Stoking the Fire (Salus Security #1) - Teodora Kostova Page 0,4

fall on the bed, hand on my cock, squeezing the base to stop myself from coming.

I’m not ready.

I feel Alec’s hand on my neck, pushing me further into the mattress, his other hand closing around my cock.

He’s relentless, whispering dirty things in my ear, his voice like a potent aphrodisiac.

When I come, it’s with his name on my lips and his arms wrapped around me, pulling me closer, his touch gentle once again.

Chapter three

I wake up with something heavy on my chest. When I crack an eye open, I see a black-and-white cat curled on me and a small, fluffy dog lying with his head propped on my stomach. They both turn to look at me when I stir—the dog with ears perked up, curious, and the cat with a lazy sort of glare as if I’ve inconvenienced her.

I deliberate how to make them move without disturbing them. The dog whines, and I place a hand on top of his head. He pushes against it as if wanting more pets. For a while, I lay unmoving and pet the dog. The cat closes her eyes, but doesn’t move from her perch on my chest.

I didn’t pay much attention to the room last night, so I look around. It’s small, with a window on one side, a closet on the other, and a TV on the wall opposite the bed. There’s a dresser underneath the TV and a small bookcase next to it. I spot a flowerpot on top of the bookcase and a guitar propped against it.

What I don’t spot is any clothes lying around or any sort of mess. Anywhere. The room is incredibly tidy and clean. Smells fresh, too. I turn to the nightstand, hoping to find my phone. My clothes are neatly folded on top of it, the outline of my phone in my pocket. I itch to turn it back on and check my notifications.

Just as I’m about to reach over, the door opens carefully. Alec’s head peeks inside.

“Oh. You’re up,” he says, opening the door wider and stepping inside. “Sorry about—” He gestures toward the animals. “They’re nosy.”

“I didn’t know you had pets,” I say, my hand still in the dog’s fur.

“I don’t.” He comes over, taking the cat off me. She grumbles unhappily and walks away when he sets her on the floor. “They’re my roommate’s.”

“You have a roommate?” I panic a little, wondering if someone was in the apartment with us last night and I didn’t know. Had they heard me scream Alec’s name?

“Yeah. Elias. He’s pre-med and his schedule is unpredictable.” He casts a look at the dog, an affectionate smile tugging at his lips. “I keep an eye on these guys when Elias is not home.”

He scoops the dog in his arms, giving him a kiss on the nose and then setting him on the floor. He whines, but eventually follows the cat out of the room.

“The bathroom is across the hall if you’d like to shower.” He watches me with a guarded expression.

“That’ll be great. Thanks.”

I move to sit up, swinging my legs over the bed. I’m naked, and even though Alec saw—and tasted—every part of me last night, I feel self-conscious.

“Is there a towel I can have?”

“Of course. Sorry.” He opens the closet and takes out a fluffy white towel, handing it to me.

I thank him and escape into the bathroom.

I hate the morning after. It’s always so awkward. That’s why I usually don’t stay until the morning. But Alec fucked me into oblivion last night, and his body was so warm, and his hands felt so good around me. I don’t even remember falling asleep.

I shower and clean my teeth with some toothpaste on my finger. I raid the medicine cabinet for a deodorant, smiling when I find the same one Alec was using in the gym. I’ve used his shampoo and now his deodorant—I’ll spend the entire day smelling like him.

The thought makes the flutter in my belly stir.

Once I’m showered and dressed, I turn on my phone, putting it on silent, and make my way out of the bedroom to find Alec. The living room is small and also immaculately clean. The cat is lounging in an armchair, cracking an eye open when I walk past her but otherwise ignoring me. I hear noises from a room to the left. The door is open so I walk over, the smell of French toast luring me closer.

“Don’t look at me like that, Toby,” I hear Alec say.