Alpha Male Incorporated: Take Control (17 page)

“I’m too angry to even tell you what Thorsten has done now. So, I’ll take a step back and let him do it.”

With a wave of his hand, Jax fixed his chair and took a seat. He shot Thorsten a hard look for him to tell Zander what problem he had brought into their lives now.

“Tell me what you did,” Zander demanded. “Don’t make me ask you twice.”

Turning his head, Thorsten locked eyes with his brother. “Last night, I was out on a date with Raya and while we were there Cordelia showed up. I think she…No, I
know
she made Raya sick to get some alone time with me because after Raya ran to the bathroom she showed up at my table.”

“Thorsten, why would Cordelia show up for no reason when you were on a date with your mate?” Zander questioned, then flashed across the room and took a seat in the last empty chair. “Jax and I both warned you to stay away from her years ago. Don’t you know she wouldn’t think twice about killing Raya? Cordelia is deadly. She doesn’t like to lose.”

“I know,” Thorsten said, jumping up from his seat. “The first thing I thought about was my mate’s well-being. Especially after I found out Cordelia had been following her for a while. She tried to deny it and tell me I was the one she had been following. I know it is Raya. But, she isn’t my only problem. I have another one lurking in the background.

“Raya has a human admirer wanting to get her into his bed and I think she might give in to him. Alec is a problem. I can’t have my ex-lover running around threatening my woman. I have to eliminate him from the equation, too.”

“I know Alec,” Jax admitted, watching as Thorsten spun around.

“Tell me about him. Is he a threat to me for getting what I want with Raya?”

“I can’t believe you worry about an English professor. Is Raya not falling at your feet like you bragged countless times that she would do?” Zander questioned before Jax could get the words out.

“I’m not going to lie. I was only thinking about myself when I first found out about Raya. I only wanted to get her to accept me as fast as I could then move on to something else. I wasn’t interested in her wants and needs because she was already born to be with me, but all of that changed last night.”

“Care to tell us what made your change your mind?” Jax asked.

“I kissed her and the moment our lips touched every changed. The ground rolled and shifted under my feet. The sweet taste of her mouth almost made me bite her. I knew she was
mine
at that very moment and when I got her on the couch I almost went too far, but I stopped in time.

“Instantly, this overwhelming need to protect her took over me and I couldn’t shake the feeling. So, I’ll be damned if Cordelia or Alec will prevent me from getting Raya to see me differently.”

Thorsten heard the words coming out of his mouth, but he couldn’t believe how they sounded. He actually was worried about Raya. Could a simple kiss really be that powerful? Or was it the small taste of her blood he had sampled at Jax’s house earlier? He wasn’t about to tell Jax or Zander he bit Raya already.

He had only taken a small sip of her hot, warm blood and stopped before the desire to take more took over. He had to make a connection between them so he would be able to find her with Cordelia out there.

“Thorsten, are you ready to stop your playboy ways and settle down with Raya?” Jax questioned, pulling him away from his inner thoughts.

“I’m not going to do anything else to ruin my chances of being with her. I want her in my life. I don’t care about the hedge fund or proving how fast I can win her over. The closeness I felt in Raya’s arms for those few minutes was heart-stopping. I think it scared her away even more. She doesn’t want to admit she got lost in our kiss as much as I did.

“I can tell already she isn’t willing to accept her fate as my mate. She will fight it and me with everything in her tiny, perfect body. I don’t see her forgetting the first impression I gave her. How can I get her to accept me forever? I wasn’t the nicest guy to her. So, if she hates me and doesn’t realize I’m a vampire like the two of you, her opinion of me will only get worse when she finds out I’m keeping this secret from her.”

“I still don’t understand why Raya doesn’t think you’re a vampire when Jax and I both are and she knows it,” Zander interjected. “You’re our cousin. Why hasn’t it dawned on her by now what you are and what you want from her? I’ve never considered her as a woman who can’t see what is right in front of her face.”

“Truthfully, I don’t think she has even made the connection. She has been totally focused on keeping me at bay along with proving something to her brother. The idea of her being like Sahara and Sabrina wouldn’t have entered her mind. Haven’t you ever had tunnel vision so badly that everything else around you blends into the background?

