Falling for My Mafia Bodyguard

Eleanor’s POV

“Go to the Morrigan Hotel, room 2101. I’ve got a surprise for you.”

I was going to ignore the text message until another one came through: a photo of my boyfriend of eight years kissing another woman.

I took a breath and grabbed my keys, determined to confront the situation myself. If the photo was fake, I’d listen to River’s explanation.

If the picture was real…I didn’t dare to think further.

After all, we had planned to announce our engagement the very next day.

Both of the texts came from my half-brother, Jason Brown, who was always trying to make trouble for me.

He was an incompetent moron. I, however, was more than capable and willing to lead the Brown mafia. I’m the perfect heir to lead the family into the future, except for one problem my father had—I wasn't a man.

My father insisted I have a man at my side before taking over, and luckily, I found a loving fiancé from another mafia family—River Davis.

Jason, however, was jealous of me and tried to create problems between River and I at every opportunity.

That night, I arrived at the posh mafia-friendly hotel and went straight to the room Jason sent me. I took a deep breath, a bad feeling settling in my stomach, and knocked on the door.

The woman from the photo—clearly missing articles of clothing—answered the door. Rage filled every thought and feeling I had. I aggressively pushed her aside and turned on the light as I stepped into the room.

I knew what I would find, but I needed to see the heartbreaking scene for myself.

There River laid on the bed, lipstick on his collar, his shirt open, and his belt undone. I clenched my fists angrily.

When River sees that I’m in front of him instead of the woman who clearly just had her lips on his neck, he shot up from the bed.

“Oh God!” River said, frantically stepping toward me as he fixed his belt.  “No, no, no! Eleanor I—I’m so sorry! I don’t know how things got this far, I swear! I was drinking with Jason and—”

“You seem pretty sober now.” I coldly interrupted. “We’re done. The wedding’s off.” Then I turned to leave.

River grabbed my shoulder to stop me.

“We’re already engaged!” He begged. “This was just a mistake! I…I still love you!”

The other woman sneered and laughed. “Funny,” the woman said pointedly, “you told me your fiancée wasn’t gentle enough for you, that she’s always too focused on work and business.”

River whipped around and slapped the woman hard.

The woman gasped, stumbled back, and clutched her face.

River rolled his eyes and turned back to me.

Seeing that side of River, the side that was violent and cruel, made me feel even more disgusted at the man in front of me. I couldn’t stand another second in that room.

“I said we’re done,” I said, walking out of the room.

I stepped into the elevator before River could follow.

A real man wouldn’t chase after me after what just happened, a real man would realize that he should stay far away.

As the elevator descended, I hoped that River would act like a real man for once in his life. When the elevator doors opened to the lobby, however, I knew that wouldn’t be the case.

River was waiting outside the doors, breathing hard—likely from running down stairs to chase after me. His face was red with anger, furious at being humiliated.

I huffed and pushed past him before he could speak.

“You think you’re perfect?” He said, following me. “All you ever talk about is inheritance, business, and power! Have you ever thought about what I actually want in a woman? Eleanor, if you weren’t beautiful, do you really think I’d marry you? Don’t act like you’re innocent in all this. Without this marriage, how are you going to fight your brother for your father’s empire?”

As the daughter of a mafia boss and future leader of an empire, there were many things a girl had to learn. My favorite lessons? Combat and boxing.

His words were meant to cut deep, and they hit their mark—but I wouldn’t be chained by them.

Without hesitation, I punched River square in the jaw.

River froze and spat blood from his mouth—his jaw badly bruised—then grabbed me angrily.

“How dare you hit me!” he yelled, pulling me back forcefully.

A nearby hotel security guard saw the struggle and stepped in, blocking River from me. But River continued trying to grab me. The security guard growled and flipped River over his shoulder, slamming him to the floor.

River groaned, trying to get up, but the masked guard knocked him out with another punch. The guard turned to the desk, telling them to call the police as he escorted me away from the scene.

I—completely surprised—eyed the guard up and down. His moves had been sharp, his body strong and radiating tension—he had my attention.

“Do you have any idea who he is?” I asked.

The guard hesitated, then shook his head.

“He’s not someone to mess with.” I pressed. “If you don’t want your whole family wiped out because of him, get in my car now and never come back.”

I stepped towards my sports car parked by the entrance and got in, waiting for the guard to follow.

The guard looked back at the lobby as River’s bodyguards rushed inside—likely demanding to know who had done this to him. The desk clerk nervously pointed to the guard.

The guard immediately stepped into my car, surprising me with his decisiveness. I raised an eyebrow at him.

He shrugged and said, “Today was my last day working here, anyway.”

I gave a small shrug of my own, impressed by him. I hit the gas and sped away from the hotel, wanting to be as far away as possible from the nightmare that night was.

When I finally released the breath I didn’t know I was holding, I thought back to River’s cruel words and anger rose inside me. My grip on the steering wheel tightened—River knew me; so, he knew exactly what to say to hurt me.

I needed something to take my mind off everything. As I got to the stoplight in front of my building, I noticed from the corner of my eye that the guard hadn’t moved.

I turned to the guard, realizing I hadn’t seen his face.

“You can take off the mask now.” I said.

He did as I said and removed the mask from his face without looking away from me.

His face was sharp and calm—but more than anything, handsome.

Such in a way that was unlike any of the men I was used to. He attracted me in a much more...deeper way.

It lightened my mood to think that of all people, River had been beaten by a man twice as attractive as he was.

Thinking of River and how he’d blamed me for not fitting his fantasy of a “gentle woman” set my teeth on edge.

It wasn’t my job to make him feel like a man by being ‘gentle’. Why should I be less of anything? If I was too much for him, shouldn’t he be more for me than?

He should be more understanding, more ambitious, more of a real man. More everything, maybe even more…handsome.

The light turned green, and I pulled up in front of my apartment building.

“Are you getting out,” I asked the guard, “or coming upstairs with me?”

The man blinked, surprised. “Upstairs for what?”

“Sex,” I said bluntly, turning to walk inside with an extra swish of my hips.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him follow, causing a slight smile to spread across my face at the thought that this man would be mine tonight.

I needed to forget and feel like someone else for tonight.

Once inside, the guard picked up a frame from the table—a picture of River and I right after getting engaged.

Frowning, the man turned his head to me questioningly.

I sighed and said, “Yeah, that’s the guy you knocked out tonight. He cheated on me. It’s over.”

I took the photo and set it facedown on the table, not wanting to think of this night’s nightmare or the one that waited for me tomorrow.

I stepped closer to the man, my breasts pressed against his chest as my breath mingled with his. I wrapped my arms around his neck as his hands moved to my hips.

I leaned in so our noses were almost touching, and the man’s grip on my hips tightened.

I closed my eyes; I wanted to lose myself in this man and save problems for another time.

I pressed my hips against him and whispered, “Now, you can kiss me.”