A Mate for Lance (The Program Book 5) (18 page)

There it was. It looked like something like a pen and even said EpiPen on the side. It had a blue cap which he removed. He saw a sharp needle at the tip.

“Yes,” Amber slurred. “My thigh.” She sounded like she was battling to breathe. Her hands pulled at her clothes, like by pulling them she could get more air. She coughed and wheezed.

Lance jammed the needle into her thigh. He wasn’t sure that he had done it right. He held the thing against her for a while watching as she continued to pull at her clothes. To struggle to breathe. He felt helpless. The female was going to die. He brought his wrist to his mouth. Fuck human medicine. His blood would help her. Just as his fang was about to break the skin, her breathing eased up. She gulped lungfuls of air, finally opening her eyes. “Thank you.”

“What can I do?” His voice sounded panicked. “I will double check that help has been called.”

“Yes.” She sighed. “I need a hospital. There is another pen in my cupboard. Fetch it. It might happen again.” She scratched her throat and then her arm. The skin was red. Her face still looked swollen. She was still wheezing.

Lance yanked her cupboard open and ripped out her things until he found another medicine tub at the back of the cupboard. Where the fuck was the helicopter?

“What else can I do?” he asked, as he crouched down next to her. “Fucking hell!” He tugged at his hair. “Are you okay? Fuck!” He got up off the bed. “Of course you’re not okay.”

“Stop pacing.” She grabbed her stomach and made a whimpering noise.

“What is it?” he asked, racing back to her side.

“I’m fine. I’m still a bit nauseous and my stomach hurts.” She touched his face. “You’re pretty.” He could see that her eyes were hazed over. “Very pretty.”

Lance smiled. “You’re swollen.”

“Oh god.” She rubbed a hand over her face. She looked intoxicated. “Not so pretty but you’re pretty enough for both us so…kay…”

“Amber.” He touched her cheek. “Stay with me.” He could see that she struggled to keep her eyes open. He tapped her cheek and called her name. “Fuck!” he roared as he pulled his phone out his pocket and dialed the front desk. “Where is the ambulance?”

“Help is on its way,” someone said on the other end.

“Hurry.” He ended the call.

Lance tapped her cheek and her eyes opened back up. Her hands were on him, clutching his shirt. “So damned pretty. You too pretty. Far and far and so much.” She continued to slur, her gaze dragged across his face. It also looked slow and dazed. “Mmmm…” She giggled. “I like having sex with you.”

“Good to hear it. I like having sex with you too so you need to get better so that we can keep doing it.” He swiped the hair from her face. “Stay with me, help will be here soon.” He hated seeing her like this. It killed him.

“You want me to stay with you?” She giggled and shook her head. “You only want me for my body…you don’t want me to stay.” She giggled some more, her eyes rolling back. “Liar,” Amber slurred. “You don’t want me.”

“Want to fucking bet.?” He clasped her chin. “Open your eyes.”

She shook her head. “Want sleep.”

“No,” he snarled. “Stay with me, sweetheart.”

Fucking finally. Someone arrived at the door. Her breathing and her color continued to improve but she was still really out of it.

Unfortunately, that someone was Becky. The little human shook her head. She gave him a look of disgust. “I should have known that you would be involved. What did you do?”

“The human is allergic to shellfish and nuts. The chef served us shrimp which we sent back. I don’t understand how this happened. Amber didn’t eat any of the things she is allergic to.”

“The idiot probably used the same knife or board as the one he used to prepare the shrimp.” She shook her head. “She is probably allergic to trace elements.” The female began checking Amber. She pulled back her eyelids and checked her heart rate at her wrist.

Lance nodded. “Yes, she mentioned that her allergy is very bad. It’s why she always carries her medication.”

“Lucky or she could have died.” Becky continued her examination.

“Oh…hello.” Amber giggled. “Don’t you think he’s pretty?” A garbled slur, she half pointed in his general direction.

Becky snorted. “Pretty…more like pretty fucked in the head.” She mumbled. “I’ve got this. You can go.” The doctor looked at the door. Then she took out an instrument to listen to Amber’s breathing. She was still wheezing badly but at least air was getting into her lungs more freely.

