A Mate for Lance (The Program Book 5) (4 page)

“I’m sorry. It wasn’t my intention to make you feel uncomfortable.” Poor thing looked really upset. It wasn’t his fault she was…what was she exactly? A twenty-something spinster? A bit of a recluse when it came to men?

“No, that’s fine. I’m just…” She shrugged. “Not really used to talking about such things so…openly.” It had been a very long time since she’d even had sex so it was no wonder she struggled to discuss the subject. To even say the word…
sex.

It didn’t help that Brynn was an opposite member of the sex or that he was really good looking. His eyes were a slivery grey and his hair was dark. With his height and bulk, the combination made her tongue-tied.

“We can change the subject but please don’t talk about the weather.” He smiled. “It’s a sure sign that a female is not enjoying herself. I wanted to try and understand human females better…” His eyes narrowed in on hers. “I wanted to understand
you
better.”

She nodded. “Fair enough.” She took a big, fortifying glug of her wine. “I’m definitely the kind of woman who likes to get to know a guy first. I dated my last boyfriend for two months before we…you know.”

His eyes bugged right out of his skull and his mouth dropped open. Then he made a strange groaning noise. “You have got to be kidding me?” He scratched the back of his head. “Zane wasn’t bullshitting,” he mumbled to himself.

Amber had to laugh at his reaction. “I’m not kidding. I don’t like to rush into things. I would never just jump into bed with someone.” She shook her head. “I’m sorry if that disappoints you and I would understand if you decided to go and speak with one of the other women.”

He nodded. “Thank you for being honest with me. I appreciate it.”

This was the part where he would say his goodbyes. Amber decided to make it easier for him. “Look, not all women feel the same way as I do. We’re in liberated times. There are many women that have sex for the fun of it. They wouldn’t think twice about sleeping with someone because they are attracted to them. No strings attached, as the saying goes.”

Brynn sighed. “I think I might like you though, Amber. I would like to get to know you better. I’m hoping you will consider a date with me. We can get to know one another and then maybe…” His eyes darkened. “No rush, of course.”

Okay, unexpected. She raised her brows, not sure what to say. He was cute and sweet. What harm could it do? “Let’s have dinner together this evening and then we’ll see about a date.” Amber couldn’t help but look around the room. The letter in her purse seemed to sing at her,
Lance, Lance
. She couldn’t get it out of her head but there was no sign of him. Where was he? She was going to be polite even though he hadn’t been. The letter looked important and personal. It wouldn’t be right to hand the letter to one of the others. She needed to give it back to him herself. She forced her attention back to the man in front of her.

Brynn grinned at her. “That sounds like a plan.”

“Okay then.” She smiled back.

Just then, Kai walked past. “Lucky fuck!” He glowered at Brynn for a second before throwing her a half smile. “I’ll be seeing you tomorrow.”

Had she died then reincarnated in an alternate universe? Men didn’t normally find her attractive. Sure, they sometimes struggled to look her in the eyes, but that’s where it ended. She had shoulder length brown hair and brown eyes, she was quite plain looking. She had a bit of a roman nose, was pasty white and even though her hair was dark, her eyelashes were blond. In short, she didn’t leave the house without mascara.

To make matters worse, Amber was a bit on the chubby side. She had cellulite and curves. Abundant curves, even though she’d lost a few pounds over the last few weeks. It did bug her at times. She was a woman after all and one that wanted to be desired. She agreed with what her mom had always told her, a guy needed to want her for her. Curves and all.

Brynn tensed. “Asshole.” He looked really angry. Amber sucked in a deep breath. This was surreal.

“You’re smiling.” Brynn snorted. “Go figure! You like that two males are vying for your attention.”

“It’s just…it’s a novelty. I’ve never had guys fight over me before. Not when there are so many other really beautiful women in the same room. Who am I kidding? Even when it’s just me in the room.”

