She was lost. Utterly lost to him, as she had always been in his presence. For a moment, everything slipped away. There was no longer glass between them, no longer a room full of people, no longer Roland or Harrington or Penelope. Just the two of them, standing in a ballroom, besotted.
She couldn’t tear herself away. She was awash with all the memories of their time together. Her moment of terror when she had first seen him at the Visage hospital. The time when he had saved her life from a rogue vampire and carried her back to safety. Their first kiss in his apartment when she had finally seen his bravado thaw and the real Beckham shine through. She had been a goner from the beginning, but definitely from that moment on. She wanted to relive every kiss and every touch and every smile. She wanted him so much it hurt.
She reached her hand out toward him, wanting nothing more than to believe that this moment was real. That this wasn’t all her warped imagination. She didn’t want to wake up drenched in sweat again with his face burned into the backs of her eyelids. She’d dream this again and again to know if this one moment was real.
Her heart fluttered, and her stomach lodged in her throat. She waited on bated breath for the moment to end. But it lingered. It could have been a minute or an hour; she didn’t care.
Then Penelope tugged on his suit jacket. His concentration broke, and he belonged to Penelope Sky.
Reyna’s heart shattered. For a breath, he had been hers once more. She didn’t know if she could ever come to terms with knowing he never would be again.
Chapter Six
After Harrington’s guard returned her to her cell, Reyna tossed and turned all night long. Sleep didn’t come easily the next night, either. Worse yet, when Monday morning dawned, it was time to give blood again. She was worried that Harrington might show up again to their session. He might lay on his charm and try to be the gentleman he most certainly was not. If he did, he’d want an answer to the absurd dichotomy he’d presented her with.
She pulled herself out of bed, delirious from sleep deprivation and even more irritated than normal. Reyna was fighting to keep her eyes open when the nurse walked in pushing the breakfast cart. Except…it wasn’t the nurse.
“Morning,” the woman said with a smile.
She had on the same crisp white nursing outfit, but this woman was in her late twenties. She had brown skin with lush hair dyed bright red, and she seemed…friendly?
“You’re not the normal nurse.”
“No, I’m not. Nancy is sick today.”
Nancy. So that was her name.
“I’m Meghan with an h. I’m filling in for today. Nancy came down with something. This bug has been going around, and we’re attempting to contain it. We’d hate for it to get to our Specialty Residents.”
Specialty. Residents.
“Are you ready to go?”
“Pretty much never,” she admitted.
“Well, we should probably get the show on the road.” Meghan glanced down at the watch on her wrist.
“Aren’t you going to force me to eat?”
“Are you hungry?”
Reyna eyed her skeptically. Nancy must not have prepped this nurse on the rundown. “I get dizzy if I don’t eat before I get my blood drawn…”
“Grab a banana. You can eat as we go,” Meghan said, brooking no further response.
Okay, new girl. Whatever you say.
Reyna did take a banana off the tray and start to eat it as she followed Meghan out of the room. Instead of walking in front of her like Nancy always had, Meghan stood at her side. Her strides were long and confident, mirroring her features—shoulders pushed back, chin raised, red hair in a crisp ponytail, just a hint of mascara to accent her brown eyes, and a secretive grin that said everything and nothing at all.
They entered the sterile hospital room a few short minutes later, and Meghan gestured for her to take a seat in the chair. Reyna frowned. God, she hated this part.
At least she had a minute to stare at the chessboard before she had to sit. She studied it for longer than normal. After B and the ball, she felt like there had to be a clue on this chessboard. She needed a way to beat Harrington. She turned the subject over and over again in her mind, and she still didn’t see a way to end this. Eventually, she moved a pawn forward and relented.
“You ready?” Meghan asked.
“Never.”
“I had a needle phobia once.” She swabbed Reyna’s arm and prepped her for the IV.
