A Mate for Lazarus (The Program Book 3) (4 page)

“Let
me guess.” He cocked his head. “You want me to be romantic and to say charming
things?”

“You
don’t strike me as being the romantic type.” She gave him the once over. Honed
muscles, weapons strapped to every part of his body, prominent jaw, predatory
glare. Even the blood on his face didn’t look out of place. She would go so far
as to say that it suited him. “You’re definitely not charming. How about you
just be yourself?”

A
look of pure rapture crossed his face. Lazarus even rolled his eyes and rocked
on his heels. He made a groaning noise. “A female after my own heart. Thank
you.” He took ahold of her hand and squeezed.

The
gesture was so sincere. So sweet. It left her momentarily stunned. “Um…sure.”
She finally managed to mumble.

“I
need to go and sort this out.” He pointed at his bloodied face. “Allison should
be here soon. Oh and, Alexandra.” He gave her a lopsided smile. “I look forward
to seeing you later.” Then he turned and strode away.

Shit!
She felt terrible. He seemed like a decent guy…for a vampire. It was bit of a
Catch-22. She needed to be nice enough to him to ensure that he chose her for
the next round. Yet, not so nice that he ended up falling for her. One thing
was for sure, she needed to buy some time and to do that she needed to get on
his good side. No sex though. Even if he was quite a hottie, she definitely would
not go there. It would just confuse things. So absolutely no sex.

It
took Brant’s PA, Allison, another half hour to arrive.

Tall,
slim, elegant. She wore a pencil skirt to just above the knees, stockings and a
blouse that concealed her from her neck to her wrists. All of which should have
made her look ordinary, but somehow managed to make her look sexy. Her eyes
were the most vivid green that Alex had ever seen. So it was all true, vampire
men were tall and seriously stacked and vampire women were tall and athletic.
As a species, they were pretty spectacular to look at.

Alex
had always been comfortable in her own skin. Her body might not be perfectly
toned and sculpted and her fair skin burned easily, but she certainly wasn’t
bad looking. She’d never had a problem picking up guys.

These
thoughts led her to thinking about the reason that she and the other human
women were there. It made her feel sorry for Allison and the other vampire women.
To be so incredibly beautiful and yet in most cases to be infertile. It had to
suck for them that the vampire men had resorted to bringing human women in.
Then again, it also sucked for the vampire guys. Were they even attracted to
human women? She was reminded of the way Lazarus had looked at her. He
definitely wasn’t complaining.

It
must be really horrible to know that you couldn’t have children though. Alex
really wanted kids. Plural. She was a single child and hated it. She had always
longed for a brother or a sister, siblings…plural…to share her life with. It
was lonely growing up as a single child with no one else to play with or to talk
to. Alex had made friends over the years but it wasn’t the same. Blood was
thicker than water. She would never be somebody’s auntie. Never have that bond.

Her
relationship with her father had always been strong. She was very much a
daddy’s girl. Alex had never seen eye to eye with her mother though and their
relationship had grown estranged over the years since her father’s death.

“Sorry.
Please repeat that?” Alex said when she realized that the beautiful vampire
woman had spoken to her.

“I
just need to confirm that you attended the training. Did you?” Allison put the
tip of the pencil she was holding into her mouth.

This
was it. Crunch time. She’d managed to get herself onto vampire territory. Had
found a vampire that would hopefully choose her to go to the next round. One
last obstacle. She had to find a way to get out of signing the contract. The
nondisclosure clause would put an end to her dreams of a front-page spread.

Alexandra
cleared her throat. “Sorry,” she said. “I’ve been stuck here for so many hours.
My throat is killing me. I’m dying of thirst.”

Allison
gasped. “Oh no. How awful.” She grabbed ahold of Alex’s arm as if she was
afraid that Alex might fall at any second. “I will have the guard call a
healer.” Her eyes flashed with panic. “Maybe we should call one of your human
ambulances.”

Alex
shrugged her off. “When I said I was dying, I didn’t mean it literally. You do
realize that don’t you?”

Allison
sucked in a deep breath. Her shoulders sagged with relief. “I’m sorry. We
haven’t had many interactions with humans, or the outside world for that
matter. We are not familiar with your slang. Please forgive me. I’m glad that
you aren’t really dying.”

