A Mate for Lance (The Program Book 5)

by Charlene Hartnady

  Bethany was slumped over the table. She sloshed some champagne on the surface when she tried to bring the glass to her mouth.

  “I will escort you, just give me a moment please.”

  Amber nodded. “I’m going back to her so that she doesn’t try to stand up or anything. I don’t want her to make a scene and embarrass herself. She’d regret it in the morning.”

  Titan spun on his heel and walked away. She quickly headed back to Bethany, who had just started on a fresh glass of champagne even though her previous glass was still half full.

  “I can’t wait to find my guy,” Bethany said, and far too loud. “I wonder if he’s him?” She pointed at one of the vampires down the table. Her finger weaving in the general direction.

  “Do you have any brothers or sisters?” Amber asked, trying to keep her attention.

  Bethany nodded. “I have two older brothers.” She rolled her eyes. “Serious cock blockers. Older brothers are suck bores.”

  Suck bores?

  “I was twenty-one…when I finally lost my virginity.” Her slurring was getting worse. “Twenty-one.”

  Amber huffed out a breath when she saw Titan arrive next to them. There was another vampire with him. The guy had sandy blond hair and green eyes. He smiled broadly at her.

  “You carry the female, Joshua,” Titan instructed, gesturing to Bethany.

  “It would be my pleasure,” Joshua said. With no effort at all he leaned over and picked Bethany up.

  “Whoa…” Bethany squealed. “Well hello, handsome.” She wrapped her arms around his neck. No one gave them more than a glance.

  Amber looked pointedly at Titan. “Let’s get out of here.”

  The four of them left and made their way back to the hotel.

  “Mmmm…you smell nice.” Bethany nuzzled into Joshua’s neck. “And you have big muscles.” Her hands caressed his shoulders and arms. She was about to tell Bethany to stop molesting Joshua but he didn’t exactly seem to mind.

  “Why didn’t you carry her?” she asked, her gaze on Titan.

  Titan looked at her like she had a few screws loose. He shook his head. “Joshua likes this female. He will take care of her. I wouldn’t like…that…” He gestured to Bethany who was rubbing Joshua’s chest and nuzzling into his neck. No, not nuzzling, she was all out kissing his neck. Big, sloppy kisses.

  “Bethany,” she said, trying to sound strict.

  Joshua laughed. “Don’t worry about it. I don’t mind.”

  They finally arrived at Bethany’s room. It was the floor above her own. Titan used the keycard he had made at reception and swiped it to open Bethany’s door.

  Joshua winked at Titan. “Good night.” He gave her a nod and walked into Bethany’s room.

  “Wait just a minute.” Amber put her foot in the way of the door that Titan was just about to close. “I don’t think so.” She folded her arms.

  Titan huffed out a breath. “Joshua will look after your friend.”

  “Like hell he will. She’s in no condition to make decisions.” She lowered her voice. “What if he takes advantage of her? Why does he even want to help her? He doesn’t even know her.”

  Titan looked at her pointedly. “Joshua feels that they would be compatible. He had planned on approaching her this evening but didn’t want to intrude. He really likes her.”

  “And that makes it okay? I don’t think so,” she stated firmly, both angry and alarmed.

  Titan shook his head. “It’s why he wants to look after her. It’s why I asked him to help out. He won’t lay a finger on her. He will make sure that she gets to bed so that she can sleep it off. He might stay until morning to ensure her safety. Your friend will be fine.”

  “If anything happens…” She pulled her foot out of the way.

  “Nothing will happen. Joshua is a good male. A vampire would never take advantage of a female.” Something flashed in his eyes. She wasn’t sure what it was. Pain followed by uncertainty.

  Then it morphed into anger and he clenched his jaw. “I’ll just go and have a quick word with him to be on the safe side. Wait here, I will take you to your room.”

  She nodded, feeling a bit better now that Titan was going to lay down the law before they left him with Bethany.

