“So, long term, what does this look like?” Brian asked. “He feeds off of you, fucks you, then what? Do you want to become immortal? Are you going to become a vampire and leave your family behind? What is it, Reyna?”
Reyna paled and avoided his gaze. “I don’t know. Okay? I don’t know. Does it have to be one or the other?”
“In case you aren’t aware, vampires live forever. You turn fifty, they stay the same age. You turn eighty, they stay the same age. You die. They live. There’s no getting around it.”
“Okay. Okay. I get it. I know, Brian,” she snapped. “I just don’t see why I have to decide that today. You’ve been dating Laura for five years and still haven’t even proposed. I’ve known Beckham less than a month. Maybe I can wait a couple years like other normal people and see if it still works out.”
Drew sighed and reached for her hand. She saw he was really upset with the whole thing, and she hated hurting him most of all. “You left us once already, Rey. Don’t do it again,” he pleaded.
“I know,” she said. “I don’t want to leave you. I’ll come visit. I think I can make it work this time. It will definitely not be forever. But if I don’t go with him, I’ll always, always wonder what if. You might be willing to do that, but I can’t.”
“Reyna,” Beckham called.
“Just a minute,” she said, holding up her hand. She looked at her brothers imploringly. “Tell me you love me and want me to be happy. You don’t have to approve of him, but respect my choice.”
Drew sighed and pulled her into a hug. “We’re going to miss you so much.”
“I’m going to miss you too.”
“Come on, Brian,” Drew said. Brian joined in on the hug.
When they pulled away, she could tell Brian was still upset, but he managed a smile for her. “You always have a home here if it doesn’t work out. Promise to come back.”
“I will. As often as I can.”
They followed her over to Beckham’s Town Car. They each shook his hand. “Take care of our sister,” Brian said.
“I fully intend to,” Beckham said.
They nodded in some unspoken agreement. Then she and Beckham got into the car and drove away. She swiveled in her seat and watched her brothers as she left the Warehouse District behind all over again.
Chapter 31
When her brothers were finally out of her line of vision, she plopped back down in her seat and tugged her baseball cap off of her head. “How much of that did you hear?” she asked.
He gave her a pointed look and she nodded.
“Right. All of it.”
“They love you,” Beckham said.
“Yes, they do. Very much so.”
“You could have stayed.”
She shook her head. “You and I both know that isn’t true.”
“They wanted you to.”
“And a part of me still wants to be with them,” she admitted. “But I want to see where this goes, Becks. It’s not an easy road, but it’s one that I’m willing to travel…with you.”
He reached for her hand, and they laced their fingers together. It was nice and made her sigh. She knew everything wasn’t right with the world, but the here and now was too wonderful not to relish in.
Beckham was just staring at her, not saying anything. He wasn’t even looking at his phone. She had become so accustomed to the thing glued to his face that she wasn’t sure what to make of it.
“Nothing urgent or pressing?” she asked.
“No.”
“No text messages you need to send? Emails you need to reply to? Charts you need to look at?”
He smirked. “No.”
“I thought it would be a busy day after what happened.”
“It might be,” he acknowledged.
“I’m not complaining, but normally you’re kind of attached to your phone.” It was almost a little bit disconcerting to have the full weight of his gaze on her.
“Did you never ascertain that you were the reason I was always plugged in?”
Reyna cleared her throat and looked anywhere but at his penetrating gaze. “I mean…I didn’t think that was the sole reason,” she volunteered. “I figured you were…busy?”
He laughed and it had a lightness she had never heard before. “Sure. I’m busy. All the time. But when you’re in the car with me, I can’t concentrate. I get nothing done. All I could think about was this,” he said, grasping the back of her head and pulling her in for a fierce kiss.
She practically climbed into his lap she was so ready to have his lips on her. She didn’t care that she was in ratty jeans and a T-shirt while he was in a two-thousand-dollar suit. All she wanted was to feel him again…feel him as hers for the first time. God, she couldn’t wait to get him home. She was going to finally get to rip off this damn suit and find out exactly what was underneath it.
