Alpha Male Incorporated: Take Control (6 page)

Jax, you know how I feel about your advice. I’m not going to tell you again to stop giving it to me. I’m warning you, don’t separate me from my mate again. You won’t like what I’ll do.

Are you threatening me?
Jax demanded.

He waited for an answer, but Thorsten never touched his mind. His cousin had enough nerve to warn him about staying away from Raya, but he wouldn’t listen to any advice from him. What was wrong with this situation? Wasn’t he the one already mated and married to his
Unique
woman?

Jax knew everything Thorsten believed was going on would blow up in his face in the end if he didn’t change. He really wished his cousin would take the time to calm down and truly listen to him because if he kept going down the path he was nothing would go right with Raya, which didn’t pan out well for Thorsten.

Sitting in the back of the bar, Raya took a sip of her drink and went over the entire day in her head. She wasn’t sure if she had gotten through to Thorsten like she had planned He had a way of making her see red anytime they were together.

Why couldn’t he just leave her alone and move on to another woman?

She had never given him any signal that she wanted to be more than friends with him. Hell, she never told Mr. Irizarry that she wanted to be friends with him, but somehow he had gotten it into his head she was playing hard to get, which wasn’t true at all. She didn’t want one single thing to do with him. Honestly, if she avoided him forever it wouldn’t hurt her at all.

Yet, she was wishing for something that never would happen. Thorsten was a part of Jax’s family, which made him Sahara’s family as well. She probably couldn’t be around her best friend without running into him every now and then.

Taking another sip of her Long Island Iced Tea, Raya wondered if she would need to have another talk with Thorsten. This afternoon hadn’t gone as well as she wanted. After she went back to work, she still couldn’t get over how good his touch felt on her body.

Thorsten wasn’t a bad-looking man. In f act, he was almost too gorgeous for words but he wasn’t someone she would ever get seriously involved with. He’d rubbed her the wrong way from the very beginning and he hadn’t done anything to change the first impression he had given her.

Setting her glass back down on the table, Raya watched as couples flirted back and forth with each other, trying to find someone for the night. Usually, she didn’t go out drinking after work, but after the day she had dealing with Cedric then Thorsten, she was worn out and needed something to relax her nerves.

Raya drummed her fingers on the black countertop, allowing her thoughts to wander back to her conversation with Jax. She needed to think about something else to keep her mind off her own problems, which seemed to surround her life lately.

Sahara finally had it all, like she had always wanted when they were growing up. A red hot singing career, a handsome husband who loved her dearly, and now her freedom back after dealing with a crazy stalker.

In spite of having her amazing life, something else was going on with Sahara and she wasn’t opening up to her about it. Sahara
never
kept things from her, so it was something big her best friend wasn’t allowing anyone, including Jax, to know.

Whatever it was, she wasn’t worried about it staying buried because Jax would get his wife to tell him what was bothering her. She had never told Sahara this and she wouldn’t ever do it, especially now with her being so happy.

However, when Jax first came into their lives she was a tiny bit jealous. They had been so close for so many years, and then came Jax. He swept Sahara off her feet, making her fall head over heels in love with him in a matter of months. Jax was at her side, or standing in the shadows watching and protecting her, when she fought tooth and nail against him getting involved.

Tiny things started changing between them more and more until she went from seeing Sahara every day to only catching up with her on their scheduled lunch dates when they could get squeezed into Sahara’s busy schedule.

Honestly, she couldn’t be more thrilled for Sahara to have a loving and attentive husband…no,
mate
. God, calling Jax her best friend’s mate was bizarre to her. The world of vampires still was so new and unbelievable for her.

One minute Sahara was human, but now she was ageless and immortal. When her girlfriend turned sixty-five she would look exactly the same way as she did right now.

How was Sahara going to explain her ageless beauty? How was it possible for Sahara to have any problems in her life now? She had everything she had written songs about.