“Heeey…” A long drawn out slur. “Don’t you dare sp-sp-speak to him like thaaat. Pretty not fucked…in head.”

Becky rolled her eyes. “Another one of your many adoring fans. There’s the door.” She gestured with her hand, continuing her examination.

“I’m not going anywhere.” He folded his arms. “I will stay with the female.”

“She’s not going to be able to give you what you’re after anyway.” Becky shrugged her shoulders. “You may as well leave.”

“Date…” Amber’s head rolled forward. “My date. He’s so…”

“She needs to go on oxygen and I need to hook up a drip. She’s suffering from hypoxia.”

“Is she going to be okay?” He could hear the concern in his voice.

Becky nodded. “I’ll be more comfortable once an IV is set up.” She looked worried for a second. “I need to get her to the human medical center.”

Why hadn’t he thought of that? They had set up a basic clinic in case any of the females required care while on vampire territory. Becky ran the facility. Then again, he had worked hard to avoid the female so it made sense that he hadn’t thought of it. She’d been the doctor that had delivered Stephany’s twins. She’d seen Lance at his worst.

The darkest of dark.

The lowest of low.

“It isn’t designed for dealing with any serious medical problems.” Lance frowned.

“Anaphylaxis is serious, especially this level of allergic reaction but the treatment is pretty basic. We’ll keep an eye on her and move her to Sweetwater Hospital if need be. We need to move her to medical now. I don’t like how confused she is. Her lungs don’t sound great either. I might have to nebulize her.”

He wasn’t sure what she was talking about. Becky might not like him and she could be hard but she was a damned good doctor.

Two guards, that had been hovering in the doorway, walked in. One of the males leaned in over Amber. He stretched his arms down. The fucker planned on picking her up. Lance reacted instantly, a deep threatening sound came from some part of him that was primal and raw. The male froze, his gaze flew to Lance.

“I will carry the female.” Lance didn’t even try and keep the snarl from his voice. He moved to the human who looked like she had fallen asleep. So delicate. So fucking vulnerable. Everything in him bristled. His muscles roped and tightened. Thankfully, the other male moved away so he was able to relax a smidgen.

Becky looked at him quizzically. “I never thought I would see the day...”

“It’s not what you think.” He felt instantly bad for saying it. “It’s none of your business,” he added when she smirked.

“Not that I really care but I’m glad you seem to be moving on. I know you haven’t been causing too much trouble lately.”

“None of your business,” he repeated.

“Right now, she
is
my business,” Becky said, as he picked up Amber. “If you upset her in any way…”

“I won’t upset her.”

Becky’s gaze turned hard. “You step out of line just one—”

“Oh…” Amber gazed up at him with such adoration. Such affection that he felt his chest clench. His breath catch. “…there you are…” Her eyes were still glazed. Her breathing still too labored. “…are we going to have sex now?”

One of the guards sniggered and Lance had to work to keep from putting Amber back down and his fist through the fucker’s mouth. “No, sweetheart.”

“Why not?” She pouted her overly swollen lips. Her eyes fluttering closed.

“We said we would wait, remember?” He cradled her closer.

Amber shook her head, a goofy smile on her beautiful face. “I don’t want to wait.”

“We’re waiting, sweetheart.”

“I don’t mean to break up this touching exchange but we need to move, she could regress at any time.” Becky did this thing with her eyes to show her annoyance.

“I’ll follow you,” Lance said. “The two of you can keep quiet or so fucking help me.” He narrowed his eyes at the males and they both looked down at their feet.

Good.

Amber sighed. “I don’t want to wait.” She put her arms around his neck and tried to pull him down to her. Her breathing was still too labored for his liking. Her lips too swollen. Her coloring too pale.

Lance kept walking. The guards were behind them.

Amber tightened her hold. “You promised that you would…”

“Shhh, sweetheart. Don’t talk.” He pecked her quickly on the lips, not wanting to block her airway. “Can we please walk faster?” he barked at the small human doctor.

Becky picked up the pace. “She’s going to be fine. I have another auto injector just in case.”

