Page 55 of The Monster and the Last Blood Match

Even from behind, Reyna could tell she was pretty. Her dress was solid royal blue with a tight bodice and empire waist, with ruched taffeta to the floor. Her hair was up in some fancy design that held it off her neck but still let some of the loose dark curls fall down her back.

Then she turned around, and Reyna’s mouth fell open slightly. She was not pretty. This woman was dazzling. Slender like a ballerina with a perfect heart-shaped face, button nose, and full pink lips.

She searched someone out but finally shrugged and said something to Beckham. To Reyna’s surprise, he tilted his head back and laughed.

Beckham laughed.

She couldn’t reconcile that with the Beckham she knew. He never laughed. He was stern and solemn. There was no humor in him at all. In fact, he didn’t even like people talking to him, let alone trying to make him laugh.

Without her even realizing it, ice filled her veins. All the heat that Beckham swept through her system was replaced by this ache, this inexplicable ache. Who was this woman?

“Sophie,” she murmured, trying to keep herself calm. “Who is that vampire woman?”

“Which one?”

“The one talking with Beckham at the bar.”

“Oh,” Sophie said softly. She looked at Reyna with stark sympathy on her face.

“What?”

“That’s Penelope Sky.”

“Penelope Sky.” Why did that name sound familiar?

“Yeah. She’s the mayor’s daughter. And human, not vampire,” Sophie corrected.

“Human,” Reyna said hollowly. Beckham was that comfortable with anotherhuman, and he couldn’t even get near her. What the hell? How did it even make sense?

“Yeah,” Sophie said. She patted Reyna’s arm twice.

“Well, he seems awfully comfortable.”

“Not surprising, since they’ve been dating on and off for at least a year,” she said as if it were the most normal thing.

“What?” Reyna cried.

Shock hit her like a tidal wave. Beckham wasdatingsomeone?

After the kiss that they had shared, she was sure she was breaking ground with him. Now, she was second-guessing everything. He didn’t feel comfortable with her. He didn’t even want to be around her. He avoided her, kept her at a distance, and he had made it perfectly clear that he didn’t want anything to do with her besides a professional relationship. All because he was dating Penelope Sky. The mayor’s daughter. Fuck, it hurt. Way worse than she thought it would.

“Honestly, do you not pay attention to tabloids?” Sophie asked.

“No.”

“They were the talk of the town this summer. A human and a vamp. As you can imagine, it was everywhere. I guess you don’t get that information outside of the city.”

“I guess not,” she said softly. Her stomach was in knots. Beckham had never mentioned that he was dating anyone. He had never mentioned anything, though. Why was she even surprised?

“Well, it fizzled out for a while, but it looks like they’re back on. Maybe that’s why he’s not fucking you,” she said crassly.

Reyna paled. “We’re not like that, Sophie. Whether he’s with her or not.”

Sophie patted her hand again sympathetically. “Whatever you say. But I’m glad I’m not competing with that.”

That was the understatement of the century. Competing with Penelope Sky was like competing with the sun.

Reyna tried to pull her attention from them, but she couldn’t help but watch him. He leaned down to whisper in her ear, and she saw the easy way that his breath hit her skin, the way she smiled up at him like a lover with the effortlessness that came with intimate familiarity.

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