Alpha Male Incorporated Under Your Protection (13 page)

“No, there isn’t a crime with that at all. I’m glad you think my baby brother is nice as long as that is as far as it goes, because you would be the first woman that I would fight my brother over.” Jax gave Sahara one last look before heading out the door.

Chapter Twenty-Two

“How are you doing?” Raya asked glancing away from her over to Jax who was sitting with his brother a booth away from them. “You sounded so upset on the phone. I almost turned down your dinner invitation, but I didn’t after hearing your voice. What is going on with you and Jax? Is he giving you problems about your appearance next week at that club?”

Sahara picked at the salad in front of her wondering if she should tell Raya the truth or lie to her best friend. They usually told each other everything and she meant
everything
, but she wasn’t quite sure how Raya would react to this shocking news.

God, if she hadn’t seen and felt the proof for herself she might have a hard time believing Jax was what he really told her he was.

No, this was something she wouldn’t be able to keep to herself. She needed to tell
someone,
namely Raya, about Jax. The only thing that bothered her was how Raya might take the information.

Raya was so level-headed and making her believe a vampire was real might be hard for her to do, but she was going to give it a shot.

“I’m not doing all that good. I learned something about Jax and I don’t know how to tell you about it. I know if I hadn’t seen the proof with my own eyes I wouldn’t have believed they were real.”

“Sahara, you aren’t making any sense,” Raya complained as she leaned across the table towards her, concern in her hazel eyes.

“You know we’re best friends and have been since we were thirteen years old, right? I’d never lie to you about anything really important.”

“Girl, you’re really scaring me now. Please tell me what’s going on with you? Are you sick? Are you dying? God, you can’t keep something so important from me. You’re like my sister. If there was something going on with me, I wouldn’t think twice about telling you anything so important. Tell me what it is.”

Raya was right. She could tell her about Jax and her best friend would understand and help her through this. Raya ability to listen to her problems was one of the reasons she loved her so much.

“I really don’t know where to even start,” Sahara sighed.

She took a quick peek at Jax and found him watching her. She was certain he knew what she was about to tell Raya. He had a bad habit of reading her mind now and wouldn’t stop. So, he would just have to deal with another person knowing about him.

Sahara slowly dragged her eyes away from him looking back at Raya who now had a frown etched in the center of her forehead.

Well, here goes nothing
.

Blowing out a deep breath, Sahara ran the palms of her hands down the front of her jeans. She knew after this was out in the open, there was no going back. So, the cat was about to get out of the bag.

“A few days ago, I walked into Jax’s bedroom and caught him in the shower. I know that I shouldn’t have busted in on him in the bathroom, but I couldn’t help it. I was still pissed at how our argument ended. So, I barged in and saw something shocking. I mean I never expected to see what I saw.” The words hung out in the air because Sahara wasn’t sure how to tell Raya the rest.

“What did you see?” Raya asked, tapping her hand on the table. “You can’t tell me you saw your hot ass body guard buck naked in the shower and then stop talking. What is wrong with you? I bet you did see something unexpected. I mean a guy that big had to be packing something extraordinary between his legs. Please tell me you didn’t scream and run away from him.”

“Yeah, I screamed and ran away but it wasn’t because of seeing his cock,” Sahara whispered, thinking back to the vision of Jax’s glistening body in the shower before she noticed the extra addition to his body.

“If Jax’s cock didn’t shock you then what had you racing from the bathroom?” Raya asked.

“Hmm...I’m wondering how to tell you this so you won’t think I’ve lost my mind. I know it’s still a shock to me and I’m trying to process it.”

Idea after idea raced through Sahara’s mind at how to address her new found info and in the end she decided being truthful would work out for the best.

“Jax is a vampire,” she blurted out.

Raya’s eyes widened in astonishment and then she leaned away from her like she’d just spoken in a foreign tongue. “Did you just tell me you think Jax is a vampire? Sweetie, have you lost your damn mind? I know you haven’t been getting enough sleep because you never do when you’re working on a new song. But Jax isn’t a vampire because there are no such things as vampires. You can’t really believe what you’re telling me.”

