LOVING MY BODYGUARDChapter 2: Lines That Shouldn’t Be Crossed
1600 Words
LOVING MY BODYGUARD
Chapter 2: Lines That Shouldn’t Be Crossed
Morning came without asking permission.
For Elara Vance, it always did.
Sunlight spilled through her floor-to-ceiling windows, painting her room in soft gold tones that felt too peaceful for someone who had barely slept. She lay on her bed for a moment, staring at the ceiling like it might offer explanations for the new reality she had woken up in.
It didn’t.
Yesterday wasn’t a dream.
There was still a man outside her door.
A man she didn’t ask for.
A man who refused to leave.
Elara sat up slowly, her silk blanket sliding off her shoulders. She listened carefully.
Silence.
Then—barely noticeable—the faint shift of weight outside her door.
He was still there.
Of course he was.
She swung her legs off the bed and stood, walking barefoot toward the door. For a second, she paused with her hand on the handle.
Then she opened it.
Adrian Cole stood exactly where she expected him.
Straight posture. Hands folded in front of him. Eyes alert but calm, like he had been awake long before she had even opened her eyes.
He looked at her once.
“Good morning, Miss Vance,” he said.
Elara blinked. “Do you ever sleep?”
“Yes.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
A pause. “I rest when I can.”
“Outside my door?”
“Yes.”
She stared at him like he was a strange concept she hadn’t fully processed yet. “That’s unhealthy.”
“It’s efficient.”
She stepped out fully now, crossing her arms. “You’re really committed to this whole silent statue thing, aren’t you?”
His eyes flicked to her briefly. “I’m doing my job.”
“Your job is to make me feel like I’m in a prison?”
“No,” he said calmly. “Your job is to live. Mine is to make sure nothing interrupts that.”
Elara scoffed softly. “How noble.”
He didn’t respond to the sarcasm.
That, unfortunately, made it less fun.
---
Breakfast was served in the dining hall downstairs, but Elara barely touched it.
Her father was already gone for meetings, and the house felt even larger without his presence filling it like pressure.
Adrian followed her at a respectful distance, just like yesterday. Always close enough to intervene, never close enough to intrude.
She hated how precise he was.
It made arguing harder.
“You’re not eating,” he said suddenly.
Elara paused mid-scroll on her phone. “Excuse me?”
“I said you’re not eating.”
She looked up at him slowly. “Are you monitoring my breakfast habits now?”
“I’m observing changes in routine,” he corrected.
“I didn’t realize I hired a nutritionist.”
“You didn’t hire me at all.”
That shut her up for half a second.
Then she leaned back in her chair. “Do you always talk like you’re reading from a manual?”
“No.”
“Good. So you can stop sounding like one.”
A pause.
Then, unexpectedly, he said, “You’re avoiding food.”
Elara frowned. “I’m not.”
“You’ve touched nothing on your plate.”
She glanced at the untouched meal. “Maybe I’m not hungry.”
“Stress reduces appetite,” he said.
“Are you diagnosing me now too?”
“I’m noting patterns.”
Elara tilted her head. “You’re very observant.”
“It helps me keep people alive.”
She studied him for a moment. “Do you ever relax, Adrian?”
A pause.
“Yes.”
“When?”
“When I’m not working.”
She smiled slightly. “So… never.”
That earned her the faintest shift in his expression—something almost like amusement, but controlled enough that it barely existed.
Almost.
---
By midday, Elara was scheduled for a corporate meeting at one of the Vance subsidiary offices.
She hated corporate meetings.
Too many voices. Too many suits. Too many expectations.
And now—apparently—too much Adrian Cole.
The convoy was already waiting when she stepped outside.
Two cars. Armored. Blacked out windows. Security vehicles ahead and behind.
And Adrian, standing beside the rear passenger door like he had always belonged there.
“You’re riding with me?” Elara asked.
“Yes.”
“I thought you were supposed to stay with security detail.”
“I am security detail.”
She narrowed her eyes. “That sounds like a promotion nobody told me about.”
He opened the door.
Elara hesitated, then got in anyway.
The door closed behind them with a heavy sound that felt final.
