by Beverly Rae
Allie wanted to shake her sisters but of course that would do no good. “I know a lot more than you think I do. We talked for quite a while.”
“Is that right? Then tell us. What do you know?”
“Meg, don’t encourage her.”
“I know that he’s an only child and that his mother was a teacher and his father was a police officer. I know that they’re gone just like our parents.”
Another look passed between her sisters but this one was filled with pain. A pain she knew all too well. “I know that he was a straight-A student through high school and college. He also played on the football team and was captain of the debate team.”
“Great. So he’s intelligent and a jock. That’s a deadly combination.” Meg rolled her eyes, but it was obvious she was impressed. “What are you going to tell us next? That he’s found a cure for cancer. Or adopted an orphan from China?”
“No. But he does volunteer at the local teen outreach program.” Allie grinned, happy that she’d thrown a curve at her sister’s sarcasm. “Obviously he’s very ambitious. Plus he handles money well. He transformed the club on a shoestring budget and it’s already making a profit.”
Hilly shook soup drops from the ladle, then placed it on the counter before pivoting to face her. “And you got all this information from talking to him that one night?”
“Well, most of it anyway.”
Meg edged closer and arched one eyebrow. “Ooh, me thinketh there’s more.”
“Okay, I admit it. I Googled him.” Why did it matter how she’d gotten information? “But I got most of what I know about him from our conversation.”
“Now it’s getting interesting.” Meg’s blue eyes darkened. “So tell me. Does he have a Facebook page, too? Maybe with revealing photos?”
Allie shoved her sister’s arm. “No, everything I found about him was very positive. He’s a good guy. In fact, he’s the nicest, most caring man I’ve ever met.”
“Not that you’ve met many.”
“And whose fault is that, Meg?”
“Allie, we’re not putting Tom down. In fact, it’s because he’s a good guy that we don’t want you to see him again.” Hilly slipped her arm around her. “You haven’t learned how to control the hunger. And until you do, it’s not safe for him. He’s not someone you can feed on and then forget about.”
“I know and I’d die if I ever hurt him. But don’t you get it? I don’t want to feed on him. I want to love him.” She sniffed back a tear. “Why can’t I have what everyone else has? What Mom had?”
Meg softened to her sister’s plight, coming around to give her a hug. “We know how much you want him, Allie. And I believe he has the same thoughts for you. But even though I feel for you and Tom, Hilly’s right. If you really care about him, you’ll stay away.”
The tear tracked down Allie’s cheek before she could stop it. “But what if I can control it? What if I find out how Mother was able to keep from draining Father?”
“That’s a big what if, honey.” Hilly shook her head. “I’ve racked my brain trying to think of someone who might help. But I don’t know another succubus.”
“What about someone else? Someone who isn’t a succubus?”
Allie’s heart flipped over. “What do you mean, Meg?”
Meg ignored Hilly’s glare and paced to the other side of the kitchen. “Hilly didn’t want me to get your hopes up, but I think maybe another family member might have the answer.”
Allie broke free of Hilly and rushed to her sister. “Who? Come on, don’t hold out on me. Tell me.”
“Don’t get too excited. Meg doesn’t know that this person can help.”
“She’s right, Allie. I don’t. But if anyone would know what to do, Aunt Matilda might.”
“Oh, my God. Seriously?” She hugged Meg and planted a peck on her cheek. “So where is she? The last time I heard, Aunt Matilda was backpacking through Europe and then heading for Australia. No one knew how to reach her.”
“Calm down. I don’t know where to find her either.”
Allie’s hope deflated faster than a balloon in a room full of pins. “Oh.”
“But I am trying to find her.”
“Really, Meg?” She squeezed her sister again, then turned to Hilly. “And that’s all right with you?”
“Actually, it was Hilly’s idea.” Meg pushed her toward her older sister. “Why don’t you give her a hug, too?”
Feeling a little guilty about the way she’d spoken to her earlier, Allie gave Hilly an extra-long hug, trying to express her apologies through touch more than words. “Thank you so much.”