“Raya, I’m not lying to you. I saw the fangs in his mouth. Hell, he bit me on my thigh before I asked you to join us for dinner tonight. I’m not having any kind of hallucinations from lack of sleep. God, why would I lie to you about this?” Sahara asked.

Raya shouldn’t doubt what she was telling her. They’d been through too much for her friend to think she would be anything less than truthful to her.

Raya stiffened from her outburst as though she’d struck her. They stared at each other across the table with a sudden ringing silence. “You have to know how crazy this sounds. I knew you never missed an episode of Buffy or Angel, but he wasn’t real. How can you expect me to believe there are vampires walking around? What you are telling me just doesn’t make any sense at all. Are you positive that Jax hasn’t done anything to you? I mean I know you told me that he’s been friends with your Uncle Frank for a very long time, but that doesn’t mean there couldn’t be something mental going on inside of his head.”

Sahara understood Raya’s uncertainty and misgiving, but she needed her friend to snap out of it. Raya was the only close friend she could confide in about this new development in her life.

“Raya, please calm down and listen. I have so much more to tell you.”

“Fine, I’ll give you five minutes but if you don’t start making any sense I’m out of here. I have too much going on at work to get pulled into this,” Raya complained with a stubborn line to her chin. It was a look Sahara knew only too well.

Chapter Twenty-Three

From booth Jax listened in on the girls’ conversation and was getting more and more angry at how Raya resisted believing what Sahara was trying to tell her. It was the truth. Why was it so hard for her to comprehend?

“I can’t believe you’re allowing Sahara to tell Raya about you being a vampire. I thought you didn’t want anyone to know about her being your mate until you got to turn her?” Zander questioned.

“Sahara was having a hard time coming to grips with what happened between us in her bedroom. I didn’t see any harm in her talking to Raya about it.”

The only thing that worried Jax was if Sahara would let her guard down again so he could continue to make her see she was destined from birth to be with him.

“How was it?” Zander asked cutting into his thoughts. “You’ve told me a lot but you didn’t tell me that part.”

“How was what?” Jax questioned as he dragged his attention away from the disagreement Sahara was having with Raya. He wasn’t quite sure what Zander wanted him to tell.

“Tasting the blood of your mate, a
Unique
woman, did it feel different on your tongue than a regular human woman’s blood?”

Thicker and sweeter...Hell, everything about his mate’s blood was more sensual than any other woman’s he’d had in the past.

“Sahara’s blood was sweeter than the richest chocolate money could buy. At the first drop of it on my tongue and against my lips there was a hint of an aromatic that made me want to turn her instantly, but I pushed the impulse back down.”

“I’m going out on a limb and guess Sahara didn’t feel the same intense connection at the taking of her blood?”

Jax quickly thought about Sahara’s panic reaction in her bedroom. No, she wasn’t in the same euphoria state as him when it came to him sampling her blood, but her reaction would change once they made love.

“Virgins are delicate little things and Sahara is the first one I’ve ever dealt with. I can feel how much she wants me, yet she’s fighting us being together at every turn. Sahara doesn’t comprehend that her future is to be with me and to have my children.”

“She has so much going on right now in her life. Next week she has a performance at a local club here, plus every day this week she’s been up working on songs for her upcoming CD at the end of the year. Lastly, her stalker has been lying low which is a huge concern for me. I’m not getting a good vibe about this at all.”

When he got Sahara back home he would have another talk with her about the schedule for all of her upcoming appearances because they were going to be her first big outings since the stalker had made his hatred for her known.

“No! I’m not going to sit here and listen to anymore of this nonsense.” Raya’s voice suddenly rang out jerking Jax’s attention away from his thoughts about Sahara’s safety.

He watched as Raya snatched her purse and then jumped up from the table. His chest felt like it would burst from anger when Sahara reached out to touch Raya but she stepped back from his mate’s hand. His hawk-like eyes saw the sudden tears in Sahara eyes and he tried holding his temper in check before he lost control.

