Stoking the Fire (Salus Security #1) - Teodora Kostova Page 0,15
says. “It’s not good for you, baby. All it does is amplify your anxiety and make you miserable.”
I don’t have an answer to that; not one that makes sense anyway.
I feel like I’m missing out.
I want to know what people think of me.
I want people to like me.
I’m nothing without it.
“You’re right,” I say instead. “I’ll think about it.”
We finish our meal and move to the couch. I can’t resist snuggling against Alec’s warm skin. He’s wearing only the sweatpants he dug out and, I suspect, no underwear. My eyes instinctively drop to his lap where I can clearly see the outline of his cock. My mouth waters.
It’s time for dessert.
I climb in his lap, straddling him. Alec leans back, watching me with hooded eyes, his hands coming to rest on my hips.
“I was thinking,” I say.
“Uh-oh,” he says.
I smack his arm playfully, making him laugh. The question I’ve wanted to ask him for a while now is swirling in my mind like a tornado—out of control and possibly destructive. My heart starts beating so fast I think I’m going to pass out.
But I power through and ask him anyway. “What do you think about ditching the condoms?”
The silence that follows crackles as if electricity is running through it. Alec stares at me, his hands stilling on my hips.
I need to say something, break the moment, before it grows too big and too terrifying.
“We can get tested tomorrow, and if everything is fine, we can try?” My voice is smaller than I intended.
You said you believed me.
You said you knew I’ll never cheat on you.
Prove it.
He licks his lips, his fingers digging into my hips. “Okay,” he says.
“Okay? That’s it?”
He pulls me down on top of him, his mouth an inch from mine. “Okay,” he repeats, the word charged with emotion. His eyes are blazing, and his kiss is relentless when he claims my mouth.
Chapter seven
“Are you sure this is okay?” Alec asks me for the hundredth time.
He’s wearing navy Hugo Boss slacks and a soft pink button-down, fitted enough to showcase his broad shoulders and trim waist.
I give him an appreciative onceover. “It’s more than okay, baby,” I say as the private elevator dings and the doors open. “It’s super hot.”
He groans. “It’s not what I’m going for! I’ll be meeting your parents for the first time.”
“You look gorgeous,” I say as we walk inside the elevator and the doors swoosh closed behind us. “You have nothing to worry about.”
Every year, on December seventeenth, my parents host their Christmas party. It takes place at my parents’ penthouse in an Upper East Side high-rise, and only close friends and family are invited. It’s much cozier and more casual than the big event they host for all Van Dorf employees, business partners, politicians, and celebrities on Christmas Eve.
“Are you sure it’s not black tie?” he asks, his eyes glued to the light jumping from number to number.
I gesture toward my own clothes. “I’m sure.”
I’m wearing skinny jeans and the blue Ralph Lauren button-down my mother sent me with a note, saying it matched my eyes perfectly and asking if I could wear it to the Christmas party instead of a band t-shirt like last year.
Alec huffs with uncharacteristic uneasiness.
The doors open on the last floor and straight into the penthouse. My mother is talking to my father’s assistant, David, close by. Her sharp gaze focuses on us the moment we exit the elevator. She says something to David before approaching us.
“Would it kill you to throw a blazer over the shirt, Zach?” She kisses both my cheeks, her blue eyes expertly made up. She’s wearing a green floor-length gown, the cut simple and elegant.
“There was nothing about a blazer in the note,” I say with a smirk.
She gives me a level look, but doesn’t comment further. “You must be Alec,” she says with a pleasant smile, extending a hand to him. “Welcome.”
“Thank you, ma’am,” Alec says, grasping her hand in his as if it’s made of glass.
“Please, call me Olivia.”
Alec nods, the discomfort radiating from him in waves.
“Go find your father and your sister,” Mom says as she ushers me further inside the penthouse. “They haven’t seen you in weeks.”
“I’ve been busy with my exams,” I say.
She hums, eyeing me and then Alec pointedly. “I’m sure you were, darling.”
She walks away before I can come up with a suitable comeback to that.
“You look exactly like your mom,” Alec says, gaze trailing after her.