Bodyguard by day secret by night

The silence inside the limousine felt louder than the chaos outside, paparazzi lights flashed like tiny bombs against the dark windows, but Aurora Vale didn't blink, she stared at her reflection in the glass, cold, unreadable, like a queen in hiding.

"Miss Vale?" her assistant asked, voice shaking, "We should be inside in thirty seconds. Do you need...?"

"No," Aurora said softly but firmly, "I just need to breathe."

It had been three months since her last public appearance, since the death threats, since the so-called "accident" that wrecked her car and nearly ended her life, her father, Dominic Vale, the powerful tech tycoon, had hired yet another bodyguard, another stranger to breathe down her neck, to watch her every move, to monitor her calls.

She hated them all.

Until the door opened.

She expected some tough ex-soldier with a scar and a frozen stare, but the man who opened the door was different, he was tall, lean but strong, dressed in a spotless black suit that made the crowd go quiet for a second.

He didn't flinch as cameras flashed around him, his jaw was tight, his eyes scanned the area like a hawk, sharp, focused, and intense, Aurora stepped out slowly, her heels clicking against the pavement, he held out a hand, calm, professional, not even a hint of flirtation.

But when their fingers touched, something shifted, a spark, a jolt.

He didn't look at her like most men did, not with desire, not with admiration.

He looked at her like a puzzle he had to figure out.

Aurora narrowed her eyes, interesting.

Inside the tall glass building, her father's new product launch, security swarmed around them like bees, Jace Kieran never left her side, not when a model got too close, not when a reporter tried to block her path, he stood between her and the world like a wall.

When they reached the VIP balcony, she finally looked at him.

"You must be the new watchdog," she said coolly, "Do you have a name or should I just call you Shadow?"

He didn't blink, "Jace, and I prefer silence over sarcasm."

She raised an eyebrow, "How charming."

"No, Miss Vale, I'm not here to charm you."

Their eyes locked, his were dark gray, like a stormy sky, unreadable and steady, but under that stillness, she felt something.

The kind of man who had seen too much, done too much.

She liked danger.

And he looked like danger dressed in control.

They didn't speak again until the ride home.

He sat in the front seat beside the driver, but she could feel him, his attention pressed against her skin like heat, he was quiet, watchful, heavy, she tapped her nails on her phone, annoyed at how aware she was of him.

"Is staring part of the job?" she asked without looking up.

"Observing," he said, "Staring is personal, observation keeps you alive."

She let out a dry laugh, "Did you practice that in the mirror?"

He turned slightly, "You've had three threats in two months, one almost killed you, excuse me for not treating this like a red carpet."

She smirked but said nothing.

"You sound like my father."

"I take that as an insult."

"So do I."

Silence, then, surprisingly, she smiled, Jace didn't return it, he didn't seem like the smiling type, still, she caught something in his eyes.

Interest, frustration, something else?

No, bodyguards didn't flirt, not the good ones.

But when she stepped out at the gates, he followed just a little too closely, their shadows touched in the moonlight.

Her bedroom was off-limits, or so she told herself.

Yet the next morning, there he was, leaning against the wall outside her door like he belonged there, arms crossed, eyes closed, guarding her while she slept.

She didn't thank him, didn't speak, just walked past him, pretending his presence didn't burn around her like fire.

The first real test came on a Tuesday.

Aurora was supposed to attend a charity brunch, harmless stuff, until the fire alarm went off during her speech, chaos, screams, she barely moved, but Jace was on her instantly, hand at her back, voice steady and sharp.

"This way."

They moved like smoke through back halls, out a side door, into a waiting black SUV, she heard yelling, tires screeching, one guard was hurt, another car was wrecked.

"Was that an accident?" she asked, breathless.

"No."

"How do you know?"

He looked at her, jaw tight, "Because it was meant for you."

Back at the estate, her father was furious.

"How the hell did this happen?" he yelled, pacing his office, "I said protect her at all costs!"

"She's alive," Jace said calmly, "That's more than anyone else can say."

Aurora stood by the door, arms crossed, for once, she stayed quiet, watching how Jace stared her father down without blinking.

"What did you do before this, Mr. Kieran?" Dominic snapped, "Unless you guarded presidents or dodged bombs, I don't think-"

"I was military intelligence, Black Ops, I've led missions in Syria, stopped bombs in London, and pulled people out under fire in Lagos, you hired me to keep your daughter breathing, not to be polite."

Silence.

Aurora bit her lip, hard.