Hilly gripped her shoulders and held her at arms’ length. “I’m doing this for you. Not for you and Tom. I wouldn’t have even mentioned it—not that I was the one who did mention it—” she cast Meg an accusatory look, “—until I’d found her. Locating her may take weeks, maybe even months.”
Allie nodded, trying to keep her jubilation restrained. The fact that she had a chance was all she needed.
“Dude, what you’re doing is wrong on so many levels. Why the hell are you stalking this girl?” Monroe, a friend and employee of Tom’s, yelped. “Hey, watch it, man.”
Tom’s tug sent Monroe stumbling back into the alley, but all that Tom worried about was whether Hilly had seen him. “I’m not stalking anyone.”
“Sure seems that way to me. We’ve hidden in this alley for the past hour watching those girls in the bakery. Sure, they’re easy on the eyes, but wouldn’t we get a better look if we got closer? Like maybe sitting inside the place?”
“I’ve tried that.” Granted, he felt somewhat guilty spying on—not stalking—Allie, but he couldn’t think of another way to reach her. After spending the past few days thinking about her, trying to convince himself he didn’t want anything to do with her and even turning down her calls to the club, he’d finally come to the realization that he didn’t want to stop seeing her. Hell, he couldn’t stop thinking about her. Or dreaming about her. She had a hold on him he didn’t want to break. Yes, she’d lied to him, keeping the secret of her disease longer than she should have, but he could understand her fear in opening up to him. The more he thought about it, the more convinced he was that he had to forgive her. In fact, he’d forgive her anything.
But by the time he’d come to that realization, she’d stopped calling him and, whenever he called the bakery, one of her sisters always answered the phone. To make matters worse, her sisters never left her alone, and every time he’d gotten close to the bakery, they’d shuttled her out of the room so fast he couldn’t get inside quick enough to see her. His only hope was to devise a scheme to get her out of the bakery and away from her sisters.
“Dude, if we’re going to do this thing, then let’s do it. And you’re paying me back, right?”
Tom gave his plan another run-through, then nodded. “Right. Keep your phone on so I can hear. But remember. You have to keep the other two in the bakery and send Allie to the market. Got it?”
“Sure I have. You can count on me.” Grinning, Monroe fist-bumped him, then strode around the corner toward Sweet Nothings Bakery.
Tom watched, mentally crossing his fingers. If his friend pulled this off, he’d treat him to a dinner and a raise. Monroe stopped at the door of the bakery and glanced back, then pushed the door open. Hilly greeted him as he entered and walked over to the counter. Tom held the phone to his ear, straining to hear.
“Hi, may I help you?” Hilly went on to explain a few of the specials but, as planned, Monroe got right to business.
“I need to place a very large order.”
“Of course. What would you like?”
“I’d like six cakes, half chocolate, half white cake, and all with gumdrops on top.”
Tom almost laughed when Hilly’s smile faded. “Gumdrops? Oh, I’m sorry, but I don’t have gumdrops. However, I’d be happy to put extra decoration on them. Maybe some sprinkles instead?”
“Nope. I’ve got to ha
ve gumdrops.”
Meg hurried over to her sister’s side. “Did I hear you say you wanted six cakes with gumdrops on top?”
“That’s what he said. But as I was explaining to this gentleman, we don’t have gumdrops.”
Tom gripped the phone tighter. Come on, ladies. Do what you need to do to make the sale.
“But we could get gumdrops. Couldn’t we, Hilly?”
“Actually, if you can get those gumdrops, make that an even dozen cakes.” Monroe’s excited face turned to look out the window—and he shot Tom a thumbs-up.
Tom cringed, then slinked behind the edge of the building. Had Monroe outed him? He peered around the corner, half expecting to find Hilly charging toward him. Fortunately, Hilly and Meg were too deep in a discussion to notice Monroe’s blunder.
