Collateral desire- His to protect, mine to desire
Elian Lanchester doesn’t need a bodyguard, he needs the world to stay out of his way. Cold, calculated, and impossible to touch, the tech billionaire has built an empire with his brain and burned bridges with his bite. But when a stalker’s threats become dangerously real, his board forces him to get a bodyguard. Unfortunately, they send Dax Reyes, a man Elian hates genuinely.
Back in military university, Elian was the guy everyone idolised because of his riches while Dax was a scholarship student who swore to be a ruthless dedicated soldier.
Dax is rugged, discreet and unshakably disciplined. The ex-military bodyguard is everything Elian despises and everything he can’t stop watching. Dax isn’t intimidated by Elian’s wealth or his venom. He’s unbothered in the face of provocation, even when the tension burning between them threatens to set the house on fire.
But Dax has secrets of his own. He has a family, a past and a line he swore never to cross. When one kiss turns into something that can no longer be denied, Elian and Dax find themselves on the edge of something real and terrifying. Then a bullet changes everything.
Desire turns to devastation. Lies twist into betrayal and just when Elian thinks he’s been used and discarded, he discovers the truth was never what it seemed.
Now, it's a race against the silence they've both used as an armor. And this time, loving each other might be the most dangerous thing of all.