This was nothing, nothing at all, like getting venom through an IV. She’d gotten too much in her system every time. She floated away and couldn’t have cared about anything.
Thiswas pure bliss. It was heaven. It wasBeckham.
Nothing else could ever compare.
Her body ignited, and as he drank, he continued moving inside of her. Everything hit her at once, and almost without warning, she came apart a second time. When she hit the peak, his control slipped and he released into her. Blood dripped down her neck and chest. It should have terrified her, but all it did was heighten her orgasm. She could have gone a third time, with the rush of his venom and orgasm still pulsing through her.
She could have died. She would have gladly turned.
But Beckham returned to himself. His fangs retracted, and he pulled back, his breathing still rough. His eyes swept her naked chest, dotted with her own blood. He eased out of her tenderly.
“Are you all right?”
“I’ve never been better.”
He assessed her neck. “Those should heal quickly.”
“Mmm-hmm,” she mumbled.
“I stopped.” He seemed shocked he’d done it.
“I knew you would.”
Beckham still stared at her as if she were a miracle and a vision and also somehow impossible. Like he’d believed all along that what had happened the first time they were together would always be the case. He’d just proven that wrong.
“We should get you cleaned up.”
Beckham carried her to the bathroom and started the shower. He stepped under the hot spray and gently wiped the remaining blood from her skin and took care with her body. She’d be sore tomorrow, but right now, she felt nothing but restored. After he toweled her back off, they returned to the bedroom.
“I have something for you,” she told him.
“I think you already gave me everything.”
She extracted a carefully wrapped present from under her bed. “Here.”
Beckham stared at the package as if he wasn’t sure what he was seeing, but he took it out of her hands and opened it. Inside was a stretched canvas print of the city skyline photo she had taken when she was with him on that rooftop all those months ago. It was the night they had first really known they had feelings for each other. It was also the first night Beckham had told her about the rebellion, about looking from a different perspective, about seeing Visage as it was and not just how it appeared.
His eyes were wide with consideration. “From the rooftop?”
She nodded. “I thought it would look nice in your apartment or at work. To have a piece of me in the heart of the beast.”
“You already have my whole heart.”
Chapter Thirty-One
Reyna entered the cafeteria bleary-eyed the next morning. Beckham had slipped out at an early hour. She’d been mostly dead to the world, and all she remembered was a kiss on the forehead. She grabbed a tray and piled it high with eggs, bacon, and orange juice. Drew and Gregory were sitting together in a corner, and she headed in that direction.
She plopped her tray next to Drew.
“So,” she said in greeting.
Drew smiled. “Hey, Rey.”
“So, is this official, then?” she asked, pointing her fork between Drew and Gregory.
Drew looked at Gregory. “I guess it is?”
Gregory smiled brightly back at him. “About time. We’ve only been hooking up since before you moved in.”