“I have dropped hints, but she hasn’t picked up on any of them. She loves Sahara, but she wouldn’t want to live forever. I can’t lose her, not when I’m so ready to admit how much she’s beginning to mean to me. Shit!”

“Don’t act like things are over before they’ve even started between the two of you,” Jax told him. “However, before you think about going after your woman, you have to get her out of the line of danger with Cordelia.

“She’s more of a threat to Raya than Alec is to you. I’m not even going to ask how many times you slept with her. My only question now is have you stopped because if you haven’t, there’s no reason for Raya to be in your life for eternity.”

“The memories I had of sharing Cordelia’s bed are in my past. I don’t want her anymore. What we had is over, but I won’t allow her to hurt Raya. I’ll kill her myself first. I swear I will,” Thorsten promised, and then vanished from the room.

Inside his car, Thorsten slammed his hand against the steering wheel, cursing his rash decision to leave before the heard Jax and Zander out. He better get a control on his temper or he wasn’t going to have Raya in his life.

Thorsten, come back to my office so we can finish talking
, Jax communicated with him telepathically.

No, I’m not in the mood to talk about Cordelia anymore. She’s here because of me and it’s my problem to handle, which is what I’ll do. I need to take care of something important.

He ended the connection, then started his car and drove away from Alpha Male Incorporated. Raya might think she was done with him, but he had only gotten started with her.

“Excuse me, sir, where are you going? I need to see some identification before you can go any further.”

Thorsten stopped walking towards the elevator in Raya’s office building. He turned back to the receptionist sitting behind the desk. The last time he was here to see Raya, the chair had been empty.

“I’m here to see Raya August,” he answered, continuing toward his destination.

“I’m sorry, sir, but you can’t go up there,” the woman yelled after him. “I won’t tell you again about needing to see your ID.”

Spinning around, he went back to the desk and glared at the irritating woman on the other side. He didn’t have time to stand here and deal with her. She wasn’t about to stop him from going upstairs. He had the right to go any damn place he wanted without showing her anything.

“Listen, Katie,” he said, taking a look at her nametag. “I’m a good friend of Ms. August. She’s expecting me. We are going to have a late lunch. So, I can’t stay here and talk to you. If you know Raya she hates for anyone to be late.” Giving the woman one of his famous grins, he pivoted to leave but Katie’s high-pitched Minnie Mouse voice stopped him.

“Sir, don’t make me tell you again.”

Grinding his teeth, Thorsten blew out a breath before he faced Katie a second time. He came here to see Raya and that was what he was going to do, despite the fact this woman was trying to block him for leaving this spot.

“I’m no threat. I only came here to take Raya to lunch.”

“Since you can’t listen, I’m going to have to call security to deal with you,” she threatened, reaching for the phone on her desk.

“Don’t,” he snapped. Thorsten pulled his wallet out of his slacks. Flipping it open, he showed the bitchy woman his ID. She glanced at it and then eased her hand back from the phone.

“Thank you, Mr. Irizarry, but you can’t go see Ms. August.”

“Why the hell not?” he demanded as he placed his wallet back.

“Ms. August isn’t here. She left for lunch about an hour ago with someone else. You’re more than welcome to sit down over there and wait for her to come back,” Katie said, pointing to a small waiting area over by a window.

He didn’t have to guess who she was out on a date with. Raya went against his wishes and kept her promise to Alec.

Why wouldn’t she listen to him? Instead she would rather fight him at every turn, but this rebellious side of her had to stop. Shit, he had to get away from this infuriating receptionist because what he had to tell Raya couldn’t be done in front of a witness.

Leaning over Katie’s desk, he stared deeply into her light blue eyes. He dropped his voice down to a lower tone. “Can’t you find a way to break the rules and let me go upstairs? Raya wouldn’t mind if I waited for her in her office.”

“No, I can’t do that,” Katie answered, blinking at him.

He reached down and grabbed her hand, brushing his thumb over the top and drawing her more under his spell. “Yes, you can. Let me go up there. Say yes.”

