Succubus Revealed Chapter 22

Flying from Seattle to San Francisco is easy, easier eve than vent to Las Vegas. It takes less than two hours, and tons of flights run each day. The whole trip shouldve been simple. I mean, there were eld when Id spent much snip in traffic honourable trying to personate from downtown Seattle to the suburbs. moreover Id neer flown on an airplane as a mortal. I was soothe determined to get to band, so there was no question that I was release to take this flight only a swarm of fear. I sat on the plane, waiting for take move out, noticing things Id neer paid much attention to before. Were the engines usu totallyy that yelled? Was that fuel I smelled? Was that a crack in the window, and if so, would the whole thing hold when we were airborne? Id n of all time d unitary much more than politely watch the flight attendants safety demo, but this time, I hung on to every detail. I had a shell light forth on the line instantly care, my life. An immortal could survive a plane crash. It wouldnt be jolly, but it was possible. Now? Now I faced all the risks the serenity of the service populace world did.My fears were unfounded, of course. The flight was smooth and easy, scarcely as fast as Id expected. Flying truly was the safest organize of travel. That hadnt changed. Only my perceptions of the world had. I made the trip w overheade-knuckled and voiceless a deep sigh of time out when the plane landed.By the time Id rented a car and was settled into my hotel room, I mum had a mates hours before Seths signing. My hotel was only a couple of blocks from his store Id planned it that way and there was little for me to do except wait. Wait and obsess. A lot of that time was spent agonizing over my appearance. Even when I could shape-shift, Id always prided myself on my ability to do my own styling. Of course, when Jerome had been summoned and Id lost my succuba powers briefly, Id discovered that I really wasnt quite as adept as Id believed. Id b een cheating without realizing it all a farsighted, making small corrections with my powers. stark of them, Id found all the little details Id missed with blending eye shadow, straightening my hair, and myriad other binding tasks.Now was no different. I would never lease that guaranteed graven image again. There would always be flaws in my appearance. I was going to start aging. How long until that set in? Staring at myself in the hotel bathrooms mirror, I searched out all the little things I thought could be improved upon and past tried to falsify them. When I was finished, I was so frustrated that I didnt deal if Id come close to my previous perfection or not. The only thing I was fairly certain of was that it believably didnt matter. Seths decision to forgive me wasnt going to postulate anything to do with how my bangs fell or if my makeup brought out the gold flecks in my green eyes.I showed up ten minutes before Seths event started, thought it was obvious peck had bee n arriving for some time. A bit of nostalgia for Emerald City hit me as I gazed around and similarlyk in the efficient with impassestore stave as they worked to accommodate the bunch. A podium had been set up in front of a macro seating area, though no chairs were left empty. Staff shifted what furniture they could to improve the view for those of us who were standing, and I had to stop myself from offering to help. I ended up purposely staying near the back of the standing crowd. I could still enter the podium and hoped my spot would keep me semiobscured. All around me, excited readers clutched copies of Seths books, some even carrying huge stacks.Their excitement was electric, and I found myself getting caught up in it when Seth finally emerged to deafening applause. My heart leaped. How long had it been since wed last spoken? A week? It mat like an eternity, maybe because Id pretty much lived one in the trial. He was wearing a Brady Bunch T-shirt, and though it olfactory perceptioned like hed fleecy his hair, I could already elate parts of it starting to go unruly in that way it had. He didnt appear to learn shaved in a couple days, but the scruff looked ador up to(p)-bodied and added to his happy-go-lucky writer appearance. I felt a smile facing pages on my face as I watched him and was reminded of the depression time wed met, when hed come to Emerald City for a signing and I hadnt recognized him.Hey, everybody, he express into the microphone, once the applause had quieted. thanks for coming out to dark.Thinking about that first meeting with him to a fault made me realize how much he had changed in the last year and a half. He would never be entirely comfortcapable in front of a crowd like this especially since they kept getting bigger but he was certainly more at ease than that first meeting. He grinned at their enthusiasm and made eye contact where he could, something hed had trouble with in the past. There was self-reliance even in t he way he stood and spoke. It made me love him that much more, something I hadnt believed possible.Sometimes he would open by reading aloud from the new book, but this time, he jumped straight into questions. Hands went up everywhere, and I found myself ducking against a shelf as he scanned the audience and called on people. I wasnt quite ready for discovery yet. I in force(p) wanted to watch him and drink him in.I was disport that the very first question he was asked was, Where do you get your ideas from? That had been a joke between us, at that first meeting, because it was one of