Brynn looked her deep in the eye. “As far as I’m concerned, there is only one beautiful female in this room. I’m glad you’re enjoying watching us go at each other because I suspect that things are going to get more heated in the coming days. Blood might spill.” He looked across the room at Kai who cocked his head, his eyes dark.

“You don’t even know me,” she whispered.

“I know enough.” He gestured to the door. “Let’s go to the dining hall; dinner will be served shortly. There are many things I wish to know about you.”

Fuck it!

Lance wolfed down the last mouthful of his fillet mignon, he threw his napkin on the table and made for the exit. That was enough of a pony fucking show for one day. He briefly contemplated hooking up with one of the vampire females but quickly dismissed the idea. Tomorrow was another day, just as long as he drank and fucked before practice tomorrow, he would be just fine.

Lance made it to his suite in no time, after a quick shower, he pulled on a pair of boxers. Fuck, now that he was home, he felt the walls closing in on him. Maybe forgoing his regular evening activities had not been the best idea.

He felt listless. Lance lay down on his bed but quickly stood up again. Shit! A walk in the gardens. He needed to do something, anything. It was like a fist had closed itself around his heart. Adrenaline surged. His breathing picked up and sweat beaded on his forehead. Lance yanked his closet door open and was just pulling out a pair of sweats when a knock sounded.

Perfect. Just fucking perfect. An uninvited guest. The fun and games were about to start. It was only the first night. Why couldn’t they leave him alone? If he wanted a female, he would crook his finger at her.

Shaking his head, he walked to the door and opened it, not bothering to dress first. He caught the amused look of one of the guards nearby.

This evening kept on getting better and better.

Just as suspected, it was one of the human females. She was tall with long braids that fell all the way down her back. The female had beautiful, glowing skin and a sultry smile on her pretty face. “Thought you could use some company.” She let a finger slide between her breasts which were incased in a low cut top.

Sure to keep his eyes on hers, he shook his head. “Well, you thought wrong.” He slammed the door in her face, grinding his teeth at the soft chuckle on the other side of the door. The guards found the whole thing so fucking hilarious.

He had asked them to stop bringing the females night after fucking night but no one listened. At least this female left gracefully. He often had to listen to hurled insults and his door usually took a beating. The first week of the new heat would be the worst, after that, males picked females and the harassments died down.

The edginess that he had been feeling moments earlier was back now and with a fucking vengeance. His muscles tensed and his jaw clenched. He moved to his window and let his eyes rove across the rolling lawns. The stars were amazing, as was the half-moon that hung low in the sky. He felt a modicum of normality return but it didn’t last long. Lance moved back to his closet and yanked on the sweats. He was just reaching for a shirt when another knock sounded.

Fucking hell!

He almost yelled for whomever it was to leave him the fuck alone but chances were they would just knock harder. For just a second, he thought of jumping out his window. Two floors was nothing for a vampire in his prime but he wasn’t a coward. The sooner that word got out that he wasn’t available, the better.

Lance sucked in a deep breath and opened the door. Titan lurked in the shadows. What the fuck! So far, Titan had been the only male that had honored his wishes about keeping the humans away from him. Lance felt himself frown. The frown only deepened as it landed on the female in front of him.

She licked her lips and her breathing hitched. She threw him a nervous smile. “Sorry to disturb you.”

Like fuck she was
. He folded his arms, eyes raking over her. Christ but she was a stunner. All tits and ass. The conservative dress and the string of pearls only heightened her appeal, as did her nervous shuffling from one heel to the other. He’d noticed her at the meet-and-greet but had tried to pretend she didn’t even exist. That was best to discourage these females. Apparently, it hadn’t worked.

Not so long ago, he would’ve had her out of that dress and on his cock in under a minute. Her pearls and the heels could stay. For just a second he was tempted to take her up on the offer that was soon to come. It would be quite something to watch this female unravel underneath him. Pity it wasn’t going to happen.

His cock responded, which irritated the fuck out of him. This female, just like all the others, would want more than just an hour or two of fun. She would attach emotion to the act. Then he’d have to put up with tantrums and tears and in some cases, borderline stalker behavior. Not a fuck!