“Another what?” He tried not show his frustrations but failed. He felt so wound up. So damned afraid for the small female in his arms.

“I have more medicine.” She spoke over her shoulder. “Don’t growl at me. I hate it when my mates do it, well unless…” She shook her head. “Never mind. Don’t do it.”

“I’m sorry. It’s just that I’m worried.”

More sniggers from the guards. Amber had said that she wanted everyone to see them as dating. To ensure that she didn’t come across as another notch in his belt as she put it…well…this was doing the trick.

Pussy alert.

He was a gigantic one right now. Humongous. Yet, he couldn’t make himself release her. He couldn’t possibly walk away. Lance needed to make sure she was fine. He felt responsible for this mess. That was it. At least, that had to be it.

The crazy thing was that he didn’t care what everyone thought of him. Let them think he was pussy whipped. It made no fucking difference. He just wanted Amber to be okay and happy.

Amber opened her eyes. They burned. Her head hurt. Her throat felt really dry. She licked her lips. Her tongue felt too thick but then again, so did her mouth.

She sucked in a breath. The last thing she remembered was puking…lots of times. Oh god! Lance had been there. He must have given her the meds. That or an ambulance had come really quickly. She was alive.

There was movement behind her. She was really warm and comfortable. Except for the hard thing that dug into her back.

“Hey,” He whispered, softly against the back of her head. A tattooed arm moved. It was Lance’s arm. He pulled her closer against him. He was spooning her back. Amber’s eyes became wide in her head.

Spooning. Her. Back.

“How are you feeling?” Softly delivered.

“Okay,” she said, her voice cracking a little. Her mouth tasted like something had died in it. “Water.”

“Yeah…of course.” He reached across her to the side table and poured a glass of water from a plastic jug. Lance, on the other hand, smelled really good. Of course he did.

Amber pulled herself upright. She was in one of those hospital gowns. That was it. Just the gown. There was an IV attached to one of her arms.

Lance held the glass out to her. He smiled at her, looking…concerned. His chest was bare, his jeans still on. Fastened and belted.

“How are you feeling?” He quirked a brow, looking cute. Bed hair looked good on him. Who was she kidding? Everything looked good on him.

Amber took a long drink of water. On the second gulp she swirled the water around her mouth. It didn’t help.

“Thank you.” She handed the glass back to Lance.

“I’m so glad your breathing is back to normal. You had me worried there.” He frowned. “Really worried.”

“You stayed with me.”

“Of course. I might be an arrogant asshole but I’m not a complete dick. Besides, for all intents and purposes, we’re dating.” He smiled. “If I didn’t stay it would look bad.”

Amber lay back down, feeling a bit dizzy.

“Are you okay? Should I call the doctor?” His brows were raised and he touched her arm.

She shook her head. “I think I’m going to be okay. Tell me…my fingers are swollen and my mouth feels funny.” She looked at him. “Is it bad?”

He chuckled. “You shouldn’t be worried about stupid, unimportant things.”

She ran a hand over her face. “It’s bad, isn’t it?” Using the same hand, she raked her fingers through the rat’s nest that used to be her hair.

“Honestly…you look beautiful.” He looked like he meant it.

“I didn’t take you for a liar.” She’d seen herself after having a reaction. It wasn’t pretty. Not at all.

“Who me?” He touched a hand to his chest. “Not a chance. You have nothing to worry about, Amber.” He continued to look at her like he actually meant it. Then his eyes narrowed on hers.

What was he up to? Amber didn’t say anything.

He half smiled.

“What?” She frowned.

“You said I was pretty. You were telling everyone that would listen.” He chuckled. The bastard.

She felt her cheeks heat. “I was out of it.”

“I think that you really do find me attractive although you used the word pretty. The drugs and lack of oxygen was making you honest.” He bit down on his lip. “But you don’t want to admit it.”

Amber gave a small shake of the head. “So what if I think you’re pretty. I’m obviously attracted to you or I wouldn’t…have sex with you.” She whispered the last under her breath.

“Just so you know, you tried to have sex with me last night. You were begging for it.” He looked deadly serious.