  A minute or two later, the big guard returned. He nodded once. “She will be fine. Joshua will not try anything. Vampires and humans are very different. You females are hard to understand sometimes. Sometimes you say no but you mean yes and sometimes you say yes when you mean no.”

  “No is no,” Amber snapped. “It’s that simple.”

  Titan sucked in a deep breath, looking somber. “I completely agree with you.” They began walking towards the elevator. “It’s the reason I stay far away from human females. You’re a complicated bunch.” He pushed the down button and the doors opened.

  Amber nodded. “I suppose you’re right. I’m sure vampires are the same.” They walked in.

  He pushed a button and they began to descend. “I’ve lived with vampires my whole life and trust me, humans are different,” he said, giving Amber a sideways glance. “It is the reason why so many of our males are so attracted to humans.”

  “But you’re not?”

  “I didn’t say that.” He waited for her to step out of the elevator first before following her. “I just don’t want the complication.”

  She glanced his way. “Mmmm…relationships are complicated.”

  “Exactly. I’m focusing on my career right now.” He folded his arms as they arrived at her door.

  Concern still gnawed at Amber. While she and Bethany were not close friends, they had kind of stuck together since the beginning and she was still worried. “Maybe we should have reception send some aspirin and water to Bethany’s room in the morning,” she suggested.

  Titan shook his head. “Joshua will stay with the female. He will order everything that she needs and ensure her health before leaving.”

  “Why? He doesn’t even know her.”

  “He is attracted to her and wants to get to know her, therefore he feels it’s his duty to take care of her. If they are compatible, the need to do so will increase. It’s the way we are.”

  “Okay. I’m still not sure I fully understand but if you say so and as long as she is safe, I guess I’m fine with it.” Not that she really had a choice.

  “She is in good hands,” he said, giving her a reassuring nod.

  “Well, thanks for your help.” She swiped her keycard and pushed open her door. “Take care.”

  Titan sniffed. He gave a small shake of the head and his lips curled up on the edges in a partial smile.

  “What is it?”

  “Nothing I wish to involve myself in.”

  “Cryptic much?” She huffed. She felt like pushing him to explain but she got the feeling he wasn’t going to say anything more. It didn’t matter.

  “I need to get back to dinner.” He smiled, showing her his teeth. “Have a good evening.”

  “Yeah well, I’m going straight to bed. I’m bushed. It’s been a long day.”

  “Okay.” He said it like he didn’t believe her. Weird. Titan was a strange guy, that was for sure.

  They said their goodbyes. Amber walked inside, closed the door and turned on the light.

  Amber gave a small gasp of surprise.

  “You sure took your sweet time.”

  It was a low, masculine growl, evenly delivered.

  Chapter 9

  Angry, Amber threw her purse at the person lying sprawled out on her bed. The asshole caught the purse. “Is that anyway to greet a guest?”

  “A guest?” Amber was breathing hard. Her heart raced at about a zillion miles an hour. “You scared the hell out of me. You’re an intruder and certainly not a guest.”

  He smiled at her. It was lazy and hellishly sexy. “I am a guest.” His voice was thick and rough.

  She folded her arms, willing her body not to react to him. “You weren’t invited and yet you let yourself
into my room anyway. That makes you an intruder. Why are you here?” The quicker he told her, the quicker he could be out of her hair.

  He pulled himself up to a sitting position, still looking ridiculously comfortable on her bed. It irritated her that he acted like he belonged there, that he looked so calm when she was freaking out inside. What was he doing here?

  “I needed to talk to you, but calm down. If you don’t get your heart rate under control you might start to hyperventilate.”

  “You scared me to death.” She huffed. “So don’t go telling me about my heart rate. Who let you in? Where did you get a key?”

  “Let’s just say that I know the female at reception.” He stood up. Tall, dark, his clothes equally dark. His eyes so…

  Wait a minute.

  “Just because you screw the receptionist does not mean that you can come to my room and let yourself in. Such a slut.” She muttered the last under her breath.

  “If I didn’t know better I would say that you were jealous.” He raised his brows, looking amused.