the most common questions he received. Id commented, back then, that it must get tedious respondent the aforementioned(prenominal) things, and Seth had told me no. Hed said that the question was always new for the person asking and that he treated it as much(prenominal). It didnt matter how many times it came up. He took joy in their excitement for the books. more than questions came, twain broad a nd specific, and Seth answered them all with friendliness and proper humor that his fans love. A lot of people especially wanted to kat once about the abutting book, the last book in his Cady and ONeill series. My heart grew and grew the more I watched him, and I felt like I was getting away with something by being able to observe him without his knowledge. Our last few encounters hadnt exactly been friendly, and it was a balm to me to observe all the warmth and unselfishness that had made me fall in love with him.It went by too quickly. I was so caught up in watching and listening to him that I was barely aware of the time flying by. It wasnt until I picked up on the subtle movements of the staff that it hit me that this portion of the event was about to wrap up. They would go into signing soon, and the crowd around me would become a massive line that would take hours to get through. Then what? I was perfectly at a loss. Why had I come here? To see Seth . . . and then? I wasnt sure what. I hadnt had much of a plan, short of the preparations needed to get here. Somehow, I had been thinking that would be adequate, but of course it wouldnt be. If I wanted to do something, I had to do it now, before this turned into the political machine of signing.My hand went up, and inexplicably, Seths eyes went instantly to me. I dont know how it happened. Like me, others had realized their chance to ask questions was cartroad out, and eager hands were up everywhere, some waving eagerly in the hopes that they might draw his attention. How I standing in the back and shorter than most of those around me pulled it off was a mystery. Maybe it was like the time Erik had used Seth to rescue me from the Oneroi. Maybe after everything that had happened, we were still bound.Seths eyes widened when he realized it was me, but his hand was already pointing in my direction, giving me permission to speak. He faltered only a little. Y-yes?I felt like the eyes of the world were on m e. The eyes of the universe, even. So much rested on the next words out of my mouth.Are Cady and ONeill ever going to get together?I dont know where it came from. When Seth and I had first met, this was the other common question he and I had discussed, and I had mocked it as well. Surprisingly, no one had asked it tonight, but judging from the intense way everyone turned to Seth, you could furcate it was on a lot of peoples minds.Those amber brown eyes weighed me heavily, and then he answered my question with a question. Do you think they should?Well, I said, theyve been through an awful lot together. And if theres only one book left, it kind of seems like theyre running out of time.The ghost of a smile flickered over his lips. I suppose youre right. He thought about it a heartbeat more. I dont know if they will. I guess youll unsloped have to read the next installment.That was met with discomfited groans, and the bookstore staff used that as an opening to segue into signing and hurry Seth off to a more comfortable table. He watched me a few moments more before he moved, the pass smile still on his face. He looked thoughtful.Meanwhile, my heart was debacle in double time. In a daze, I allowed myself to be herded with the others into line, not caring how far back I was. Some of the aches in my ribs and the rest of my body began to nag me, but I forced myself to stay strong and ignore them. It took an hour and a half for me to reach the front, but much like the questions, I barely noticed the passage of time. Only, now it wasnt because I was so enraptured by what I saw. This time, I was simply terrified. I wanted to see Seth . . . but was afraid to.He finished signing for the person in front of me and gave me the same smile hed had on for everyone else. I supposed hed had time to prepare himself for me coming through the line and was able to effectively hide his shock at my presence.Hi, he said. I handed him my book without a word. Youve come a long ways.Im a pretty big fan, I said.He smiled and scrawled one of his stock phrases into the book Thanks for reading When he finished signing, he gave the book back to me, and I gave him an envelope in return.This is for you, I said. There was nothing that weird about my action. People often gave him gifts and letters. In fact, I could see a small pile of goods sitting on a chair beside him. He accepted them with good grace all the time, but then, they werent usually from people who had the kind of history we did.He held the envelope for a moment, and I suddenly worried he wasnt going to take it. Then, he set it down and said, Thank you. It went next to him on the table, not on the chair.Unsure what to do now, I murmured my own thanks and then hurried off to let everyone else have their chance with him. Mine was gone. Id played my cards and wouldnt know for a while if anything would come of it. The envelope had had a make sense scrawled on one side, and inside was a fundamental to my hotel room. It was a silly, cliched thing to do, but I knew how these types of events worked. If Id openly asked Seth to meet me somewhere, I would have likely gotten the unwanted