Alpha Male Incorporated: Take Control by Marie Rochelle Page B

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.
    He decided not to bother Raya in her dreams tonight. Instead, he would stay here and make sure she was tucked safely into bed with a little assistance on his part to help her sleep, before he vanished back to his place for the night and tried to figure out another way to get Raya to trust him.
    For a second, the idea of paying Alec a visit crossed his mind but he shut it down. He needed to concentrate on Raya, not some insignificant male human who was beneath him. The sound of singing drew his attention back to the stunning woman in front of him.
    Raya’s day must have been extra hard, because his mate only sung to herself before a taking a shower if she was completely stressed out. He had learned this piece of information after eavesdropping on one of her conversations with Sahara at Jax’s house.
    Since Raya hated being around him in any way, shape, or form he found other ways to find out details to win over her, enough so she would agree to be his mate and to get his cousins off his back. They might think Raya was sassy and sweet, but he knew the real side of Ms. August. She was difficult, bossy, and strong-willed.
    Why would he ever pick a woman like her as his mate? But it was done, so he accepted what the fates had given him. However, he still was determined not to get all lovesick over Raya like Jax and Zander had done for their women.
    No way. No how. It wasn’t going to happen. Not now or in the next hundred years. He was too strong to become weak in the knees and give in so easily to any woman.
    Raya was too independent to become the ultimate mate in his eyes — a woman who was beautiful, calm, and willing to cater to his every wish without a comment.
    When it came to them, they were definitely complete opposites but he could learn to deal with it, so could she. All he had to do was have a good game plan to make Raya understand agreeing to this mate situation would be a win-win deal no matter how they looked at it.

Chapter Seven
    “Hey, beautiful,” a masculine voice whispered behind her. “I’ve missed you.”
    Sahara finished writing the last line of her song lyric before closing her well-worn black journal. She tossed it down on the bed next to her, then smiled up at her handsome husband.
    “Hello yourself,” she said.
    Standing up, she wrapped her arms around Jax’s neck and gave him a long, slow kiss before moving back. “I see you came back in one piece. I can’t believe Raya and Thorsten got into another fight today. I swear if those two stop with all of the bickering they would see how perfect they are for each other. Maybe I should have a talk with my best friend and point her in the right direction.”
    “Baby, you know the rules.” he said, giving her a stern look. “You can’t do anything to push her towards Thorsten.”
    “I know, but I want to help Raya so much. I can feel her loneliness and we both have the ability to take it away. I can talk to her and then you can do the same thing with Thorsten. He has to listen sooner or later.”
    Jax wrapped his arms around her waist and tugged her back to his hard chest. “Sahara, you should have been at the office this afternoon. Raya was toe to toe with Thorsten and he almost told her she was his mate, but I stopped him. I swear he’s going to lose her before he even has a chance to get her. I have told him more than once Raya isn’t like you.”
    Leaning back from her husband, she stared up into his face. “What do you mean that Raya isn’t like me?” she