Chapter Twenty-Three
Beckham was back in her room only a few days later, and the novelty never wore off. All that time imagining him. It didn’t feel real that he was here.
“Reyna?” Beckham said.
He was dressed in a bespoke black suit. It was distracting. All she could think about was tearing it off and seeing the magnificent man underneath.
“Hmm?” she asked.
Her eyes snapped back up to his. She got lost in the obsidian staring back. The gleaming dark eyes that sucked her in like a black hole.
“Were you even listening?”
“Um…my mind’s on all the ways I was quite adept at paying attention a few days ago.” She slid her hand up the front of his suit, feeling the expensive fabric.
He smirked. “Don’t change the subject.”
“Why not?” she asked, reaching his jaw and running her knuckles against the slight stubble. “I think I’m pretty good at following your commands.”
“Is that so?”
“Well, I think I got…open your mouth down pretty well. And get on your hands and knees.” She threaded her hand around his tie and dragged him closer. “I’m not sure I’m the best at keep your hands over your head, but I’d give it another shot.”
“Fuck,” he growled as he grasped both of her wrists in one hand and pressed her back into the wall. His head dipped to the spot between her neck and shoulder. He placed a deliberately slow and enticing kiss there. “You are impossible.”
She shivered at the touch. “Uh-huh.”
She envisioned all the ways he would take her against this wall. The bed wasn’t enough. She wanted to fuck him on every surface of this room.
He met her eyes again. “What are you thinking?”
She grinned as she told him.
“Every surface?” he all but purred.
“I’d like to not be able to walk for two days again.”
“Two days?” he asked, his eyebrows climbing higher. It wasn’t often that she shocked him.
“Jodie said I looked like I’d been riding a horse.”
She thought maybe he would worry that he’d hurt her. That had always been his MO before. The monster was going to come out and break her. He couldn’t be trusted. Something or other.
Instead, a self-satisfied smile crossed his features. “Good.”
“And here I thought you’d be appalled that you rode me so hard I was incapable of basic human function.”
His hand drifted down between her legs. “I like the idea that you can still feel me after I’m gone.” His hand stroked circles lazily against her center. She closed her eyes and leaned into his touch. “Look at me.”
Her eyes snapped open. He hooked his fingers into her underwear and slowly stroked one finger inside of her. Her body reacted to him like a finely tuned instrument.
He moved his thumb to her clit, circling it greedily in his hand and palming her pussy. She gasped as her body contracted around him. She thought she was going to come right then and there, her body aching all over. But he paused, drinking her in.
“Becks,” she breathed. “Don’t stop.”
The self-satisfied smirk returned, and he continued stroking her deftly. His pace intensified, and soon she was crying out as she came. She slumped forward against him as he removed his hand and released both of hers.
“I thought you did pretty well with your hands over your head,” he said.
“Did you just tease me? Are you teasing?”
His laugh was everything as he lunged for her, dragging her to bed. No more talk happened after that. Neither of them came up for air for a long time.
Beckham trailed his fingertips over Reyna’s naked back.
She was lying face down on the bed, somewhere between asleep and awake.
Beckham hadn’t been quite as rough this time.
Despite his claims that he wanted her to feel him the next day, he didn’t really want to hurt her.
Their passion was palpable, and the joy of having these moments was enough.
“Can I ask you for a favor?” she murmured into the silence.
He pressed a kiss to her shoulder. “Anything.”
“I need a wedding dress.”
Beckham stiffened next to her. “Who are you marrying?”
She laughed and rolled over. “It’s not for me.”
He tilted his head in a way that she knew meant go on.
“My brothers, Brian and Drew, are here at Elle. Did you know?”
He nodded. “I arranged it.”
Her heart swelled. How could he think himself a monster? When he did such things for her without even trying to take credit.
“Thank you,” she said, her throat burning with emotion.
“I know what they mean to you.”
“Brian got engaged to his girlfriend, Laura, while I was…gone,” she said, stepping over the topic nimbly. “They’re getting married on Christmas.”
“That is less than a week away.”
Reyna cringed apologetically. “I know. I meant to ask you last time you were here, but we kind of got distracted.”
“Indeed.”
“Well, Laura is pregnant, and they want to get married as soon as possible. She says she doesn’t care about having a dress because she didn’t even think a real ceremony could happen. But Meghan, Jodie, and I have been working with her to get everything together. So it’s happening.”
“But there’s no dress.”
“Right.”
“And you think I could get her a dress?”
“You make things happen.”
“Hmm, I could probably get her a dress. Just tell me what she wants, her measurements, and I’ll have it delivered.”
“That’s sweet, but I was thinking more along the lines of…you would help get us out of here so she could try on dresses at a dress shop.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Why? Leaving isn’t a good idea.”
“I know, but it’s not for me. This is for Laura.
” Reyna sat up with her knees tucked under her, the sheet covering her body.
“It’s the magic, Becks. It’s standing in a dress shop and trying on a million dresses and finding the one.
So much has been robbed from us. I don’t want this robbed from Laura, too.
Even if we were in the warehouses, she would have gotten that moment, you know?
I’m the reason she was uprooted from that life.
I want to give her that one magical moment. ”
“Say I have a contact at a bridal shop who would work with us. I could probably get it to close for the day,” he confessed. “But if I had it done, it would get out, and people would talk.”
Reyna chewed on her lip as she considered it. There had to be a way to make it work. Her stomach flipped uncomfortably as she realized how it could happen. “I have an idea. It would involve a big favor from Penny.”
“Reyna…”
“Hear me out. You two are still fake engaged. You can have the store close for her, and then we can bring Laura in.”
