Alpha Male Incorporated: Take Control (13 page)

Another knock came followed by Thorsten’s impatient voice. “Raya, I know you’re in there. Don’t pretend you aren’t. I’m not leaving. We are going out on this date. Now open this door unless you are really scared.”

Raya cursed under her breath before flinging open the door. Her eyes froze on Thorsten’s long, lean form as he stared back at her. The rich outlines of his shoulders strained against the fabric of his suit that looked tailor-made for his body. She tried hard to ignore how good he looked in the bluish-gray suit, white shirt, and light blue tie but couldn’t do it. He was beyond handsome and the sad thing was he
knew
it.

“I have told you before I’m not scared of you. I didn’t cancel our date, did I?” she flung back.

One corner of his mouth pulled up into a slight grin as he took a step towards her. “Raya, I know you aren’t scared of being out alone with me. But, I couldn’t resist teasing you. I like how your eyes come alive when we fight,” he admitted. “You’re a passionate woman and I don’t mind having it directed towards me. I’m more than man enough to handle it.”

In an attempt to resist the captivating smile, she said, “Let me grab my purse and then we can hit the road.” She spun back around and grabbed her purse off the chair by the door, then faced Thorsten again.

“You look stunning.” The compliment was so sincere, it threw her for a minute and Raya just stared up at Thorsten.

“Thank you,” she answered, “I’m surprised you would even notice.”

Stepping more into her space, Thorsten ran his fingers down the side of her face. As his heated gaze traveled over her face and searched her eyes, she tried to throttle the dizzying current racing though her body, but she couldn’t break away from him.

“You’re welcome, sweetheart, and I would’ve been a fool not to notice.”

“You’re up to something. I know you are,” she said.

Thorsten didn’t say another word for a second as he continued staring at her. “I’m not as much of a jerk as you believe I am. I can actually be pretty nice sometimes,” he told her.

“Sure you aren’t.”

“I’m going to prove it to you. How about we leave? I don’t want us to be late,” he said, removing his hand.

“Fine with me,” Raya answered, waiting while Thorsten moved back so she could step out on the porch and lock the front door.

She prayed the walk to his car would shake off some of the aura that had surrounded her from Thorsten’s caress. She didn’t know what was going on but she had to put the brakes on it. He was public enemy number one, not a potential love interest. They were only having dinner to discuss business and nothing else.

“I’m ready if you are,” she said, turning around to face Thorsten.

“Sweetheart, I have been ready for you even before I knew your name,” he said, placing his hand in the middle of her back. He led her down the pathway towards the shiny black sports car parked at the curb.

Raya laughed softly. “I should have known you would own a Jaguar. It’s sleek and fast, just the thing to boost your ego up another level.”

Stopping by the car, Thorsten opened the passenger-side door for her. He bent down and whispered in her ear, “I bought this car for a special purpose and an ego trip wasn’t it. I might tell you one day if you let me.”

Instead of giving Thorsten an answer, Raya got inside of the vehicle and allowed him to close the door behind her. She wasn’t about to be in the car after tonight. So, she wouldn’t ever find out why he bought it. Besides, why did he think she would even care?

****

Thorsten inhaled the night air, allowing Raya’s scent to take over his senses. He didn’t expect her to look so stunning when she opened the door. He never noticed how beautiful she was until that moment she stood there, staring up at him with her dark eyes.

The bun she usually wore was gone and rich, flowing black hair brushed the top of her shoulders. The gray dress hugged her curvy body, showing off her tiny waist. When she turned around to get her purse, his breath caught in his throat at how the material hugged her rounded ass.

Before, he had seen her as a hurdle to overcome and capture, so he wouldn’t have to deal with the “sleep of the dead”. However, something more possessive took a hold of him when Raya’s exquisite beauty was put out on display for every man to see tonight. For a second, he rethought his plans about taking her to the hottest restaurant in town. Everyone there would notice her as soon as they walked through the doors.

As unusual stirring started deep inside of him at the thought of a man, especially a human, drawing Raya’s attention away from him. The emotion surprised him so much that he shoved it back to wherever it had come from. He wasn’t going to do this.

