A Mate for Lazarus (The Program Book 3) (8 page)

One of the guards at the door looked at his watch as
she approached.
Yes, bozo, I’m late so sue me
. She sucked in a deep
breath, resting her hand on the doorknob. Alex pushed the door open and stepped
into the room.

The dining hall was beautiful. Complete with marble
floors and crystal chandeliers. Large, gold guild paintings hung on the wall.
Her mouth dropped open at the grandeur. She was so busy admiring her
surroundings that the door slid from her hand and crashed closed behind her.

The dining room table was long and very occupied. A
hush fell over both the vampires and the humans alike. All heads turned to her.

She clasped her shoes tighter, suddenly realizing
that they were in her hand instead of on her feet where they belonged. Her
cheeks heated but she ignored the tingles up her spine and the way the hairs on
her body felt like they were standing on end. She squared her shoulders and
smiled. “Good evening. I’m Alex. Good to meet you all.”

One of the women gave her a filthy look and put her
arm around the guy next to her. Sarah smiled and waved…bless her. There was a
loud scraping noise as three of the vampires rose to their feet. The one
farthest to the back was Lazarus.

His large frame drew her eye immediately. If she’d
thought he looked good in leather, she was mistaken. He wore a tailored suit.
As in white button down shirt, grey pants and a grey jacket. No tie. The top
few buttons of the shirt were open. The jacket was tight across his shoulders
and chest. Holy freaking hotness. No wonder he was a manwhore. She wanted to
cross the room and throw herself at him right then. To wrap her legs around…

The thought crumbled to dust as his lip curled away
from his teeth…fangs. Honest to goodness fangs. Long, gleaming, scary damned
looking. A loud, goosebump evoking growl seemed to tear itself out from
somewhere deep in his chest. Two of the women clutched their chests and
squealed.

It was a sight to behold. She didn’t blame the
women, she felt like squealing herself. From pure excitement.
You have a job
to do and Lazarus is a manwhore. Stay focused, Alex
.

One of the guys flinched at the loud gravelly sound,
he sat back down and even looked a little afraid of Lazarus before looking down
at his food. The third guy stayed standing, Alex looked at him. His icy blue
stare cut into her. His hair, unlike most of the vampires she had seen, was
blond. He threw her a smile that could quite possibly cause an instant orgasm
it was so sexy. The smile turned into a lopsided grin as he pulled himself free
from the woman beside him. It was the woman that had given Alex a dirty look
when she walked in. That same I’m-going-to-kill-you-with-my-eyes look was back
on her face. Only this time it meant business.

The guy strode over to her. His movement was liquid
and graceful yet manly. Muscles shifted beneath his black button down shirt and
equally black pants. The dark accentuated his hair and eyes.

Her gaze moved back to Lazarus whose eyes blazed.
Shit! He looked pissed. A muscle in his jaw ticked. His chest rose and fell in
quick succession.

What if Lazarus didn’t choose her?

What if he chose one of the others? It was far more
likely since they were all putting out and Alex didn’t plan to. Anger rose up
in her all over again.

Maybe putting all of her hopes and dreams on one
vampire wasn’t a good idea. Besides, they were manwhores. They clearly got
around. According to Sarah, the humans were expected to mingle. It was
recommended. It didn’t sit right with her though. She was a one man woman even
if this was all pretend.

“Allow me.” The gorgeous specimen in front of her
said. His voice wasn’t nearly as deep as Lazarus’. The thought irritated her.
Why was she comparing? Then the Adonis god dropped to his haunches in front of
her and pried her heels from her shaking fingers. All eyes were on them.
Lazarus went from growling and snarling to grinding his teeth together. He was
still standing at the other end of the table. His stare was dark and fierce.

The vampire on the ground lifted her foot and she
felt herself wobble so she was forced to grab his shoulder to steady herself.
Lazarus narrowed his dark eyes as the blond vamp slipped on her heel. He put
down her foot. She clasped his shoulder tighter as her other foot was lifted
and she was expected to balance on her heel. This time, the stranger squeezed
the instep of her foot before slipping on the shoe.

