Chapter 14

This couldn’t be happening. A vampire wasn’t going to kill Everett. She couldn’t run away and leave him here to die.

Despite her better judgment, she ran over to them and pounded on the vampire’s back. “Stop!” she screamed. “You’re killing him.”

When he made no reaction, she stomped on his foot with the heel of her shoes. She heard a sickening crack as it tore through his foot and her heel snapped off. The vampire wrenched away from Everett, who dropped like a bag of rocks. He rounded on Reyna, and she stumbled back a few steps in terror.

“Shit!”

The vampire stalked forward in a way she was deeply familiar with. Her body shook as it dawned on her, the stupidity of what she had done. She could have gotten away. No matter how much of a coward that made her. She could have at least gone for help. Now she was stuck here with this monster, and she could see in his lifeless eyes that he was going to kill her too.

Once he reached her, he swatted her across the face like an annoying fly. The force of the hit sent her careening headfirst into the metal dumpster. She rebounded, falling in a heap into a pile of discarded trash bags. Her vision blurred, and when she touched the source of the pain, a hot sticky wetness coated her hair.

The vampire stooped to pick Everett back up and finish what he started. But once she pulled back her hand to see the bright red blood, the vampire’s head whipped around to face her. His stare promised death. She struggled to stand back up, but just collapsed back to the ground. She was disoriented and couldn’t get her limbs under control. She knew that the vampire coming toward her had only one thing in mind, and still she could do nothing.

“What do we have here? Your blood produces the sweetest aroma.” As he stalked toward her, Everett’s blood dribbled down his chin. “Tasting you will be like drinking the nectar of the gods…if I believed they existed.”

“Wha-what?” she stammered.

“I’ve heard of blood like this.” He leaned down and breathed in deeply, savoring the scent of her like a rose in bloom. “It seems my fortunes have turned.”

“I’m nothing,” she pleaded, tears running down her face. “You’ve had your fill. Just let us go.”

“I don’t think so.”

The vampire leaned toward her, enjoying the terror in her expression. Everett’s blood had given him life, but she could see in his crazed eyes that he was going to take her for pleasure. She shuddered as he ran his hand down her cheek and tilted her head to expose her neck. And there was nothing she could do about it. She couldn’t even scream. She just closed her eyes and started to say prayers to whomever would listen.

But the bite never came.

Then the pressure on her neck disappeared. Reyna’s eyes flew open. And she couldn’t believe what she saw. Her eyes widened in disbelief as Beckham held the vampire by the arm. The other vampire snarled and twisted, breaking out of Beckham’s tight hold. He lunged for Beckham, who moved so quickly that the pair of them were a blur. The vampire must have been starving, because with fresh blood in his system he had more power and speed than he’d shown only moments before. The two moved together. Beckham seemed to have the upper hand. His hands were thrust out, breaking down the other vampire’s defensives and leaving his spurt of energy to be wasted. Still they fought—blows landed and deflected, feet kicking, and bodies twisting and moving to try to break the other.

In a movement that Reyna could hardly even see, Beckham whirled the other vampire around so his back was to Beckham’s chest. Beckham placed a hand on either side of the vampire’s head. For a split second, the guy stopped moving entirely. He seemed to realize he was defeated.

And for the first time, Beckham’s face was illuminated in the streetlight. As she stared into Beckham’s endless dark eyes, Reyna’s gasp was audible.

His fangs were bared and he looked furious. Beyond furious.

Dangerous.

Ruthless

Deadly.

“Becks,” she whispered in horror.

But he didn’t seem to hear her. The only sound that followed was the sickening crunch as Beckham turned the vampire’s head to an unnatural angle. He fell to the ground. Dead.

Reyna’s mouth hung open. Holy shit! He had just killed for her. She couldn’t comprehend it. She was wavering in and out of consciousness. She grasped at it with straws desperate not to succumb to the darkness.

“Little One,” he said softly as he approached her. She watched him suck in a deep breath and then hold it as he bent down toward her. He scooped her up in his arms as if she weighed nothing.

“Everett,” she mumbled.

Beckham sighed and then nodded. He would take care of it. He didn’t even have to say a word.

“Thank you,” she whispered before darkness carried her under.

---

Reyna awoke to find herself laid out on soft cushions. Her body ached everywhere, and she had a splitting headache. As she tried to sit up, she groaned. A hand rested on her shoulder to lay her back down.

