Blood Match

by Linde, K. A.

  “I wanted to create new memories with you.”

  Reyna braced herself for the chill as she stepped outside and was not disappointed. The temperature was frigid. Snow dusted the rooftop and was falling gently from the heavens. The view into the city was stunning with everything coated in a layer of white powder. But it was the rooftop garden that really caught her eye this time. Lights decorated the winter plants and a fire was crackling in the center of a fire pit. Heaters had been added to help with the extreme cold. And the bench where they had first gotten intimate was clear of snow, and holding blankets and a tray of food.

  “Is this a date, Mr. Anderson?” she asked coyly.

  “And suddenly, I’m no longer Becks.” His eyes were teasing and she was certain she would never be able to get enough of it.

  She giggled. “I didn’t even think you liked the nickname.”

  “I like it when you say it,” he admitted.

  “My Becks,” she said, standing on her tiptoes and dragging him into a kiss.

  “My Little One,” he said just as fiercely.

  “I like that too.”

  He flashed her a rare real smile and then escorted her through the rooftop garden. They took a seat in front of the fire. Beckham wrapped blankets around them to keep her warm and put his arm around her shoulders.

  “I figured you didn’t eat,” he said, gesturing to the covered tray.

  “How do you know me so well?”

  “You lived with me for some time.”

  “True. I sometimes forget to eat. But then again…so do you.”

  He laughed softly. “Not anymore. I am more careful now. More careful around you.”

  Reyna arched an eyebrow at him but he removed the cover from the tray to reveal all of her favorite foods from the restaurant they used to go to across from his penthouse. Her stomach grumbled as she took in the delicious foods she thought she would never eat again.

  “Oh my God, this is the best.”

  “I’m glad that I got the order correct,” he said. Though he honestly sounded a little…nervous. Beckham could never be nervous.

  “It’s perfect. Now, while I eat tell me more about this investigation.”

  “It’s nothing really. Harrington redid background checks. The penthouse was raided after they took you and then again when you escaped him. As if I would be stupid enough to bring you back there if I had gotten you out.” He fumed at the audacity that they would think him so stupid. “I had to get a new permanent.”

  “What?” Reyna asked, covering her mouth.

  “Yeah. Part of the cover, I’m afraid. I couldn’t look like I was disagreeing with Harrington when it might jeopardize finding you. I hate having to keep up appearances.”

  Reyna could see that he thought it was beneath him to follow all of Harrington’s orders. She didn’t blame him. She hated following them too.

  “Do you…drink from her?” Reyna couldn’t help asking.

  “Would you rather me drink from Penelope?” he asked, his voice low.

  “No,” she snapped. “How could you even suggest that? I’m still pissed about the last time you did it in the Vault.”

  “I couldn’t drink from you and I was starving. I no longer drink from Penelope if that makes you feel better.”

  “It does,” she admitted. “But you could have drunk from me.”

  “I could. But a true blood type match is always preferred. At least that was what I thought before I drank your blood.”

  Reyna put down the sandwich she’d been devouring. “What do you mean?”

  “Your blood is preferable to any other,” he said, staring directly into her dark eyes. “You are preferable to any other.”

  She flushed. That sent heat straight between her legs, and suddenly she felt very, very toasty. She unwound the scarf from around her neck. Not on purpose. She wasn’t enticing him. Or…maybe she was.

  “I think Harrington must feel the same way,” Beckham added. She could tell the thought infuriated him.

  “Uh…why?” she asked, shrinking back at the thought of Harrington.

  “The fact that there was a security breach is only known to top-level employees. And even then, they don’t know what was breached. Or more importantly, whom. No one knew that he had found a match, but we guessed. Well, I knew, but I had to act as if I did not. Then he tried to put on airs that he wasn’t doing any better than normal, but he was.” Beckham turned back to look at her. “And now he’s not again.”

  “Good,” she spat. “I hope he shrivels up and dies.”

  “I’m not sure which scenario makes him more dangerous though,” he said, considering. “When he had you, he could take on the world. Without you, he’s…much more desperate. Desperate men do desperate things.”

  “You sound as if you are speaking from experience.”

  “I am,” he said flatly without explanation.

  Reyna finished the rest of her dinner and then snuggled into Beckham’s side. His hand wove through her hair absentmindedly. Her side was pressed against his strong body. He reached across her and laced their fingers together. They sat there in the stillness of the night as the fire crackled before them. She didn’t care about anything else that was going on outside of this moment. She had everything she wanted right here.

  “Becks?”

  He kissed the top of her head in response.

  “I want to know all there is to know about you.” Snow kissed her eyelids as she faced him again. He didn’t say anything and she could see that his eyes went distant. “You don’t have to tell me now. But one day, will you tell me your story?”

  “It’s not a pleasant tale.”

  “Please?”

  He faced the skyline again with a sigh. She could tell that he didn’t want to give in to her. That he didn’t want to have to tell her about his gruesome past. But she wanted to know all of him. Everything there was to know.

  “You do not want to know what I once was…what I am still on the inside.”