attention of the bookstore staff and their security. I knew because Id hurried a fair number of zealous fans off after book signings myself.At least back in the hotel room, I was able to sit down. I didnt realize until that moment in effect(p) how much Id been asking of my battered body to stand for that long. Hugh had been right about one thing being mortal changed everything. I couldnt shrug off getting hit by a car now the same way I could have as a succubus. My doctor had given me a prescription for Vicodin, but I was pretty sure I didnt want to be strung out on drugs for my grand reunion with Seth. I settled for isobutylphenyl propionic acid and began the agonizing process of waiting.Id actually dozed off when I heard the rooms door click open. I sprang up from the bed, only getting half a glance at myse lf in the mirror before I moved toward the door. Seth entered, freezing when he saw me. The door swung shut behind him, and I too came screeching to a halt, too stunned to move. Part of it was that same wonder and rapture of seeing him, just as it had been in the bookstore. Only, now he was right here, alone in the same room with me. It was well-nigh too much to handle. The rest of my inability to react came from simply forgetting what Id wanted to say. Id rehearsed a hundred speeches and apologies earlier, and all of them abandoned me now. I fumbled for something anything to say that would fix all of the hurt between us.Seth I never got another word out. In the space of that breath, he crossed the distance between us and wrap his arms around me, or so lifting me off the ground in a giant hug.Thetis, he breathed against my neck.Ow, I squeaked.He instantly set me down and opened his arms, staring curiously. The car? and its been . . . quirkiness changed to wonder. Its true, is nt it? Youre really . . .. . . human, I supplied, catching hold of his hand. Even if that hug had been quite the test of my ribs, I hate to lose all contact with him. After the chasm that had stretched between us recently, even that small bit of his fingers was like magic to me.Seth nodded wonderingly, drinking me in. They told me . . . they tried to explain it. I understood, but somehow I just couldnt . . . I just couldnt wrap my mind around it. Im still not sure I can. You look the same.I got to keep the same body, I said. Parting gift.Yeah, but its just as perfect . . . just as beautiful. I dont know. I thought as a human youd look . . . ordinary.Stop, I said, purport flustered. I ran a nervous hand over my hair. This conversation wasnt going how I expected. I probably have bedhead. My makeup had probably smudged while I slept too.He grabbed my other hand and piano displace me near. You look perfect.I shook my head, still needing to summon one of my wellprepared speeches. Seth, Im so sorry. Sorry for everything that I Shh, he murmured. Thetis. Georgina. Letha. Its all right. You have nothing to rationalize for.Now I stared in wonder. I have everything to apologize for. What I did to you was a lifetime ago, he said.But it was still me, I argued. Still this life.What, and you cant be forgiven for that? For something you did when you were still in your teens?I wasnt sure how Id switched from apologizing to trying to condemn myself, but there I was, doing it anyway. We were still married. Or, well, I mean . . . I was to him. I broke my vows. It was wrong.And I was wrong or he was wrong, whatever to have been so oblivious to how you were feeling. We were both at fault, Georgina. We both screwed up many times. Seth released my hands and gently cupped my face in his. And I daresay weve paid for it a hundred times over. How long do we have to be punished? Are we beyond forgiveness?I had to look away then, for fear of tears forming in my eyes. Last y ear, not long after Id met Seth, Id discussed some of these same things with Carter. Hed told me that no one not even a succubus was beyond forgiveness and redemption.But what you said . . . I hurt you so much. . . .Seth sighed. I know. And Im sorry. It was all such a shock, the hypnosis . . . I still remember it all, but its taken on kind of a dreamlike quality now. Like its something I saw on TV rather than something I experienced. It was all a long time ago, and weve both changed. I was coming to you that night at the bowling alley to talk about it. I was still confused but knew enough to realize Id acted rashly. Then, when you were hurt, and they told me you could actually die . . .He trailed off, and I dared a look upward. Oh, no. Please dont tell me that this is one of those situations where it took a near-death experience to realize how you felt about me.No, he said, with one of those small, amused smiles I loved. I knew long before that. The injuries of the past will alwa ys be a part of me, but Ive grown from them just like you have. Youre the same as youve always been . . . and yet youre not. You faced me, even though you wanted to run away. You kept trying to help my family, even when I was telling you to go away. Weve both changed . . . both taken the best we could of the bad. I just didnt see it right away. He sighed. Like I said, it was the reason I came that night. Seeing you hurt only drove home what a fool I was. And then when Carter told me what happened . . . Those warm brown eyes searched my face. Is it true? You had a clean getaway and risked it all for me?I swallowed. It wouldnt have been a clean getaway without you.Seth tipped my head back and kissed me, his lips warm and soft. The principal swept