“Already?” She pushed her shoulders back and tried to look taller sitting on the sterile hospital bed in her threadbare jeans. It was hard to do when her feet didn’t quite hit the step below, and her legs could swing back and forth with ease.
“Yes. He’s on his way in right now.”
“What’s he like?” she asked with hesitancy. She wasn’t entirely sure why she asked now. It might have been an important question to consider before agreeing to live with the vampire permanently for the next…ever. But in the end, it probably didn’t matter. He was a vampire. How different could they all be?
“You’ll see in just a moment.”
There was a knock at the door.
“Ah, here he is.”
Reyna jumped to her feet. She had felt ridiculous sitting on that bed to begin with. She didn’t want her first interaction with her new employer to be that of a scared little girl sitting on a hospital bed. She wanted to appear strong and confident. Ready to take on the world.
But when her Sponsor walked in the room, she shrank in on herself in terror. She had never felt so small before in her life.
The man filled the doorway. His mere presence made him seem to stand even taller than his immense height and strong build. It was as if she could feel the power vibrating beneath the surface. There was no other way she knew how to describe it. He held himself with such utter confidence that he took over the small room.
Her eyes lifted to meet his, and all she could do was stare into the endless dark depths. For a second, she thought she saw something flicker in his eyes, something that spoke of need, but then it was gone. Replaced by nothingness. His features were chiseled out of stone. His cheekbones were sharp and defined, hollowing out his cheeks. His jaw was strong and pronounced. Even his dark hair was precisely cut and maintained. He wore a crisp black suit with a blood-red tie.
He was plainly terrifying to behold, but also…gorgeous. Horrifyingly beautiful.
“Reyna, allow me to introduce you to your Sponsor,” Dr. Washington said. “This is Beckham Anderson, senior vice president of Visage Incorporated.”
She locked eyes with Beckham, and she refused to look away. If he was trying to intimidate her with his lethal stare, it was working, but she would never let him know that.
Here she was in tattered jeans, a plain threadbare gray T-shirt, black Converse sneakers, and a maroon baseball cap stuffed in her back pocket. Her hair was in a high ponytail. She wore not an ounce of makeup. And she was in a standoff against a man who was by all accounts…perfect. But she wouldn’t look away. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.
When she didn’t say anything, Dr. Washington cleared his throat and continued. “Mr. Anderson, your new subject, Miss Reyna Carpenter.”
No one spoke.
Reyna stared at the figure before her, and he simply stared back. All the times she had thought about coming to Visage and becoming a blood escort, she had never truly known what to expect. She had never considered the vampire that she would have to live with. This man made her want to run as fast and as far away from him as possible. This man was a thing of nightmares. How the hell am I supposed to live with him?
“Well…” Dr. Washington said uncomfortably. “What do you think?”
Beckham broke her gaze to turn to the doctor. “Yes. Fine. She’ll do. I have a car waiting and a meeting to attend. Get her ready to leave immediately.”
Reyna raised her eyebrows in surprise. That was nothing more than a short perusal. The paperwork had already been squared away, but she would have thought that he would want to ask her a few questions to get to know her. She was after all going to be living with him indefinitely. She guessed this was what an arranged marriage felt like.
“I believe she is ready to leave,” the doctor said without acknowledging her. “We need your approval signature and then she can be discharged.”
The doctor handed over the last piece of paper she had signed, and Beckham scrawled his name across the line with a flourish.
“Great. She’s mine. Can we go now?” Beckham asked sharply.
“Yes. Yes, of course. Reyna, come along.”
Reyna forced herself to move one foot in front of the other. She could do this. She could leave behind everything she had ever known to go live with this strange man…vampire. To live with a strange vampire who was going to suck her blood on a regular basis. She swallowed hard and held her chin up. She was doing this for Brian and Drew, but also for herself. She wanted to make something of herself. One day she would.
Every journey begins with one step. Hers began with this one.
She moved over to the doctor, feeling marginally more comfortable with him. Her Sponsor was already busy checking his cellphone. He wasn’t paying attention to her at all.
“He’s not going to hurt me, right?” she whispered, never taking her eyes off of Mr. Anderson.
