My Alpha, My Bodyguard

3.2 Vivienne

“He’s a what?!” Vivienne was glad she had already braced herself for Melanie’s outburst. “Liam hired a shifter to guard you? I thought he didn’t care about this!”

“Right?!” That was still the odd thing about this. For all that Liam had waved off the threat as though it didn’t mean anything, why had he gone out and dropped so much money on a shifter, let alone one like Marcus? It didn’t make any sense. “Maybe it’s just to make himself look good. Even if he doesn’t care, the media will, and it won’t look good for him nowadays. You know how much he pushes his image as a ‘family man’.”

Melanie muttered something scathing under her breath about Liam’s family jewels before huffing out an angry breath. “Hmph. Well as long as you’re taken care of, that’s all that matters to me.”

“Thanks Mel,” Vivienne smiled at the window, admiring the cornflower blue of the morning sky and feeling a thousand times better. “I’ll talk to you later, alright?”

Melanie grumbled out an agreement, and then then the call disconnected with a low click. Vivienne let out a sigh and quickly finished up her now cold food, heaping eggs onto the last slice of bread and washing it down with the last of her coffee. Her call with Melanie had rejuvenated her a little. There was no point in staying in, wallowing in fear. Not when she had friends who loved her, and things to do. Whoever this stalker was, Vivienne was not going to let them control her with fear. Not again.

Leaping off her bed, she hurried into the bathroom and scrubbed herself down with her favourite honey-scented bodywash, making sure to rub it behind her ears for an extra jolt. Exiting into the steaming bathroom and back into her bedroom, Vivienne cheerfully attacked her closet for something casual to wear. She wasn’t going anywhere fancy, just to the supermarket on the next street, but one could never be certain that cameras weren’t watching.

After donning a suitable outfit – a rose-pink romper with a white cardigan thrown over it in case it was colder than she expected – Vivienne brushed her hair into submission and admired herself in the mirror. She looked…good! Happy even! With a little bit of blush and a dab of eyeliner, you’d never know anything wrong was going on in her life.

Marcus was downstairs when she skipped down the flights, fully dressed in a variant of the outfit he had worn yesterday. The leather jacket was missing, but a cursory glance around the room allowed her to spot it hanging from the back of one of the dining room chairs. Had he eaten something then? Vivienne couldn’t help feeling a little pleased that he had taken up her offer in some way, even though she hadn’t really done anything.

It looked like he had been perusing the shelves. Not Liam’s grand ones that were full of old trophies and even older liquor that no one ever drank because the bottles only existed to be marveled at, but at hers. The one off to the side, stuffed with her favourite science books and souvenirs from previous acting roles. A little corner that only existed because Liam hadn’t yet decided to bulldoze it down to make way for a few more crystal champagne bottles.

The wooden soles of Vivienne’s low heels clicked lowly against the stairs, muffled by the carpet as she stepped down them. Marcus’s eyes turned to meet hers, and perhaps it was simply wishful thinking, but Vivienne could have sworn his mouth dropped open. Green eyes flickered over her body with more than just professional interest. Pink suffused her cheeks, and she did her best to shake it away. Yes, she was definitely just seeing things. It was just a nice sundress and some sandals, hardly anything worth looking twice at.

Ducking her head, she speedwalked over to the front door, grabbing her handbag and keys from the hook as she passed. “I’m heading out to the store. I’ll see you in a bit,” she called over her shoulder. Or she would have, had Marcus not crossed the room floor in four large strides and planted his bulk directly in front of the entrance. Vivienne narrowed her eyes and folded her arms across her chest. “Um, can I help you?”

“I can’t let you leave, Mrs. – Vivienne,” he said shortly, and the woman appreciated that he was making an effort to use her name even though he was being quite annoying.

“Excuse you? Let me?” She drew herself up, squaring her shoulders in defiance. “I’m just going to the supermarket, not running across a minefield!”

Marcus remained wholly unmoving. “We don’t know who sent those letters, how dangerous they are, or where they may be. Until we have more information, it is imperative that you remain home and keep unnecessary trips to a minimum.”

“So I’m supposed to be a prisoner, is that it?” Vivienne faced him head on. “It’s not enough that I’m being harassed by a creep, now I have to hide away inside while they get to swan around the streets free? That is bullshit!”

“Regardless, that is how things are,” Marcus replied steadily, and his even-temper only had the effect of igniting her own. Vivienne wanted to shake him, but her hands probably wouldn’t have been able reach his throat, so she was stuck with just glaring. “I know it’s not fair, but I cannot guarantee your safety if you insist on running around. This stalker has made it clear that they have been following you around for a while. It isn’t out of the question to presume that they know where you shop regularly.”

Vivienne’s breath caught in her throat, and she bit her bottom lip. That was true, yet, “they’re not likely to do anything in the middle of a public area like a supermarket,” she pointed out. “Whoever they are, they’ve already gotten into my house. So unless you and Liam’s master plan is to tie me up and wait for them to sneak in again, then you’ll let me leave.”

A muscle jumped in the corner of Marcus’s temple, drawing attention to a stony jade-green gaze. He examined her for a moment, and then finally let out a gruff sigh that was tinged with a little bit of helplessness. “Stubborn,” he muttered lowly, and then he frowned at her searchingly. “You really won’t change your mind?”

“We’re going to the shops,” Vivienne rolled her eyes, already perking up at her success. “It’s just down the street. We’ll be in and out of there in 30 minutes, tops. Besides, you’ll be with me the whole time, won’t you?”

Marcus grunted affirmatively, pulling back his shoulders with a sharp nod. “Right. I’ll take care of you.”

The words echoed inside Vivienne’s chest, running over the tines of her ribcage, and plucking out an almost familiar tune. It was as though she had heard them before once upon a time, in the vestiges of a long-forgotten dream. It made her heart do something funny. It rattled around in her chest like a terrarium full of moths being faced with an incandescent lightbulb for the first time. Whipping around, Vivienne gripped the neckline of her dress and wondered whether this was less of a crush and more of an immediate medical emergency.

Lord, she hoped this feeling wouldn’t last the whole time that they were forced to be in proximity with one another. It was absolute hell on her heart.