Tonight was about proving to Raya she was wrong in thinking she knew everything about him. He wasn’t as transparent as she believed. He was over two hundred years old and had mastered the art of romance, seduction, and anything else he might need to use to get what he wanted.

No way would a pint-sized woman bring him down to his knees because of some stupid family curse. He would make damn sure of it. Walking around the car, he got inside and started up the engine.

“Are you okay?” Raya asked, looking at him.

“I’m fine. Why do you ask?”

“You were standing out there for so long. I just got a little concerned about you.”

“It’s nothing for you to be worried about,” he answered. “I just got caught up in a thought. But, I can promise that you will get my undivided attention for the rest of the night, sweetheart.” Turning his head, he winked at Raya and then looked back at the road before pulling away from the curb and driving down the street.

Sitting inside
Haim’s
, one of the most exclusive restaurants in Los Angeles, Raya took a sip of her water and listened as Thorsten tried to impress her by ordering the most expensive wine on the menu.

“Do you always order a thousand-dollar bottle of wine for a business dinner?” she asked.

A bright blue gaze lazily roamed over her face before Thorsten finally spoke. “I don’t remember suggesting this was a business date for us. I asked you out because I wanted to see what made you so difficult to figure out. Most women would love to be here with me tonight, but you’re acting like it’s a chore to cross off your to-do list.”

“I wouldn’t admit that I think of you as something to do,” she smirked. “You’re more of a time killer for me.”

Thorsten narrowed his eyes at her. “Time killer, I don’t know what you mean by that. Why am I a time killer for you?”

Raya started to answer, but paused when she noticed the waiter coming back to their table with the overly priced bottle of wine. Smiling at the guy, she waited while he poured Thorsten a taste to sample and gave his approval.

“Thank you,” she said as the Michael Ealy lookalike poured her a glass.

“You’re welcome,” the waiter answered, returning her smile before placing the bottle on the table and walking away.

“You didn’t have to smile at him,” Thorsten complained, watching her through narrowed eyes.

“Thorsten, you don’t have any right to tell me what to do. I can smile at anyone I want to. How about we drop this pretense and get down to business?” Picking up her wineglass, Raya took a sip, looking at her date over the rim, then sat it back down on the table.

“You’re strong-minded and direct for sure. I like that in you,” he said in a deep, velvet voice. “I wonder if you can take orders as well as you give them.”

It came as no surprise to see Thorsten was trying a new angle with her. He wasn’t getting to her by pushing her last nerve, so maybe he thought by befriending her things would become different between them, but it wouldn’t.

“You say you do, but you’re probably thinking something entirely different,” she laughed. “When are we going to order something to eat? The wine is outstanding but I have heard so many good things about the food here. I want to see if the rumors are true.”

Reaching for his wineglass, Thorsten took a long taste before placing it back down on the table. “I have already placed our dinner orders with the chef. He’s a personal friend of mine and I told him to fix us the best meal on the menu. I have no doubt our taste buds will be seduced.”

Relaxing in her seat, Raya ran her finger over the wineglass, staring at Thorsten across the table. There was something about him that kept drawing her back towards him. If any other man had ordered her food, she would have thrown a fit and left him sitting here alone.

She didn’t put it past Thorsten to be arrogant enough to actually believe, only after a few meetings, he knew her likes and dislikes when it came to her food.

“What, no comment?” he taunted her. “I thought you would have stormed out of here the second you heard I ordered our meal without asking you.”

Raya raised an eyebrow and tilted her head. “Nope, I want to love watching you fail miserably.”

He threw back his head back and laughed… a genuine laugh. She was surprised to hear it come from Thorsten. When he stopped, his eyes found hers and she saw a spark in them she knew wasn’t there before.

“You love to annoy me, don’t you? It gives you a lot of pleasure.”

She brushed her hair off her shoulder. “Mr. Irizarry, a lot of things give me countless hours of pleasure. Pleasure so unbelievable, I don’t have the words to describe it. However, finding ways to annoy you isn’t on the same playing field.”

