A Mate for Lazarus (The Program Book 3) (24 page)

“I have my own money. Plenty of it. This was never
about money.”

“I know that now. It means that you are sincere when
you say that you want to keep the baby.”

She felt her eyes widen. “Of course I want to keep
him. I would never…” Anger welled up inside.

Lazarus cupped her chin. “I know that. We have both
made it clear that we want this child.”

Alex nodded. “You say that you believe me yet you
name all of the reasons why you should and can. You’re stating facts instead of
listening to your heart and that worries me. Are you doing this for the right
reasons?”

“I am looking at the facts and I believe what I see.
The trust between us has been damaged. It is not gone, just broken. I think
that in time, it will slowly heal.” He sighed. “I don’t think that we can mate
and move on like this never happened but I am willing to work on our
relationship.” His eyes bore into hers. “We said that we wanted to date for a
time. If I remember correctly you were adamant about it. I think you said lots
of dating.” He smiled.

“That was when I was trying to keep my distance. We
were never supposed to become intimate with one another.”

He frowned. “That would have been a crying shame.”

She nodded. “Yes, it would have.”

“You may have had different reasons back then to
want to date for a time but I think that it would be a good idea now. Let’s get
to know one another. We can take things slowly.”

Alex swallowed hard. She bit down on her lip for a
second or two. She needed to get this off her chest and right now. “I tried to
ask this earlier in a roundabout way, but I really need to know. Are you doing
this for the baby or because you really want to be with me?”

His eyes darkened up. “I loved you from that first
picnic. I knew then that you were special, that if I allowed you in that I
would be fucked. It’s why I was adamant about checking that you really wanted
to be with me. I knew I would fall and in a big way and I did. I seriously
fucking love you, Alexandra. As much as I wanted to stop loving you, I couldn’t
no matter how hard I tried. I just can’t.”

“I’m glad that you love me and that you can’t stop
because I feel the same. I had to leave because I couldn’t be near you and not
be with you. I just couldn’t.”

“So it’s agreed then? You are coming back and we are
going to date one another?” His jaw was tense. It was really cute. It was
almost like he half expected her to decline.

“I have a question and a condition.”

His eyebrows shot up and his mouth dropped open.
“You have got to be kidding me? Only you, Alexandra…fuck.” He grinned and
leaned back, folding his arms. “I’m listening.”

“The question first…” She licked her lips. “Um, do
we get to keep having sex even though we are dating?”

“Most definitely…in fact…as soon as we finish this
conversation I’m going to insist that you fuck my mouth, I’m going to show you
how much I’ve missed you with my tongue buried….”

She giggled. “Okay, good. I was a bit worried that
taking things slow meant no sex.”

He shook his head, looking disgusted at the thought.
“We couldn’t keep our hands off one another even when I was pissed at you.
About that…” his whole demeanor changed. “I should never have said those
things. I didn’t mean them…I was just so torn up. I’m sorry.”

“That’s fine. I under—”

“It’s not fine. It won’t happen again.” His eyes
narrowed. “Now what is your condition?”

She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. “My
condition is that you tell me what your condition was and that there be no more
conditions between us.”

Lazarus grunted. “That’s technically two things.”

She shrugged. “So?”

He smiled. “My condition… You passed by the way.”
His smile widened.

“Tell me…please.” She leaned towards him.

“That my dick would fit inside you.”

Alex slapped his arm. “You can’t be serious.”

He laughed. “I’m deadly serious.”

She slapped him again, it was like his arm was made
from steel. “No damned way. That you would fit inside me? What kind of a
condition is that?”

He shrugged. “You’re just so small, I was worried.
It wouldn’t have been much of a relationship otherwise.”

Alexandra had to laugh. When she finally found her
breath, she locked eyes with Lazarus. “No more conditions or agendas or
anything else…okay?”

“That’s fine by me.” Then he turned really serious.
“What have they told you about the pregnancy?”

“I went and saw one of your healers, she said I was
in good health. The plan is to go for a visit every two weeks for the
foreseeable future. I know that I’m having a boy.” She smiled broadly.

Lazarus put a hand to her belly. “We’re having a
son.” He smiled as well. She could see that he was worried about something
though.

“What is it?”

His smile widened further, but she could still see
tension in his shoulders. “There is a good chance that you may be carrying
twins.”

Her heart pretty much stopped beating for a while.
“What?” She finally shrieked. “No.” She put a hand over her mouth. “That can’t
be right.”

He nodded and pulled her into a hug. “I know that it
is a lot to take in. I know that you might be a bit scared but know that I am
here and that I love you and everything will be okay.”

“Are you sure?”

“We will take it day by day. No human has ever had a
twin pregnancy, but…fuck…if anything happens to you…or the children.” He pulled
her onto his lap, his big arms tight around her.

She made a noise of discomfort. “You’re squashing
me.”

“Sorry.” He released her a smidgen.

“Human women have twins all the time.”

“I’m fucking huge and you’re tiny. I’m freaking out.
We need to get you back to vampire territory. I will carry you.”

“No…wait…Lazarus. Do we even know this for sure or
is it speculation?”

“We don’t know for sure but it’s very likely. You
craved blood so quickly and you seem to crave it so often.”

Alex nodded. “Yeah, I woke up thirsty.”