She licked her lips. “I’m here because…”

He clenched his jaw. “I know why you’re here…” He didn’t give her a chance to talk before continuing. “You were hoping for a fuck.”

She inhaled sharply. Her eyes widened, mouth parting in shock. “What?” she whispered, looking offended. She was one of the more conservative ones. The ones that fooled themselves into thinking that they wanted to chat. Not one of the females that had knocked on his door ever ultimately wanted to chat. Not one.

Damn…she had a really sexy as fuck mouth. All glossed up. He watched as her mouth closed and her lips thinned. Her cheeks had flushed and her eyes were blazing. She was pissed. Even her little fists were balled at her sides. He was fucked if his dick didn’t harden up a whole lot more. Lance fisted his scrunched up shirt in front of his dick. He did not want to give this female any ideas. A hard dick didn’t mean she was getting her way.

“You can turn your sexy little ass around and walk away,” he barked, not mincing his words and hoping to scare her into leaving him alone, “because you and me ain’t going to happen.”

****

In that moment, the only thing she could think of was how sexy he was and how much she disliked him. It sucked to admit, even to herself, that shirtless had never looked so good before. Wide shoulders, tight abs and thick biceps. The tattoo that wound itself around his left arm only added to his sex appeal.
Asshole!

“I’m not here to…for…” she sputtered, unable to get the word out.

The intense…almost angry glare turned…amused. No, it became more than just amused, it turned mocking. “
Fuck
. The word you are trying to say is
fuck
.”

He was crude, trying to offend and goad her at the same time. But her mouth dried and her womanly parts reacted as he said the word. Damn them but they did. Her nipples tightened as did other things. They didn’t agree with her brain…with the rational side of her that refused to look at the V thing that was going on at the top of his sweats. Oh good lord, his pants rode low on his asshole hips.

She felt her cheeks heat. “I’m not here for that.”

“Like fuck you’re not.” He sniffed the air. His nostrils flared and his eyelids drifted closed. “I can scent it on you.” He chuckled. “You may have some other excuse that you cooked up to make yourself feel better about it but you are here for this.” He removed the balled up shirt and curled his hand around his…his…

He didn’t just do that. He did not. She swallowed thickly, unable to take her eyes off of his erection. Shit! “Um…” she sputtered. “It’s not like that…” She finally managed to drag her eyes back up to meet his. A bright, unbelievably beautiful blue. Damn him! “You are very rude.” It came out in a hoarse whisper.

Those eyes, those eyes. They were also hard and emotionless. No, that wasn’t true. There was pain in their depths. Then it was gone and the mocking humor returned. “I must admit that I’m tempted.”

“Well I’m not interested in you.” A soft squeak. She half expected him to ogle her but his eyes stayed locked with hers. “No…” She finally managed to get out, sounding every bit as flustered as she was. “I brought you—”

“I know what you brought me.” Finally, his eyes drifted to her boobs and down to between her legs. His nostrils flared again. “Go away.” He practically whispered the words as his eyes moved back to meet hers. “You’ve already got two males fighting each other for your attention. Isn’t that enough for you?”

He gripped the edge of the door and she could tell that he was about to close it in her face. “You’re an asshole. Do you know that? An unbelievably huge asshole. On top of that, your arrogance is astounding. It’s a wonder you actually manage to get through doors with a head that size.”

He cocked the head in question and grinned. “My head
is
pretty big.” He fisted his…member…again and her eyes were drawn to where his hand fondled his…really big…for lack of a better word…cock.

She tore her eyes away from what his hand was doing. “Stop that. Please can you try and stop being a jerk long enough so that I can tell you the
real
reason I’m here?”

Lance shook his head. “Still fooling yourself, female.”

“I don’t want to have sex with you.” She put her hands on her hips.

“I can smell your arousal. You are turned on as fuck.”

