“Take off the dress.” No mistaking the low growl. “And your underwear.”
A shock of pink crept up her neck, spilling over onto her cheeks, like she’d never had sex before. It was as sexy as fuck.
She looked up at him from under her lashes. “I think it would be better if the dress stayed on.”
He shrugged. “Your thong needs to go. That’s not negotiable.”
She swallowed hard but nodded, shimmying out of the black lace. She put the panties on her bedside table.
Lance picked up the scrap of fabric and put it to his nose. Yum. He sniffed again.
“Stop that.” She shook her head. “You’re being a pig.”
“Oink fucking oink. I love the scent of your pussy.” He shrugged. “So sue me.” He put the thong back on the table. Then, on second thoughts, he picked up the thong and stuck it in his pocket.
“Hey.” Amber scowled at him, looking more adorable than angry.
Lance shrugged. “For later. When I’m all alone and tugging myself around the room like a class-A loser.” He choked out a laugh. Oh how the fucking mighty fall. “Lie down on the bed. Pull your dress up over your hips and open your legs.”
“I can go without…this…for a few days…you know?” She swallowed hard. Looking so unsure of herself.
He shook his head. “I’m going to make you come hard, Amber. I’m going to watch you become wild with need and I’m going to watch you closely when your orgasm obliterates you. Know that I will play the moment over and over in my mind later.” And again in the morning.
She nodded. The scent of her arousal filled the room. It made his head spin. Amber lay down on the bed while he put batteries into the device. It was a fucking crying shame that this battery operated piece of rubber got to touch her instead of him. He would make do and deliver as promised. Despite the raging need that coursed through him, he would enjoy every second.
She arched her back as she slid her dress over her hips.
“Open.” His voice was so gravelly. His dick lurched in his pants as he caught sight of her glistening pussy and that wild tangle of fur between her legs. So fucking beautiful.
Her heart was beating out of her chest. Her eyes were wide. She was nervous and turned on. So damned turned on.
“Grab ahold of the headboard and don’t let go or I’ll stop.”
“Maybe I want you to stop.” Her knuckles turned white as she grabbed the wrought iron rail.
“No fucking way.”
“So damned arrogant.”
He smiled. “It’s a fact.” Her hips jerked as the vibrator fired to life with a soft buzzing noise. “Don’t make a sound. Not one little noise. Do you hear me?”
Instead of nodding, she shook her head. Her chest heaved and her eyes widened. He scented fear. “What’s wrong?”
She clutched her chest. “I don’t feel right.”
“What’s wrong?” He could hear the panic in his voice. The scent of her fear deepened.
“You spoke to the chef. Shit!” She sat upright. Her breathing ragged. “I feel ill.” She absently scratched her arm. “Itchy. My lips are tingling. Shit! You spoke to the chef so this can’t be happening.” Her eyes were wide and wild looking.
“Are you having one of your…reactions?” Fuck. Her skin had turned pale and yet blotchy in places.
Her eyes were so fucking wide it was scary. Her heart raced. She covered her mouth with her hand, making a pained noise. “I’m going to throw up.”
“Good. Do it. It might help.” He closed the distance between them.
“Toilet.” She moaned between her fingers. Amber made a pained noise through her fingers.
“Of course.” He picked her up off the bed and quickly carried her to the bathroom. As soon as he put her down, she practically threw herself over the porcelain bowl and heaved.
“Fuck,” Lance snarled. He didn’t know what to do. In the end, he held back her hair. Her body heaved a few times before she finally threw up. This went on for a while. She gripped the toilet seat, breathing heavily between retches.
When she was finally done. He helped her up so that she could wash her face. Lance pulled her dress back down. Her heart raced even faster and her breathing was still erratic. “I need my purse. Call an ambulance.” Her eyes were wild and her lips looked…swollen. They were definitely fucking swollen.
He held onto her so that she couldn’t fall. The blotches on her neck were worse. “I’ve got you,” he growled. Feeling more useless than ever before.
“I’m going into shock. Help me.” Her eyes rolled back. “My pen. My…” She wobbled on her feet and he picked her up.
Even her hands looked swollen. She was wheezing, like it was hard to breathe. Lance carried her to the room and put her on the bed. “My pen. Need my pen.”
Why the hell would she need a pen at a time like this? She must be delusional.
Lance dialed reception. “We need an ambulance…no, make that a chopper. Fuck!” he snarled. “The human, Amber, is in trouble. She ate food that does not agree with her.”
“I can send up some antacids…” the idiot at reception said. “I doubt that a—”
“She is dying. Humans can have allergies that can kill them. She suffers from one of these allergies. She can’t breathe and is swelling. If you don’t call someone, she will die. I don’t have time to explain. Call the healers. I will try and see what I can do.” He said it all in a rush and didn’t wait for the female to respond.
He would feed her his blood.
“My purse.” She was trying to get up. “Medicine.” Her eyes rolled in her head. She was so damned pale. The swelling was worse. Her breathing was worse. Fuck! His heart raced as he grabbed her purse and threw the contents out on the bed.
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.
Chapter 16
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.”
A Mate for Lance (The Program Book 5) Page 17