Alex
choked out a laugh. “Seriously? If nothing else, at least I’ll be entertained.”
She cleared her throat. “Yes. I went through the training.” A complete lie. She
felt awful but what else could she do?

Allison’s
back stiffened. She nodded as she opened the book in her hand and ticked a mark
on the paper. “Great. This is just a formality. Did you sign the contract as
well?”

“Yes.”
Alex answered immediately.

“Great.
It should be on file then.” She said almost to herself. “Where is your bag?”
Allison looked around the ground at her feet.

Alex
gestured towards the guardhouse. “It’s in there. What’s his name was worried it
might contain explosives or something.” Alex rolled her eyes.

Allison
looked horrified. “Shhhh.” She put a finger to her lips. “Don’t say such
things. Did you see the hate groups picketing outside?”

Alex
nodded. If she tried hard enough she could hear them chanting something about
inbreeding and the stealing of human women. She gave a quick shake of the head.
“Bunch of nutters.”

“We
take safety very seriously as well as threats against our guests and our
people. Please do not refer to bombs and such. Your bags will be checked. Do
you have a cell phone or any other electronic devices? Contact with the outside
world will be forbidden during the duration of your stay, as you are already
aware.”

Thankfully,
Alex had figured that something like this would be the case since no contact by
the women had been made with the outside world since the start of
The Program
.
A sure sign that there was a crackdown on communication.

“I
have my cell phone.” She pulled the device out of the big purse on her shoulder.
Suddenly the additional small device pushed between her breasts felt like a
throbbing beacon. She only prayed that it wouldn’t be found. No one would find
it there unless she was made to strip. No, it would be better not to think
along those lines. She concentrated on keeping her breathing even and her
demeanor relaxed.

Allison
took the device from her. “Do you have anything else that you need to disclose?”

Alex
nodded. “I have my 3G device for my laptop computer.” She pointed towards the
guardhouse.

Allison
nodded. “Don’t worry, I will personally look through your possessions. Let’s
get you to the human accommodations first though. I’m sure that you don’t want
all your items laid out for everyone to see.” She pointedly looked at the guard
who pretended to be interested in his shoes all of a sudden.

“One
last question.” Allison raised her brows. “I just need to confirm that you are
on birth control. You would have been briefed during your training on the fact that
this is a requirement. You would also have seen the clause about it in the
contract.”

Say
what?

Lazarus
had been quick to point out that this was a breeding program, yet they were
expected to be on birth control?
Go figure
. She was sure to keep her
expression neutral even though there were major question marks flying around in
her brain. “Yes, of course.” She lied. At this rate, lying through her teeth
was becoming a habit. One she didn’t particularly like.

It
had been about a year since her and Phillip had broken up, so there had been no
need to be on the pill. She already established that there was no way she was
having sex with anyone so a little white lie wasn’t going to hurt anyone either.
Besides, it was a little late to try and see a doctor.

Allison
nodded, once again ticking in her book. “Good. Let’s go then.” She walked over
to the waiting SUV, opened the door and leaned in. “Titan, will you please
fetch the female’s luggage from inside the guardhouse?”

A
big, serious looking guy stepped out of the SUV. He nodded once in her
direction and proceeded to the guardhouse, returning moments later with her
suitcase and laptop bag. The bag was freaking heavy but you would never say so
by the way he carried it.

She
heard the rear door slam just as she was climbing into the SUV. This seemed too
easy. They were just letting her in. This woman, Allison, seemed to buy all of her
answers. It nagged at her. What was she missing?

Breathe,
Alex.

Relax.
You’ve got this
. Just as long as they didn’t strip search her, she would
be home free. There was a little voice inside her that told her she was wrong
to do this but she tamped down on it. The world had a right to know what was
going on behind these walls. So far, she had enjoyed her dealings with the
vampires. What she was doing was essentially wrong but if she played her cards
right, the vampires might actually end up thanking her in the end.

****

Fuck!

Lazarus
was screwed. At least he hoped he was screwed and soon. The female was a
vision. An absolute utter, fucking vision.

