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

Like
hell
!
“Excuse me?” She worked hard at keeping her voice even. Alexander lifted her
finger and pointed it at the king. “If you think I’m just going to turn around
and walk away, you’re delusional.”

He
frowned. “I understand that you’re upset, but there is nothing I can do. The
males are about to choose who they wish to keep on seeing in the next round.
There is no way that any of them would pick you at this late stage of the game.
Go back home, we will call you in the next heat.”

Unacceptable.
By then
The Program
would be old news. She needed in on this heat or not
at all. “When the hell is the next heat?” She pretended to be none the wiser.
Her purse was beginning to make her shoulder ache. It was the biggest one she
owned and had everything you could possibly need in it. A girl just never knew.

Brant
rolled his eyes, which looked weird on such a big, badass vampire. “Any unmated
males will go into the next heat.” He sighed, sounding bored. “New human
females will then be introduced. I will personally make sure that you are
included in that batch. My apologies for any inconvenience. I would be happy to
write you out a check if it would make you feel better. Heat two will start in
a few weeks’ time so you will not need to wait very long.” He even took a step
back. He was about to leave. If that happened then her chances were over.

“You
can’t buy me and I’m not interested in joining the next heat.” She shook her
head while holding his gaze. “I want to stay.” She spoke quickly but emphasized
each word. He needed to know how important this was to her. They had accepted
her dammit. They couldn’t back out now.

She
moved out from behind the big guy who had his eyes firmly fixed on her boobs
again. They had that vacant yet heated look that guys got when they were
undressing a woman.

The
king sighed. “Like I said, none of the males will choose you. It’s a fact, so
you’re wasting your time…” Then his eyes narrowed on the huge vampire who was
now ogling her ass with his mouth hanging open and his nostrils flared. “Then
again…if you could get one of the males to agree upfront, then maybe I would be
inclined to agree.”

She
turned to face the big brute of a vampire. It seemed like maybe he wanted to
help her. By the way his eyes heated as they landed on her breasts she would
say that he was certainly attracted to her. “Eyes up here…big guy…stay with me.
Tell, King Brant, to please let me stay.”

He
seemed to snap out of it, shutting his mouth and even giving his head a little
shake. “What?” He growled. It was clear that he hadn’t been listening at all.
His little…maybe not so little…make that lower…head had been doing all of the
thinking over the last few minutes.

Brant
cleared his throat. “The only way I’m going to let this female into the first
heat, at this ridiculously late stage of the game, is if someone were to
guarantee that they would choose her to go into the next round.” Brant smiled.
She had to hold back a gasp as his long, white fangs popped out from behind his
lips. Sheesh! Did she really want this? Was it worth it?
Hell yes!

“Do
you know of anyone, Lazarus?” He asked.

The
big guy…Lazarus…swallowed hard. He didn’t look convinced. Maybe he hadn’t been
as into her as what she had thought.

Shit!

Lazarus
moved his gaze to her, this time giving nothing away. Oh hell! To think that
her future rested in the hands of this big hunk of muscle. Alex crossed her
arms across her chest. Her mouth suddenly felt dry so she licked her lips,
before chewing on her bottom lip. It looked like she was going to have to spell
it out to him. “You’re one of them aren’t you? One of the vampires from
The Program
?”

The
brute nodded once, face still a mask.

The
other guy that had arrived with the king stepped forward. He was frowning and he
looked really stressed as he spoke. “Surely we should have her meet with all
the males. You never know, maybe one of them would choose her.”

Lazarus
and the other guy had a staring competition for what felt like a long time.
Then the other guy gave an almost unnoticeable shake of his head. It was as if
he was trying to tell Lazarus not to do it. What did it have to do with him?
Why wouldn’t he want Lazarus to pick her?

The
king stepped forward. “I don’t think she should be allowed in on this round.
Period,” Brant growled. Nice, he was talking about her like she wasn’t there.
Dickhead! “I have a feeling it would cause shit.” He turned his gaze to
Lazarus. “According to the feedback I’ve received, you don’t plan on choosing
anyone in this heat. Is this true?”

“He
spent the night with a female last night,” The other guy growled. “Maybe Lazarus
will choose her. You plan to, don’t you?” So that was why he was acting like
this. Maybe Lazarus had made a commitment to this other woman.

Damn!

There
was only one way to find out. “Shit!” Alexandra took a step towards Lazarus.
She huffed out a breath. It looked like the big brute was all that stood
between her and the pavement. Between her dead end job and a headline story. A
story that would put her name on the map. “Sorry I called you an idiot and a
moron.” She swallowed hard. “I know you’re not deaf or brainless. I’m really
hoping you’re not spineless.”

He
frowned. “I have a spine.” Lazarus put his hand to his back as if she had meant
it literally. These vampires were hilarious.

Moving
on.
“Good. Look…” She licked her lips. A bottle of water would have come in handy
right about now.

His
eyes tracked the movement of her tongue. One thing was clear, he might have
spent the night with another woman but this big guy was definitely into her which
meant that last night couldn’t have been serious. Since she didn’t plan on
getting cozy with him, she didn’t particularly care where he had just put his
dick. “Urm…this is awkward.”

Though,
he had in fact still had sex with someone else just hours ago. Maybe it meant
something in his mind. She rubbed the toe of her sneaker into the dirt, trying
not to think about it. This was a bit of a bitchy move. Normally she would
never lead a guy on or play in someone else’s sandpit but desperate times
called for asshole moves. “I don’t mind that you spent the night with another
woman. I really don’t. I need you to please guarantee that you’ll choose me
though. We get along”—
Not at all
—“mostly. We could get along.” It didn’t
matter either way. She wasn’t here for a relationship of any kind.

