Stoking the Fire (Salus Security #1) - Teodora Kostova Page 0,10

but judging by the amount of likes, comments, and shares, the damage is already done.

“Zach?” Alec says when I don’t reply.

I prop my chin on his chest and meet his eyes. “My friends posted pictures of us on their social media.”

Alec’s expression is unreadable as he watches me. He’s quiet for a long moment. Too long.

“I’m sorry,” I quickly add. “They didn’t ask us and had no right. But they’re nosy fuckers.”

His hand comes to rest on my nape, his thumb rubbing a spot that makes me sigh with pleasure. “It’s okay,” he finally says.

“Are you sure? We only talked about… us last night, and now all of the internet is drooling over you,” I say with a smirk.

That seems to break his stoic expression, and he smiles, his eyes twinkling. “Drooling, huh?”

“Absolutely.”

“I can get used to that.”

I laugh when he tickles me, then hoists me up his chest until my face is an inch from his. His kisses always make my heart race and the butterflies in my stomach take flight, but this one is different. It makes me feel seen, and loved, and safe. It makes me want to never leave this bed and never let him go.

“Take back control, Zach,” he whispers against my lips.

I frown. “What do you mean?”

“Post a picture of us on your own account. Refuse to acknowledge the rest. Don’t comment. Untag yourself from any posts.” His dark eyes are intense on mine as he speaks, a strange sort of glint in them. “Don’t let anyone else dictate what you do, how you do it, or affect your decisions. Ignore the trolls. Focus on what’s important.”

He’s right. I know he’s right. But the thought of not reading the comments, of not knowing what people are saying about me, is almost as bad as actually doing it.

There’s one thing I can definitely get on board with, though.

I smile at him and kiss the tip of his nose, then lay back down next to him. I unlock my phone, click the camera app, and lift my arm up above our heads.

“Ready?” I ask, seeing his lips spread into a smile on the screen.

“Always.”

I take the photo and study it. We look cute in a rumpled sort of way. There isn’t a shadow of a doubt what we’ve been doing before the photo was taken. A hickey is visible on my jaw, and Alec’s dark gaze is heavy-lidded and dreamy.

I post the photo with a single heart emoji as a caption.

When I’m done, Alec gently extricates the phone from my hand, turns on the DND mode, and throws it on the bedside table.

“I’m afraid I’ve unleashed a monster into this world,” I say, biting my lip. “A horde of people who will be lusting after my boyfriend after seeing that photo.”

Alec chuckles and rolls on top of me, hands on both sides of my head. I love it when he cages me in like this, when he’s using his larger body to shield me and claim me.

“We’ll just have to let all those people…”

“A horde,” I interrupt.

“A horde of people know that Zachary Van Dorf is the only one who gets to enjoy this amazing body.”

“And the most talented tongue.”

“And that.” He’s grinning now, bumping his nose to mine.

“And the biggest, hardest, most magnificent dick.”

“Definitely that.”

Our laughter soon turns into moans and pleas for ‘more’ and ‘harder’, until we’re exhausted, but devastatingly happy in each other’s arms.

“So, how’s life when you settle down?” Adri asks, sitting in the booth across from me and stealing a fry from my plate.

I grin at him. “It’s great. You should try it.” He scoffs and tries to take another fry, but I bat his hand away. “Get your own.”

He raises an eyebrow. “Is that how it is now? You used to be such a sharer, Zach,” he says, leaning over the table.

I stuff a bunch of fries in my mouth to hide my smile. Seeing any sort of amusement on my face will only encourage the innuendos and jokes.

Adri and I may have started off as a couple, but we soon realized we could never give each other what we needed, and we work much better as friends. There was always something missing, something that seemed both insignificant and major. Like a single missing piece of a puzzle, its place empty in the corner, not obstructing the whole picture, but drawing attention to itself all the same.

We still hooked up occasionally after we broke up, but that didn’t mess up