“Reyna,” he groaned. He bit her lip lightly and dragged it between his teeth. She arched her back and pressed her pelvis down onto him.
“Mmm?” she moaned.
“I need to talk to you. I have things I need to tell you,” he said, his hands doing all the talking for him.
“It can wait,” she assured him.
All talking could wait. He had said that he was going to tell Penelope he wanted to be with Reyna, and that was good enough for now. He had chosen…and he had chosen her. She wasn’t sure she could wait until they got home to get her hands on him.
“Reyna, please,” he groaned as she fumbled with his tie.
She silenced him with a kiss and then yanked the tie off of him. Then she began undoing all of the little buttons of his shirt. He stopped protesting at that point. He couldn’t win against her when all of his barriers had been shattered. His hands pushed the soft cotton of her shirt up and over her head. A thin lacy bra covered her breasts, and he cupped both of them in his hands, flicking a finger inside to caress one nipple.
She moaned and grabbed onto his chest for support against the pleasure coursing through her body. She circled her hips on top of him, desperate for the passion that had been building between them to finally come to fruition. Her hands tugged on the belt he was wearing, unfastened the buckle, and then unsnapped the button of his jeans.
“Beckham, take me here,” she pleaded against his mouth. “I don’t care where we are. I just want you.”
He growled deep in the back of his throat and then threw her down roughly onto the seat. His tall frame had difficulty adjusting to the cramped space, but his body covered her and his hands were everywhere. She threw her head back, and he started kissing down her throat in a heated desperation. Her legs came up to circle around his waist, drawing him closer.
In the silence that followed, the buzzing of his phone was clear as day. “Ignore it,” she pleaded, running her hands down his jaw.
“Let me turn it off.” He reached into the inner pocket of his suit coat and retrieved the phone. His brow furrowed when he checked the screen. “Hmm…”
“Hmm good or hmm bad?” she asked. She was anxious to get back to business.
“It’s Rowland.”
Reyna cringed away from the name. After what had happened with Rowland in the club, just the mention of him made her body shudder with revulsion.
“I have to take this.” He gave her an apologetic look and sat up. She knew that he didn’t want to talk to Rowland any more than she did…especially not under the circumstances.
Reyna paled and avoided his gaze. “I don’t know. Okay? I don’t know. Does it have to be one or the other?”
“In case you aren’t aware, vampires live forever. You turn fifty, they stay the same age. You turn eighty, they stay the same age. You die. They live. There’s no getting around it.”
“Okay. Okay. I get it. I know, Brian,” she snapped. “I just don’t see why I have to decide that today. You’ve been dating Laura for five years and still haven’t even proposed. I’ve known Beckham less than a month. Maybe I can wait a couple years like other normal people and see if it still works out.”
Drew sighed and reached for her hand. She saw he was really upset with the whole thing, and she hated hurting him most of all. “You left us once already, Rey. Don’t do it again,” he pleaded.
“I know,” she said. “I don’t want to leave you. I’ll come visit. I think I can make it work this time. It will definitely not be forever. But if I don’t go with him, I’ll always, always wonder what if. You might be willing to do that, but I can’t.”
“Reyna,” Beckham called.
“Just a minute,” she said, holding up her hand. She looked at her brothers imploringly. “Tell me you love me and want me to be happy. You don’t have to approve of him, but respect my choice.”
Drew sighed and pulled her into a hug. “We’re going to miss you so much.”
“I’m going to miss you too.”
“Come on, Brian,” Drew said. Brian joined in on the hug.
When they pulled away, she could tell Brian was still upset, but he managed a smile for her. “You always have a home here if it doesn’t work out. Promise to come back.”
“I will. As often as I can.”
They followed her over to Beckham’s Town Car. They each shook his hand. “Take care of our sister,” Brian said.
“I fully intend to,” Beckham said.
They nodded in some unspoken agreement. Then she and Beckham got into the car and drove away. She swiveled in her seat and watched her brothers as she left the Warehouse District behind all over again.
Chapter 31
When her brothers were finally out of her line of vision, she plopped back down in her seat and tugged her baseball cap off of her head. “How much of that did you hear?” she asked.
