Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
A jax
Ajax’s allure to Finn was only growing the more he was around him. Which was what he was used to when it came to his sexuality. He wasn’t entirely sure, but he thought of himself as demisexual. Feelings needed to be there for attraction to set in. Like Alan. They’d been friends first, and the attraction had grown naturally. He’d really believed he was in love with the man, but Alan had been showing only one side of his personality—for years. His true colors were later so blatantly revealed, Ajax had been blindsided by who the man really was. Still, it had broken his heart and left him wary.
He wasn’t wary with Finn. Maybe a little just out of his own self-preservation, but this felt different. There was the instant attraction. The man was gorgeous and moved like he was made of smoke—which had inspired a song Ajax was working on called “Smoke Moves.” He was tall and broad-shouldered, and that dark red hair drew Ajax’s gaze. And those damn thick thighs. He grew hot just thinking of them. So yeah, the bodyguard was sexy, so that attraction made sense. But there was more to it. He liked the jinn’s protective nature, and he could be damn funny at times, too. And so polite when it came to the awful meals Ajax had been cooking. He was pretty sure he’d never be able to master food at this point. Finn never complained.
Ajax was also intrigued by the supernatural aspects of the man. The long life he’d probably lived. He wondered how old he was. His bandmate, Matt, was over a hundred and looked twenty-five. Ajax had an inkling Finn was older. And that he’d led a pretty lonely life. Just knowing he’d been abandoned and raised in orphanages broke Ajax’s heart. He got the feeling Finn had stayed alone his entire life because of that childhood.
Turning on his phone, he saw that he had more than twenty messages from Alan, but there was one from his bandmate, Barry, too. It had only arrived a few minutes ago. He opened that one.
We’ll be there in ten minutes.
Who was we ? He had to be talking about the band. Ajax sighed and ran his hand through his hair before squaring his shoulders. He didn’t feel like dealing with them, but it wasn’t like he could turn them away.
Finn walked into the nook. “There are people at the gate who claim to be friends.”
“It’s my band members. Go ahead and let them in.”
Finn nodded and turned to leave the room. Ajax waited until he heard the car pull in, then opened the front doors to see one of their extended SUVs pulling to a stop. His friends got out along with two of their bodyguards, but when the last person got out, Ajax stared in disbelief.
Instant anger shook him to the core.
His band members, his supposed friends , had brought Alan with them.
Alan did that shy thing he’d perfected, putting his hands in his jeans pockets and dipping his blond head to look at Ajax through long eyelashes that had once worked on him. It was all an act.
“Why are you here, Alan?” Ajax asked as he took the two steps down off the porch. “I get why the rest of you are here, and you’re welcome, but Alan is not.”
Alan let out a heavy sigh. “Come on, Ajax. We really need to talk, and I knew you wouldn’t let me in if I wasn’t with them.” He took a step toward him. “You’ve been blocking me for months. Do you really want to throw four years down the drain over a misunderstanding?”
“There was no fucking misunderstanding. You actually fucked me knowing we were being photographed. You orchestrated that. Why the hell would I want anything to do with you after that?”
“I did it for us, baby. And for the band. Publicity only helps sales.”
Ajax gritted his teeth. “I never wanted that kind of publicity, and you know it. If you cared about me at all, you’d know I’d find that humiliating. That holiday was supposed to be about us trying to reconnect. Those were your words, not mine. And it was all a setup. You’re some kind of asshole, Alan. And you’re not welcome here.”
Alan started toward him, but Finn stepped in front of him.
“The man wants you to leave,” Finn said in a low voice that pulled Ajax’s gaze to him because it was seriously hot. He looked menacing and ready to throw Alan over his shoulder to cart him away—and not in a good way.
Alan’s eyes flared as he took in the much bigger man. “Who the hell is this?”
“His bodyguard,” Finn answered.
“Yeah, right. Where’s Jake?”
Ajax crossed his arms, having a difficult time not staring at Finn. He did glance around at his bandmates and saw his fascination with Finn hadn’t gone unnoticed. A little heat crawled up his neck. “None of your damn business, Alan. I will ask my new bodyguard to escort you out.”
“To where?”
“You can wait with the crowd at the gate like the other fans.”
His bandmates and their bodyguards had all watched this in silence, and he turned his attention to them, but Alan, stupid man that he was, tried to shove Finn out of his way. Finn grabbed his arms, twisted them behind his back, and flipped him around.
