Alpha Male Incorporated: Take Control by Marie Rochelle Page A

away from the other shoppers.
    “Let go of me,” she screamed, fighting against the person.
    “Will you stop yelling? You’re making my ears hurt.”
    Raya instantly froze at the sound of Thorsten’s voice as he pressed her body against the back of a stand. Anger took over as her eyes clashed with his and she noticed his usual smirk in place.
    “What in the hell do you call yourself doing?” she hissed, pulling at her wrist, but Thorsten’s grip was too tight and he wasn’t about to let go.
    “I wasn’t finished talking to you. So, I followed you,” he answered, loosening his grip, but he still had his hand on her body.
    The light feel of his skin against hers was starting to give her stomach butterflies, something she hadn’t felt since her neighbor Matt Evans came outside to get his mail without a shirt on. However, this sensation Thorsten caused was ten times stronger and more potent.
    A slight warmness was slowly starting its way through the entire length of her body. She worked on blocking it out, so she could focus all of her attention on Thorsten.
    “Well, I was done talking to you which is the reason why I left. I have things to do today and dealing with you isn’t even on my list.” Raya pulled her wrist away from the nuisance blocking her path.
    “Have dinner with me tonight,” he said softly.
    The invitation completely threw Raya off her guard. All she could do was stand there and stare at Thorsten for a second. She shook her head, hoping to clear whatever was messing up her hearing.
    Did he actually ask her out on a date? Was he out of his mind?
    She would never be able to sit across the table from Thorsten at a restaurant. He would drive her up the wall with his know-it-all attitude. What would they have to talk about over a span of two hours? She couldn’t do it. Not without worrying if he had another motive up his sleeve.
    “No.”
    Thorsten’s eyes narrowed into slits as he glared at her. “Why not?” he asked. “I asked you very nicely. I didn’t demand you do it and you still tell me no.”
    “I’m sorry, I can’t do it.”
    “What is your problem? Jax is wrong, you aren’t worth the hassle. I’m thinking I’ll be better off without you. Damn the consequences. Enjoy the rest of your day, Ms. August,” Thorsten snapped at her before moving away and going back around the stand.
    “Come back here,” Raya said, rushing behind Thorsten. “Why are you and Jax talking about me in the first place?”
    Hurrying back around the side of the wooden stand, Raya froze in her tracks when she noticed Thorsten was nowhere in sight. How in the hell did he get away from her so fast? He was there one minute and gone the next. Had he rushed through the crowd on purpose to get away from her?
    Why did she allow him to get under her skin like this?
    Thorsten pushed buttons she didn’t even know she had. Constantly getting on her bad side was possibly what made his day. Every night, he probably climbed into bed with a smile on his face, pleased he had driven her up one wall and down the opposite one.
    However, she wasn’t about to let the rest of her day be ruined by Thorsten. He was gone and she was going to push the memory of dealing with him from her world. She wasn’t going to allow him to drag her down this immature road he loved to travel.
    Spinning around, Raya ran into someone standing directly behind her. “Oh, I’m so sorry,” she apologized, glancing up at the woman. “I didn’t see you there.”
    A pair of unblinking, sky blue eyes—icy and with a lethal calmness in them—looked down at her. The woman’s rich, pale blond hair hung in long, graceful waves over her tanned shoulders.
    “It’s alright,” the female replied in a low voice, soft and clear. “I should have been watching where I was going. It was completely my fault.” The woman gave her a smile then walked around her and blended in with the passing crowd.
    Great. Now, she was running into strangers because of