****

Thorsten felt his anger rising at Raya’s dismissal of him. She actually looked him in the face and told him he wasn’t man enough to give her satisfaction. He took a sniff of the air around them. He could tell a human male had never touched her. So, what kind of pleasure she was she referring to if it wasn’t sexual?

She wasn’t allowed to experience
anything
with any other man but him. He was her mate, not anyone else. Who had her thinking he knew the world of pleasure better than him? He brushed her mind with his, but pulled back when Raya’s hand reached up and massaged her temple. He couldn’t invade her thoughts, not with so many people around them or out of anger. Something could go wrong.

“Are you okay?” he asked, truly concerned about his mate’s well-being.

“I don’t know,” she admitted, dropping her hand. “I had this sharp pain in my head. God, it felt like a needle being shoved into my brain.”

“I’m sorry.”

“For what?” Raya asked, watching him closely. “You haven’t done anything to me.”

“I invited you to to——”

The rest of his comment was cut off by the waiter placing a plate of delicious scallops in front of them. “Mr. Irizarry, Sonny wanted me to apologize for the long wait, but he wanted to personally cook the meal for you and your stunning date,” the waiter said.

He gave Raya another smile and placed an identical plate of scallops in front of her.

“Thank you,” she said.

“You’re welcome, and enjoy your meal,” the guy said, then walked back to the kitchen.

Oh, he was going to have a talk with Sonny about this guy the next time he got the chance, but tonight was about him and Raya. “What do you think about the food?” he asked her.

“How did you know I loved scallops?” Raya questioned

“I have to admit I took a wild guess, but I’m glad I did. I wanted to show you a different side of me tonight and I think I’m going a good job of it.”

****

Everything about tonight was going in a completely different direction than Raya envisioned. Thorsten wasn’t the hardass bastard she envisioned him to be. It was actually easy to have a conversation with him.

Biting her lip, she glanced away from the plate of food, as the room felt like it was closing in on her. Every fiber in her body warned her against him. Looking across the table, she noticed Thorsten regarding her quizzically for a moment before the look disappeared.

Suddenly, she felt ill-equipped to finish this date with Thorsten. She needed to get away from him.

“Will you excuse me? I need to visit the bathroom.” To Raya’s dismay, her voice broke slightly. She jumped up out of her chair and headed for the bathroom she noticed when they came into the restaurant.

“Raya, wait. What’s wrong?” Thorsten yelled after her. Instead of looking back, she kept going until she was inside the safety of the bathroom.

Thorsten stared after Raya, wondering what happened to her. Everything was going so well between them and all of a sudden she got this strange look on her face, then raced away from the table. He got up to follow her to make sure was okay, but something stopped him before he took one step.

“Let her go. I know you don’t want to be here with her anyway. She isn’t the woman for you. Thorsten Irizarry would never take a second glance at her.”

His body instantly went on high alert at the sound of the soft, almost musical voice behind him. Before he could turn around the woman moved swiftly around his body and took Raya’s seat across from him at the table.

Icy blue eyes glowed with an inner fire as she glared at him with pure loathing. He felt it radiating off every pore in her body. She wasn’t supposed to be here. How in the hell did she find him?

“Cordelia, what are you doing here?” he hissed, moving closer to the table so she was the only one who could hear him. “How did you find me? I told you things were finished between us and I meant every word.”

“I followed you from Raya’s house,” she answered. “I thought
Unique
women were a myth, but I guess I was wrong. I know you can’t really be linked to that human female.”

Her eyes narrowed into slits as she continued staring at him with hatred. “We are pure vampires. She can’t offer you what I can. She’s inferior to us and always will be. Is she the reason you left my bed months ago? Raya is weak and easily frightened.

“Why would you waste your time on a woman so beneath you? All I had to do was trigger something in her mind and it sent her running to the bathroom. How can that pathetic thing be your mate? I’m your true mate. Why can’t you accept it?”

Moving away from the side of the table, he retook his seat in front of Cordelia. Fury like Thorsten had never felt before rushed over him, took utter control of his body. Consumed him and became him. His hand shot out in a blur, wrapping around the pale, thin wrist on the table.