Lazarus barked out a laugh or something that sort of sounded like one. “Whatever.” He gave Gideon a slap on the back that almost sent him flying forward. The male was ridiculously huge. The spot where Lazarus’ hand had landed, ached and Gideon was no wilting flower. Even for a vampire, the male was a beast, that was for sure. No wonder the human females were weary of him.
“What did I do wrong to cause you to hit me like that then?” Lazarus had a sly smirk on his face and his eyes glinted.
Gideon couldn’t lie. He shrugged. “Just accept my apology and let’s be done with it.”
“So, I didn’t actually do anything then? Is that what you are saying?” He kept his eyes on Gideon who shook his head. “You blindsided me. I didn’t know you could hit like that. I knew you were good but you’re better than just good.”
Lazarus gave a soft chuckle. “Tell me about her. How do you even know her or are you just taken with her beauty?” He asked, keeping his voice low.
“It’s not like that.” Gideon glanced at the male next to him. “There is not much to tell.”
“You males and your it’s not like that statements. You do realize that when you say it’s not like that it actually really is like that? The seemingly innocent words, not much, also imply that there is something.”
Gideon shook his head, he didn’t want to have this conversation. Not with Lazarus, not with anyone for that matter. “Not this time. It really isn’t like that. Please just accept my apology and let’s move on.”
“It doesn’t take major intelligence to figure out that you hit me because you were jealous. That female was touching my arm and we were talking. You must’ve seen us and taken it the wrong way.”
“I didn’t take anything the wrong way.” Gideon growled, instantly regretting the outburst and the rush of jealousy that came with it. He hated that he felt this way over Jenna. Fucking hated it.
This time when Lazarus laughed he felt like punching him. “That particular female…” Lazarus paused and Gideon was forced to bite back a growl. He ground his teeth together instead.
Lazarus grinned. “Jenna I believe her name is.”
This time Gideon couldn’t help but to growl at Lazarus. It only made the male laugh all the louder. Gideon felt his hands curl into fists and so he shoved them into his pockets.
“Relax, bro.” Lazarus tapped him on the shoulder. “There isn’t anything between Jenna and I. She is the only human female that is not afraid of me. If it is any conciliation, not only is she not interested in me, but she is not interested in any of the others either. Not that the information will do you any good. The humans are off limits to anyone but the ten victorious elite.” The male made a snorting sound. “You will have to try out for the next round of positions. There will be more females.”
Gideon worked hard at schooling his emotions. “I don’t want a human female. Certainly not…that particular female.” He couldn’t bring himself to say Jenna’s name. “Or any other for that matter. Human females are too different from us vampires. I do not believe that we are compatible long term.”
“Oh, that’s why you didn’t hit me. Maybe I imagined the whole thing.” He rubbed his jaw. Sarcasm dripped off of every word.
“I told you that it isn’t like that.”
“You already have my opinion on that particular saying.” Lazarus raised his eyebrows.
“I’ve said my piece and I’m leaving now.” Gideon glanced at his watch. “I’m about to be late for a meeting with Brant. I need to debrief him on last night’s incident as well as on the security upgrades.”
Lazarus gave a half smile. “Yeah, after York’s little break-in into the human accommodations.” The male snorted. “He is another male famous for saying things like…it isn’t like that…all of you are in denial if you ask me.” He shook his head. “Anyway, you had better get out of here, you don’t want to be late.”
Gideon finally managed to find it in himself to smile back and then he turned and headed back towards the stairs that would take him to the North Tower.
“Gideon!” Lazarus yelled behind him.
Gideon sucked in a deep breath. “Yeah?” He said as he turned.
“I’m here if you need to talk.”
Gideon nodded once and turned away, headed back towards the stairs. As if. There was nothing to discuss. Jenna was never going to happen. Even if by some miracle she managed to actually convince him that she hadn’t immediately shacked up with another male after swearing to love him always.
He could still remember how her lashes glinted in the sun. How her tears had coursed down her cheeks that day that he had broken it off with her. He gave a small shake of the head, moving more quickly. Thing was, even if she did manage to convince him, any type of relationship with her would be forbidden. No. He needed her gone and as soon as possible.
Gideon rapped on the door to his king’s suite. It took about a minute for the door to open. His queen smiled at him, the royal heir was draped over her shoulder and she patted his back in soft, even strokes. Tanya smiled. “Come on in.” She gestured to the sofa. “Please, take a seat.”
“Good morning, my lady.” He nodded once, and entered the suite, sitting on one of the sofas that she gestured to.
“Brant will only be a few minutes.” She continued to tap on her son’s back. “I need you to do me a little favor.” She raised her eyebrows.
“Anything, my lady.” Gideon moved to stand.
“No, no. Stay right where you are.” She moved over to him, carefully peeled little Sam off of her shoulder and handed him to Gideon.
Without even thinking, he accepted the baby. “Um… I’m not so sure…” Two wide eyes looked up at him and the little one gave an almighty kick with one of his legs. “I don’t know the first thing about babies.”
