The Bodyguard’s Game

Marina’s POV

Vale’s mouth curved slightly, but his eyes were cool. “Interesting. But I don’t see it.”

Adrian leaned against the desk with a faint smirk. “No one here likes her. A spy usually does better when they’re liked but stay invisible.”

“Not to mention,” Vale added, “Yasmin is the type to start drama, not watch from the sidelines.”

My fingers tightened on my pen until my knuckles went white. “So someone like Adrian then. Everyone likes him. Yet he just watches from the sidelines.”

Adrian’s head snapped toward me. His expression flickered between shock and anger. “Have you forgotten that I saved your life yesterday?” he said quietly. “And Vale’s?”

“Maybe the whole thing was a setup to cement your loyalty to us,” I said, my voice low.

He was standing over me in a flash, his frame blocking out the light. The heat of his body reached me before his voice did.

“You’re not so easy to intimidate,” he murmured, his lips close to mine.

I met his eyes and forced myself to hold steady even though my pulse was racing. “You find it, I’m not.”

His eyes narrowed. “You have no idea what you’re talking about, princess.”

“I know you used to work for Victor.”

Before Adrian could reply, Vale’s voice cracked across the room like a whip. “Enough!!”

The air shifted instantly. I sank back into my chair, breathing hard as though I had just gone three rounds in the ring.

“Marina,” Vale said, his tone controlled now, “I know you were just trying to feel him out. But Adrian is not the spy.”

I stared at him. “How do you know?”

“Trust me. I know.”

My heart sank. Inside his games, it was so easy to trust him. But here, in daylight, it felt like he was hiding something from me.

“The fact is,” Vale continued, his eyes softer now, “yesterday just proves to me that I’ve been taking you for granted. Victor threatened to take you from me. You must know that would kill me. I will not let that happen again.”

For a moment, the invisible wall he always held between us fell. His gloved hands rested on the edge of my desk, his eyes fixed on mine with a kind of hunger that made me tremble.

“That’s why,” he said at last, “I’m assigning Adrian to you as your full-time bodyguard.” And just like that, the wall went back up.

“I don’t need a bodyguard!” I said sharply.

Adrian’s voice was even but carried an edge. “Are you telling me you could have gotten yourself out of that building yesterday without help? Give me a chance to tell you what I think.”

“Do I get a say in this?” I asked Vale.

“No,” he said simply. “Neither of you does. You’ll spend time together. You’ll get to know each other. That’s an order.”

With that, he dusted his shoulder, and walked out, leaving the door open behind him.

Adrian stayed where he was, his arms folded, his expression unreadable.

The office was suddenly too quiet.

We sat in silence for a long moment, neither of us willing to be the first to speak. Finally, Adrian broke it. “The fact is, you do need a bodyguard. And if it wasn’t me, I’d still insist someone be hired immediately.”

“I can take care of myself,” I replied.

“Victor has his sights set on you. I don’t know why, but I intend to find out. And maybe you can spank a bad boy, but I doubt you can bring Victor Lacroix to his knees.”

“That’s another reason I don’t trust you. You don’t respect what we do here. What I do.”

He tilted his head. “Then show me.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Really? You want to play a game?”

“I want to understand the appeal. And I want to see you in action.”

“Okay,” I said slowly. “But you should know the only person I let dominate me is Vale. So we won’t be playing a game like that.”

“Fine. Where do we start?”

“Somewhere small. Letting me dominate you means you give up control of yourself to me.” I moved closer, circling him, letting my eyes travel over every hard line of his trained body. “That means you have to trust me completely. Now tell me, Adrian, what turns you on?”

He didn’t hesitate. “Watching you put on lipstick.”

“Why?” I asked, my voice dropping lower. “Are you the type of person who likes watching more than participating?”

I was only a breath from his lips now. If he leaned forward, I might let him kiss me.

“I like to think about what your red lipstick would look like smeared on my white sheets.”

A faint smile curved my mouth. “Good answer. Thank you for trusting me with it.”

“That’s it? That’s the game?”

“No.” My eyes glittered as I leaned even closer. “The game will begin the next time you see me putting on lipstick. And you’ll know I’m doing it only for you.”

For the rest of the day Adrian was my shadow, silent and steady as I moved through my work. During meetings with new talents he waited just behind me like a sentinel. While I chatted with wealthy customers, I could feel him somewhere in the background, always watching. When I checked the liquor inventory he wordlessly helped, anticipating my needs as if he could read my mind.

Then a commotion rose from the club floor. A male voice shouted above the music, rough and desperate. “Where is she? Where is she?”

My heart skipped. For a fleeting second I wondered if Lucian had come looking for me. That would be ridiculous. I was never seeing him again.

By the time Adrian and I reached the club floor, a booming voice growled over the bass. “I won’t let you keep her from me.”

“Damn it,” I muttered. “It’s Joe.”

“Who?” Adrian asked, his eyes already scanning the crowd.

“A former customer who became obsessed with Lena. The problem is he didn’t listen to safe words. He wanted to see her bleed.”

Wordlessly, Adrian stepped in front of me, his broad shoulders cutting off my view.

“I need you out of my way,” I hissed.

“I need you to stay safe,” he replied, his voice low but firm. “It’s my job to stand by your side.”

“You’re my best option to keep my people safe. So please, help me.”

Across the room Joe’s eyes locked on mine. “You can’t keep her away from me. She is mine!”

He lunged forward, but before he could reach me Adrian snatched him by the neck with a speed and precision that made the crowd go silent. “That’s enough,” Adrian said, his tone final. “Let’s go.”

Minutes later Joe was raging in the interrogation room on the other side of the two-way glass, pacing like a caged animal. “Is someone going to get Lena and bring her to me?” he roared.

Talia stood beside me, watching. “This is the first time we’ve actually used this room for an investigation,” she murmured.

“That’s two security breaches in as many days,” Yasmin said as she entered, arms crossed, a self-satisfied look on her face.

Great, I thought. Just what I need. She’s going to use this against me to take my job.

“Every time I turn around, something else is going wrong,” Yasmin added.

“I’m looking into it,” Talia said calmly.

“Oh, I don’t think it’s your fault,” Yasmin purred. “You’re doing your best with what little Marina has given you. I’ll tell Vale all about this in my next meeting with him.”

“Fine,” I snapped. “Then present him with your little evil PowerPoint presentation. After that, you can go back to the floor and check on the liquor inventory like you’re supposed to.”

Talia tried to hide behind her laptop, but her giggles were loud enough to fill the room. Yasmin huffed in exasperation and stomped out.

“Are you alright?” Talia asked when the door shut.

“I’m tired,” I admitted. “It’s been a busy few days.”

“You know, bad bitches can have bad days too,” Talia said. “Why don’t you have Reed fix you up a drink? Adrian and I can take care of this asshat.”

“Would you?” I asked softly. “If you can keep Adrian busy, all the better.”

I just didn’t want a shadow right now, even one as good looking as Adrian.

At the bar I wrapped my fingers around my favorite drink and was just about to take a sip when a presence at my side made me freeze. A warm body, close enough to feel.

“Can I help you?” I asked without looking up.

“Actually,” a familiar voice said, smooth and low, “I’m here to help you. I’m here to rescue you.”

I turned, and there he was. Lucian.