Stoking the Fire (Salus Security #1) - Teodora Kostova Page 0,99

deep sigh and signals the server.

“I’ll need a drink if that’s the direction this conversation is going.”

Despite his disapproving tone, I grin.

I know I’ve already won.

“How did he take it?” Alec asks me as he drives away from the curb.

I exhale a deep breath, and for the first time in days, I feel my stomach unknot itself. “Better than I expected.”

In the end—and after a second whiskey—my father relented and begrudgingly agreed that he wouldn’t be able to mold me into the perfect heir of his empire. A mini version of himself.

Contradicting emotions war inside me—relief for finally telling him, guilt for disappointing him yet again, and excitement for the new chapter of my life.

I reach over the gearshift and grab Alec’s hand. He squeezes my fingers, then lifts our joined hands to his lips. He doesn’t ask me any more questions, knowing I’m not ready to talk about it. I need to stew on it for a while and figure out how I feel about everything before telling him.

It’s so good to be with someone who intuitively understands every part of me.

“Are we going home?” Alec asks.

“We have to start packing.”

“We leave tomorrow evening, Zach. There’s plenty of time to pack and have some fun.” His smirk is so sexy that I can’t resist leaning in and kissing the corner of his mouth.

Tomorrow evening.

I let the words settle inside me, bringing me peace.

In the last six months, both Alec and I have worked non-stop. He was busy with the huge security team my father had requested, ironing out the kinks in the first few weeks and then making sure everything worked smoothly on a day-to-day basis.

I was busy with getting ready to defend my thesis in front of the committee. It had taken over my life to a point where I spent most of my days in the university library, until they kicked me out at closing time. The defense was last week, and it went better than I could have imagined. I was awarded the degree, and as of yesterday, I was officially Doctor Zachary Van Dorf.

Alec bought me a costume nurse outfit to celebrate. When I put it on last night and pointed out it was a nurse outfit, not a doctor’s, he feigned innocence and claimed it was a genuine mistake.

I sincerely doubt it.

But I had no time to protest before he was on me, the buttons of the outfit flying as he devoured me whole.

I adjust myself discreetly, the memory of last night making my dick hard. Alec doesn’t miss the subtle movement, and he winks at me as if knowing exactly what I was thinking.

“Do you want to go out?” I ask, breaking the silence. “You’re right. There’s plenty of time.” I lower my voice to a seductive whisper. “Plus, we don’t need to pack much. You won’t be wearing any clothes once we get there.”

He barks a laugh, the car speeding up as if he can’t wait to get home. “Sure, we can go out.” He turns to give me a wolfish smile. “Later.”

Before my examination, I was a ball of anxiety, and no amount of calming techniques would settle my nerves. Alec stepped in, as he always did, and promised me that if it went well, which he was sure it would, he’d take two weeks off, and we could go to the cabin in Vermont and hide from the world. Just the two of us. Alone together. Naked.

I had no choice but to make sure it went well so that I could have him all to myself for two blissful weeks.

The cabin holds a special place in my heart. It was a sanctuary when I needed it most. It’s where Alec and I reconnected; where he taught me how to fish, and kissed me in the rain, and told me he loved me.

And it’s where, with the ring I bought months ago, I’ll ask him to marry me.

For the first time in my life, I have absolutely no doubt what his answer will be.

THE END

Curious about that nurse outfit scene? Or the time Alec won a charity boxing match and ended up singing Britney Spears songs in a karaoke bar? Click on the links below to read them, completely free on my website!

Nurse outfit

Karaoke

Epilogue 2.0

Adrian

I light the cigarette, pulling on the bud until the end comes to life in the darkness of the alley behind Oasis. I inhale blissfully, holding it in for a few seconds before letting out a thick