  “I do,” she insisted.

  He whirled around, his fangs visible. “I am not the hero you have constructed in your story, Little One. I am the villain.”

  Reyna reached up and gently ran her thumb across the fangs. Not hard enough to break the skin, but enough to feel the sharp point. “Someone made you this way.”

  He took her wrist in his hands, removing her fingers from his fangs. Removing the temptation. “And would you believe me if I said I chose this?”

  Reyna froze. “Did you?”

  “Yes.”

  “And would you choose it again?” she whispered.

  “That hardly matters.”

  Reyna assessed him. “It makes all the difference in the world.”

  “That is where you are wrong. We can’t change the past. It’s futile even considering it. I am a vampire. I am a murderer. My backstory will not change your mind except to poison you against me.”

  “Why don’t you let me make up my mind about that?”

  “When I tell you, it will be a mercy.”

  “Mercy?” she whispered.

  “Then you will not need another reason to leave me.”

  Chapter 21

  It was pointless arguing with Beckham about it.

  He would never see her point about his past and she would never see his. She would wait for him to tell her. She doubted she could coax it out of him sooner than that anyway. She wished he could realize that she accepted him for exactly who he was. She was already aware that he done some crazy stuff before joining the rebellion. It couldn’t be that bad. She hoped.

  They stayed at the rooftop garden until Reyna could no longer feel her fingers or toes. Then Beckham insisted he return her to her room.

  “So,” she said, when they finally got back, “do you have the
rest of the night off?”

  “A gentleman simply kisses his date good-night on the first date.”

  “It’s probably a good thing that you are not a gentleman, then, isn’t it?” she teased, drawing him away from the doorway.

  “It seems to be your favorite quality about me.”

  “Oh no, I like the brooding, silent, self-loathing the best.”

  “Perfect match for your never-ending speeches and vibrant optimism.”

  “I’d say that I’m leaning more toward realism lately.”

  She stripped out of the heavy jacket, gloves, scarf, hat, and thick socks, tossing them all haphazardly around her room. She was halfway pulling the giant sweater over her head when she felt Beckham’s hands on her waist. They slipped under the material of her black T-shirt and caressed her stomach. She dropped the sweater to the ground, forgotten.

  “Fuck,” he growled low.

  “I missed you.”

  “Every day that you were gone, I was out of my mind.”

  “Me too,” she whispered.

  “I would have burned the city down to get to you.”

  “I worried you wouldn’t.”

  “It killed me not to be here when you got back. To not be here doing this.” He dropped his mouth onto hers and the kiss seared through her. “Cover be damned. Visage be damned. I wanted you and then when I finally had you, I fucked it up again.”

  “Shhh,” she said, pressing a finger to his lips. “It doesn’t matter. You have me now.”

  And he relented, placing a kiss on her finger. Then latching a hand around her wrist, he directed the pad of her finger into his mouth. His tongue caressed her and then gently nipped at her. He repeated this on each finger before turning her palm up and pressing a kiss into her wrist.

  “Your heart rate has elevated, Little One.”

  “Uh-huh,” she said desperately.

  His nose connected with her wrist and he dragged it up the length of her arm. Her entire body tingled at each touch. When he reached her shoulder, he ripped the material aside and his lips touched her skin, kissing across her collarbone and up to her neck. She tilted her head for better access and felt as if she were about to float away.

  The last time they had been in this position he had bitten her. And now her body was primed and waiting for that moment once again. The kisses weren’t enough. She could feel the sharp edges of his fangs and tensed as if to prepare herself. Her body thrummed in response. Not just her heart rate ratcheted up but her breathing was ragged and she shivered in his embrace.

  “Becks,” she groaned.

  His thumb moved up to cover the spot he had just been kissing. His eyes stared down at her, the bottomless pits of onyx so dark in the light. There was nothing but darkness in him. Nothing but the pure-blooded dominant vampire he was. And somehow…somehow, he was still stopping.

  “Please.”

  “I want you, Reyna. Not your blood. I don’t want to want your blood.”

  “But you do.”

  “I can feel the ache in my very bones. It sings to me.”

  “Then why…?”

  “Because if I want it like this, I won’t stop.”

  The phrase was final. Delivered with an unparalleled intensity. This was the law. The line he would not cross.

  “Okay,” Reyna said slowly. “We’ll figure it out.”

  “There is nothing to figure out. I will not jeopardize your safety.”

  “I mean that we’ll find out a way to make it safe. I accept you for who you are, Becks,” she said, threading their fingers together. “I don’t want you to hold back when we’re together.”

  He grinned, a feral primal thing, wrapped his hands around the backs of her thighs, and hoisted her into the air. “Don’t worry. I won’t.”

  She gasped and threw her arms around his shoulders. He slid his hands down to her ass and squeezed. And he wasn’t gentle. Her body heated at the touch and she pushed her hands up into his hair, drawing his lips to hers.