Alex looked down into the bluest eyes that she had
ever seen. She pulled her foot from his grasp, she still used him for support
but released his shoulder as soon as she was stable enough.

The blond guy quirked a brow. “Welcome, Alex. I hope
you’ll come and sit with me.” He gestured to the table and gave her a wink. Far
too smooth for her liking. He rose to his full height. Not nearly as big as
Lazarus either.
Quit it, Alex
.

Her eyes were once more drawn to Lazarus who cocked his
head and pulled out a chair next to him. His meaning clear. That muscle in his
jaw seemed to have a life of its own because it continued to tick. A really
beautiful girl sat next to Lazarus, she put her hand on his arm and looked up
at him. Concern filled her eyes. Her dress was stunning. Silver, cut low.

Sarah had made it clear that they slept around…big
time. She needed to mingle and increase her chances of being picked. She didn’t
want to rely on Lazarus and his ultimatums. It had nothing to do with being
upset that he slept around when he didn’t seem like that was what he was after.

The pretty lady gave Lazarus’ arm a tug. Was this
the woman he had spent the night with? Alex swallowed hard, not liking the
feelings that emerged in her. She hated the tightening in her chest.

“Come sit next to me, sweetheart.” The blond sex-on-legs
vampire motioned to her with his hand, pointing to the now empty seat next to
him.

She had to clench her teeth to keep herself from telling
Prince Charming where to get off. She was not his sweetheart.

Then she noticed the blonde bombshell in the tight
silver dress say something to Lazarus. He nodded, sitting back down. The lady
whispered in his ear and he nodded again. His eyes were still blazing.

Alex slid in next to the Adonis god who was not as
tall as Lazarus. He smiled. “Would you like something to drink?” His eyes were
focused on her even though the woman on the other side of him was trying to get
his attention.

Alex nodded.
A shot of tequila would be good.
Make that two shots of the stuff
. “I’ll have a glass of wine please.” She
couldn’t risk getting shit faced.

“Champagne?” He raised his brows.

Alex nodded again. “Sure.”

The vampire she’d nicknamed—in her head at least—Adonis,
clicked his fingers and one of the waiters was there instantly. He passed on
her order.

A plate was put in front of her. “Ricotta and
parmesan fritters.” The waiter declared. “On a bed of wild mushroom.” He nodded
and walked away.

Alex noticed that plates from the first course were
already being cleared.
Shit!
She put her napkin on her lap and picked up
the knife and fork on the outside. She’d attended a couple of fancy dinners
over the years…thank god! The cutlery was really heavy, ornate and beautiful.
“Wow. Must be real silver.” She said more to herself, since Adonis was talking
to the woman on the other side of him.

There was a feminine snicker to her right. “Who are
you anyways?” The question was definitely being directed at her so Alex turned in
that direction.

Big pouty lips, large dark eyes and a frown about a
mile deep.

“I believe I introduced myself a minute ago.” Alex
said, forcing herself to smile. She needed to try and make some friends and to
find out more about
The Program
and the people in it. At the same time,
she didn’t like this woman’s tone.

“Yeah, Alex.” The woman narrowed her eyes. “Who are
you?” She did this thing with her neck that put Alex’s back up.

Alex had to try and stop herself from asking the
woman if she was hard of hearing. Had to work even harder to stop herself from
rolling her eyes at the stupid question.

A few strands from the woman’s updo had fallen out
and she pulled her nearly black hair behind her ear. “Why are you even here?
You’re obviously clueless about vampires.”

“I hate to break it to you but aside from local
Sweetwater residents, the whole world is pretty clueless where vampires are
concerned. Did you know that many people throughout the US still believe that
vampires and shifters are a myth? They think that the various species living in
and around Sweetwater are actually cults pretending to be vampires and various
other species.” Well that nabbed her attention. “I know very little about
vampires but hopefully that’s all about to change.” Alex had researched the
hell out of the subject and had not found much. What small amount of
information she had gathered lacked detail.