Raya didn’t want to feel envious of her friend’s fairytale ending, but darn it! A part of her was deep down in her soul. Her best friend had battled a crazed man and won without the help of her Prince Charming, Jax, in the end.

Why couldn’t she have someone who would be there for her through all of her battles?

Her “Prince Charming” was still out there and she kept getting men like Thorsten Irizarry—guys who believed she should be thankful they had given her the time of day.

Picking up her drink again, Raya took another sip, debating if she was ready to go back home. She hated the idea of going to sleep tonight, and hearing
his
voice in her dreams terrified her. She didn’t want to think that something might be going on with her mental stability, but what sane person heard voices whispering to them in the middle of night?

No, she wasn’t really that tired. Staying for another hour wouldn’t hurt her. Maybe another stiff drink would finally make her get a good night’s sleep once she left here and went home.

****

Why wasn’t Raya home? Thorsten walked around her empty bedroom.
She better not be with another man.

It never took his mate this long to get home from work. He had her schedule down to memory. The best part of his day was watching Raya go through her nightly routines after she arrived home. Usually she kicked off her high heels the second the front door closed behind her.

She would then go into the kitchen and dig a pint of butter pecan ice cream out of the refrigerator. Standing against her kitchen counter, she’d take a few bites before placing it back inside the freezer, and she would make her way to her bedroom and jump into a hot shower.

He loved watching her get ready for bed, but tonight she wasn’t standing in her room wrapped inside a fluffy white towel. What was keeping her from him? She left his workplace today in a fit, but she should have gotten over their disagreement by now. It happened hours ago.

Walking around the black and white decorated bedroom, Thorsten picked up Raya’s silky peach nightgown off the bed before sitting down on the edge. Today at Alpha Male Incorporated, it took Jax and Zander to get him not to just tell her the truth about them.

She wasn’t falling over him like he thought she would. She actually acted like being in the same room with him was a chore.

How was he ever going to win Raya over if she kept pushing him away from her?

Placing the nightgown back, he got up from the bed. He had been in Raya’s bedroom before when she was asleep, but never chanced taking a good look because he never wanted to wake her up. Strolling around the bedroom, he gazed at the little pieces of his beautiful mate that seemed to be spread out everywhere inside the room. He studied the pictures of her and Sahara on the wall near her vanity as teenagers, grinning at the camera while eating ice cream without a care in the world.

However, the picture that drew his attention the most was one of her standing next to a horse in a field of wildflowers. He wouldn’t have taken Raya as woman to love the outdoors, especially horseback riding. Raya acted like too much of a city girl to sweat and become one with nature.

There was a lot about his woman that he was clueless about, but all of her hopes, dreams, and anything else about her could be learned after she was bonded with him. Nothing was more important than getting Raya to accept him for who he was.

Getting her acceptance shouldn’t be so hard since she was already familiar with Sahara and Sabrina being human females who allowed themselves to be turned for the vampires they love. He cousins wouldn’t have to experience the “sleep of the dead”.

Why shouldn’t she do the same thing for him?

Raya doesn’t love you
, his mind pointed out.
She actually hates the sight of you
.
Haven’t you noticed how she practically bolts from any room when you enter it?

Stop it!
Thorsten thought, shoving all of his doubts to the back corner of his brain. Raya might not see him in the most promising light at the moment, but he would get her to change her way of thinking.

The sudden sound of keys jingling in the lock had Thorsten’s eyes swinging towards the front door as a male’s deep chuckle caught his attention. It mingled with Raya’s softer, sweeter sounds of laughter.

He quickly flashed back over to the bed and placed Raya’s nightgown where she had it before making it out to the patio before the door opened. Seconds later, the strong scent of a man’s cologne touched his nose.

His fangs instantly descended as he smelled the human’s desire to be with Raya. Thorsten fought down the burning need to reappear in the room. What was another man doing here with her?

She shouldn’t be around any other man when she had him. If she wanted a man to bring her home all she had to do was ask him. He was as much hers as she was his. He couldn’t let either one of them know he was there, but he listened closely as the sweet sound of his mate’s voice traveled to his ears.

