Stoking the Fire (Salus Security #1) - Teodora Kostova Page 0,31

say what came next. I see the exact moment she makes up her mind. “Or how he was seeing someone for his own issues.”

The tears spill. I hate that I wasn’t there for him.

“Thank you,” I say. “For telling me. And for not telling me before.” Her eyebrows knit together. “It would have messed me up. I’d have probably done something stupid.”

She hugs me, her arms tight around me. When she pulls away, she kisses my cheek and slowly makes her way back to her stool.

“Refill?” I ask, jerking my chin toward the ice cream.

“Always.”

“What does this Felix guy look like?” I ask, changing the topic as I scoop ice cream into the bowls.

The smile Evie gives me is wicked. “He’s one giant hammer away from being a Norse god.”

“Of course he is,” I murmur as I pour a lot more chocolate than is needed.

“You haven’t met him yet?”

“No. But Alec told me they’re sharing a room.” I raise my eyebrows meaningfully.

“Ohhh,” Evie drawls, her eyes widening as she puts the puzzle pieces together. “Yeah, I can definitely picture that.” She props her chin on her hand, dreamily licking the spoon.

I hit her with my own spoon.

She laughs and ducks to dodge another attack.

Chapter sixteen

The drive to Queens takes ages. I stare out the window of the SUV as we crawl past 72nd Street station. I long to jump out of the car and hop on the train, to get lost in the crowd, in the city I love.

Unfortunately, the man sitting next to me, a permanent scowl etched on his face, will not like that. At all. We’ve already spent half an hour arguing over it this morning. A part of me wants to jump out, if only to rile him up.

I imagine the muscles on his arms flexing as he chases after me, a predatory look in his eyes. I imagine his suit jacket opening to reveal the crisp white shirt he wears underneath, his abs tightening as he runs. I imagine him catching me, lifting me up like he used to do, pulling me flush against his body. I imagine I can feel every ridge and curve of his body, his heat, his hardness pressing into me, his dark eyes molten with possessive lust.

I gasp.

The scene is so vivid in my head that my heart rate picks up as I try to dull the images still lingering at the front of my mind.

From the corner of my eye, I see Alec giving me an assessing look.

I pull my messenger bag over my lap, pretending to look for something inside. His eyes narrow.

I clear my throat. “How much longer is this going to take?” I look pointedly at my watch. “The meeting with my advisor starts in twenty-five minutes, and I can’t be late. She’ll bite my head off. Again.”

“You’ll be there on time,” Alec says.

“Maybe. If I’d taken the subway,” I murmur under my breath as I kept rummaging pointlessly through my bag.

Miraculously, the traffic eases after the tunnel, and we make it onto campus with five minutes to spare. The car has barely stopped before I jump out, tossing the bag over my shoulder mid-stride.

Alec follows me, his long legs eating the advantage I have.

“You really don’t need to come with me,” I say.

“I really do.”

“Nobody will attack me on campus, Alec.” I look around to prove my point, but instead of people walking around, minding their own business, I see most people giving me the side eye as we stride past them. “You stick out in that designer suit,” I hiss under my breath. “Everyone’s staring.”

“They know who you are, and they know what happened yesterday. Of course they’re staring.” Alec doesn’t bother lowering his voice. A couple of guys turn their heads as they walk past us, their expressions openly hostile.

“We need to rethink your attire,” I say as I opened the door. “As sexy as that suit is, if you’ll be trailing me everywhere I go, I’d rather you don’t look like Secret Service.”

A muscle in Alec’s jaw ticks as he holds the door open for me. “Fine.”

I’m taken aback by his agreement; I expect another argument that will definitely make me late for my appointment.

Shit.

I glance at my watch, only to confirm I’m indeed late.

Luckily, my advisor’s office is round the corner, and I knock on her door just two minutes late. Alec agreed to wait for me outside Dr. Franklin’s office, thank god. I could just imagine her face if she