“I for one am all for it.” Adonis leaned forward,
his vivid blue eyes on her. He had a way of looking at you like you were the
only person in the whole world. It was a little unnerving but she could get why
women might fall for it. “That is, you getting to know us vampires better.”

He licked his lips, which were full and soft
looking. At least he had one thing in common with Lazarus. Argh! Don’t think
about him. Don’t look at him…don’t…too late, she glanced in his direction.

The pretty blonde was talking, laughing, touching. A
small shove of her shoulder against him or a brief touch of her fingers against
his chest. He was nodding and smiling. So familiar with one another. She should
not have kissed him earlier. Alex sucked in a deep breath and turned back to
Adonis.

“You are right.”
Sexy-as-sin
…the other name
she had for him…picked up his glass and took a sip. It was a tumbler, filled to
about halfway with golden liquid, no ice. Must be scotch, she thought absently
as she watched his throat work. He put the glass back down. “The world knows
very little about us. We prefer it that way.” He chuckled. “Can you imagine the
chaos? It sometimes feels like everyone wants a piece.”

“A piece, in what way?” She cut off a slice of
fritter and put it in her mouth.

He smiled. “They either want us dead or they just want
us…there doesn’t seem to be an in-between. All or fucking nothing with you
humans.” He looked pointedly at the cutlery in her hands. “For the record…” He
raised his brows.

Alex nodded, not sure what he was getting at. Her
mouth was full with another bite. For blood drinkers, these vampires sure could
cook.
Yummo.

“Silver is a bad word in these parts. It’s poisonous
to vampires. The only thing made from silver, are our war blades and arrowheads.
Nothing else.”

How the hell had she forgotten that? There might not
be much known about the various species and even less about vampires, but a
couple of things were common knowledge. Their silver aversion was one of them.
“Oh yes…I forgot. My bad.” She nodded. “Feel free to tell me more and to
correct me if I say something like that again.” Information. It was what she
needed and lots of it.

She glanced down the table to where Sarah was
sitting. It was weird, she was sure Sarah caught her eye but the other woman
turned to face the opposite direction. It was like she was ignoring Alex on
purpose. Nah! She must be mistaken.

Alex smiled. “So, what are they made out of?” She
held up her knife and fork.

Adonis sat back in his chair and put his tongue to
the roof of his mouth. Then he smiled. One of the women on the opposite end of
the table put a hand to her chest and fell back in her chair, her eyes glued to
Adonis’ every move. Thankfully his charm and sex appeal didn’t affect her…not
like that. He was sexy and all that, but really.

“Platinum.” He said drawing her attention.

She could feel her mouth drop open and her eyes bug
out. “Platinum?…No way.”

“This is the good shit.” He looked down at the
cutlery. “Reserved for royalty and esteemed guests. Our day to day utensils are
made from regular stainless steel. We’re not as stuck up as you think.”

She let out a huff of air. “Esteemed guests huh?”

“Yup.” He nodded. “We are thrilled to have human
females on our soil. Fucking ecstatic.”

“So I’ve heard.” She leaned in. “Listen, I heard
that you guys get around. Is that true?”

His eyes lit up, looking almost freaky blue.
“Vampires are sexual creatures. We like to fuck…often and hard. Are you here
for a good”—he paused—“hard”—another pause—“fuck?” He didn’t wait for her to
answer. Not that she could answer him. Her mouth hung open in temporary
paralysis. It had never happened to her before so she wasn’t sure how to react.
“If you are, then you’ve come to exactly the right place. If you are…” His big
hand clasped her thigh and she gasped, jumping under his touch. “Then you are also
with the right male because…”

That motherfucker
!

Lazarus practically vibrated from trying to stay
calm. There was a ringing in his ears. What the fuck was this female playing
at? She was definitely attracted to him. Had said that she wanted to get to
know him, yet there she was with that fuckhead. Why?