“What the fuck?” Alan spit out as he was forced down the driveway.
“If you’re feeling generous, you can pick him up on your way out,” Ajax said, looking at Matt, who was watching Finn and Alan until they disappeared where the road curved. He looked back to Ajax, lifting an eyebrow, and Ajax knew that Matt knew exactly what Finn was. That as a werewolf, he’d be able to sense the jinn magic. Matt ran a hand over his close-cropped beard that matched his coal black hair. Ajax was glad to see he looked faintly sheepish. “Why in the world would you guys think it’s okay to bring Alan?”
Barry spoke, grabbing Ajax’s attention. “He’s been around for years. He’s our friend, and he came to us because he knows what you’re doing isn’t right.”
Though his back instantly went up, Ajax let that last part go for the moment, still in disbelief that people he cared about could just dismiss Alan’s actions. “I told you about what he did, and you still think of him as a friend?”
Barry threw up his hands, then ran his fingers through his long, blond hair. “He’s been touring with us for four fucking years, man!”
“He’s a fame grabber. But I’m starting to believe you guys are, too. It used to be about the music.” He looked at each of them. “What happened to that?”
Thorn, the other member of the band Ajax sometimes clashed with, spoke up. He was wearing a Bad Omens T-shirt. Like Matt, he had black hair, but he wore his shorter and shaved on the sides. “Millions of dollars happened. It’s still about the music. Our music.” He softened his tone, his eyes going wide with appeal. “We’ve been together a long time, Ajax. Been through a lot. All the ups and downs. We—”He paused and looked at Barry, Matt, then back to Ajax. “We can’t help but feel you’re stepping back.”
“He’s right,” Matt spoke up. “It’s why we came. Bringing Alan was a shit move and I’m sorry for that. It’s just… What are you doing, man?”
Ajax had known they were worried over his need to create solo music, but he hadn’t realized they were actually this scared. Some of his bluster faded away. “I’m doing what feels right for this point in my life. I explained that to you. I’m not leaving the band, and I plan to write more songs for us, but I need to do this, too. Can’t you understand that?”
Barry sighed. “No, we just can’t. We should be holed up together creating more music for all of us. Instead, you come out here alone, planning to put out solo work for a completely different set of fans. You think that won’t affect BTC? Like Thorn said, all of us feel like you’re working on leaving the band.”
“I hadn’t planned to, but this intervention is sure making me consider it.”
Thorn scoffed. “You were already considering it. We’re not stupid. You’ve been pulling away for a long time. Not going to the parties, staying in hotel rooms to write songs that have nothing to do with Back to Chaos.”
“I’ve been writing what I’m feeling—that’s how it works. And I’m sick of the parties and have been for a while. I only went to a lot of them because of Alan. But that’s over now, and I really don’t want him here.”
“Then he leaves.” Barry broke in as he shrugged. “It’s no skin off my back. But let the rest of us stay. Work together on some new stuff.”
Ajax shook his head. “No, Barry. I’m not going to explain myself again. I need to be alone right now.”
Barry snorted. “With the hot bodyguard?”
Ajax waved at their silent guards. “You know we need them.”
“Yeah, and I also noticed the way you look at him. I’m not blind, and neither are they.” He nodded his head toward the others. “I’m sure Alan could see it, too.”
“I honestly don’t give a shit. Damn, Barry, you guys know what he did. How could you possibly be on his side?”
He shrugged. “You never used to mind sexy images of you being plastered everywhere.”
“What the hell are you talking about? Of course I did.”
This time, Thorn snorted. “You’re the front man in one of the hottest bands in the world, and you took advantage of that a lot in the past. Don’t pretend you didn’t.”
There was a dark jealousy lacing Thorn’s tone, a thread of something that made Ajax uncomfortable. As creative types, of course they’d squabbled in the past, but this felt like more. Thorn actually resented him, and that knowledge made his heart tighten. It was something he’d need to think over. That maybe a few more changes were needed for BTC. “I never wanted my private sex life exposed like that. How would you feel if your girlfriend had those kinds of private moments purposely photographed and released?”
At least he seemed to be really thinking about his answer because it took him several moments to respond. “I guess I wouldn’t be happy, but then our fans aren’t as obsessed with me as they are you.”