  “You wish.” She rolled her eyes. “You can have sex with whomever you want. Why are you here?” She put her hands on her hips.

  “You really can relax. You’re acting like I’m going to maul you or something,” he scoffed. “I’m not, so calm the fuck down.”

  She didn’t know whether to feel relieved or disappointed. She was relieved…very relieved. Lance wasn’t here for sex. Good. Great. Why was he here then? “Just spit it out already.”

  “I’m here to call you out on your bullshit.” He took a step towards her.

  “What are you talking about?” She had to roll her eyes again. She wasn’t the type of person who rolled their eyes but Lance seemed to bring out the absolute worst in her.

  “You didn’t come back here and get off using a vibrator. I heard what you said earlier today and I know that you said it because you didn’t want anyone to know that I had fucked you. I want you to admit it to me.”

  She tried not to fidget. “I don’t want anyone to know but I wasn’t lying about the vibrator.”

  “That’s fucking bullshit and you know it.”

  “I went all out after I got back to my room…especially after you left me feeling a little edgy. Helping myself out was oh so good…best orgasm of my life.” She tried hard to sound bored. Why was she lying to him? Why did he even care? “You have your answer. You can go now.” She looked pointedly at the door before looking back at him when he didn’t budge.

  His eyes narrowed. “Show it to me then,” he growled. “Where is this vibrator of which you speak?” He looked at her for a long while.

  She shuffled from foot to foot before squaring her shoulders. “Get out of my room. I don’t have to show you anything or prove anything. Our little encounter was…nice…but it’s over now and if I ever see you again, it will be too soon. Next time you feel the need to use one of your fuck buddies to get a key so that you can break into my room, I’ll report you.” That came out sounding a bit jealous. Which she wasn’t, was she? She would never be jealous over a pig like Lance.

  “Report me. I don’t give a fuck. For the record, the receptionist isn’t a fuck buddy—she’s a fuck buddy wanna be.”

  Of course she was. Who wasn’t, right? At least according to Lance. She rolled her eyes again. They went so far back that she almost lost the suckers in her grey matter. “You are so damned full of it. Makes me sick.”

  “A fact is a fact. I won’t apologize for it.”

  “I didn’t ask you to.”

  “Good,” he said, his voice rough and low. He might be a prick but he had a beautiful voice.

  “Good,” she echoed. There was less anger in her voice.

  He sucked in a deep breath. “You don’t have a fucking vibrator. I know this for a fact because I checked through all of your things. Every drawer, every shelf, every nook and cranny.”

  Her hands balled up into fists. “How dare you?!” she raged.

  “That little red polka dot set is sexy as fuck by the way.”

  She made a heavy sound of frustration. Not because he had been through her things but because she liked the thought of him looking through her underwear. Loved that he found some of her things sexy. She had serious screws loose. It irritated her.

  He narrowed his eyes, turning every ounce of his attention on her. “That means that you lied to me about going to your room and using the vibrator. I’m pretty sure your whole that was okay act was just that, an act. You loved my cock inside you…you fucking loved it and I wish you would just admit it.”

  “You can’t stand it can you? Your ego won’t allow it. Well so sorry to have to burst your bubble, the sex was okay. So what if I don’t have a vibrator,” she shouted, still angry but also frustrated. “It doesn’t change anything.”

  “It changes everything. Now, either you lied or you’re frigid, which is it?”

  “So damn well full of it. Your arrogance is just too much…do you know that?”

  “I know how to fuck a female. It has nothing to do with arrogance. What happened in that changing room was nothing short of explosive. I’ll admit it. Why can’t you?” He took another step towards her and right into her space.

  “I’m glad you had such a good time. I didn’t lie.” He was just too much. Too damned much. The last thing she wanted was for him to know that he had affected her. That the sex had been really good. She didn’t know why it mattered so much, but it did and she was terrified of telling him the truth. He would hold it over her somehow.

  “Then you’re frigid.”

