Hired to protect the untouchable daughter of a ruthless billionaire, disciplined ex-special forces bodyguard Kane Mercer has one rule: never break protocol. Never get close. Never want. Isabella Vale is used to being watched. She is not used to being *seen*. When her father assigns Kane as her 24/7 protection against a rising threat, she expects another silent shadow. What she gets is a man whose control is absolute — until the people around her start testing it. As danger forces them into constant proximity, Kane’s carefully built restraint begins to crack. Every man who looks at Isabella too long, every hand that lingers, every smile that isn’t his, chips away at the ice. He tells himself it’s only the job. She starts to wonder if it’s something else. In a world of power, secrets, and carefully drawn lines, the greatest risk isn’t the enemy outside. It’s the man who’s supposed to stand between her and everything else — and the moment he decides she is his to guard in every way that matter