“There you go…” He looked nervous as hell. “It’s likely
then.”

“We will deal with this…together.” She cupped his
chin. “I’m tough. We both want this child. These children.” She swallowed hard.
“We’ll be okay?”

He inhaled deeply and then nodded. “Okay, but I’m
not leaving your side and I’m carrying you if you—”

“Stop. I’m about to fuck your lips with my mouth and
I can’t if you keep talking.”

He smiled. “I’m all yours.”

Four
months later…

The other woman lifted up her top and all three of
them giggled.

Cassidy rubbed a hand over her stomach. “I look
bloated…you my dear”—she pointed at Alex’s stomach—“look huge. You look
seriously freaking pregnant, of that there is no doubt.”

Alex absently rubbed the curve of her belly. “I
still can’t believe that I’m having twins. It’s crazy. No human woman in
vampire history has ever had a twin pregnancy.” She swallowed hard. This wasn’t
without risks but it would be worth it in the end.

“Are you sure there aren’t three inside there?”
Jenna’s eyes were wide. “You look at least three or four times bigger than Cass
even though the two of you conceived around the same time.”

Alex shook her head. “You go and wash your mouth out
with soap right now. There has never been a vampire birth with more than two
babies and that’s rare as it is.”

“Oh…” Jenna smirked. “So you’ve researched it. Does
that mean what I think it—”

“Don’t say it. Don’t you dare say it.” She pointed a
finger at the other woman. “If Lazarus hears you, he’ll make me stay in bed
with my feet up. I’m perfectly fine yet he insists on carrying me up and down
the stairs. I manage just fine when he’s not around.”

“Which is hardly ever.” Cassidy giggled. “York tells
me that he’s working less and less. Pretty soon he’ll be at your side twenty-four-seven.”

“No way.” Alex shook her head. “I won’t allow it. At
least not for the foreseeable future.”

“I can’t believe he is letting you work.” Jenna
sipped on her juice.

“Just because we are mated does not mean that he is
the boss of me. We discuss things, we sometimes argue but we are equals. I
can’t just sit here. Like I said, I’m fine and so long as it stays that way I
will keep working.”

“You love your job.” Cassidy smiled. “It’s so great.
I’m so happy that it worked out in the end.”

Alex felt like she was smiling from ear to ear. Her
team was small and handpicked. Her job was public relations. Already, much of
the bad press surrounding the vampires and
The Program
had died down.
The hate mail had dried up to a trickle. Brant was thrilled. He wasn’t such a
bad guy. The two of them worked closely together.

“I heard that you’re going to some gala dinner in
New York?” Cassidy picked up her juice.

Alex smiled. “Yeah.” A lump formed in her throat so
she picked up her own water and swallowed it down.

“It’s some or other awards ceremony,” Jenna gushed.
“I can’t believe that you managed to get permission.”

Alex shrugged. “It’s important to me, both Lazarus
and Brant know how much going means so…” She shrugged again. “Lazarus is coming
with me, along with half of the elite team.” She had to roll her eyes.

Both of the other women laughed.

“My father has been awarded a lifetime achiever’s
award. It’s a huge honor. I’ve been asked to accept it on his behalf.” A tear
somehow escaped and she quickly wiped it away. “Damn, these hormones. I don’t
know how I’m going to get through the speech.”

“Yeah…” Jenna giggled. “It’s hectic and the whole
blood drinking thing is…sheesh…too damned much if you ask me.”

“How would you know?” Cassidy leaned towards Jenna.

“Yeah…how the hell would you know?” Alex looked
pointedly at the other woman who blushed profusely.

Jenna played with the tie on her pants. “I’m
pregnant.”

“What?” Both she and Cass shrieked in unison.

“That’s wonderful news.” Cass went and hugged her
first.

“Amazing news.” Alex hugged Jenna close. “How far
along are you?”

Jenna blushed some more.” “A couple of weeks
already.”

“And you didn’t think to tell us?” Cass wagged a
finger at Jenna, who pulled a face.

“I’m pretty nervous about the whole thing. Please
don’t misunderstand me. I’m so happy…so excited but I’m also pooping my pants.”

“Save the poop for the baby. You’ll have plenty of
dirty diapers to change.” Cass smiled.

Alex touched Jenna on the arm. “It’s normal that you
would be a bit nervous. Gideon will be there for you and support you. Vampires
can be seriously over protective of their women.”

“I’m sorry.” Cassidy looked upset. “I didn’t mean to
be flippant. I forgot about what happened…you know…with your first pregnancy.”

Jenna smiled. “Don’t worry. I’m glad that you treat
me normally. It’s still hard sometimes. I’m going to worry until I’m holding
him in my arms but I know it’s going to be the best day of my life so I will
hold on to that thought.”

“We’ll all do the same.” Alex touched her belly. She
and Lazarus were newly mated. They had dated for over three months before
finally sealing the deal. The longest unmated relationship in vampire history.
Alex had to smile. It looked like they were going to be the first at a few more
things before too long.

A
Mate for Griffin is available for pre-order
now

Thank-you for reading the third book in the series. Writing
this book felt a bit like trying to get water from stone. I really had to work
hard at it. I must say though, I’m thrilled with the end result. I love
Lazarus. I think he might be my favorite so far.

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