A Mate for Lazarus (The Program Book 3) (22 page)

His own orgasm was just as potent. It ripped through
him with such force that his hips jerked and his mouth turned slack. A deep
rumble erupted from somewhere deep in his chest. Alexandra sucked again and
another sharp zing of pleasure laced through him. She sucked again and it felt
like his skin was too tight for his body. Like his balls had turned inside out.
So damned good that it hurt.

Another deep draw had him pulling away. “No,” he
growled. “That’s enough.”

Her eyes were the brightest blue he had ever seen.
So beautiful that it hurt to look into them. Her hair was still damp and
beginning to curl. Her lips were swollen and dripping with blood. So stunning
that she took his breath away. His chest clenched so tight that it was
difficult to breathe.

Lazarus cursed and got up off the bed. His legs
almost buckled underneath him. Somehow he managed to find his footing.

Alexandra wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.
She made a sobbing noise when she saw the streaks of blood across her skin. She
pulled her legs underneath herself and pulled her shirt down, covering herself
as best she could.

Lazarus tucked his still semi-erect cock away and
zipped his pants. What the fuck had he just done? What the fuck? “I’m sorry.”
He paced to the other side of the room. “That should never have happened.”

“Don’t say that.” When he glanced down at her,
Alexandra’s chest heaved. Her eyes glistened with unshed tears. “I’m the one
that’s sorry but not for that. Don’t apologize for making love to me. We love
each other, Lazarus. You should not be apologizing.”

“I hate to break it to you but that was fucking.
It’s what I do when I drink from a female. I told you that before. There were
zero feelings involved.” He ran a hand through his hair.

This should’ve been the happiest fucking day of his
life. Fuck! Seeing Alexandra, drinking from her. It was too much. He did love
her. He didn’t want to but he did and it pissed him off.

He should never have rutted her. It made him want to
tell her that it was going to be fine, that they were going to be fine, but it
wasn’t and they weren’t. The only reason she was still here was because of the
baby. It would be best if he kept that piece of information at the forefront of
his mind at all times.

Alexandra had even been trying to hide her pregnancy
from him. She didn’t want to be with child, that much was clear. It was also
clear that she didn’t want to be here, she’d said so herself.

She shook her head, a single tear fell. “Please
don’t say that. It’s not true.”

“What the fuck would you know about the truth?” He
shouted, feeling his hands curl into fists. He wanted to say nasty things, to hurt
her just as much as she had hurt him. More.

That’s why he needed to leave right fucking now.
Needed to get a handle on his emotions. “It is important that you know that I
want this baby.” His voice shook, his eyes stung.

She frowned. “I know you do.” She licked her lips. “We
need to talk. Please.” She stood up and walked to him.

“No.” He put his hands up but she kept coming.

“Lazarus.” The way she said his name almost brought
him to his knees. If he didn’t know better he would say that she cared.
“Please.” She took his hands, stood on her tippy toes and kissed him. Her mouth
crashed against his, her tongue breached his mouth in a hot assault against
him. For a second he allowed himself to be swept away in the madness. It felt
good, it felt real, even though it was a lie.
Fuck!
Why was she doing
this? Was she trying to totally devastate him?

He tore away, pulling his hands from her grip. “What
the fuck…?” He snarled.

“Just kissing you like I mean it and I do mean it,
Lazarus…I lo—”

“Don’t say it. People who love each other don’t lie
to one another. They don’t have agendas. I don’t believe you. I wish to god I
could but I can’t.”

“Let me explain.” Her voice hitched.

“Did you come here with the intention of getting a
story for your paper?”

“You know I did,” she whispered. Another tear fell.
“I never lied to you about wanting the story.”

Lazarus had to look away. “It’s why you were with me
in the first place though?”

“Initially, but my feelings changed. Everything has
changed. I wasn’t going to go through with the whole thing. Not after I started
having feelings for you.”

“Only because the kings were going to give you an
interview. You didn’t need to go behind my back after that. You would’ve left as
soon as you got what you wanted. You would be gone now if it weren’t for this
baby.” He leaned in. “Admit it.”

“You’re wrong.” Tears streamed down her cheeks.

“Go and write your fucking story. Leave the baby out
of it. It’s all I ask. Don’t hurt him over this.” His chest felt like it was in
a vice. “We have fuck all to say to one another. The only thing we talk about
going forward is this child…
my
child.” He growled.

The
next day…

Lazarus felt bleary-eyed. His brain felt fuzzy. It
was a mixture of lack of sleep and pushing himself in the gym. He pumped
weights until the sweat dripped in his eyes, the burn of his muscles, pushing
himself beyond the limits. It was the only thing that gave him a modicum of
comfort.