Amber gasped. “I did not.” She could believe it. Hypoxia affected her like being drunk.

“You did, but don’t worry…” He tensed up. His jaw actually locked for a few seconds. “I threatened those guards with death and I meant it. I figured you wouldn’t want everyone to know that you were all over me.”

She shook her head. Somehow, right now and in this moment, it didn’t bug her as much as it should. Why was he being so nice to her?

A woman stuck her head around the jamb. She had shoulder length curly hair and was holding a file. Her expression was stern. It turned hard when she eyed Lance. “I need a moment with my patient.”

Then she turned to Amber. “I’m Becky, your doctor. We met last night but somehow, based on the way you are looking at me, I don’t think you remember.” She flashed a smile before turning serious. Becky walked into the room, she picked up a shirt and tossed it to Lance.

He frowned but caught the garment.

“You don’t have to leave,” Amber whispered, her eyes on Lance. He’d seen her naked before and had stayed the night, in the same bed. What harm could it do?

“Yes, he does.” Becky opened the file and paged through it.

“No, really, I don’t mind.”

Lance pulled the shirt over his head and sat on the edge of the bed so that he could put his socks on. His jaw was clenched. The frown even more pronounced. He didn’t look like he wanted to leave.

The doctor did a strange thing, she sniffed the air in much the same way she’d seen the vampires sometimes do. “You could seriously do with a shower.”

What was this woman smoking? Whatever it was, it definitely wasn’t legal, which was a bit worrying since she was Amber’s doctor. “He smells fine.” There was definite edge to her voice. “You’re probably smelling me. I had a bit of a session with the toilet bowl.”

Becky looked confused for a moment. She looked from Lance to Amber and back again. Then she glanced at her watch. “Go and take a shower. Give us fifteen minutes.” The way she said it left no room for arguments.

Lance gave a nod. “I’ll be back in just a few minutes.” He kissed her on the temple. There was nothing sexual about it, yet, it also wasn’t something that a friend would do. In fact, she would go so far as to say it was pretty darned intimate. She had to stop herself from sighing or biting her lip.

What the hell was wrong with her? She liked it better when he was being rude. The lines had become blurred.

No! The kiss didn’t mean anything. Lance had been worried about her. He felt responsible for what had happened. She shouldn’t read into this.

She refused.

The door closed behind him with a soft click.

“Right.” Becky moved towards her. She was wearing the standard white coat. “Can you sit up? The IV line is plenty long enough.”

Amber nodded. She swung her legs over the side of the bed.

“Good. You can lean forward on your thighs. How are you feeling?”

Amber squeezed her eyes shut for a second. “I’m tired and a bit dizzy. I also have a headache. Overall, I’m doing okay.”

“Let me finish my examination and I’ll get you something for that.”

“Thank you.”

Becky checked her eyes, her throat. She ran her hands from her ears down the sides of her neck. Then she removed the stethoscope from around her neck and plugged in the ear thingies. Becky listened to her heart and then did the same to her lungs moving the disc across both her chest and back.

“Another breath for me,” Becky said.

Amber did as she asked.

She wrote something on the chart. “Thankfully your lungs are back to normal. We had to nebulize you. You’re on an adrenaline drip.” She touched Amber’s cheek. “You’re still suffering from a bit of angioedema. Nothing too serious. It might take a day or two for the puffiness to go down fully.” The doctor’s gaze was focused on her lips. Amber knew they were swollen. “You’ve also got some urticarial but it’s acute and limited to your throat and upper arms. I can prescribe a cortisone cream but I think that a good antihistamine should be sufficient.”

Amber glanced down at the tops of her arms and sure as nuts, they were covered in a red rash. Arghh! “I think I’ll be okay.” So she did look as bad as she thought. Maybe even worse. Sucky!

Becky nodded. She wrote something down in the file. “We can always prescribe some later if need be.”

“Okay, thanks,” Amber said, hoping her parents hadn’t been called. She had listed them on her emergency contact list.

“How long have you been seeing Lance?”

How was this relevant?
“Um…last night was our first date.”