Again, Ajax heard the envy in his tone. Thorn was a great-looking guy and definitely had his share of rabid fans, but the world seemed obsessed with his own love life more. Probably because he openly dated men. He sighed. It wasn’t the first time Thorn had shown his resentment over that fact—he just hadn’t realized how deep those feelings went. “Look, I understand you are all worried my solo music is going to somehow take away from what we’ve built with BTC, from our many years of friendship, but it won’t. I’m doing this. You’ve known I was taking six months off to work on my own stuff, so you guys coming here… Well, it’s pretty damned intrusive. And bringing Alan has done nothing but piss me off.”
Matt finally spoke up. “You’re right. This was a bad idea, and I understand you need this time. We’re just worried.”
Ajax looked at the band member who was really his best friend out of the bunch. “You don’t need to. I promise we’ll start on the new album in six months. Just give me this time.” He gave each one a pointed look. Barry and Matt seemed to be accepting what he was saying, but Thorn’s pinched lips and furrowed brows showed he wasn’t. Well, it was too damned bad . “Why don’t you guys come in and have something to drink? Stay a little while, and we’ll talk about this more.”
Barry looked toward the gate, which wasn’t visible this close to the front door. “What about Alan?”
“He can stew out there with the other fans. Because that’s all he is. All he ever was. Please don’t ever bring him around me again.”
Ajax let his band members into the house, directed them toward the kitchen, then walked back outside just as Finn was coming back toward the porch. He took the steps down to meet him, keeping his voice low. “I’m sorry about that, Finn. It seems I worried everyone more than I thought. I also didn’t realize they’d grown so close to Alan. Maybe I’m up in my head a little too much and need to pay more attention to those around me. Thing is, we’ve all been together a long time, built deep relationships, and I think they’re worried about that as well.” He tilted his head, taking in Finn’s fierce expression. “You okay?”
“That guy, Alan, is a piece of shit. I can’t believe you were with him so long.”
Ajax nodded. “He wasn’t always that way. Fame has a way of going to some people’s heads. I’m concerned that’s the problem with Barry and Thorn, too.” He sighed heavily, his heart aching. “I’ve clashed with them both in the past, which is normal with as much time as we spend together and all of us being creative types. I just didn’t realize they were actually scared.”
“Yeah, I picked up on that. Missed most of the conversation, but it was obvious as soon as they stepped out of that huge SUV. A couple of them fairly reeked of fear. Are they staying?”
“For a little while. We’ve been friends a long time, so I need to do what I can to set them at ease. I thought they understood what I was doing. Well, I thought Matt did. Barry and Thorn—they’re taking it harder than I realized.” Ajax glanced toward the gate, glad it was hidden by trees. “As for Alan, he’ll probably spend his time out there posing for photographs. He’ll be just fine.”
“I don’t really care how he feels.” Finn stared hard at him. “You do deserve better. So much better.”
Something in his tone had Ajax staring a little harder at him. Finn was better. Ajax couldn’t help but make the comparison. He was real. And kind. And not someone who’d get blinded by fame. Ajax truly liked him. Liked who he was.
Finn started to say something, then paused and looked up at the sky. “It’s going to rain.” Before he even finished his sentence, the heavens opened up on their heads, soaking them both instantly.
Laughing, Ajax darted back up the stairs to the porch, but it wasn’t fast enough. Water dripped down his face and had plastered his clothes to his body. He slicked back his hair, turning to Finn only to suddenly lose his train of thought.
Finn was staring at his mouth, his eyes narrowed but blazing with something so hot, it felt like the moisture on his body would turn to steam. A drop of rain dangled on the tip of his nose, and without thinking about it, Ajax reached up to slowly wipe it away. Finn’s gaze lifted to his, and the heat there made Ajax shiver.
Neither said a word, but they didn’t need to because Ajax could see that Finn returned the curiosity and need that had been building in Ajax. This jinn wanted him. Fire lit in his belly, and he took a shaky breath. He opened his mouth, not sure what he was going to say, but the front door opened, and Matt poked his head out.
“Ajax?”
“I’m coming,” he murmured, still staring at Finn and resenting the presence of his band so much right then.
Because there was a promise etched in Finn’s expression. A promise of something big, something…primal. And Ajax wanted to explore that more than he wanted anything else.