His expression gave nothing away. “I have a feeling she will not like that plan.”
“I would be on my very best behavior. I would put aside all differences and be extremely appreciative for her help.” Reyna winced. “This isn’t about me or you or Penny. This is about Laura.”
He looked like he wanted to disagree, but then he sighed. “I will consult with her and see if she’ll agree.”
“Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!” Reyna beamed at him.
“I haven’t said yes.”
“But you’re very persuasive.”
He tugged her against him and pressed their lips together. “It is you who is persuasive.”
She trailed her hand down his bare chest. “So what are you doing for Christmas?”
He frowned and glanced away. “Christmas isn’t a holiday I celebrate. It’s laced with bad memories.”
There was a haunted look on his face. She wondered what had happened to him on Christmas, even as she knew that was a story he wasn’t ready to tell.
“Well, would you like to make new memories?” she asked, drawing his face back toward her. “Would you like to be my date to my brother’s wedding?”
When he didn’t say anything, she kept talking.
“It’s a small thing. I don’t think that many people will be there.
I just thought it might be nice. It’s a thing couples do.
You know…boyfriends and girlfriends.” She was rambling, but she couldn’t stop.
Then added hastily, “If you don’t want to, you don’t have to. ”
“I do.”
“But?” she asked, instinctively knowing it was on the tip of his tongue.
“I don’t know if I can get away.”
“Oh.” She looked down at the bed. Her cheeks warmed.
“I will try to. I want to come.”
“I wish there wasn’t this secrecy around our relationship.”
“One day, things will be different.” He swept a lock of her dark hair out of her face. “Then we won’t have to hide anymore.”
“I look forward to that day.”
“More than my next breath.”
He brought his lips down to hers, and she sighed into the embrace. She, too, wished for the day when there were no longer barriers between them. But she didn’t know when or even if that day would ever come.
Reyna must have fallen asleep, but she didn’t remember doing so.
She woke up groggy from an afternoon nap to find Beckham on the phone in her room.
A computer and a stack of paperwork were in front of him.
He looked so serious, back in his suit, all professional.
It was a strange juxtaposition to the image of him being naked in her bed what felt like moments ago.
His eyes drifted up from the computer as if he knew automatically that she was awake. She crooked a smile and tucked the covers around her still-naked body as she sat up.
Work? she mouthed to him.
He nodded and then spoke into the phone. “I understand. Yes, that sounds perfectly reasonable. I will be back in the office tomorrow.”
After a short pause, Beckham frowned at whatever was being said on the other line.
She could tell he didn’t like it—what was being said or how it was being said.
He looked as if he was about to rage on the other person.
But when he spoke, none of that was in his voice.
“Of course. Penelope is busy for the evening. She wouldn’t mind giving me up for another ball.
” Slight pause. “That is a personal matter.” Another pause. “Understood.”
Beckham ended the call and tossed the phone next to the computer.
“Who was that?”
“Harrington.”
Reyna recoiled at the name. It still stung like a viper’s bite every time it was mentioned unexpectedly in her presence. Sometimes she forgot that Beckham worked for him. The reminder was a slap in the face.
“You’re leaving to go see him?” Reyna asked.
“Yes. It’s my job.”
Reyna suddenly felt very naked. “Right,” she said, scrambling out of bed and searching for her clothes.
“I still have some time before I have to return.”
“What did he ask when you said it was a personal matter?” She threw a shirt over her head before glancing back at him.
“He asked what my fight with Penelope had been about.”
“You didn’t just lie?”
“Harrington can usually tell when I’m lying,” he said simply.
That made Reyna shiver. “How do you avoid that?”
“Try not to get into situations where he is asking questions I do not wish for him to ask.”
“How much longer are you going to work for him?” she asked, her voice unintentionally rising.
“As long as it takes.”
Reyna waited for further explanation. Beckham stayed because it gave them insider information into what Harrington was doing and where Visage was going, but it didn’t make it any easier.
“I need to talk to you.” Beckham gestured to the place he had vacated. “Have a seat.”
She plopped down, anxiety swirling through her. What the hell was Beckham going to talk to her about? From the look on his face, it couldn’t be good.
He put his hands behind his back and stood tall over her. “I want you to work with Washington regarding your blood.”
“What?” she asked, jumping back to her feet. “How can you ask me to do that? You do know what I went through at Visage, right?”
“Sit,” he instructed, then waited for her to return to her seat. “Your safety is my number one priority. I won’t let anything happen to you. You trust me. I trust Washington.”
“Okay,” she said uneasily.
“I can sense you. That day at the ball was not a coincidence. I knew you were standing outside the door that day you came back from Five Points. I knew when you were awake just now. It is all the same feeling.” When Beckham glanced at her, all she could see was worry on his face.
Or rather…him trying to conceal his worry.
“If I can sense you and your blood, what is to stop anyone who has drunk your blood from sensing you?”
Reyna hated the implication, but she had to ask, “You think Harrington…”
“I don’t know. And I do not like not knowing.”
“You think Washington can figure that out.”
“Wouldn’t you rather know if he could?”
“Yes,” she whispered.
“Then will you meet with him? I will go with you.” He reached his hand out.
“Right now?”
“I don’t have much time. I thought you’d prefer I go to make sure nothing happens to you.”
She saw in his fierce expression that he was telling the truth.
He would destroy anyone who tried to hurt her.
Though the last thing she wanted to do was work with Washington or ever give her blood again, Beckham raised a valid point.
If she wanted to leave HQ, she needed to know what kind of danger she was putting herself in.
She reached out and placed her hand in his. “Let’s go.”