  Everything slowed down to this moment. To his raw unbridled passion and the way in which his lips and hands and entire body claimed her. All she wanted was him. His taste and touch. Purely Beckham. The man that she had dreamed about for so, so long in that terrible place. She wanted to forget. Forget everything but skin on skin and breathless panting and sweet release.

  Beckham didn’t hesitate. He walked them into the nearest wall. Her back collided with the hard surface and she grunted on impact. She bit her lip from the jarring movement. Blood spilled from the gash.

  “Shit,” he groaned.

  For a second, she thought he was going to drop her. His eyes narrowed to the tinge of red coating her lips. In his eyes, he stalked her like a predator. Ready to take what was rightfully his.

  “We should stop.”

  Reyna ignored him. Taste test number one. She ran her finger through her sickly sweet blood and pressed it to his lips.

  “Suck.”

  He groaned deep in the back of his throat at her command. Then he took her finger into his mouth and tasted her. Sweet ecstasy crossed his face.

  “Reyna…”

  She grabbed his face with both hands and dragged their lips together. His tongue moved across hers, reveling in her and the temptation before him.

  “You will be the end of me.”

  “Aren’t I just the beginning?”

  “I’m already anticipating how this turns out.”

  “Just enjoy the ride.”

  “Do not entice me to bite you.”

  “Taste me, Becks.”

  He hesitated only a moment before diving back in and capturing her lip. He sucked it into his mouth, drinking the small amount of blood that fed from the unexpected cut. He pressed himself even harder against her and sighed deeply with pleasure. The sound of his own excitement sent heat straight between her legs.

  He released her lip gingerly as if the thought of stopping was nearly impossible. She could see the struggle between man and monster. And knew that the man would win out.

  “I’ll do anything to have you make that sound again.”

  “Anything?” he asked, cocking an eyebrow.

  Slowly she dropped onto her feet. She sneaked a devious glance up at him before reaching for the belt of his jeans and pulling it free. He watched her silently as she popped the button and dragged the zipper down to the base. She ran a finger across the waistband of his black boxer briefs before reaching within and freeing his cock.

  Beckham tensed only slightly. Her own body hummed with anticipation. She wrapped her hand around his shaft and pumped up and down once then twice. When he didn’t object, she pulled the jeans and boxer briefs down to his ankles and kneeled before this incredible man.

  Beckham’s hand tangled in her hair as she reached for his cock once more. She hesitated, looking at the length of it. She had never been particularly good at this but she wanted Beckham to have all the pleasure she had. She wanted to make him squirm even.

  “That’s right,” he said, coaxing her head forward. “Open your mouth for me, Little One.”

  So much for squirming. Somehow, he managed to still be in complete control. And somehow it was even fucking hotter. If her soaked panties were any indication.

  She did what he said. She opened her mouth, allowing him the access he so desired. He pressed his cock forward and entered her mouth with control and precision. Just far enough that she wasn’t gagging but almost to the brink. And still she wasn’t close to taking him all in. Her hand reached for his length as he withdrew. She palmed it in her hand as she sucked back on the head. Then he thrust forward into her, forcing her to open her mouth wider and further to compensate for him.

  She moaned against the feel of him. The taste of him. When he next withdrew, she licked a drop of pre-cum off the tip and he j
erked in her mouth. A smile spread on her face. Oh yes, he wanted this. He wanted her.

  “More,” she moaned around his cock

  His hand tightened on her hair nearly to the point of pain before he leaned deeper into her throat. Just when she thought she might not be able to breathe, he withdrew. But he did it again and again. Pushing her boundaries. Testing her limits. And all the while trying to hold on to that control she felt slipping around the edges.

  He fucked her face and she enjoyed it. Maybe she should have felt shame at the task but she felt intensely erotic. She didn’t have to fumble to pleasure him and his dominance only made her body ache for more.

  Once buried nearly all the way into her, he shuddered and then removed himself.

  “Wait, no…”

  “I want you to finish twice before me,” he insisted, helping her to her feet.

  She was wobbly and her body betrayed her. If it weren’t for Beckham catching her and carrying her to the bed, she would have sunk right back down to her knees.

  Beckham spread her before him. He pulled her T-shirt over her head and then reached for her own jeans. He pulled them halfway down her legs before inhaling deeply.

  “Fuck,” he said, stripping her out of her jeans at an inhuman speed. “Your desire is nearly as intoxicating as your blood.”

  He reached for the silky bra and unhooked it, letting her breasts spill out before him. He caressed one, kneading it in his hand and rolling the nipple across the pad of his finger. He brought the other one into his mouth. She was not half as controlled as he was. Her body writhed as his expert tongue assaulted her nipple until she could barely function. When he dragged a fang across the sensitive nub, she thought she might come right then and there. She’d never had such intense pleasure before. He played her body like a musical virtuoso. Raw technical prowess met unbridled emotion and dazzling stage presence.

  “Beckham, please. Please.”

  “I want all of your pleasure, Reyna. It belongs to me now. Do you understand?”

  “Yes,” she said breathlessly.

  “Your tits are mine.”

  He bit down on the other nipple. He didn’t release her until her legs were locked around his back and her body was shaking.