“Take it easy,” Beckham said.

She peeled her eyes open. Beckham was sitting next to her on the couch in the living room of his penthouse.

“Becks,” she said, her voice raspy.

She had never been this happy to see him. She couldn’t believe that she was here right now, that he had followed her, that he had saved her. All she wanted to do was reach up and run her hand down his beautiful face and apologize for ever doubting him. Her gratitude was beyond measure. In his eyes, she no longer saw the monster who had snapped the vampire’s neck in half, but a man searching her for signs of distress. A man who may have chosen to take a Permanent Subject against his will, but would no less take care of her for it.

Beckham averted his own searching gaze and reached over to the table for a glass of water. “Drink something.”

She took it without complaint and managed a few sips. “You saved my life,” she said, swallowing back the emotions threatening to take over.

“You were supposed to stay safe.”

Reyna didn’t know what possessed her to do it, but this time when the need to touch him took over, she didn’t suppress it. She reached her hand out to his face and placed it gently against his cheek. His skin was cool to the touch. Yet she felt like she was burning up. Whether from the life-threatening experience or the growing shift in what his nearness did to her, she didn’t know.

“Becks,” she repeated softly.

He turned his head away from her hand, refusing to look at her. “I lost control,” he said gruffly. “You shouldn’t have had to see that.”

“You saved my life.”

She wasn’t sure what part of that wasn’t clear to him. She could have died out there. She was so close to dying, and he had come in and saved her. Everything that had been foggy before was now clear. She didn’t need to fear Beckham. He wasn’t going to hurt her, and she needed to start to trust him. He wouldn’t have gone to such lengths to protect her if he was going to hurt her himself.

“You shouldn’t have even been in that position,” Beckham said. “You were in the club and then suddenly you were gone.”

“You followed me?”

He met her gaze again. “You were lucky I did. Otherwise I never would have found you when I did.”

“Yes. I was very lucky,” she whispered.

It was easy to remember the horrible way the vampire had approached her. The way he had fed on Everett. The way he had come after her.

“What happened to Everett?” She sat up quickly at the realization and her vision blurred. She put her hand to her head and moaned, relaxing back into the cushions.

“You need to rest, Reyna. Everett has been taken to the hospital. He lost a lot of blood and needs a transfusion. I had my medical team look at you and him, and then after we bandaged you up, they took him.”

She touched the back of her head where she had been pushed into the dumpster. There was a large square bandage in place.

“How long have I been out?”

“About a half hour. We had to stop the bleeding.” He reached back and touched her head tenderly.

The bleeding. Her blood. What had the other vampire said about her blood? Of all the strange things that had happened tonight whatever that thing had said about her blood made the least amount of sense.

“Beckham, that vampire…he said something weird.” He arched an eyebrow at her in question. “He said that my blood smelled good…like the nectar of the gods and that he’d heard of blood like mine.”

“You were probably just delirious and are remembering wrong,” Beckham said.

“No,” she insisted. She remembered that. She swore she did. “I wasn’t delirious. He said my blood smelled different.”

“He was starving. A pathetic vagabond, who refuses to get into the new system. I’m sure your blood smelled like life itself to him.”

Reyna bit her lip and stared up at Beckham under thick dark lashes. “It didn’t smell any different to you?”

Beckham paused for a moment before speaking. “No.”

She remembered how he had inhaled deeply when he had gotten close to her, and then didn’t say anything, as if he was holding his breath. It had to mean something. But why would he lie to her? What could he gain from that?

“Okay,” she finally muttered. “When can I see Everett? I need to make sure he’s okay. He was only out there because of me in the first place.”

“Tomorrow,” he said decidedly. “The transfusion takes a couple hours, and he’ll need to rest. Like you, Little One.”

Reyna slumped back against the pillows. “This is all my fault,” she murmured. “If I hadn’t gone into that alley this would have never happened.”

“Why did you go in the first place?”

He looked none too pleased, but Reyna realized this was the first conversation they’d had where they hadn’t argued. This almost felt…normal.

But his question brought up a whole new wave of emotions. She remembered all too well what had drawn her out of the club and led her to that alley. She had been so desperate to get away from Everett and the intimate look on his face. She was confused with why her mind kept drifting back to Beckham instead of the cute boy in front of her that she had just run.

“Little One?” he prodded.

She looked at him tentatively. “I was thinking of you.”