Beckham’s nostrils flared, and his eyes darted to hers. “I am not here to hurt you. You are my employee. I will treat you like an employee. And as my employee, we are in a bit of a hurry, so anything else you might wish to discuss with the doctor will have to wait. If everything is in order, you will remain silent and we will leave.”
Reyna stared up into the black pools of his eyes and realized she was drowning. She was floundering through an empty abyss with no way to escape. If she had once known how to swim, the ability had fled her mind. There was only her and this man and her inability to say something to tamp down his ever-increasing anger. Very little was clear about what would follow once she walked through that door.
The only thing that was really very clear was that Beckham Anderson was a complete and total asshole.
Chapter 4
Silence.
Apparently that was Beckham’s MO. He was silent. He liked her silent. His phone was silent. Even the Town Car, the unbelievably sleek beautiful shouldn’t-even-touch-it-was-so-shiny Town Car, was silent.
They drove out of the Visage facilities and then headed east toward the coastline. The Town Car zoomed at unbelievable speeds, driving away from her shitty home, away from her brothers, away from her life.
Reyna glanced over her shoulder and back through the rear window. Her pulse raced with regret at leaving everything she knew behind, and yet she wouldn’t have changed her decision. They needed the money. This was the perfect opportunity. Though she knew it wasn’t the one her brothers would have chosen for her. Few hard choices in life were ever the one you wanted to take.
When she didn’t show up at home tonight, Brian and Drew were going to have a panic attack. She wished she had gotten to say goodbye. Since they didn’t have a phone, she had no means of contacting them, and she couldn’t reach their employer without risking backlash at the factory. Maybe she should have left a note letting them know where she was going. They probably would have been just as panicked when they found the note. No matter what, she would have to find a way to let her brothers know she was okay.
With a heavy sigh, she sat back in the seat, leaving her world behind her.
Then the city came into view. She had always found it hideous, cold and disgusting. When she had been forced to move in with her uncle for those few horrible years, she had learned to hate the city. Dirty and unforgiving. And filled with people neglectful and careless of their neighbors. Everyone trapped like rats.
With nothing to their name, her brothers had taken her and hitchhiked out of the city limits. They had moved from this hellhole and into a new one. She didn’t mind trading one hell for another since her brothers were able to get work in the warehouse distract.
“Yes. He’s on his way in right now.”
“What’s he like?” she asked with hesitancy. She wasn’t entirely sure why she asked now. It might have been an important question to consider before agreeing to live with the vampire permanently for the next…ever. But in the end, it probably didn’t matter. He was a vampire. How different could they all be?
“You’ll see in just a moment.”
There was a knock at the door.
“Ah, here he is.”
Reyna jumped to her feet. She had felt ridiculous sitting on that bed to begin with. She didn’t want her first interaction with her new employer to be that of a scared little girl sitting on a hospital bed. She wanted to appear strong and confident. Ready to take on the world.
But when her Sponsor walked in the room, she shrank in on herself in terror. She had never felt so small before in her life.
The man filled the doorway. His mere presence made him seem to stand even taller than his immense height and strong build. It was as if she could feel the power vibrating beneath the surface. There was no other way she knew how to describe it. He held himself with such utter confidence that he took over the small room.
Her eyes lifted to meet his, and all she could do was stare into the endless dark depths. For a second, she thought she saw something flicker in his eyes, something that spoke of need, but then it was gone. Replaced by nothingness. His features were chiseled out of stone. His cheekbones were sharp and defined, hollowing out his cheeks. His jaw was strong and pronounced. Even his dark hair was precisely cut and maintained. He wore a crisp black suit with a blood-red tie.
He was plainly terrifying to behold, but also…gorgeous. Horrifyingly beautiful.
“Reyna, allow me to introduce you to your Sponsor,” Dr. Washington said. “This is Beckham Anderson, senior vice president of Visage Incorporated.”
She locked eyes with Beckham, and she refused to look away. If he was trying to intimidate her with his lethal stare, it was working, but she would never let him know that.
Here she was in tattered jeans, a plain threadbare gray T-shirt, black Converse sneakers, and a maroon baseball cap stuffed in her back pocket. Her hair was in a high ponytail. She wore not an ounce of makeup. And she was in a standoff against a man who was by all accounts…perfect. But she wouldn’t look away. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.