His
nostrils flared. His eyes moved down her every curve and back up again only to
move back down again.

Alex
had to work hard not to growl or smack him. “What?” She cocked her head. This
was total bullshit. Last time she checked she was more than just a piece of
meat. A tight…okay not that tight…piece of ass. “You look like you’re sizing me
up and finding me lacking.” Alex hated that her cheeks heated under his
scrutiny. Hated it!

His
eyes finally lifted to hers. “I have a condition.” Lazarus quirked an eyebrow.

What
the...?

This
sounded like a challenge. Alex never backed down from a challenge. “Name it.”
She couldn’t help but to smile.

The
other guy with the king snarled, drawing her attention. His eyes blazed and his
muscles bunched. In short, he looked really pissed.

“What
the fuck crawled up your ass?” Brant asked the other vampire.

“Nothing,”
he said. “I’m fine.” Bullshit. Smoke was practically coming out of his ears.

It
wasn’t her business. Vampires were definitely strange creatures. “What’s your
condition?” She asked, locking eyes with Lazarus. It had better be something
above board.

“Let’s
just agree upfront that if you can meet my condition, I’ll choose you to go through
to the next round.” He raised his brows.

Like
hell.

“That’s
bullshit.” She snorted. “Complete and utter bullshit. What if I don’t meet this
condition of yours? Surely I need to have some sort of an idea of what I’m up
against? What if it’s impossible?” It probably was. He was just toying with
her.

“I’m
sure you’ll do just fine.” He looked sincere. “You’re a strong, feisty female
in her prime.”

What
the…?
Alex had a feeling she was going to hate this
condition of his.

“What
does that have to do with anything? This is complete bullshit.” She muttered
while shaking her head.

“Fine.”
Brant smiled. He actually looked pleased.
Sadist.
“You”—he turned to her—“get
to stay for two days but should Lazarus decide not to take you through to the
next round, then you are out and forfeit any involvement in
The Program
going forward. Do you agree?”

At
least she was in with a chance. It might not be exactly what she had envisioned,
but hell. Alexandra smiled. “Yes, I do.” She would make this work.

One
minute, Lazarus was smiling like an idiot and the next he was staggering
backwards. His face covered in blood. It was a miracle he didn’t lose his
footing as one times enraged vampire punched him.

“Fuck
you!” The pissed vampire snarled. Then the guy turned and stormed away. The
king had been right on the money when he had asked what had crawled up that
guy’s butt. There was definitely something bugging him and in a big way. Maybe
he didn’t like that Lazarus was interested in pursuing her. Why though?

Despite
the blood that poured from his broken nose, Lazarus still smiled. Go figure!

“You.”
King Brant gestured to Lazarus. “Go and get cleaned up. And you…” His dark eyes
moved to Alex. “I’ll call my personal assistant to escort you to the female
accommodations.”

“Thank
you.” She nodded in Brant’s direction before turning to Lazarus. “Before you go.”
She held up a hand. “When are you going to tell me about this condition of
yours?”

Lazarus
raised his brows. “All in good time.”

“The
clock is ticking.” The vampire king looked at the watch on his arm. “Don’t take
too damned long, there are only three days left of the first-round.” Then he
pulled his cell phone from out of the inside pocket of his suit jacket and
requested that someone by the name of Allison drop everything that she was
doing and immediately come to the front gate.

With
extravagant flare, King Brant clicked twice drawing the attention of the guard.
“Stay with the female until Allison arrives.” He ordered before turning his
indifferent gaze on her. “Good luck.” He sort of smiled before turning on his
heel and walking in the direction that the pissed off guy had gone in.

Lazarus
kept his gaze on her. “I will see you later, female.” It came out in a deep,
spine tingling growl. This guy had one helluva deep voice.

“Um…
My name is Alexandra…best we get that straight before this goes any further.”
She put her hands on her hips.

“Alexandra.”
Another ridiculously deep rumble. She doubted it was her imagination when his
eyes seemed to heat as he said her name. “I will see you later, Alexandra.”

She
had to smile at how formal he sounded. “My friends call me Alex…since we are
going to be…seeing each other…” Best she play the role. “…you can too.”

He
chuckled, a deep rich sound. Then shook his head. “We are not going to be
friends, Alexandra.” He pulled his bottom lip between his teeth and for just a
moment she was mesmerized all over again by how soft his mouth looked. Not that
she wanted to go anywhere near it or anything. It was just such a contrast to
the rest of him.

Then
what he had just said registered and she felt herself frown. “Of course we’re
going to be friends.”

“This
is a breeding program, Alexandra. I plan on doing things to you that pass the
realm of friendship by a long damned shot.”

For
just a few seconds she was at a loss for words. “A…um…breeding…no…” The last
word came out in a huff. “It’s a dating program…dating.” She pronounced the
word carefully.

Lazarus
shook his head. His eyes crinkled as he smiled. “We changed the name to
The Dating
Program
and then to simplify things to just
The Program
. It was
done because humans are timid. Yet you don’t strike me as timid, Alexandra.” He
paused. “It concerns me that you have been misinformed. Did you not attend the
training?”

Oh
shit!

Alex
kept her gaze firmly on him. She nodded. “Yes, of course I did.”

“Well
then?”

Well
then what?

She
shrugged. “I might be on vampire territory and a part of this program but I’m
still a woman.” The less she said the better, so she left it at that.

Realization
seemed to dawn. “I see… We also attended training. You wish to get to know me
better?” He paused and she nodded.

Getting
to know him better would buy her time. There was no way in hell she was
sleeping with him. Or doing anything physical with him for that matter. No way.
No how. It wasn’t happening and that was final.