Chapter 1
Killian
I stop at the bottom of the winding staircase and position myself so I can see the front door and stairs at the same time.
“Davi. You all good?”
It’s only a second before the head of my home security team answers.
"In position and doing fine, Kill. All of the outdoor cameras are up and working.”
“Good,” I say, before moving on to check with the rest of my team.
My second in command, Malakai, is with Pierce Crowell at his office. My driver, Asher, and my advance associate, Jules are both ready and on standby if we need to go out today.
Satisfied, I look towards the stairs and adjust the collar of my uniform, readying myself for what will come next.
Even though I still never feel prepared.
It’s only a few moments before I hear footsteps descending on the stairs and I look up to see her approaching me.
Celani Winston.
When I see her the same jolt runs through my body as the first time her boyfriend, Pierce Crowell, introduced me to her. The day I almost turned down this entire job.
I’ve traveled all over the world, and met women of all different backgrounds, and beauty. But I’ve never had a woman get under my skin like Celani has.
I was surprised that Crowell even found my contact, Lucian, to hire me considering the straight-laced social circles he runs in. But the thing I found more confusing was why on earth he would trust any man to be alone with Celani for 15 plus hours a day.
Because I sure as hell wouldn’t.
She’s beautiful in a way that stunned you when you met her, and there wasn’t much that shocked me. And yet here I was for the past month with her, from sunup to sundown, and I still haven’t gotten used to it at all.
It isn’t even just her outward beauty, though that alone is enough to dislocate a sturdy jaw. She has a good heart, is intelligent, and quick witted too. Where Crowell is focused on money, Celani seems unphased by the lavishness that surrounds her in her home and around Redland.
Despite knowing how she was making me feel, I’ve stayed on the job anyway. Something I would never advise anyone to do. But yet here I am watching over her every day, feeling like a ticking time bomb.
I found it ironic how Pierce entrusted me with her care, and yet I have spent countless hours thinking of how I can take her away from him.
Now, when Celani is only a few steps away from me, she finds my eyes and smiles over at me. Her smile is so infectious that my mouth twitches involuntarily, almost smiling back at her.
I straighten my shoulders and nod at her instead, “Good morning, Ms. Celani.”
She reaches the landing and I try not to stare at her toned brown legs. She’s wearing a casual T-shirt and shorts, her feet are bare, and her tight curls are hidden away under a brightly colored scarf.
“Good morning, Killian!” She exclaims, bouncing over in front of me. “I told you that you can drop the ‘Ms.’ It makes me feel old.”
She gives me a cheeky smile and I ignore the way my slacks tighten as her lavender smell hits me.
I clear my throat. “I believe it’s what Mr. Crowell prefers me to address you as,” I respond, trying to keep the irritation out of my voice that thinking about her boyfriend causes.
Truthfully, I don’t think that Pierce would give a shit what I call his girlfriend. But it’s my way of attempting to stay professional and keep the weakening boundaries between us intact.
She wrinkles her nose and looks around the large foyer, “Well he’s not here, and I’m a grown woman. I prefer to be called Celani,” she sasses.
I tighten my jaw, holding back from responding to her sassy tone the way I want to. I swear she pushes my buttons on purpose, and if she were mine I know just how I would handle her tone.
“Fine,” I agree, nodding my head towards the hallway. “After you.”
She gives me a satisfied smile and turns around to head down the hallway towards the kitchen. This is the same routine we’ve done six days a week since I started here. The only time it changes is on Sundays when Pierce takes the entire day off, and my services aren’t requested.
We walk inside the kitchen and she begins to chatter at me as if we are best friends catching up after a night apart. She has always treated me like I wasn’t being paid to ensure her safety. As if I am just here hanging out for no specific reason.
She’s strangely unintimidated by me the way that most people are. Most people have the discernment to take one look at me and understand that I don't come from a place of sunshine and rainbows. But she either knew and didn't care, or was too innocent to see it.
My guess was the first option. She seemed tougher than her soft exterior portrayed her to be.
“Do you want some coffee, Killian?” She chirps, pulling items out of the fridge. “Ohh! I found this really good creamer yesterday that my friend, Desiree, recommended! It’s perfect for Fall.”
I move next to the island folding my hands in front of me. “No thank you, Ms. Celani.”
She closes the fridge and gives me an exaggerated sigh. “I thought we were done with this ‘Ms.’ business. I’m 40, not 80.”