“Alec, I want to thank you again for giving me a ride home,” Raya giggled, her voice slightly slurred. “I didn’t realize how much I had to drink back at the bar.”

“I don’t mind at all. Cedric would have kicked my ass if I let you get a cab in this condition,” Alec answered. “I wasn’t about to leave you there to wait on Sahara to come and pick you up.”

I know he wants to do more than help my woman home from the bar
, Thorsten thought as he stood in the shadows, watching the couple in front of him.

Leave Raya alone. Leave now
! He shot the warning into Alec’s head and smirked when the blond man touched his temple, but then he quickly frowned when Raya placed her hand on Alec’s arm.

“Are you okay?” she asked, real concern in her voice. “Can I get you something?”

Alec opened his mouth to speak, but Thorsten did something to make sure Raya’s new friend kept his mouth shut.

Say one word and I will haunt you for the rest of the night
, he threatened telepathically into the other man’s head
. I promise you I will.

“Yeah, I believe so,” he answered, dropping his hand away from the side of his head. “I just thought I heard something, but I guess I was wrong.”

Still standing on the patio, Thorsten watched Alec glance around the room as he tried to figure out what was going on, but he wouldn’t be able to do it. However, he instantly felt the fear that shot up in Raya’s body as Alec’s words settled inside her head.

This isn’t what he wanted to happen, and he regretted his decision to taunt this asshole. Another man, a human one at that, was there for Raya when it should be
him
in there with her. He couldn’t let what Alec was doing to continue, so he did something about it. Now, he only hoped it wouldn’t backfire on him.

“You heard something?” Raya asked as her big brown eyes glanced around the room. “What did it sound like?”

Once again, Thorsten sensed Alec’s primal need kicking in to comfort her and ease her fears. His hissed low in his throat as Alec’s hand touched Raya’s bare arm and spun her back around to face him.

“Raya, are you okay? You’re acting strange,” he inquired, running his hand up and down her arm. “What’s wrong? Is it what I told you?”

“Nothing,” she answered, placing her hand on top of Alec’s. “I just think I had too much to drink. I need to take a shower and head to bed. I have to be up early in the morning. I shouldn’t have stopped off at the club, but after the day I had I needed something to relax my nerves.”

He noticed how Alec’s hand was still touching Raya’s body. He was a step away from making himself known if the mortal’s hand wasn’t off his mate in the next five seconds. He would deal with the consequences of his rash decisions later. He was a second away from taking a step towards the patio doors when Raya moved back from Alec.

“Thank for giving me a ride home, but I really think it’s time for you to leave. I don’t mean to be rude, but it’s getting late and everything.”

“You don’t look like you feel well,” Alec said. “Are you sure that you don’t need me to stay? I can sleep on the couch.”

No, you aren’t going to spend the night at my woman’s house. She doesn’t anything else from you
.
If she is ill, I will take care of her because she belongs to me.
Thorsten almost screamed as the short leash on his hot temper was about to break.

The need to attack the human clawed at him, but he fought down his dark urges as Raya shook her head and then walked around Alec over to her front door, then opened it wide.

“No, thank you. I only need to get some sleep and I’ll be back to my old self in no time.”

Nodding, Alec headed in her direction but before going out the door he suddenly bent down and kissed her on the cheek before she could move back. Noticing how Raya’s body tensed up from the unwanted touch was the only thing that saved the guy from having his throat ripped out.

“Sweet dreams, and don’t forget to tell Cedric I’ll call him about our golf match next week.”

“I won’t forget to tell him,” Raya answered as Alec walked out the door. A second later, she closed and locked it behind him.

Thorsten slid back into the shadows as his mate turned around and pulled the hairpins from her hair. She tossed them into a jar next to an entertainment stand. He finally noticed the how tired she truly looked and he wanted to touch her mind, but he couldn’t chance scaring her. Not when she looked like she was ready to drop right where she stood.