Alexandra had ignored his silent request to come and
sit next to him. He’d pulled out the chair and everything. Gone to a fuck load
of effort by wearing this suit and what for what? Fuck all…that’s what.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Jenna asked for the
fifth time. “You don’t seem yourself tonight.”

He made a grunting noise of acknowledgment and gave
her a tight smile.

“Is it that girl?” Jenna narrowed her eyes, trying
to size him up. “The new one?” she sighed. “Were you hoping…never mind.” She
squeezed his forearm. “You are going to find someone, I’m sure of it. Out of
all the males at this table, you are the best, Lazarus. At least, you are to
me.”

Lazarus felt like the biggest dick. He hadn’t even
had a chance to explain to Jenna what had happened.

“I’m not a nice guy,” he growled. At least, Jenna
wouldn’t think so for long. He had agreed to pretend to date Jenna so that she
and Gideon could be together. The male was not part of the elite ten so was not
permitted to partake in any of the females. Lazarus was supposed to buy them
time by taking Jenna to the next round with him but plans had changed. At
least, he had thought they had changed, but maybe not.

Fuck!

He burned to go over to Alexandra, to throw her over
his shoulder but only after he put his fist through Lance’s teeth first.

Fuck him
!

He had to damn well keep his cool. He fucking had to.
If the female wanted a dickhead like Lance then good luck to her. He was not
going to involve himself.

Jenna was saying something about the fucking weather
or something. He listened with half an ear because as much as he hated it, his
focus was still on Alexandra. On how her hair fell in curls around her face. On
how long and slender her neck was. On the smattering of freckles across her
nose. On how sexy as fuck black looked against her porcelain skin.

Fucking Lance leaned across, his nostrils flared. “We
are thrilled to have human females on our soil. Fucking ecstatic.” Fuckface
said, his eyes drifted to Alexandra’s mammary glands. Of course a male like
Lance was ecstatic…it was like fucking Christmas around here and most of the
presents had his name on them. What had he called it? Open season. Fuck!

Thankfully Alexandra didn’t seem as affected as some
of the other females. She wasn’t giggling or flicking her hair back or doing
any of the other mating signals he had seen others of her species do. It helped
to calm him. “So I’ve heard.” She said as she leaned towards Lance. Lazarus had
to force himself to stay seated. “Listen, I heard that you guys get around. Is
that true?”
No fucking way
. She didn’t just ask that. A fucker like
Lance would take it the wrong way.

His eyes lit the fuck up. Lazarus could see the glee
and the excitement on Lance’s face. He thought he had her. Please fucking no.
Alexandra didn’t strike him as the kind of female that would fall for that
fucker’s one liners. “Vampires are sexual creatures.” Lance purred. “We like to
fuck…often and hard.” Lazarus felt his blood boil as Lance spoke. “Are you here
for a good”—the male paused while he licked his chops—“hard”—another pause
while his eyes moved back to her chest—“fuck?”

Alexandra’s mouth fell open in what looked like a
good dose of shock with a side portion of horror. Air returned to Lazarus’
lungs but his hands clasped to fists at his sides. Lance didn’t notice or he
just chose to ignore her reaction. From the predatory look in the fuck’s eyes,
he took her silence as a yes.

Lazarus turned to Jenna and tried to smile. “Please
excuse me for a second.”

“Sure.” She smiled back. The waiters filed in with
plates and began to serve dinner. A welcome distraction.

Lance moved in a bit closer. Too fucking close. “If
you are, then you’ve come to exactly the right place. If you are…”

Lazarus moved quickly towards them. He watched as Alexandra
visibly jumped, she made a gasping noise which Lance clearly mistook as a sigh
of pleasure. Although Lazarus could not see under the table, he knew that the
fucker was touching her. He just fucking knew it. The knowledge burned him deep
inside his gut.