Tanya smiled broadly. “You’re doing perfectly fine. I really need to use the bathroom.” She touched a hand to her tummy and pulled a face. “Like really bad. Just make sure that you support his little neck. I won’t be a minute.” She turned and walked away. Just like that. Walked. Away. Left him with the baby.
Gideon looked back down. The kid blinked, yawned and then started to kick and fuss. He didn’t look very happy and even began to make little choky, crying noises.
Oh shit!
What the hell did he know about kids? Especially when they were tiny, squirming and pink? He swallowed hard, the kicking only became worse. The little one’s face scrunched up and his little fists balled. Gideon looked around, but he was alone.
Cluster freaking fuck.
He’d had just about enough. Gideon was going to get up and actually find someone else to take the little one. It wasn’t that he didn’t like babies; he just had no clue of what to do with them. Feeling like he had two left hands, he moved Sam across to one arm so that the little guy’s head was in the crook of his arm and pulled him more firmly against his body. A miracle happened. Sam seemed to fit perfectly there, and even snuggled up against his chest. The little one quickly stopped his squirming and looked up at him with big, brown eyes. It wasn’t long before Sam was slow blinking and even gave him the cutest, gummy yawn.
Fucking incredible.
Gideon couldn’t help but to grin, maybe he wasn’t so useless with babies after all. He stared down at Sam, watching in awe as the little one dropped off to sleep. It felt like his heart actually swelled a little in his chest.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Brant growled.
It was a perfectly normal reaction. Gideon shushed his king, even putting a finger against his lips. The only consolation was that Brant wouldn’t tear into him as long as he was holding the male’s son. Although Brant narrowed his eyes, he also pursed his lips and kept quiet.
Thankfully, Tanya chose that exact moment to arrive. “Thank you so much.” She gave Gideon a wide smile as she leaned down, arms outstretched. “I thought my bladder was going to burst.” For just the tiniest second, his arm closed around the child. He alm
ost had to force himself to release the little one. What the hell was wrong with him?
Brant took a seat across from him, thank fuck he looked relaxed and even sat back in the chair. “Are all the security improvements in place?”
Straight down to business. Good, neither of them was into small talk anyway.
“Yes.” Gideon also sat back, resting his hands on his thighs. “The CCTV cameras have been installed inside all public areas within the human sleeping facilities, as well as, on the building surroundings. The beams are also in place and will be able to detect movement should anyone attempt to scale the building. The double security measures should ensure that we have no further breaches.”
Two nights ago, the elite leader, York, had broken into the human accommodations in order to spend the night with one of the females. Considering she wasn’t even a part of the program, it had been considered insubordination of the highest order.
“What of your guards? They were also part of the problem if I recall.” His king’s eyes darkened and narrowed on him.
Brant’s phone began to vibrate on the coffee table in front of them. His king cursed softly. “I need to take this.” He picked up the phone and barked a greeting before leaving the suite, closing the door behind him with a click.
Tanya returned from the nursery after having put the little prince down for a nap. “Can I get you anything to drink?” She put her hands on the sofa back next to him.
“No thank you, my lady. I’m fine.” He inclined his head as a show of respect. “There is something that I wish to ask you though, if you have a few minutes.”
Thoughts of Jenna were still strong in the forefront of his mind. He shouldn’t be doing this but couldn’t help himself.
She raised her brows. “Sure.” She said as she sat down across from him, taking the same seat Brant had just vacated. “It looks serious.”
“Not at all, my queen.” Gideon tried to put on what he hoped looked like a carefree smile. “I’m just curious, about the humans. Since it is my duty to ensure their safety, I’m having to spend a lot of time in the vicinity of both the elite males and the humans.”
She nodded, her lips curling up with a hint of a smile.
“I overheard one female talking with another female.” Again, he worked hard at keeping his voice light and neutral.
Tanya nodded, urging him to go on. Since Brant could come back at any moment, he did just that. “Sometimes when humans mate with one another, it does not last. This is a very strange concept to us vampires since we mate for life. Now this female mentioned that she was mated… I believe the correct human term is married… to a male and then decided to be with another male. Again, this is a very strange concept. Not only do vampires mate for life but we are strictly monogamous when it comes to our mate.”
Tanya smiled at him. Her face was animated with warmth. She nodded. “Yes, it’s true. Humans do not always mate for life and they are not always a monogamous species. Please do not look harshly on such females as you do not have all of the details. Do not judge them based on vampire rules and standards if you do not have all of the information. Yes, there are those that lie and cheat on their partners but sometimes a marriage break-up is consensual. What if this woman’s husband…mate cheated on her with another woman?” She paused for a few seconds. “That’s what I mean about getting all the facts first.”
Gideon sat forward, placing his elbows on his thighs and clasped his hands together. “It’s just, I feel a little worried for the males in the program. I am concerned that such females…the lying cheating ones, will not be able to mate for life or to conform to our ways.”
Tanya nodded. “You are right to be concerned. Please do bear in mind though that the females were put through rigorous psychometric testing and had to fill in detailed questionnaires before being permitted into the program. Both parties have been trained and sufficiently briefed on the cultures of the opposite species. I’m not saying that things can’t go wrong, but at the same time Brant and Zane have put in huge amounts of effort to ensure that risk is minimized and not only in the physical sense.”