When she didn’t say anything, Dr. Washington cleared his throat and continued. “Mr. Anderson, your new subject, Miss Reyna Carpenter.”
No one spoke.
Reyna stared at the figure before her, and he simply stared back. All the times she had thought about coming to Visage and becoming a blood escort, she had never truly known what to expect. She had never considered the vampire that she would have to live with. This man made her want to run as fast and as far away from him as possible. This man was a thing of nightmares. How the hell am I supposed to live with him?
“Well…” Dr. Washington said uncomfortably. “What do you think?”
Beckham broke her gaze to turn to the doctor. “Yes. Fine. She’ll do. I have a car waiting and a meeting to attend. Get her ready to leave immediately.”
Reyna raised her eyebrows in surprise. That was nothing more than a short perusal. The paperwork had already been squared away, but she would have thought that he would want to ask her a few questions to get to know her. She was after all going to be living with him indefinitely. She guessed this was what an arranged marriage felt like.
“I believe she is ready to leave,” the doctor said without acknowledging her. “We need your approval signature and then she can be discharged.”
The doctor handed over the last piece of paper she had signed, and Beckham scrawled his name across the line with a flourish.
“Great. She’s mine. Can we go now?” Beckham asked sharply.
“Yes. Yes, of course. Reyna, come along.”
Reyna forced herself to move one foot in front of the other. She could do this. She could leave behind everything she had ever known to go live with this strange man…vampire. To live with a strange vampire who was going to suck her blood on a regular basis. She swallowed hard and held her chin up. She was doing this for Brian and Drew, but also for herself. She wanted to make something of herself. One day she would.
Every journey begins with one step. Hers began with this one.
She moved over to the doctor, feeling marginally more comfortable with him. Her Sponsor was already busy checking his cellphone. He wasn’t paying attention to her at all.
“He’s not going to hurt me, right?” she whispered, never taking her eyes off of Mr. Anderson.
Beckham’s nostrils flared, and his eyes darted to hers. “I am not here to hurt you. You are my employee. I will treat you like an employee. And as my employee, we are in a bit of a hurry, so anything else you might wish to discuss with the doctor will have to wait. If everything is in order, you will remain silent and we will leave.”
Reyna stared up into the black pools of his eyes and realized she was drowning. She was floundering through an empty abyss with no way to escape. If she had once known how to swim, the ability had fled her mind. There was only her and this man and her inability to say something to tamp down his ever-increasing anger. Very little was clear about what would follow once she walked through that door.
The only thing that was really very clear was that Beckham Anderson was a complete and total asshole.
Chapter 4
Silence.
Apparently that was Beckham’s MO. He was silent. He liked her silent. His phone was silent. Even the Town Car, the unbelievably sleek beautiful shouldn’t-even-touch-it-was-so-shiny Town Car, was silent.
They drove out of the Visage facilities and then headed east toward the coastline. The Town Car zoomed at unbelievable speeds, driving away from her shitty home, away from her brothers, away from her life.
Reyna glanced over her shoulder and back through the rear window. Her pulse raced with regret at leaving everything she knew behind, and yet she wouldn’t have changed her decision. They needed the money. This was the perfect opportunity. Though she knew it wasn’t the one her brothers would have chosen for her. Few hard choices in life were ever the one you wanted to take.
When she didn’t show up at home tonight, Brian and Drew were going to have a panic attack. She wished she had gotten to say goodbye. Since they didn’t have a phone, she had no means of contacting them, and she couldn’t reach their employer without risking backlash at the factory. Maybe she should have left a note letting them know where she was going. They probably would have been just as panicked when they found the note. No matter what, she would have to find a way to let her brothers know she was okay.
With a heavy sigh, she sat back in the seat, leaving her world behind her.
Then the city came into view. She had always found it hideous, cold and disgusting. When she had been forced to move in with her uncle for those few horrible years, she had learned to hate the city. Dirty and unforgiving. And filled with people neglectful and careless of their neighbors. Everyone trapped like rats.
With nothing to their name, her brothers had taken her and hitchhiked out of the city limits. They had moved from this hellhole and into a new one. She didn’t mind trading one hell for another since her brothers were able to get work in the warehouse distract.