“I. Am. Not.” Maybe just a little but only because her body still wasn’t listening to her. Watching him touch himself like that hadn’t helped things. Lance was an idiot. A total asshole. She wasn’t interested. She wasn’t.

“Are. Too.” He leaned against the jamb and grinned at her. Why the hell did he have to look so darned good as he did it? Why?

“I came over to give you this.” She handed him the envelope, trying not to smile. He could take it and shove it for all she cared. “It’s proof that I didn’t come here to—”

“To come.”

“What?” she choked out. Had he really just said that?

“You came here because you wanted to come. This”—he held up the envelope for a second or two before tossing it over his shoulder—“is just an excuse.”

“No way. You are such a jerk. Such an—”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m a jerk and an asshole, but…” He smirked. “I’m an asshole that you’d love have fuck you…hard.”

She made a squeaking noise born of frustration. She was getting so worked up, she was shaking. “No, I would not. That’s disgusting. It’s filthy and really so rude.” Her cheeks felt so hot that she was sure she might burst into flames at any second. She wasn’t sure if it was because of the anger coursing through her veins or whether it was from being so turned on. She needed to leave and right now. Why then did her feet feel rooted to the spot?

“Bullshit,” he said, as he took a small step towards her and got right into her personal space. “You would like nothing better than to have me pull you inside and push you up against the wall right in the hallway. I would pull your conservative dress up over your hips, rip your panties and…”

“No…” She gasped, feeling herself grow wetter and wetter at the dirty things he was saying. She was horrified by her body’s reaction but she couldn’t seem to help it.

“No?” A deep, sexy rumble. So low and deep that she felt it inside of her and she was damned if she didn’t grow even more slick. Her breasts felt swollen, her bra too tight. Why was it so hellishly hot in here? Someone should do something about the air-conditioning.

She shook her head. “No.” She needed him to stop talking. She needed to leave. She even managed a step back then stopped.

Lance moved in even closer. There was barely an inch separating them. “Mother fuck!” he whispered. “You hate me right now, don’t you? But only because you want me so damned much?”

Nail on the head.

Unfortunately.

His eyes stared into hers with such intense focus that they took her breath away. “It’s new to me. Interesting as fuck. Admit that you want me.”

“No.” Her chest rose and fell in quick succession. She needed to leave, only she still couldn’t drag her eyes away from his.

“How long has it been?” His nostrils flared. “This level of arousal is crazy I can taste your need.” He licked his lips and she followed the languid stroke of his tongue, only just managing to hold back a sigh. Then she realized what he had asked.

Oh my god! Embarrassment flooded her. “I’m leaving. I can’t believe how rude you are. It’s not right to ask things like that.” She tried to take a step back.

“How fucking long?” He gripped her hand and the softness of his touch startled her.

“None of your—”

“Tell me,” he coaxed. His stare had softened.

She was so taken aback by his change in attitude, that she blurted, “Three and a half years, okay? Can I go now?” Amber could feel her eyes fill with tears. She blinked, not wanting to show him how upset she was. She swallowed hard, trying to rid herself of the lump forming in her throat.

“No,” he said roughly, sounding really angry. “That’s not okay. It’s so far from okay that…” He cursed and pulled on her hand. “You’re coming inside.”

“No. I…” She tried to pull back.

“You’ve got two choices…you can either come out here or you can come inside my suite but you will be coming, little human, so make up your mind.”

She was so shocked that she allowed herself to be dragged inside. When the door clicked shut, it brought her back to her senses. “Are you nuts? I’m not some charity case. I have a perfectly good vibrator back at my room. I don’t—”

Lance chuckled. “As much as I love the idea of you pleasuring yourself, it’s not happening tonight. It’s not the same when you do it yourself. Besides, you need release and you need it fucking badly.”

She shook her head. “No…I…”

“Don’t deny it.” He moved in until her backside hit against the wall behind her. He put a hand on the plaster on either side of her face. “You need this. You’re getting it. I would like nothing more than to fuck you but we are forbidden to do so tonight so my tongue is going to have to do.”