Guarded Heart

The Rulebook:

1. He watches. He doesn't speak.
2. He protects. He doesn't feel.
3. He stays on his side of the line.

Violet Chalmer's life is a curated exhibit: vintage couture, charity galas, and a trust fund that could buy a small country. After a terrifying breach at her family's estate, her father hires Carter Vance.

Former military intelligence, eleven years her senior, and carved from pure, silent intensity. He's a wall of muscle, tactical gear, and a gaze that misses nothing. He's also the first person who sees past the heiress to the girl screaming underneath.

Violet makes it her mission to crack his stone-cold exterior-flirting at events, pushing boundaries, daring him to react. But Carter's control is absolute. Until the night an attempt on her life goes wrong, and the only safe place is his arms. She discovers then that his orders aren't just to protect her. They're to assimilate her-into his world, his methods, his life.

Now, every lesson in self-defense feels like seduction. Every whispered briefing in the dark feels like a secret. And the man hired to shield her from danger is becoming the most dangerous, intoxicating risk of all.

He was hired to guard her life. He never planned on stealing her heart.