Her Brutal Guardian

Her Brutal Guardian SR Jones Contents Prologue Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Epilogue Prologue Marcus The sun beats down hot and midday fierce. I like it. The burn on my skin, reminding me I’m alive. The way the heat and the light chase away the dark and the horror of the long nights. My eyes are closed and as the sounds recede, I drift. Chopper blades whirring. Children shouting, laughing, but then screams and cries. Gunfire. The smell of smoke and something else … something metallic and dark. Pain searing the lower half of my body. I startle and my eyes shoot open. The sky is blue. The sun is hot. There are no guns. There is no blood. You are safe, I tell myself. You’re okay. You’re in Greece. You’re not there. You’re. Not. There. Water splashes in the pool, and I bring myself back to the present. I’m in between jobs. My work for the Italian financier, Giovanni Bianchi finished before it really began. Once we got out there, Alexei well and truly took over. With the security they already had, and the Russians, beyond my work ensuring they were covered tech wise, there wasn’t a lot for me to do. After a brief break in England, and a short run in with Reaperman, one of the other close protection officers, I had nothing to do. So here I am. In Greece, on the gorgeous island of Corfu, training new recruits and spending my time by the pool. I spend a lot of time by the pool. I have reasons. The laughter from the pool is light, feminine, and carefree. A tall, dark haired, sultry beauty steps out of the pool, water dripping from her skin as it emerges, goddess-like when she climbs the steps. She slips her feet into Gucci slides and tosses her hair. Maya. I’ve not been with a woman in the longest time, and maybe I ought to get laid because I’m going to end up getting myself in deep shit with Maya’s man, Damen, if he catches me watching his woman. The thing is I watch her precisely because I can’t have her. Any woman I can have is going to come with a whole lot of questions and shit I don’t want to deal with when they see me undressed. It means my brain almost shuts off when I can have someone, and I turn immediately disinterested. “You bored yet?” The heavy consonants and gruff voice tell me it’s Konstantin before I turn to look. “No. Sun, sea, sand, what’s not to love. I enjoy training the recruits too, of course.” He laughs then turns to pierce me with his hard gaze. “You didn’t stay long with Bianchi. This work might not be for you.” It’s not a question, but I sense he’s digging. “You know why. Alexei has it under control with Marcello, Gio’s brother.” K continues to watch me skeptically. “He doesn’t trust me,” I add. The Italian financier is a paranoid man, and I spent years working for British Intelligence. “He thinks I shouldn’t trust you either.” Konstantin shrugs one massive shoulder. He’s wearing loose board shorts and nothing else. His body is a map of scars, some far too recent. He wears them with a nonchalance I envy. My board shorts sit higher on my waist than his and reach farther down my thighs. I don’t wear my scars with such indifference. “Don’t you?” I ask, curious rather than offended at the idea of not being trusted. “I do. You wouldn’t be here if I didn’t. You most certainly wouldn’t be here if Andrius didn’t trust you.” He references his partner in this close protection empire that is being built. Andrius is an ex-Bratva enforcer. A Ukrainian who put the fear of God into anyone who heard his name. Now, he’s living a happy life here under the endless sunshine of Corfu, with his wife and daughter. I’ve never felt lonely before, even though I am always alone, but now, surrounded by men who have found something I never will, the bite of solitude digs deep. My gaze flicks to Maya as if on its own accord. “I’ve told you before,” Konstantin says, his voice quiet, “if Damen catches you doing that shit, he’ll kill you. I don’t mean fuck you up; I mean he will literally put you in the ground.” I scoff at that. “For simply looking? He’s not crazy.” “He is quiet and easy going on the surface, but underneath that, Damen is not to be messed with. On any level. I wouldn’t.” I glance at him, half surprised. I didn’t think there was anyone much other than Andrius who Konstantin held any fear of. “I didn’t think you were scared of anyone.” “It’s not fear, asshole, it’s respect, and you should start showing some.” I blow out a breath. He’s right, though. The woman isn’t mine to look at. Trouble is, she’s the only woman I’ve found myself attracted to for a long time. Until my cock took an interest in her, I thought I’d become completely a-sexual. A memory hits. The nurse in the rehab unit looking at me with big, sad eyes when she helped me dress. I shake it off, the way Maya shakes the water from her hair. “Okay, point taken.” “What gives? There’s plenty of beautiful women on this island.” “I don’t know.” I shrug. “I’m…” “Bored. You’re bored. Yes, you’re good at training the men, but you need something more to do. I brought you on board because I could charge a fuck ton to rent you out as protection, not fuck around here training men who have more than enough of us to do that. As luck would have it, I’ve got a job for you.” He opens