Gideon nodded. “This particular female mentioned”—he felt himself frown—“that she’d already left her mate. It had only been a few weeks and she was no longer living with him. This still doesn’t make sense to me, my queen. If you are mated, then you are mated. There are no grey areas. This type of female will surely go from male to male.”
Again his queen smiled. “Humans do not always mate for life. We do not possess vampire senses, and this sometimes makes it more difficult when it comes to choosing a lifetime partner. Humans make more mistakes in this regard. I’m hoping that our males are not complete idiots. That they will ask the right questions and spend enough time with the females before making any decisions. Things will turn out fine, you will see. Communication will be key. Also, sometimes a female needs to be with the wrong male to give her better perspective about who she really wants to be with. It is not necessarily a bad thing.”
Gideon nodded. “I hope you are right.”
“You don’t seem convinced.” Tanya moved to her feet.
“That’s because I’m not. I guess I don’t get human females.” He raised his brows. “No offense.”
Tanya laughed. “None taken. I wouldn’t worry, you’re not in the program anyway.”
Thank fuck.
One mistake he could understand. Two. Not so much. It was imperative that he continue to do his job, but at the same time he would avoid Jenna as much as possible. He only prayed that she took his advice and left. The sooner , the better.
After waiting another few minutes, Brant came back and sat back down. “Tell me about the guards.”
They spent the next twenty minutes discussing all the new training programs aimed at closing some major loopholes that York had highlighted for them. The original plans had been put in place to ensure that the vampire territory and human facilities were protected from outside assaults. They never figured on one of their own breaking in. Gideon had spent many hours fixing this.
“What the fuck happened last night?” Brant growled. “A pig carcass? Are you fucking serious?”
“I typed a full report”—Gideon said, watching as Brant’s eyes darkened—“but I would be more than happy to give you an overview.” Gideon supplied the details of the events that had taken place the night before.
Brant was silent for a few seconds. “What about the female you needed to question?”
Gideon had to fight for control. He clenched his teeth, working to keep his breathing and his heart rate normal. He kept his eyes on Brant’s. “Someone I thought I recognized. Turns out I was wrong. We can’t be too careful.”
Brant narrowed his eyes, but Gideon somehow managed to remain outwardly calm. If his king ever found out about the events of a year and a half ago, he was finished.
The other male finally nodded. “Is this related in any way to what happened to Zane? Do you think it is the same hate group that did this?”
Gideon shrugged. “I sent two of my males in pursuit of the van but unfortunately they already had too much of a head start. We had to call in the human authorities since it happened on human territory. There was no evidence, although some of the test results are not back yet. Captain Jackson will be in touch with me should anything change.” Gideon took a deep breath. “I might be wrong, but I do not think that the events are related. This was more an act of vandalism where as the attack on Zane was much more serious.”
Brant nodded. “I agree. Keep me informed should anything of interest come back from the humans.” His leader sighed heavily. “Also, keep an eye on York. I want to be briefed if he leaves our territory and when he returns. My sources tell me that he reeked of human female this morning even though he left the ‘meet and greet’ early last night.” The other male clenched his jaw for a few long seconds. “I think that he is still fooling around with that human. Lord help him if that’s true.”
Gideon nod
ded.
“A fucking example needs to be made,” Brant growled. “I’m turning into a first-class pussy. I won’t tolerate any more insubordination. Not from him or anyone else for that matter.”
Chapter 5
Three days later…
Gideon was obviously into pure torture. At this vantage point, at a well placed window on the west side of the castle, Gideon had the perfect view of the lawn area next to the lake. He’d been watching a group of humans that had decided to go for a group jog.
A jog.
Here.
In front of a whole bunch of training males. He pulled out the two-way radio from one of his side pockets, immediately requesting backup to that area of the grounds. What the fuck did they think they were doing? All that half exposed human skin was bound to cause a riot. They wore little shorts and even smaller T-shirts.
At least, three of the ladies were dressed that way, the fourth wore sweatpants and a baggy shirt.
“This is team two. Over,” sounded a static voice from his radio.
“Yeah.” Gideon almost choked as the group took off at a slow jog. His eyes glued to the female in the baggy outfit. Jenna. “Get your asses to the west side of the castle…stat.”
Although the garments hung on her, they also did nothing to hide her curves. For whatever reason, she had lost weight since… He clenched his jaw, not wanting to think back on that time. The best and the worst time of his life.
As hard as he tried, Gideon could not drag his eyes away from her moving form. Her face was set in determination. Her little hands were clenched into fists which she pumped at her sides. He was fucked if he couldn’t take his eyes off of her breasts, which bounced in time to her footfalls. Didn’t she know that sports bras had been invented? Fuck! He was going to have to buy her one.
He was forced to clench his teeth even tighter as the group of females passed by. Gideon groaned as he caught sight of her ass. Even though he couldn’t actually see it. It didn’t matter because his hands still itched to touch and his mouth watered to taste. His dick actually twitched beneath his zipper. His body had taken on a mind of its own. What was she even still doing here?
A Mate for Gideon (The Program Book 2) Page 5