He gave her a pointed look and she nodded.
“Right. All of it.”
“They love you,” Beckham said.
“Yes, they do. Very much so.”
“You could have stayed.”
She shook her head. “You and I both know that isn’t true.”
“They wanted you to.”
“And a part of me still wants to be with them,” she admitted. “But I want to see where this goes, Becks. It’s not an easy road, but it’s one that I’m willing to travel…with you.”
He reached for her hand, and they laced their fingers together. It was nice and made her sigh. She knew everything wasn’t right with the world, but the here and now was too wonderful not to relish in.
Beckham was just staring at her, not saying anything. He wasn’t even looking at his phone. She had become so accustomed to the thing glued to his face that she wasn’t sure what to make of it.
“Nothing urgent or pressing?” she asked.
“No.”
“No text messages you need to send? Emails you need to reply to? Charts you need to look at?”
He smirked. “No.”
“I thought it would be a busy day after what happened.”
“It might be,” he acknowledged.
“I’m not complaining, but normally you’re kind of attached to your phone.” It was almost a little bit disconcerting to have the full weight of his gaze on her.
“Did you never ascertain that you were the reason I was always plugged in?”
Reyna cleared her throat and looked anywhere but at his penetrating gaze. “I mean…I didn’t think that was the sole reason,” she volunteered. “I figured you were…busy?”
He laughed and it had a lightness she had never heard before. “Sure. I’m busy. All the time. But when you’re in the car with me, I can’t concentrate. I get nothing done. All I could think about was this,” he said, grasping the back of her head and pulling her in for a fierce kiss.
She practically climbed into his lap she was so ready to have his lips on her. She didn’t care that she was in ratty jeans and a T-shirt while he was in a two-thousand-dollar suit. All she wanted was to feel him again…feel him as hers for the first time. God, she couldn’t wait to get him home. She was going to finally get to rip off this damn suit and find out exactly what was underneath it.
“Reyna,” he groaned. He bit her lip lightly and dragged it between his teeth. She arched her back and pressed her pelvis down onto him.
“Mmm?” she moaned.
“I need to talk to you. I have things I need to tell you,” he said, his hands doing all the talking for him.
“It can wait,” she assured him.
All talking could wait. He had said that he was going to tell Penelope he wanted to be with Reyna, and that was good enough for now. He had chosen…and he had chosen her. She wasn’t sure she could wait until they got home to get her hands on him.
“Reyna, please,” he groaned as she fumbled with his tie.
She silenced him with a kiss and then yanked the tie off of him. Then she began undoing all of the little buttons of his shirt. He stopped protesting at that point. He couldn’t win against her when all of his barriers had been shattered. His hands pushed the soft cotton of her shirt up and over her head. A thin lacy bra covered her breasts, and he cupped both of them in his hands, flicking a finger inside to caress one nipple.
She moaned and grabbed onto his chest for support against the pleasure coursing through her body. She circled her hips on top of him, desperate for the passion that had been building between them to finally come to fruition. Her hands tugged on the belt he was wearing, unfastened the buckle, and then unsnapped the button of his jeans.
“Beckham, take me here,” she pleaded against his mouth. “I don’t care where we are. I just want you.”
He growled deep in the back of his throat and then threw her down roughly onto the seat. His tall frame had difficulty adjusting to the cramped space, but his body covered her and his hands were everywhere. She threw her head back, and he started kissing down her throat in a heated desperation. Her legs came up to circle around his waist, drawing him closer.
In the silence that followed, the buzzing of his phone was clear as day. “Ignore it,” she pleaded, running her hands down his jaw.
“Let me turn it off.” He reached into the inner pocket of his suit coat and retrieved the phone. His brow furrowed when he checked the screen. “Hmm…”
“Hmm good or hmm bad?” she asked. She was anxious to get back to business.
“It’s Rowland.”
Reyna cringed away from the name. After what had happened with Rowland in the club, just the mention of him made her body shudder with revulsion.
“I have to take this.” He gave her an apologetic look and sat up. She knew that he didn’t want to talk to Rowland any more than she did…especially not under the circumstances.