Jax didn’t care who Raya was to Sahara. She wasn’t going to make his woman cry, not if he had anything to do with it.

Calm down. Don’t lose your control
. Zander’s calming voice suddenly appeared in his head.

How can I stay calm when Sahara is so upset
?

You can do it because you love her. Don’t make this situation any worse by rushing over there.

Turning away from the table, Raya hurried in their direction but instead of going past them she stopped next to him. She leaned down and got closer to his face. “I was so was thrilled when Sahara’s uncle hired you to protect her, because she wasn’t taking those threats on her life seriously. However, now I’m beginning to think you’re worse than him.

“How could you fill her head with that vampire nonsense? I don’t know what you’re giving her, but when I find out your ass will be so sorry you messed with my best friend.” Raya shot his brother an over her shoulder look before she stood back up and stormed away from the table.

“Damn, she told you,” Zander laughed. “I wouldn’t push her any further if I was you. She’s very protective of Sahara. They must have a very good friendship. Maybe Frank should have hired Raya to protect Sahara instead of you.”

Ignoring his brother’s comments, Jax’s senses zoomed in on Sahara’s pain even before he looked at her sitting alone at the table with a crestfallen look on her beautiful face as she watched her best friend storm out of the restaurant.

Fuck! He was the cause of Raya’s anger towards Sahara, but he wasn’t going to let Raya leave in the state she was in and visibly angry at Sahara. He would prove to Sahara’s best friend she was telling her the truth.

“Can you stop being a pain in my side and go over there with Sahara?” Jax asked. “I need to stop Raya and bring her back. She can’t do this to Sahara. I won’t allow it.”

Zander instantly sobered up and stopped laughing. “I’ll protect your mate with my life. Go and bring her friend back. I can only guess what you’re going to do to prove Sahara isn’t a liar.”

Flashing a grin, Jax got up from the table. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to scare her to death. I’m only going to prove to Raya that Sahara wasn’t drugged or being abused by me. I promise I won’t do anything to make her hate me any more because if I do that, it will alienate Sahara from me and that is the last thing I want to happen.” Jax walked away from the table towards the front door at the same time Zander headed over to Sahara’s table.

Once Jax got outside, he instantly spotted Raya in the middle of the parking lot on her cell phone. He knew without listening in that she had to be calling for a cab since he drove all of them to the restaurant. Shaking his head, he wondered what man was going to be strong enough to handle Raya. He only hoped he could be around to see it happen, because Raya was tougher than she actually looked.

Silently, he made his way over to her and stopped walking when he was directly behind her. “Raya, we need to talk,” Jax said.

“Shit! You scared the hell out of me, Jax,” Raya snapped as she spun around. “I think I said enough to you inside. Sahara is my best friend and I’m not going to back down on my promise.”

“I wouldn’t want you to. I think it’s wonderful how you want to protect her, but you have to understand that it’s uncalled for now that I’m in her life.” Reaching out, Jax took the cell phone away from Raya. “Sahara has nothing to fear from me because I love her. We are meant to be together.”

“Yeah, Sahara told me all of that crap about you being a vampire and I’ll tell you the same thing I told her. Vampires don’t exist. Now, give me back my phone. I need to get a ride back home.” Raya reached for the phone, but he slipped it into the back pocket of his jeans.

“You aren’t going anywhere. You really are too young to be so doubtful about things you know nothing about, but if you really need proof. I’ll be more than happy to give it to you.”

“What kind of proof are you going to give to me?” Raya snickered, arching an eyebrow at him.

Without any kind of warning, Jax’s hand shot out and caught Raya by the elbow. “Look at me,” he commanded in a low voice. “Don’t scream. I’m only doing this for Sahara because I hate seeing her upset over something I can fix.”

“Listen, I’m not going to fall into the craziness like Sahara,” Raya hissed, tugging at her arm. “Now, let go of me.”

Jax tightened his fingers around Raya’s arm enough to make her stop moving. “You will stop arguing with me and do as I tell you to do.” He waited until Raya stopped fighting him and then he opened his mouth wide enough for her to watch as his fangs descended until they were completely visible.