“Don’t.” Her blue eyes were stormy. “Let go of me
right now.” Her voice was a low growl. Confirmation that Lance had his hands on
her. Lazarus bit back a snarl.

“Apologies.” Lance looked out of sorts.
Good
!
Something eased just a smidgen inside Lazarus. He would allow Lance to live…for
now. The fucker moved his hand just as Lazarus arrived behind their chairs.
Lance shook his head. “I thought that you…”

Lazarus moved to his haunches behind them and
directed his attention on Lance. “I told you to stay the fuck away from her.”
He ignored whatever Lance was about to say and turned to face Alexandra, who
noticed him for the first time. Her eyes widened. “I need to speak to you,
Alexandra. Now.”

She shook her head. “Don’t you need to be
somewhere?” She glanced towards Jenna.

Lazarus had to suppress a smile. The female was
jealous. She was fucking jealous. That’s what this whole thing was about. It
had to be.

“Don’t,” the little female growled.
Growled
.
He fucking loved it. She was such a little vixen.

“Don’t what?” He couldn’t help the small grin that
formed. Lance had his arms around another female. Already on to the next one.

“Don’t smirk at me. I don’t like it.” Her cheeks
were red. She knew, that he knew, that she was jealous. He all out grinned.

“Go away, Lazarus.” Her stunning eyes blazed. “Dinner
has just been served and I’m hungry.”

“We need to talk right fucking now. Either we slip out
while the waiters are swarming or I will throw you over my shoulder. Which
would you prefer?”

He swore that her eyes flared with interest as he
spoke about throwing her over his shoulder. Fuck if it didn’t make his dick
rock fucking hard. Thank fuck for his jacket. Lazarus raised his brows when she
didn’t answer. There was a part of him that hoped she would refuse. Having her
squirming body over his shoulder, would work for him.

Alexandra nodded her head and made to stand. She
grabbed her clutch.

“Wait.” He paused. “I’ll go first, you follow in a
minute or two.”

Her eyes narrowed and the storm clouds returned to
her eyes. “You don’t want your girlfriend to know that we’re leaving together.
Look, forget the whole thing. You don’t owe me anything. I get it.” Alexandra
tried to sit but Lazarus grabbed her arm, holding her in place. He pulled her
towards him and whispered in her ear. “If we leave together, everyone in this
room will think that we are going for a fuck. If you’re okay with that then by
all means…let’s go. I don’t mind in the least…I assure you.” He pulled back,
releasing her arm.

Her eyes still blazed but her cheeks had flushed red.
Hot as fuck. “We have nothing to talk about. Let’s just have dinner and forget
about it.”

Lazarus had to smile. “Two minutes or you will go
over this shoulder.” He patted himself there and her gaze followed the
movement, heating. Interesting, he would definitely be saving that bit of
information for another time. He kept his gaze locked with hers for a few beats
to show her that he meant business and then he turned and left.

Lazarus moved a little ways down the hall and leaned
his back against the wall. It was cool there, but it did nothing to douse the
raging inferno inside of him. With barely seconds to spare, the door opened and
Alexandra emerged, clutch in hand. She looked up and down the hall. Her eyes
overly large. He moved out from the shadows and gestured for her.

Her scent hit him first. Rich, dark chocolate with a
hint of chili. Enough to burn but not so much that it overpowered the silky
decadence of the chocolate. “What’s so important? Surely it could have waited?”
She folded her arms.

“Not here.” He growled, his gaze moving to further down
the hall. They were far enough away for human hearing but not so much where
vampires were concerned. The guards didn’t need to know his business and this
female sure as fuck was his business. He put his hand to the small of her back
and ushered her down the hall.

They reached the first door, which he opened. It was
dark inside which didn’t mean that it wasn’t occupied, it just meant that it
wasn’t occupied by humans. Vampires could see perfectly in the dark. The
complete silence and a quick scan of the room told him that the area was in
fact vacant. Lazarus flipped the switch and gestured for Alexandra to go in. He
closed the door and locked it, the hard click reverberated around the room.