He
growled low and deep as his eyes tracked the lush curves of her body. The pink
dress she wore stopped at mid-thigh. Her legs were short and her creamy thighs
plump. He longed to squeeze them, moreover, he longed to part them. His
nostrils flared as he took in her scent, chili and chocolate. De
fucking
licious.
Her mammary glands were barely contained. Her red tinted hair had a light curl
making it a little wild and untamed just like the female herself. Her cleavage
was deep, his hands itched to touch. His mouth…

“Stop
that!” She snapped.

“You
shouldn’t have worn that scrap of material if you didn’t want me looking.” His
gaze moved to hers. Icy blue yet so fiery that the depths of hell would look
like a picnic in comparison. He loved her sass. Fucking loved it.

“It’s
a summer dress. Everything is covered. We’re going on a picnic or something.”
Alexandra made a flourish with her hands and gave him a dirty look. “You would
swear I was in a bikini or something.”

Lazarus
bit back a groan as he imagined her curves straining to break free against a
tiny, string bikini. “I will need to speak with Allison about including
swimming on the itinerary. I would pay huge sums of money to see…”

She
held up a hand. “Spare me. It aint gonna happen, buster, so you might as well
just forget about it. This is the most you are going to get to see of me, so
get used to it.”

Lazarus
had to frown. “You do realize that this is a breeding program? We’re expected
to date and to fuck and not necessarily in that order.”

Her
mouth fell open and her eyes widened.

“It’s
a breeding program, Alexandra.” He emphasized her full name because there was
no way in hell this female was remaining a mere fucking friend. “Why do I keep
having to remind you of that very important fact?”

Her
mouth rounded for half a beat before she composed herself. “I thought we agreed
that we would get to know each other better. That means we date, and we date,
and we date some more, and then maybe, just maybe”—she made a flourish with her
hands again—“the other stuff will happen.”

He
grinned. “We will get to know each other…”

He
noticed how her body language gave away the relief that she was obviously
feeling at his statement. Her breath came out in a huff and her muscles
relaxed. Especially the ones around her shoulders.

Lazarus
had to smile before he continued. “We will get to know each other really,
really well. Intimately…”

Her
eyes widened and her shoulders squared. “You have more chance of me wearing a
string bikini than that happening, and since I didn’t bring one you’re plum out
of luck.”

What
was she playing at?

“Why
are you here then?” He took a step towards her. “You’re acting like it was
never your intention to get to know me…to possibly take this further. To
simplify things, let’s call this a dating program. That implies spending time
together with the intention of a relationship. You act like it’s a foreign
concept to you. So, I’ll repeat my initial question…why are you here?”

Alexandra’s
eyes widened before she schooled her emotions. Whether intentional or not, her
hand moved the tie between her breasts. The ribbon in question caused the
material to gather beneath her breasts, thus enhancing their exquisite curve.
Her mammary glands were plump and milky white. Her nipples would be a pale pink
like her lips. Fucking exquisite.

She
swallowed thickly and he watched as her long, pale neck worked. “Let’s go sit
over there. Under the trees.”

Lazarus
nodded. This female was clever. That was for sure. It was clear that she had
purposely drawn his attention to her breasts, thus making him forget his train
of thought momentarily. If she thought for one second that he was dropping this
though, then she was seriously mistaken. “Tell me one thing, Alexandra.” He spoke
once they had spread the blanket and had sat down. Lazarus paused, watching her
closely.

She
shrugged. “Go for it. Ask away.” The human opened the basket, and the scent of
fresh bread and other enticing aromas, escaped.

“Do
you at least find me attractive?” He kept his eyes on her.

Alexandra
cocked one of her brows but didn’t answer. Instead, she continued to unpack the
basket. Sparkling water, wine and glasses followed by plates and napkins. Then
she unpacked the delicious smelling bread, an assortment of cheeses and spreads
as well as pieces of cold, roast chicken.

“I
ask, because it is important. There is very little chance that one of the other
males would select you at this stage. They all have their sights set on a human
female already. I can safely say that I am the only one…for lack of a better
word…available.” It was bullshit. A number of the males would be as interested
as fuck, but he wasn’t about to tell her that. No fucking way.

Alexandra
continued to remove items from the basket, glancing up every so often and
looking at him from under her lashes.