“Yes,” she said, in a low, hypnotized voice.

“Thank you,” Thorsten said, letting go of the receptionist’s hand and then sauntering over to the elevator. He punched the up button and seconds later the doors slid open. He got inside then glanced over at the desk. Snapping his fingers, he released Katie’s mind from the trance as the doors slid shut.

Once the elevator doors opened again, Thorsten walked towards Raya’s office. He tried the door, but of course it was locked. Using his mind, he clicked it open then went inside, closing it behind him and instantly smelled Alec’s cheap cologne.

He would put a stop to having the offensive odor hit him in the face. Raya didn’t get the message last time, but she would get it now. She might think her word was final, but his adorable mate was way out of her league. He liked seeing the untapped passion in her eyes. No man had ever unleashed it before and the thought of him being the first made him hot for the privilege.

Walking around Raya’s office, Thorsten took his time to look around, unlike the last time he was here with her. Instantly, he noticed there weren’t any personal touches anywhere. It was very sterile, almost empty. The space was a polar opposite from her colorful, inviting home with pictures everywhere of her and Sahara from teenagers until adulthood.

As he continued exploring the room, minutes later his keen hearing picked up on the sound of feet coming closer to him. He knew the short, quick steps belonged to Raya. Her strides carried a rush to get back to work and away from Alec. He felt the air around Raya through the door, but didn’t sense the unwanted presence of his competition.

Hearing the keys in the lock, he moved behind the door. He didn’t want to alert Raya to his standing in her office yet. He wanted a few minutes to study her with all of her walls down since she constantly made sure they were always in place.

Raya opened the door and entered the room. She closed it behind her, oblivious to him even being in the same space. The instant he saw her, the memory of their kiss came flooding back along with the sweet and spicy taste of her blood. He only had a small taste, but it hooked him and he wanted more.

Moving over to the table, she tossed down her purse and keys on the top before pushing her glasses up her nose. Resting his back against the wall, he folded his arms over his chest, wondering how long it would be before Raya finally realized she wasn’t alone.

Thorsten stood there a few more seconds before deciding it was time to let her know he was in the room. “Didn’t I tell you not to go out on a date with Alec?” he asked.

“Oh, my God!” Raya shrieked, spinning around to face him as her hand flew to her chest. “Thorsten, what in the hell are you doing in my office?”

Pushing his body away from the wall, he took his time coming to Raya, watching how she took a step back every time he got too close. He sped up his steps until he stopped right in front of her. He looked down at her, admiring how she stood her ground this time.

“Answer me,” she demanded, dropping her hand and displaying the passionate side her was growing accustomed to seeing.

“I’m not going to bend and let you have your way. It’s not in me. I wanted to see you, so I came over here.”

“I don’t know how you got past Katie. I will have a talk with her later about this. However, I can do anything I want. You can’t tell me who I can and can’t spend time with. Why aren’t you out there trying to find a relationship of your own?”

Grabbing Raya by the arm, he dragged her to his body. “Beautiful, I did find a woman to captivate my interest. I can’t wait to spend some more with her.”

“I can only imagine who she is,” Raya mumbled under her breath. She struggled to get out of his arms, but he only tightened his grip.

“If you’re so invested in her, why aren’t you with her now?” Raya asked. “You wouldn’t hurt my feelings if you left right now and never came back.”

Taking his hand off her arm, he brushed his fingers over her full bottom lip. “I don’t have to leave. I’m right where I need to be.” The pull between them was electric. Thorsten felt it and saw the same recognition in Raya’s eyes, but she wasn’t ready to admit it to herself.

“Enough,” she said, shoving him away from her. She took a step back and held up a finger when he tried to speak. “I should have taken Alec up on his offer to go to the park after lunch instead of coming back to the office. I won’t be dealing with this right now.”

“You need to stop playing games with me. Alec is no match for me or what I can do for you. Stop encouraging the boy. You will obey me on this,” Thorsten warned in a low voice.

Raya lowered her hand, then came back up to him. “Excuse me. Did you say I have to obey you? Have you lost your mind?” she demanded. “Why do you think you’ve any say in what goes on in my life?”