“Is that really necessary?” She looked a little pale
and her heart rate picked up.

“Yes.” He nodded. “Speak to me. You’re confusing the
hell out of me. What is it that you want?”

She frowned. “I’m not sure what you mean. Why are we
locked in here?”

“Relax. I won’t hurt you. I won’t fucking lay a
finger on you. I want a few minutes of privacy. I want to understand what the
fuck that was all about.” He pointed a finger in the general direction of the
dining hall.

Alexandra huffed out a breath. “I know you won’t
hurt me.” She looked at him like he was nuts. “You’re a great big teddy bear. I
feel perfectly safe with you. I don’t think this is necessary.”

He wasn’t sure whether to be seriously pissed or
happy that she didn’t see him as a threat. It was refreshing so he decided he
would take it. “What happened in that dining hall?”

She frowned. “What are you talking about? I
introduced myself and sat down to dinner…end of story.”

“No.” He growled, impressed when she didn’t flinch.
“I saved you a seat. We agreed that we would get to know each other…” Fuck! He
was turning into a pussy. What. The. Hell? “You ignored me and sat next to that
fucker instead.”

“We said we would get to know each other. Yet, you’re
acting like you’re my boyfriend or something. Like you have a say in my life.
Newsflash…you don’t.” She threw her clutch on a nearby sofa, running a hand
through her hair. “There is nothing between us…this isn’t exclusive.”

“Like fuck it isn’t.” His voice was deep and
gravelly. He was so fucking pissed. “You can decide right now, Alexandra. You
can go back in there and take your chances on one of the other nine or you can take
your chances with me. I don’t share well…not a fuck.” He growled the last.

“You don’t share well?” She snarled. Her eyes
narrowed to tiny slits. “You…” She poked him in the chest. “Don’t share…”
Another hard poke. “Well…?” A final poke that would have left a mark if he was
human. Her spectacular chest heaved, her dress barely holding her breasts in
place. “Eyes up here asshole! You get to fuck around but I need to be at your
beck and call…ready to jump when you click your fingers? Is that it?”

She didn’t give him a chance to say anything. “You
listen to me. It’s not going to happen. I say no way…I would rather take my
chances out there. So…” A poke in the chest. “You can take your conditions and
ultimatums and shove them up your ass and then you can go back to your fuck
buddy in there and leave me alone. I don’t share well either, so there. Nuff
fucking said.”

His dick throbbed behind his zipper. It fucking all
out throbbed. She was beautiful and sexy when she was happy. She was all out
fuck-me-now hot when she was angry. Her skin was flushed. Her nostrils flared.
Her eyes a dark, stormy blue.

“I told you that she isn’t my girlfriend.” Lazarus
took a step towards her and she took a step back.

Alexandra rolled her eyes and sighed heavily.
“Girlfriend, fuck buddy, whatever. I refuse to be the next notch on your belt.
It isn’t going to happen.”

“Stop saying those things about Jenna. She is my
friend. Full fucking stop.”

“Oh…
she’s
Jenna.” Her brows went up. “Sarah
may have mentioned something about the two of you being friends.”

Lazarus had to suppress a grin, Alexandra had been
asking around about him. She may not want to admit it but she cared. He nodded
his head. “Look…it’s complicated. I took Jenna home with me last night but I
didn’t touch her. Everyone thinks that we rutted but we didn’t. I haven’t been
with any of the humans.”

She choked out a laugh. “Yeah, right. Next you’ll
tell me that Santa Claus is a vampire and that the reindeers are shifters. I
know you slept with…at least one of them.”

Lazarus shook his head…again. This female was
infuriating. He took another step forward and she took another step away. A small
one, her back hit the wall. He took another step, putting her a breath away
from him. “The other human females are afraid of me and Jenna is my friend. I
like that you are jealous though.”

Her mouth tightened and she shook her head so hard
that her curls bounced. “No, I’m not. It’s just that you’re wasting my time.”