  She slapped him across the face. Hard. There was an almighty crack and his head whipped to the side. He slowly turned back to face her. Her hand stung. Before Lance, she had never slapped a guy in the face. Yet here she was, itching to do it again…for the third time.

  Lance smiled as he massaged his jaw. “You can hit, female, I’ll give you that. Fuck me.” He continued to massage his jaw. “I’ll be damned if it doesn’t turn me on even more.” His glowing eyes landed on her, drawing her in.

  She wanted to tell him that her name was Amber, wanted to tell him one more time what a prick he was but he didn’t give her the opportunity. His lips crashed against hers. Although she wanted nothing more than to push him away, she found herself clutching his shirt. Pulling him closer. His tongue swirled with hers as the kiss went from hot to inferno in under three seconds. He groaned as he grabbed a handful of her ass and pulled her against him. Flush against him. His cock was hard against her.

  There was a yanking and a ripping noise as he tore her clothing off her body. They continued to kiss at a fevered pitch. Both of them were making desperate sounding noises. She’d never wanted anyone more. She was losing her mind. This shouldn’t be happening. She should tell him to stop. Her hands curled around his biceps and then slid up around his neck. Amber pulled him closer. Kissed him harder.

  He leaned down and sucked her nipple. Her clothing was in tatters. A few shredded pieces still attached to her body, the rest in ribbons around her feet.

  She groaned as he sucked some more on her puckered flesh, feeling her body respond to him as if on autopilot. Damn him.

  “Asshole.” She moaned, as he moved to her other nipple.

  Then he kissed her again and she lost her train of thought. His hands ripped at his pants. As in, he tore them off himself.

  Her legs were around his hips. When had she climbed him like that? He pulled her up and fumbled underneath…a condom. He was putting on a condom, while holding her up and kissing her. The man was definitely superhuman. There was no time to think on it, her back hit the wall just as he entered her. They both moaned. There was no stopping the noises that were wretched from her throat. Not this time.

  The sex had been more controlled before. This was something different. This was purely animal. Something base and primal.

  He pulled away from her, his forehead against hers, his fingers digging into her thighs. His cock so deep inside her th
at it pushed all her buttons even though he wasn’t moving.

  “Fuck,” he moaned. “I want your blood.” His breath was hot against her lips.

  Before she could answer, he began to move using swift, hard strokes. She had almost said yes. The word circled inside her head. She was totally nuts…straightjacket ready. That was for sure.

  “Oh,” she moaned. It felt even better than earlier. How was that even possible?

  His lips moved back to hers. Lance kissed her like a man possessed. It was an all-out frenzy. He grunted loudly into her mouth with each hard thrust.

  He broke the kiss. “On the floor,” he commanded, his voice wild. He threw her down on her back. Not so hard that it hurt. On the contrary, the action was rough, almost caveman. It turned her on a whole lot more.

  He pulled her legs over his shoulders, the soft woolen carpet at her back. He leaned down to take back her mouth. Funny that, since Lance didn’t seem like the type of guy that enjoyed kissing. But could he kiss though. It was a perfect combination of hard and hot together with warm and tender. It made her pant. Then he thrust into her and she pretty much saw stars.

  “Oh my…” She wanted to say god but the word got lost as everything in her prepared for release.

  “Say yes,” he said, both a demand and a request. “I want your blood.”

  Bastard! He waited until she was right on the edge. His thrusting slowed and he no longer kissed her. Instead, when she opened her eyes she was looking into his. He almost looked tender. Almost.

  Then he grinned and shoved some of her hair behind her ear. “I want you to come hard. So hard that you never even think about using a vibrator again. I want to force you to admit that my cock does it for you as much as your pussy does it for me.”

  His pace was so slow but yet he kept rocking into her, holding her just on the edge.

  “My pussy does it for you?” Her voice was deep and so breathy that it was hardly recognizable.

  “Big fucking time.” He dipped down and kissed her hard, sucking her lip into his mouth. Her hips bucked against him, her body desperately needing completion.