“Fine. Then it’s settled. I’ll take care of getting the rest of the cakes from the back and Allie can run to the market to buy the gumdrops.” Meg turned her attention back to Monroe while a disgruntled-looking Hilly waved Allie over, handed her money and scooted her toward the door.
Chapter Nine
Allie strolled down the sidewalk toward the small market at the end of the street. Granted, her sisters would do almost anything to please a customer, but this was the first time she’d been ordered to buy gumdrops. Not that she minded, of course. For the first time since Hilly’s encounter with Tom, she was free of her sisters and she intended to make the most of it.
As usual, her thoughts turned to Tom. Should she try to contact him? But all her calls to the club had not been returned, so why bother again? The ache in her chest, however, rejected the idea. She’d tried enough times to reach him, but had he done the same? Not even once. Maybe her sisters were right after all. Maybe what she’d felt for Tom wasn’t real. Or worse, it was but he didn’t feel the same way. She bit her lower lip and forced the tears not to fall. She’d already cried more than she should have and wasn’t about to waste another tear on someone who didn’t care about her.
“Allie.”
Her breath caught in her throat as Tom slid beside her and took her arm. Although the warm zing his touch gave her was wonderful, she pulled away.
“Don’t touch me.” He let go of her, frowned, then took another step toward her, making her shuffle backward until her back was against the big picture window of the flower store.
“Allie, what’s wrong?”
Damn, but she loved his green eyes. And the way his hair fell over his forehead made her want to run her fingers through it, pushing it back into place. Yet it was the concern in his voice that made her heart beat faster. “You know what’s wrong.”
“No, I don’t.”
“Yes, you do.”
“Are you talking about my apartment?” He lowered his voice. “I realize I didn’t react well, and it’s not much of an excuse, but you kind of blindsided me.”
“I blindsided you?”
Tom offered his hand and tilted his head toward the park across the street. “Can we sit down and talk? Please?”
Should she trust him? Should she give him a chance to explain? Her sisters’ words filtered in, but a stronger voice silenced them. If this was the last time she and Tom spoke, she wanted answers. Maybe then she could stop thinking about him. Maybe then he would stop invading her dreams. “Fine. But only for a little while. I’m on an errand for my sisters.”
Tom’s slight smile spoke of a secret, one that she intended to make him tell her. “Great.”
He led her to a bench under a large shade tree. Allie sighed, thinking how romantic the spot was. Or at least how romantic it could be. If only she and Tom… “Okay, then, talk.”
He placed her hand in his and put his other hand on top of hers. That simple gesture sent exciting chills through her and she, regretfully, slipped her hand out. He frowned again but didn’t complain.
“Like I said, I was thrown the other day. I shouldn’t have reacted so badly, but please understand. I didn’t act that way because of your condition.”
She inhaled, not ready to go down that path. How could she tell him after he’d let her down? “You didn’t act like it bothered you.”
“I didn’t? I sure thought I did.” He waved away the pigeons starting to gather at their feet. “But let me explain.”
“That’s what I’m doing.” Would he hurt her more? Yet no matter how much it hurt, she wanted to hear what he had to say.
“I wish you’d told me earlier.”
“I sort of did.”
“Yes, I know you mentioned it, but you didn’t say anything about it being contagious. And you certainly didn’t say anything about having an STD. Even then, I think I would’ve acted better if you hadn’t seemed so, well, strange. That’s what really threw me.”
“What?” Her mouth fell open and she wasn’t sure she could ever close it again. “A sexually transmitted disease? Who? Me? I don’t have a STD.”
Tom’s blank stare said it all. Oh, crap. Hilly. Her sister had done this.
“That’s what you told me, remember? That day at my apartment?” He widened his eyes. “Don’t you remember?”
Anger flashed through her as the realization of what must have happened hit her. She’d known Hilly had taken her form with Tom, but she hadn’t realized the rest of what she’d done. Allie, aka Hilly, had dropped the STD bomb on him. No wonder he hadn’t contacted her!
“Tom, I have to come clean with you.” She winced at her bad choice of words.
