Page 13 of Jinn

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 funnyat 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 waswe? 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,hissupposed 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 Ajaxthrough 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 sawhis 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!”

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