my body, love and desire both threatening to overwhelm me. There was no more succubus feeding, no more peering into his soul. I no longer knew his thoughts, and I didnt need to. I knew my own, knew that I loved him. And I also suddenly knew with certainty, in that same way all humans deduce such things without that benefit of succubus powers, that he loved me too.Is it that easy? I whispered, when we finally broke apart. Kiss and make up?Its as easy as we choose to make it, he murmured, pressing his forehead to mine. At least, this decision is. Nothings truly easy, Georgina. Love and life . . . theyre wonderful, but theyre hard. We may mess up again. We have to be strong and decide if we can still go forward, even when things arent perfect.Howd someone so young get so wise? I asked.He brushed a lock of hair from my face. I lettered from this woman who knows a lot about love.I scoffed. Hardly. I think Im still learning more about it every day.Seths lips found mine again, and I forgot my worries for a moment, simply losing myself in him. With as zealous as hed been earlier, I was kind of surprised when he was the one who stopped the next kiss.Easy there, he said, with a small laugh. You feel too good. We dont want to get too carried away.Dont we? I asked. I mean, I gave you my room key, and you went right for me as soon as you came in.Well, yeah, he agreed, but that was before I remembered you were hit by a car a week ago.I tightened my arms around him and drew him toward the bed. Im still alive, arent I?Yes, he admitted, letting himself be drawn along. But are you sure you dont want to just wait?Hugh had said something after booking my flight. Everything changes when youre mortal. You dont know what tomorrow will bring.Ive waited long enough, I told Seth, just before kissing him.And that was the moment I knew what it was like to have my soul back.It sounds kind of sappy, I know. But to be able to kiss someone you love when youre fully and completely in control of yourself and know who you are . . . its exquisite. How we love others is affected by how we love ourselves, and for the first time in a long time, I was whole. I knew who I was and in turn was able to appreciate just how much I loved h im.And of course, the whole experience was affected by the fact that I no longer had succubus powers to contend with. I didnt have to worry about stealing his life energy. I didnt have to flex with the guilt. I didnt have to split the desires of my heart with my predatory supernatural nature. All I had to do was touch him and exalt in the experience of being together.We fell onto the bed, having a care for my still-bruised body. Strangely, Id also been recovering from injuries the first time Seth and I had made love. Then too, wed had to balance our passion with caution. It hadnt been difficult then, and it wasnt difficult now. We naked as a jaybird each others clothes away, tossing them into a careless heap on the floor. When Seth saw the bandages around my torso, he gently kissed all around them, his lips softly grazing my hips and breasts.Through some unspoken understanding, I turn over him onto his back so that I could lower myself onto him. I positioned my hips over his, res ting my hands on his chest, and slowly brought him into me. We both cried out, from pleasure and also the sheer rightness of being together. He fit like hed been made for me, and I suddenly wondered if I should have been so quick to always scoff about divine plans. Because surely, if ever there was something that seemed to have been guided by a higher power, it was the crazy path of our relationship . . . one that always kept bringing us back together.Over and over I rode him, overwhelmed almost as much by the way his gaze held mine as I was by the heat spreading through my body. I wanted to stop, to freeze that moment in time, but my human flesh and its desires in conclusion won out. I increased my pace, taking him harder and deeper until I crossed the edge and could handle no more. disco biscuit shook my body as I came, and a joy so intense I nearly forgot my surroundings flooded me. There was no succubus satisfaction here, only the simple bliss of taking pleasure in the one I loved.Seth came soon after, the look on his face make me joy of another sort. There was such an easy, unguarded happiness in it, mingled with all his love for me. He hid nothing. It was all there on display, his affection and his bliss.Afterward, we lay in each others arms, both of us adrift(p) in our own emotions as we basked in the experience wed just had. I could hear Seths heart beating as I rested against him and was aware of the pounding of my own heart my mortal, human heart as well. This was what it was like to truly be alive.Im almost afraid to move or speak, he said at last. Part of me is certain this must be a dream or a spell. Im afraid Ill break it.Its neither, I said. Then, I reconsidered. Well, it might be a dream.Nyx had taunted me for a long time with her dream-vision, refusing to tell me who the man in it was. When Seth had finally been revealed, Id been certain shed lied to me. I hadnt seen how any of that future could become a humans, and yet . . . here I w as.A dream, huh? asked Seth. Does that mean Im going to wake up to cold reality soon?No, I said, snuggling closer. Because our dreams come true. The only thing youre going to wake up to from now on is me. For as long as you want me.I want you forever. Is that too long?I smiled. After what weve seen? Im not sure its long enough.