Inside the car, space suddenly became smaller.
Adrian sat opposite her, not beside her. Still maintaining distance. Still professional.
But now there was nowhere for her to escape him visually.
That irritated her more than she expected.
The car started moving.
Silence filled the space between them.
Elara tapped her fingers lightly against her phone, then looked up. “So what exactly are you watching for?”
“Threats,” he said.
“That’s vague.”
“It needs to be.”
She leaned back. “Let me guess—you think someone might try something during a public appearance?”
“I don’t think,” he corrected. “I assess risk.”
“And what’s your assessment?”
His eyes met hers directly. “Moderate.”
“Moderate,” she repeated flatly. “That sounds comforting.”
“It means controllable.”
Elara smiled faintly. “You really enjoy being in control, don’t you?”
“I enjoy predictable outcomes.”
“And I’m assuming I’m not one of those.”
A brief pause.
“No,” he admitted.
That answer surprised her more than she wanted to admit.
She studied him carefully. “You’re not very good at pretending to flatter people.”
“I wasn’t hired to flatter you.”
“Good,” she said quickly. “Because I don’t need it.”
A silence followed.
Then Adrian said something that shifted the air slightly.
“You’re not what I expected.”
Elara raised an eyebrow. “And what exactly did you expect?”
“Someone easier to manage.”
She let out a small laugh. “That sounds like a complaint.”
“It’s a fact,” he said.
“Most people find me difficult.”
“I’ve noticed.”
She leaned forward slightly. “And yet you’re still here.”
“I don’t leave jobs unfinished.”
Something about the way he said it made her pause.
Not emotional.
Just final.
Like leaving wasn’t even a possibility in his world.
---
When they arrived at the office, chaos was already waiting.
Reporters outside the building. Security trying to hold back crowds. Cameras flashing like storms breaking apart.
Elara stepped out first, immediately slipping into her public face.
Calm. Controlled. Untouchable.
Adrian followed closely behind.
Too closely.
“Stay back a little,” she muttered without turning.
“I can’t,” he said.
She glanced at him. “You’re blocking my personal space.”
“I’m blocking access points,” he corrected.
She sighed. “Same thing, apparently.”
They moved forward.
Reporters shouted her name.
“Elara! Is it true the Vance merger is collapsing?”
“Elara! Any comment on the internal board dispute?”
She ignored them all, as usual.
But then—
It happened too fast again.
A sudden movement in the crowd.
A man pushing forward too aggressively.
Elara barely registered it before Adrian did.
His hand was on her arm in an instant—not rough, but firm—pulling her slightly backward.
“Move,” he said sharply.
And she did.
Not because she wanted to.
Because his tone left no room for hesitation.
Security reacted late.
The man was intercepted quickly, but the moment had already shifted.
Elara turned sharply. “What was that?”
Adrian didn’t answer immediately. His eyes stayed on the crowd.
“Potential breach,” he said finally.
“That wasn’t a breach. That was a person pushing through.”
“Same thing,” he replied.
She frowned. “You pulled me like I was about to be attacked.”
“You were in proximity to an unknown variable,” he said.
“That’s not an answer.”
“It’s the only one you need.”
She stared at him.
Something in her chest tightened—not fear.
Annoyance.
Or something dangerously close to awareness.
“You’re very dramatic for someone who claims to be calm,” she said.
“I don’t need drama,” he replied. “I need results.”
She stepped closer to him slightly, lowering her voice. “And what result are you expecting from me?”
A pause.
Long enough to feel intentional.
“Cooperation,” he said.
Elara smiled faintly. “You’re not going to get it easily.”
“I know.”
The way he said it made her pause again.
Not frustration.
Expectation.
Like he had already accepted the challenge.
And maybe even wanted it.
---
That night, back at the estate, Elara stood again by her balcony.
The city looked the same.
But she didn’t feel the same.
Behind her door, Adrian was there again.
Quiet.
Constant.
Unmoving.
And for the first time since this started, Elara realized something she didn’t like at all.
She was starting to notice when he wasn’t speaking.
And even worse…
She was starting to expect him to be there.
- Writer
