Page 59 of The Monster and the Last Blood Match

“I have to go speak with my boss,” Beckham said curtly.

“So that’s it? You said you’d never kiss me again, and now you have.”

“A mistake,” he said callously. “Your emotions run high, and they send my baser instincts into overdrive.”

“It couldn’t be that you’re a man desiring a woman?”

“No. It is an animal enjoying the hunt. The monster within struggling to get out. Nothing more.”

Reyna headed for the door. She didn’t have to stay and listen to this. When she reached it, she looked at him one last time.

“How boring your life must be, to have no one fill you with passion and makeyouremotions run high. I’ll take my chances with the monster over complacency.”

Chapter Nineteen

“What are you doing out there?” she mused aloud to herself. Reyna tapped her foot impatiently.

She had been waiting in her bedroom all afternoon for Beckham to leave the apartment. He should have already gone to work or done something. It wasn’t like him to adjust his perfect schedule, but he hadn’t left. She could still hear him moving around, and she hadn’t heard the elevator.

After she had walked out of the lounge last night, Beckham had caught up with her and ordered her back to the car. She had waited thirtylongminutes for him to finally show up. The drive home was tense and uncomfortable. She hadn’t wanted to talk to him any further about what happened, and he clearly felt the same way. As soon as they had made it back, she had stormed into her room and hadn’t left since.

The last thing she wanted to do was run into him in the living room and make some meaningless small talk. She wasn’t going to be the first to break, that was for sure.

Footsteps in the hallway made her still and stare at her door. She could hear Beckham stop on the other side. What the hell was he doing out there?

He didn’t knock. He didn’t say anything. He just stood there. They both just stood there. Neither of them willing to make the first move. She didn’t care if that made her stubborn. He had kissed her, treated her poorly, and on top of all that was dating someone else. She had no reason to talk to him.

After a few minutes, she heard him walk away from her room, the telltale ding of the elevator, and then she was alone.

“Finally,” she breathed.

Reyna yanked the tight pink dress over her head and tossed it into a discarded pile on the floor. She walked into her closet, found her stash of normal clothes, and grabbed stuff for her to wear. Once she was clothed in a loose cotton T-shirt, a pair of jeans, and her Converse sneakers, she brushed her hair out and threw the baseball cap on her head, low over her eyes. Her camera went into a plain black bag that she hoisted over her shoulder before leaving the apartment.

She texted Beckham’s driver to let him know she would need a ride. Her bodyguard, Philippé, was always waiting for her in the car whenever he was needed. Beckham must pay a lot of money for these two men to do nothing but wait for one of them to leave the building.

When she got to the front, the car had pulled up for her to get into, but she stopped when she saw Everett. His eyes widened at her clothing.

“Reyna?” he asked.

He hadn’t been on duty the past couple of times she had snuck out in regular clothing. She had been glad he didn’t know about her double life. He was clearly so traumatized by what had happened that he could barely look at her. She didn’t want to involve him in anything else that could get him hurt.

“Oh, hey,” she said. “I have to get going.”

She headed toward the car, but he followed her. “Hey, are you avoiding me now or what?”

“I… What? No. Of course not.” She looked up at him tentatively. “I thought you were avoiding me.”

“I’ve barely seen you. How could I avoid you?”

“Well, you were all serious that first day back. You called me Miss Carpenter. I thought maybe you blamed me still. Or agreed with your friends.”

“Sorry about that. My manager was on duty. He’s been around a lot more since my attack. I think he thinks I’m fragile and going to fall apart or something. But I just got off work if you want to hang. I’d love to find out what you’re doing in those clothes. Are those Beckham approved?”

Reyna made a face. “He’d probably have my head if he knew I was wearing this.”

“I hope not literally.”

She laughed, and it felt good. “No. Not literally.”

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