He took her hand again and, this time, she let him keep it. “You can tell me anything you want. Trust me. This time I’m ready and I won’t let you down.”
If he’d answered any other way, she wasn’t sure she could have told him the truth. But the conviction in his tone let her know she was safe in his hands. “What I’m going to tell you is going to sound unbelievable. But it’s true.”
“I see. Go on.” He waited, giving her the time she needed to think of the right words.
“That wasn’t me in your apartment.”
“Yeah, well, you did seem odd. Different.” He smiled, showing the dimples she loved. “But that’s okay. We all have a day when we’re not ourselves.”
“No, you don’t understand. That literally wasn’t me.” She let out a breath, then took a big one and made the final leap to trust him. “That was Hilly.”
“Okay, now I’m confused. You’re saying that you weren’t in my apartment, but that the woman who looked like you was actually your sister?”
She could see that he didn’t understand, maybe could never understand, but it was too late to stop. “That’s right. You see, my sisters and I have magical powers.”
He froze with a blank expression on his face. Blinking once, he attempted to speak, then closed his mouth.
“I know it sounds crazy, but it’s true. Hilly is a shape-shifter. She can change into any form she wants, including changing her body to look like me.” She hurried on, afraid that once he regained his voice, he wouldn’t wait around for the rest. “Meg is a witch. Not a wiccan-type witch, but the kind that can cast spells and change people into animals. But she’s a good witch so don’t be afraid of her.”
He swallowed hard as though trying to swallow what she’d told him. “Okay, give me a sec. You’re claiming that Hilly can change her shape and that Meg’s a witch.”
“I’m not claiming anything. I’m telling you.” Please let him believe me.
“And that you have magical powers, too? So what are you? A vampire?”
The corners of his mouth twitched upward, but at least he hadn’t stopped touching her. Yet. “I’m serious, Tom, and no I’m not a vampire. I’m a succubus.”
“A succubus? You mean you suck the life out of people? And that’s your condition?”
She had to remind herself that he didn’t mean to be rude. He just needed time to understand. “Yes, that’s what I wanted to tell you. And I’m not a creature or an evil demon like most people think when they think of a succubus. I’m a person just lik
e everyone else. The only difference is that I need a man’s energy to live.”
He studied her for a moment, then glanced at a young man who’d sat down on the grass a few yards from them. Several minutes passed before he turned back to her. “Allie, if you don’t want to see me anymore, then just say so. Don’t make up an outlandish story to try and scare me off.”
“I’m not making this up. I’m a succubus. I have sex with men and drain them of their energy.”
“So then you’ve had sex with lots of men? But I thought…”
The accusatory tone of his voice sliced through her, but she could see the struggle in his expression. “I only recently started needing to feed. But yes, I’ve had, um, tried having sex with other men. But you were the first to…you know. Are you saying you’ve never had sex with another woman?” She hadn’t wanted to use that tactic, but he had to get past the sex thing to understand the real problem.
“Okay, that’s fair. I’m sorry that I said that. I’m just confused and… But to say you drain them of their energy… How am I supposed to believe something that wild?”
She studied the young man, the germ of an idea slowly forming. Her plan was risky, but losing Tom forever was unthinkable. Taking Tom’s hand, she closed her eyes and willed him to be strong. She had to convince him once and for all. “I’m going to show you. But you have to promise that you’ll stop me before it’s too late.”
“I don’t understand. How will you show me? And stop you from what?”
She took his face in her hands, forcing his gaze on hers. “When you see the smoke, pull me away.”
“Allie—”
“Tom. Promise me you’ll pull me away. If you don’t, I could kill him.” He winced, then nodded, giving her the assurance she needed, but she could still see his doubt. “Watch and believe.”
Rising, she strode over to the man on the grass, knelt in front of him and touched his cheek. She smiled at him, silently thanking him while she sent a quick prayer skyward. When she was sure, she leaned forward and kissed him. Immediately, he moaned, then wrapped his arms around her.