Something buzzed on Allison’s desk. “Brant will see
you now.”

He glanced her way and she gave him a pitying smile.
Fuck that! He grunted his response and headed to his king’s office. Brant had
sent him a meeting request this morning. He had cut his afternoon training
session short to be here. What the hell did Brant want? Hopefully he and Zane
weren’t going to try and talk him into taking Alexandra back for the sake of
the child. He had thought about it and it wasn’t something he could do.

No way. He would be there for his child in every
conceivable way. Lazarus would raise the child himself if she decided she
wanted out. His heart broke all over again just thinking about his son not
knowing his mother. Lazarus sighed. He would support Alexandra any which way he
could, but he could not be with someone that didn’t love him.

A jarring thought came to him. What if she found
someone else in the future? His muscles bunched beneath his leathers. Lazarus
shook his head. He couldn’t think like that right now. One step at a time. One
day at a time. Thinking too far into the future tore holes into him.

He opened the door to Brant’s spacious office.

His king gave him the once over. “You’re the most
physically fit I think I’ve ever seen you, yet you’ve never looked so bad.”

Lazarus snorted. “Thanks…I think.”

“Take a seat.” Brant gave him the same look of pity that
Allison had. “How are you holding up?”

Lazarus did as Brant asked, hoping that this wasn’t
going to take too long. “Why am I here?”

“I need you to stay calm please.” Brant leaned back in
his seat.

“What is going on?” Lazarus couldn’t help the growl
or the fact that it came out in a roar. He stood up so quickly that his chair
fell back with a clatter.

“Calm the fuck down.” Brant stood up as well.

“What’s wrong? Is Alexandra okay? The baby, is
something wrong?” He struggled to breathe, to even think. He couldn’t lose her.
The last things he’d said to her were nasty and untrue. He’d said them out of
fear and terrible pain. Right now he wished he could take them back. He
should’ve explained that he needed some time, some space.

“The human is fine and so is the baby. Calm the fuck
down.”

Lazarus sucked in a deep breath. “I’m fucking
listening.”

“She’s fine but she is no longer on vampire
territory.” Brant put a hand up.

Lazarus roared. When he managed to get air back into
his lungs, he locked eyes with Brant. “Where is she? What happened?”

“Pick up the chair and take a seat.”

Lazarus jerked his head and folded his arm. “I’m
fine.” He was anything but.

Brant gave him a look that told him he was full of
shit. “Suit yourself.” His king sat back down. “Miss Stone came and saw me this
morning. She said that she didn’t want to stay on vampire territory. She had
her bag with her and told me that she was leaving. That there was nothing I
could do to stop her.”

Lazarus clenched his jaw.

“I tried to convince her otherwise. I explained
about the fascist groups. Those that would wish to harm her or the child. Those
that would want to kidnap him but she wouldn’t hear of it. She said that she couldn’t
be here with how things were between the two of you.”

Lazarus picked up the fallen chair and sat down for
fear of his legs giving out. He shook his head. “I can’t believe you just let
her go.”

“I couldn’t hold her against her will. I…” He
paused, his eyes narrowed. “I tried to pay her to stay. I tried to convince her
to remain with us and then to hand over the child but she wouldn’t hear of it.
I offered her millions. More money than she would see in three lifetimes.” His
king looked puzzled. “I expected her to pounce on the opportunity. I mean, why
else was she after the story if not for fame and fortune?” His gaze turned
cold. “I expect that she will try and milk us for more once the child comes.”

“There won’t be a child if she is harmed.” Lazarus
jumped to his feet, already moving towards the door.

“Where do you think you are going?” Brant asked.

“I’m going to bring her back, kicking and screaming
if I have to.”

“That’s called kidnapping.”

“So fucking be it.” He growled, continuing towards
the door.

“I have five guards assigned to her safety, at all
times. They are with her wherever she goes. Do you think I’m an idiot?” Brant
spat.

“Don’t make me answer that question right now, my
lord. I don’t care if you assign the entire elite team to her care. I’m going
to get her back. She’s not safe out there. You are fooling yourself if you
think that she is.” He ignored Brant’s calls and left, slamming the door behind
him.

“Lazarus,” Allison called after him. He ignored her
too and kept moving. She called him again, only this time she was right behind
him. He spun around and she almost crashed into him.

She tugged a wayward strand of hair behind her ear,
pulling herself back together. “Sorry. I take it that you heard the news?”

He gave a nod of the head. “I can’t believe she did
this. Alexandra is risking my son.”

“She left because she couldn’t bear to be here. She
thinks that you hate her. She can’t bear to see you and not be able to be with
you. To live near you and not to be able to have you. Alex may have said something
about seeing you with other females.”