Becky raised her brows. She looked at Amber like she had just grown two horns or something. “Okay… I’m your doctor, which means that this is strictly confidential. How long have you been
seeing
him?” she repeated, and in a way that indicated last night wasn’t the first time with Lance.

She swallowed hard, eying Becky. “I’m not sure how this pertains to my allergic reaction.”

She folded her arms and cocked her head. “You can’t have sex for the next twenty-four hours.”

Amber cleared her throat. “That’s fine.”

“No really. I don’t want you getting an elevated heart rate or to exert yourself in any way. You had a really bad reaction, Amber. If it weren’t for the auto injector you might have died.” She sighed. “You do realize that you can have another reaction at any time?”

“I’m allergic to shellfish, tree nuts and bee stings. I’ve been through this a couple of times before. I have my medication with me at all times.”

“You can’t be alone. If something were to happen…”

“Um… I will ask…” Shit! Who could she ask? Bethany? The other woman was more than likely with Joshua. Maybe one of the women vampires?

“Lance has already said that he’ll stay at your side. In fact, he insisted.” Becky smiled. “Look, your relationship with him is none of my business.” Then she shut her eyes for a few beats. She seemed to be contemplating something. “You do realize that he sees you as his mate don’t you?”

This woman was definitely on drugs. Amber shook her head. “No. It’s not like that between us.” She could feel that she was gaping.

“I thought you said you were dating.” Becky’s eyes narrowed and she folded her arms.

“I thought you said that it was none of your business,” she returned, sounding snippy.

Becky looked her straight in the eye. “I’ve decided to make it my business. You are my patient.”

“What does that have to do with anything?” Irritated and snippy.

“Lance is unstable. He went completely off the rails about a year ago. I’m not a phycologist but I believe he suffered from a mental breakdown, or a form of post-traumatic stress disorder. It coincided with a major incident in his life. I can’t say this for sure but everything points in that direction. He’s behavior became erratic, irrational and downright violent.”

Amber swallowed hard, she felt her heart rate pick up.

“I don’t want to get into it with you. It’s not my story to tell.” Becky gave a shake of the head, she sat down on the edge of the bed.

“He told me that he lost his mate,” Amber said, slowly. “He mentioned that he kind of lost it, that he did bad things.”

Becky nodded. “Putting it rather mildly. It wasn’t losing his mate that caused the problem. He blamed it on that but he was wrong. He suffered a meltdown.” She held a breath inside her lungs for a few seconds. “He has developed coping mechanisms. I’ve seen him gradually improve, particularly over the last few months. I didn’t know him before all this happened.”

“Okay… I’m still not sure what this has to do with me…with us.” It felt weird referring to them as a couple.

“Lance sees you as his mate. I can see the signs.”

“No!” Amber blurted, a little too harshly. “You’re very wrong about that. I’ll admit…” She sighed. “Will this stay between us?”

Becky nodded. “Yes, I’m your doctor. Anything said between us right now is privileged information.”

“You’re right. Last night wasn’t our first date…well that’s not true, it was our first date but…” She let the sentence die. Amber wanted to talk about this but at the same time she didn’t know how to.

“You’ve been having sex.” Becky smiled. “You do know that anyone seeing the two of you together would be able to pick that up from a mile away? The way you look at each other. The small touches.”

Oh…no. Really? No way! What?

Becky gave a little laugh. “Sorry…you look like you’re freaking out. I don’t think anyone knows but me and the two guards on duty last night. I would’ve heard the rumors otherwise.” She shook her head and gave a little sort. “Neither of the guards will be talking either, that’s for sure. Not after Lance scared the living shit out of them. That’s the thing, he’s protective over you. He was afraid last night. He kept on growling and shouting and wouldn’t let anyone else touch you or carry you. He looked at you with such affection. I don’t think I would believe it unless I saw it with my own eyes. Lance cares. He’s crazy about you.”

Amber shook her head. She wanted to put her fingers into her ears and block out the doctor’s voice. “No. You’re wrong. We don’t like each other, at least, I don’t like him, not at all.”

Becky snorted and patted Amber’s knee “You keep telling yourself that.”

“No… I’m attracted to him…very much so.”

“Well the feeling is definitely mutual.”