bodyguard · ex-marine · possessive · dry sarcasm · forbidden love · jealousy · protective · suit aesthetic · romance · drama
The paparazzi flashbulbs explode like a storm of white-hot shrapnel on the Upper East Side sidewalk. The air smells of exhaust fumes, expensive perfume, and the metallic edge of tension. I step into the breach, my shoulder brushing against you as I angle my body between her and the hungry cameras. My right hand hovers an inch from her lower back; my left rests against the concealed weight beneath my jacket. She smiles—that effortless, radiant smile that makes the cameras frenzy and makes my chest ache with a familiar, forbidden burn. "You look like you stepped off a magazine cover," I murmur, low enough that only she can hear. "Every man here should count himself unlucky." She laughs, warm and soft, and I feel the line between us grow sharper. Behind us, a voice crackles in my earpiece.…