territory. She’s got some nerve! And did you see the way she was looking at you?”

“
Yeah, I kind of picked up on that. I don’t know how Edward didn’t,” he chuckled. “That poor guy doesn’t know what he’s in for, with that one. You ready to head home?”

“Yes.” She
was pleased to hear him refer to her apartment as ‘home.’ They made their way out of the Gardens and rode the T back to the apartment.

Sylvia felt relaxed and happy as they entered the b
uilding.  Aside from running into Elora, the afternoon had been lovely. All was right with the world for the moment, until she stepped off the elevator and saw the huge bouquet of roses sitting on her doorstep.

“Not again,” Keith mu
rmured as he scouted up and down the hallway for any signs of the Hunter.

Anxiety clogged Sylvia’s throat as tears
welled up in her eyes. This Hunter just wouldn’t stop. The feeling of security the new alarm system had given her was gone the instant she saw he had been back to her residence. He couldn’t enter the apartment without alerting the authorities when the alarm went off, but he could still let Sylvia know he hadn’t forgotten about her. She felt violated and dirty just knowing that monster had been at her door.

“He left a note again.” Keith gingerly plucked it out of the
center of the bouquet as she stood silently watching him. It felt as if her mouth had gone too dry to speak.

He
removed the note from the envelope and burst out laughing. Her mind couldn’t wrap itself around his reaction.

“
It’s okay, Sylv, it’s not the Hunter.” He held the note out for her to read as she stood riveted in place, trying to digest what he was telling her. Her brain felt thick and soupy, as if putting meaning to his words required Herculean effort on her part.

“Go on, read it. It’s not from the
Hunter, it’s from Mason.”

Hearing Mason’s name
snapped her out of her terror. She took the note from him and read it greedily.

My
Sylvia, Thanks for a wonderful evening last night. I look forward to many more together. Mason

The tension that
had been building within her dissipated as soon as she saw with her own eyes that the roses were really from Mason and not the Hunter. She eyed the bouquet dubiously.

“They’re beautiful, and it was very thoughtful of him to send them, but I don’t want them in my place.”

Keith nodded. “Shall I put them down in the lobby for someone else to enjoy?”

“Please.” She
appreciated the gesture but couldn’t bear the thought of seeing roses in her apartment again. The Hunter’s games left her unable to appreciate Mason’s kind gesture.

“Let’s get you inside first,
then I’ll take care of them.” He unlocked the door and ushered her inside, leaving the roses as they found them.

Chapter 17

Keith decided to forgo hunting that night. “I saw how upset you were this afternoon when t
hose roses showed up here, Sylv. I’m not going to stress you out further by taking you out to a crowded place. The Hunter could be anywhere.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, you need to hunt,” she snapped, irritated the
Hunter’s presence was now dictating even when and where they could hunt.

“I do, but it can wait another day until you’re feeling up to it.”

She was about to reply when her cell phone rang. It was the service. Her heart thudded dully in her chest as she answered it.

“Are you free tonight, S
ylvia? I’ve got a job for you from a long time client of ours who wants a girl to come to his room. It’d be safe for you. This guy’s had been a client of ours for years. He calls for a girl every time he’s in town, and he doesn’t even want to take you out.”

Sylvia agreed immediately. She needed t
he money and if she had a date Keith would be able to go out hunting. It would be a good situation for both of them.

To her surprise, he
was less than excited about the change of plans.

“I’ll be fine,” she
assured him, “Lilith knows this guy, she says he’s okay.”

“All right, but I’m walking you to his door and I want you to text me the minute you’re done so I can pick you up. I don’t want you wandering around that hotel by yourself
even for a minute.”

“Yes, Dad,” she
replied sarcastically as she rolled her eyes. She was giving him grief about it but secretly she was pleased he cared so much about her safety.

Later that evening they left for the client’s hotel. Keith was dressed casually as he planned to hunt in the bar next to the hotel, but Sylvia was dressed to the client’s specifications in a rather dowdy long, flowing dress and a pair of flats with
her hair done in a simple bun and minimal makeup.

“Maybe he has a thing for sister wives,” Keith joked when he saw her. Sylvia shrugged. She’d had far stranger request
s from clients than to downplay her figure or her looks. This request that she dress like a Sunday school teacher of sorts was among the tamer of the odd requests she’d had over the years.

T
rue to his word he walked her to the client’s room. He waited down the hall, around the corner, until he heard the room door close before heading off to the bar. He double checked to ensure his cell phone would vibrate when Sylvia text him she was done so he could come get her. He hoped her client would take enough time with her to allow him to feed. Satisfied Sylvia was safe, he exited the hotel and went to the bar next door to quell his inner Hunger.

~~~

Inside the client’s hotel room, Sylvia was having trouble concentrating on staying in character. She didn’t want to be there, in his upscale room, pretending to be a prim and proper teacher disciplining a randy student. But the client got what the client paid for, and if he wanted to pretend he was some high school senior being seduced by the seemingly uptight, stuffy teacher with a hidden wild side, so be it. Money was money and again, she had done far stranger things for clients with fetishes.

“
But Miss Jones, I didn’t do the report, I think I need a spanking.” Her client winked at her as he poised his ass in the air, inviting her to swat him.