It was wrong to admire him.

Worse to want him.

That night, she walked out to the garden, the stars were bright and the pool lights glowed like melted moonlight.

She didn't hear him come, of course not, he was trained not to be heard.

But she felt him.

"You shouldn't be out here alone," he said.

She didn't turn, "You here to lecture me or join me?"

He stepped closer, "What if I do both?"

She turned to him, "Tell me something, Jace, what if I fall for the man who's supposed to protect me?"

His eyes darkened, "You don't."

"What if I already did?"

His jaw clenched, he stepped closer, the air between them shifted, charged and dangerous.

"You're not allowed to want me," he said.

"I don't follow rules."

"You should."

"Then stop me."

He grabbed her wrist, not rough, not soft, just enough to show he was close to losing control.

Their faces were inches apart.

His breath was steady, hers wasn't.

But he didn't kiss her.

He just whispered, "You're not the only one with secrets, Aurora."

Then he walked away.

His words followed her long after he disappeared into the dark.

You're not the only one with secrets.

Aurora stood there, heart pounding like a drum in an empty room, she hated how her body responded to him, his voice, his closeness, his steady heat.

It wasn't just attraction, it was something more dangerous.

Curiosity.

And that was worse.

Curiosity got people hurt, or killed.

She locked her bedroom door, but it didn't help, nothing had since the "accident."

No, not accident.

Attempt.

She curled up on the window seat, staring at the garden below, somewhere out there, he was watching, for threats, for trouble.

For her.

The thought made her shiver.

Jace Kieran.

Soldier, shadow, storm.

And a voice that made her spine tingle.

The stranger in her hallway.

The next morning, he was there again.

Same wall, same silence.

Aurora didn't speak, she walked past him in her robe, holding her coffee, she noticed the flicker in his eyes before he looked straight ahead again, like a soldier ignoring temptation.

She smirked, "Ever blink, soldier?"

"Only when the danger's gone."

"Was that a flirt or a warning?"

"Just a fact," he said, "And right now, you're the biggest distraction in this house."

She paused, "So I distract you?"

"I didn't say that."

"You just did."

He didn't answer, just followed her like a shadow.

That afternoon, her friend Sierra visited, all perfume, big sunglasses, and drama.

"Girl, who is that?" Sierra whispered as Jace opened the door.

"My bodyguard."

"That's not a bodyguard, that's a walking Greek statue, does he have a brother?"

"He has a gun."

"So do I, mine's pink."

Aurora laughed, really laughed, Jace's face twitched, she saw it, so did Sierra.

"Oh my God," Sierra whispered, "You like him, that's so bad."

"I know," Aurora said, "Which is why I don't."

Sierra raised an eyebrow, "Liar."

Jace said nothing, but behind his sunglasses, he froze like he heard every word.

That night, everything changed.

It was just past midnight when the alarm pinged.

Aurora's earpiece buzzed, the one her father made her wear.

"This is Jace, stay in your room, repeat, stay in your room."

She didn't listen.

She cracked her door open just in time to see him running, gun out, fast and deadly.

She followed barefoot, her robe trailing behind her.

They found the intruder near the server room.

Young, masked, fast.

Jace was faster.

He took him down in seconds, pulled the mask off.

A boy, barely older than sixteen.

"He sent you?" Jace growled.

The boy nodded, scared, "He said she had the data, I wasn't gonna hurt anyone-"

"Who's he?" Jace barked.

But the kid passed out.

Aurora's heart pounded, "What data? What is he talking about?"

Jace looked at her, face dark.

"I don't think this is just about you anymore," he said, "They're testing your security, looking for something, or someone."

"Me?"

"No," he said, "Maybe your father, maybe something worse, but this isn't just about threats anymore."

Her blood turned cold.

That night, Aurora stood in the hallway again, barefoot, drawn to the danger she shouldn't want.

And he was there.

She leaned against the wall across from him, "The hallway feels safe," she said quietly, "Even when nothing else does."

He looked at her.

"Only because I'm in it."

Her chest ached at his words, simple, honest, scary.

She stepped closer.

Touched his chest.

"I know you've hurt people for less," she whispered, "So why let me this close?"

"Because I can't stop you," he said, "And that scares me more than anything."

Then he leaned in, not for a kiss.

But a touch.

His forehead gently against hers.

More than a kiss.

A truth.

The kind of moment that changes everything.

And just like that, the stranger in her hallway wasn't a stranger anymore.