Beckham stiffened under her gaze. She knew she wasn’t hiding her emotions. Her heart was fluttering in her chest and against her throat. In that moment, her eyes were a window to her soul, and she knew that he could translate what she was thinking.

“How?” he finally asked.

Reyna’s blush deepened.

He reached forward and touched her dark hair, which had fallen out of its updo. His fingers threaded through the strands, careful not to touch the knot on the back of her head. Beckham was normally rough and demanding, but here he was so gentle. His thumb ran along the inside of her neck.

“That blush is dangerous,” he growled, clearly trying to restrain himself.

Reyna thought about looking away at that comment, but she didn’t. She held his gaze, her breathing making her chest rise and fall heavily.

“Touching me like this is dangerous,” she replied.

He tilted his head to consider her. His eyes flicked from her eyes to her lips to her neck and then back up.

“Because I could break you.”

She paused at his words. She knew he meant physically, but her heart was speaking volumes to the truth of that statement emotionally. There was a reason that she kept being drawn back to him. And why she replaced his face with the one that wanted her. It was all laid out before her. It had all started with that first touch of his lips. Oh, yes, he could break her.

“Yes,” she breathed.

“I think I’ll take my chances.”

Beckham leaned forward and everything narrowed down to this one moment. His eyes bored into hers. Not asking for permission. Not asking for anything. Just looking into her soul and letting her know that he was taking her.

And she let him.

God, did she let him.

His mouth landed on hers, and it was like every kiss before this vanished into thin air. This was her first kiss. Because nothing else could hold a candle to the way his lips felt against hers. If she smelled like ambrosia, then Beckham truly tasted like it.

Sweet. Tempting. Addicting.

He was the real deal. The perfect package.

His lips as soft as feathers molded to hers with a tenderness she would have never expected from Beckham let alone a vampire. Her hands moved up to grab his suit and pull him in closer. She needed more. She needed this taste, this sweetness on her tongue, touching her, holding her.

Reyna opened her mouth and ran her tongue along his bottom lip. He groaned into her mouth, and all of his tentative movements evaporated. His tongue darted out and caressed her. They volleyed as if there were a winner to their match.

Their kisses turned heated and desperate. Reyna hadn’t actually thought he would ever want this from her. Did Beckham feel the same way she did when he kissed her? Or was this another part of ownership?

Something in the way he held her and the intensity of his kisses told her that she was not his whore. He was not paying anything for this. He was kissing her like a man kissed his woman. And she wanted this.

His hands moved from her hair down over her shoulders to trace the curves of her waist and her hips. She moaned at the feel of his hands on her. She wouldn’t stop him if he went farther. She knew that she should. That this wasn’t appropriate for a professional relationship. That if she went further there was no going back. But his hands on her body and his lips on her mouth were telling her to ignore all logic. There was here and now. There was only Beckham.

He dropped soft kisses on her cheek, to her ear, and then down her neck. She braced herself, anticipating what was to come. Her heart fluttered. This would finally be it. She wasn’t anxious now that she was in his arms. She was excited. Ready.

Was what Mara had said before true? Did she get an endorphin rush from the bite? Was it anything like sex?

Her body was jittery as the kisses moved to her collarbone and then back to her neck. He hovered over her furiously beating pulse. His fangs trailed against the skin. She shivered all over, her body reacting to the erotic intimacy. She could feel her core heating, aching for him.

“Bite me,” she pleaded.

Just when she thought he was going to, he kissed the spot one more time and then leaned his forehead against her neck. His own breathing matched hers. He seemed desperate to do it, and yet he held back.

“You should rest,” he said, forcing a barrier between them all over again.

She reached for him. “No,” she whispered.

“Good night, Little One.” He kissed the top of her head, stood, and walked away.

“Beckham, please. What did I do?”

He stilled in the middle of the room. “I am not the person you think I am. It would be best if you forget that ever happened.”

“And if I can’t?” He shook his head. “I think you want me to believe you’re not good. Because if I don’t think that, then I can get close to you, and you’re terrified to let someone in,” she said, gaining her voice.

Beckham didn’t say anything for a moment. “You can believe what you wish. But that won’t happen again,” he said and then left.

Reyna slumped back and pressed her hand to her lips. That couldn’t be the last time. The taste of him still lingered on her lips, and she knew even as she watched his retreating back that…that was a promise he couldn’t keep.