“He is my son too. She has no right to do this!”
Lazarus roared.

“I normally wouldn’t involve myself in something
like this but you are being pigheaded.”

He narrowed his eyes, taking a step back. “I’m not.”

“Yes, you are. It’s hard to hear the truth, isn’t
it? Go then. Run away. You’re not hearing her out. Giving her a chance and that
what’s caused this upset.”

“Fuck that,” Lazarus growled. “It was her lies that
caused all this.”

“Listen to yourself. You keep saying the same thing
over and over. Stop it. So what if she lied to you? What she did was bad and it
was wrong. It doesn’t mean that you should throw everything away over it.”

“She doesn’t love me. This was all about the story.
I can’t allow myself to get sucked in again. To believe again. It hurts too
fucking badly.”

“You are letting fear cloud your judgment. You are
going to regret it. She wants to try and work on it. You should hear her out
and give her a chance.”

“Why? It would be for the sake of the child. I love
her but she doesn’t feel the same. That is no basis for a relationship or for a
family.”

“I understand why you are struggling to believe her
after what she did. You are emotionally attached. You can’t think straight or
see the situation at a distance.”

“What are you saying? I can see just fucking fine.”
He growled.

“No, you can’t but I can. I believe her. What she
did was wrong but she does love you and she’s sorry she lied to you. It may
have started out as a lie but it wasn’t a lie in the end, Lazarus.”

He thought of their kiss. How she’d kissed him like
she meant it and he had believed but only because he wanted it so badly. Could
there have been more to it? He shook his head.

“Did you know that she signed the contract,
including the non-disclosure clause? She didn’t have to but she did. Brant had
pills delivered to her room to try and get her to get rid of the baby.”

Anger swept through him. “What?” He snarled.

Allison nodded. “Brant thought that he was doing the
right thing for all parties involved.”

Lazarus growled.

“She refused to take the medication. She was so
angry. So upset that he would do such a thing. He offered her a lot of money to
take the pills and she still refused.”

Lazarus grit his teeth. Could it be? Surely not.
“Alexandra will make more money if she has this child.”

Allison shook her head. “She has refused all offers
of money. The scent of her disgust, of her anger was thick. She wasn’t lying. I
believe her. The scent of her grief has been just as strong. You haven’t paid
attention. It’s hard to notice the details when you are an emotional wreck
yourself.”

“For what it’s worth.” It was Brant, the male had stepped
out into the hallway.

Lazarus had to work hard not to lay into the male.

“I think Allison might be right.” He was looking at
the female. “Everything you just said makes sense.” He turned to face Lazarus.
“You need to go and listen to what Miss Stone has to say. These human females
confuse me.”

“You are mated to one yourself.” Allison smiled.

“Tanya confuses me but please don’t tell my mate or
my life will become more difficult.” Brant actually looked guilty. “It’s no
excuse but we haven’t been sleeping very well. Our son is very demanding. He
wants to be cuddled and breastfed every two hours.”

“Sounds like he takes after his fathers.” Allison
raised her brows, her eyes twinkled with mischief.

Brant pinched the bridge of his nose. “Takes after
Zane,” he growled.

Allison looked at him pointedly and Brant growled
again, a half-smile appearing.

Lazarus had, had just about enough of the banter. He
was pissed with Brant. He needed to get to Alexandra before something,
potentially went wrong. He snarled his frustration.

Allison grabbed his arm in an attempt to calm him
down. “There’s more. You didn’t tell him about the pregnancy, my lord.”

Brant shook his head. “He didn’t give me a chance.”

Allison squeezed, bringing his attention back to
her. “There is a chance that Alexandra is pregnant with twins.”

“What? How can you be so sure?”

Allison shook her head. “We’re not sure but it is
normally twins when a female starts to crave blood so soon after her heat. Two
days is really early.”

Twins.

“You’re gaping.” The twinkle was back in Allison’s
eyes.

He snapped his mouth shut. “How do we find out for
sure? Twins?”

“Everything will be more pronounced including her
craving for blood. She will need blood at least once a day, maybe even more.
Her belly will swell bigger. We also suspect that her senses will be stronger
than even an enhanced human’s. Maybe even as much as a vampire’s.”

“I have to go.” Lazarus turned and left, not looking
back. If he didn’t he would probably end up hitting his king, despite Brant
admitting to being wrong…again. There were certain aspects of
The Program
that Zane needed to handle because Brant was doing such a shit job of it. Human
and vampire relations was one of them. Alexandra might be pregnant with twins,
he stumbled, righting himself at the last moment.

Twins.