She turns her back to me and my eyes scan over her body as she goes back to her task of making coffee for her and the maids like she does every Monday.
There is not one inch of her that would make me speculate that she was 80 instead of 40.
Her smooth brown skin doesn’t even have a wrinkle on it anywhere I can see.
Trust me. I’ve studied it thoroughly.
“How was your sleep?” She asks over her shoulder.
“Fine. Thank you,” I respond, shifting on my feet uneasily as she smiles at me.
I have been around some of the scariest men on the planet without feeling even a hint of nervousness, and somehow having her eyes on me makes me feel restless.
She turns back around and my shoulders relax. “My night was good too! I had the weirdest dream though. I was in the woods and there was this man walking through it with this group of men beside him,” she says, pouring the creamer into three mugs.
“He walked right by me but he had this ski mask on, and it was like he couldn’t tell I was there for some reason. Weird, huh?” she finishes, looking over at me.
I nod, keeping my expression neutral even though I’m hanging on to every word she’s saying. I find myself wishing that I could somehow decipher her dream for her.
I don’t like how ominous it sounds.
I shouldn’t even be taking in anything she is saying right now. There’s nothing that I need to know about her beyond what it takes to do my job efficiently.
Yet I stand here listening and watching her like a hawk as she flits around her big kitchen. She clatters around in the cabinets and takes out a big pan while chattering away now about a new cooking show she watched before bed.
I soak up every word she says like I need it to function.
She would never know how much I love the sense of normalcy being around her provides. Sometimes these mornings feel like I’m casually here listening to her before I take off to go to some regular, boring, job like her boyfriend does.
One that doesn’t take me to dangerous places. One where I end up right back here at night to do this routine all over again with her. But that could never be our reality.
The maids come into the kitchen interrupting Celani’s monologue, and my wayward thoughts. They greet her cheerfully, and she gives each of them their coffees with a sweet smile.
They all talk while she prepares breakfast, giving me a moment to get myself under control. I sit down on a tall chair at the island and take out my phone to get an update from Malakai:
How are things with Crowell?
Malakai: Boring AF like always. He’s in a meeting. I can’t wait for his paranoia to end so we can move on to a new assignment. I miss using my knife.
I know I would feel the same way if I was on his end of this assignment. Sitting in Pierce’s office every day is not exactly Malakai’s normal use of his particular skill sets. But from where I am sitting I am in no rush to leave.
We text about logistics for the day for a few minutes until I hear the maids saying their goodbye’s and leaving. I look up to see Celani taking out two plates from her cabinet and decide this is a good time to review her schedule for the day too.
“Are we still traveling to the city today?” I ask, as she places two plates on the counter.
Her sweet face lights up. “Yes! I need to get a new dress from Lillian’s Boutique for a business dinner that Pierce wants me to go to next week,” she responds. “I don’t have much else to do today though. Maybe just a quick run into the chocolate shop next door afterwards.”
She comes over and puts a plate down in front of me, and I look over at her eager expression.
“Thank you M..Celani. But like I said before, you really don’t have to cook for me. I always make myself breakfast before you wake up,” I say, trying to ignore the sweet smell wafting from the plate.
She shrugs a shoulder and sits down next to me with her own plate. “It’s just a little French toast, Killian. Try it. I promise it’s good.”
I drag my eyes off of her and look down at the French toast stacked on my plate.
Everything that she has insisted on making me so far has been amazing.
So amazing that I have added extra time to my already grueling daily workouts to counteract the delicacies she keeps encouraging me to enjoy.
All of the cooking shows she watches during the day are obviously paying off.
She looks at me with anticipation dancing in her pretty brown eyes, and I finally relent. I pick up my fork and dip it into the fluffy pile of toast. I take a large bite and resist the urge to kidnap her.
“Do you like it?” she asks anxiously, as I chew slowly and try to savor the flavors.
“It’s incredible,” I murmur, wiping my mouth with the cloth napkin next to me.
She claps her hands together excitedly.
“Yes! Thank you! It’s the same recipe from the show I watched last night,” she says, taking a bite of her own stack.
We eat in companionable silence, and when we’re done I insist on cleaning up so she can get ready. Domestic tasks are also not a part of my job description, but I wash the dishes, pan, and mugs while I call my driver from my watch.
“Get the car ready for a drive into the city,” I say, stacking the dishes onto the drying rack. “And send Jules to check out Lillian’s Boutique and the surrounding area. Celani has some shopping to do.”