4 - Meet Your Grumpy Bodyguard

Chloe Jane

Last night’s bodyguard introduction went as well as you’d expect. From my father introducing me to the man who has the charming name of Ruin, to him grunting in response. My sister led me inside and didn’t even ask why I’d been there in the first place.

Now it’s morning and I’m blindly staring up at my ceiling, knowing he’s on the other side of my bedroom door. 

My father apparently trusts this man for some reason, and since he’s seemingly making decisions for me, there’s not much else I can do. Besides, I got more of an odd feeling from Alpha Mason than … Ruin. 

Gods, I don’t think I can call him that name. Does he have a normal name, I wonder?

My stomach rumbles and I breathe out an annoyed sigh, knowing I’ll need to go out there to eat something. Well, I’ve never been one to back down from a confrontation, so here goes nothing!

I get up from the bed and inch forward towards where I know my door is. My hands are shaking so much from nervousness, and that anxiety just increases when I catch a whiff of his scent through the door.

That heady, rich scent that I can practically taste on the tip of my tongue.

Swallowing deep and plastering a smile on my face, I finally open my bedroom door. I can feel his eyes on me and know he’s standing, or leaning, against the wall in front of my door. There’s no difference in his heartbeat, scent or breathing, not like I usually pick up with my father or Kim.

Great, I’ll have to guess his emotions.

“Good morning!” I exclaim with that same stupid smile still on my face; but here’s no sound from him at all. 

I lace my hands together in front of me and feel my smile slightly dropping. Gosh, I am not used to people not responding to me, especially when I’m trying to be nice to them! 

Reading the room, I take a step back and turn to walk to the kitchen, but for some reason he steps out and I walk right into him! Woah, if I thought his scent was potent through my door, smelling it up close feels like I’m drowning in it.

What is with this scent of his? My head is swimming!

“Careful there,” he says, those two words alone giving me goosebumps with that raspy voice. “Do you know where you’re going, then?”

Oh, he has a British accent; another reason for me to feel despondent about being blind. I’m sure he looks as rugged and gorgeous as he sounds. I wonder what color his eyes are, or if, unlike Mason, his hands are rough instead of smooth.

I find myself suddenly liking the idea of a rough hand stroking my cheek and giving me goosebumps all over my—

“Chloe Jane,” he says my name and I immediately snap out of my daydream, sure my face is red from blushing so hard. “Do you know where you’re heading, or do you need my help?”

“Oh! Uhm…I’d like your help, please,” I say, chuckling nervously. “Th-The dining room, please.”

My Gods, I sound like a total idiot.

With a grunt, he takes my wrist and places a hand on my lower back. Then he slowly starts walking me in what I can tell is the direction of the dining hall. Being this close to a stranger has my heart pounding so fast that I can hear it in my ears; no one has ever had this effect on me before.

He’s quiet while walking me through our home, but it’s not like I expected anything different. I just met him and he already feels like a brick wall. This is the man who I’ll spend the next few months with … how is this going to work?

“We’re here,” he announces and I hear a light scraping of a chair. He takes my arm again, then pushes the chair in for me. “Would you like to know what’s in front of you?”

The balls of my cheeks redden and I nod, not bothering to explain that I can smell the mushrooms, bacon, and eggs. “Yes, please.”

After telling me what’s on my plate, including the fact that I have a glass of mango juice, Ruin takes a step back from me. I try to eat while ignoring the heat of his gaze on my back, and I can barely taste what I’m chewing.

“Is Ruin your first name?” I ask, mortified that it slipped out. “Wait, that sounds weird—”

I’m cut off when he suddenly lets out a low chuckle. “That’s the name I chose and the name I prefer,” he says.

Okay, so Ruin isn’t his real name, then.

“Would you like to join me, Ruin?” I say, while actually being uncertain if there’s a plate for him as well. “You don’t have to stand behind me and watch me eat.”

“Just doing my job, love,” he says, the last word in that sentence making me blush terribly. Yes, I am aware of the endearment meaning something different to British people, but still!

“That doesn’t mean you have to just…hover,” I say, putting my knife and fork down and frowning. “Is that all you’re going to be doing?”

“Until I get told to do things differently,” he simply says, then we go back to being quiet.

/“Daddy, are you going to speak to me about how this bodyguard thing will work?”/ I ask my father over our mind link, hoping he responds to me. 

He didn’t really say much last night. He just introduced me to Ruin, told Kim to take me upstairs, and that was it. I still need to ask him about the other agreement he has with Alpha Mason … the thing about babies after the wedding.

/“Ask Ruin to bring you to my study after breakfast, sweetheart,”/ he answers just as I’m about to grab my glass of juice. His voice comes as such a surprise that I accidentally knock the glass over and leap to my feet.

“Oh, fudge!” I exclaim, knowing the liquid must have spilled all over the place. I take a step back and walk right into the wall… only that wall turns out to be Ruin’s incredibly hard chest.

I hear a low rumble in his throat when I yelp, and feel like dying right there and then. Gods, he must think I’m some clumsy, ditzy blind girl with zero brain by now and I wouldn’t blame him, to be honest.

“I’m so—”

“I’ll clean it up,” he says, gently taking me by my forearm and moving me out of the way. “Would you like another glass?”

“Uh, yes…please,” I answer while feeling like a total idiot standing there as he cleans up my mess. Thankfully, it doesn’t take too long before he softly places a glass in my hand, one of which I realize isn’t extremely full.

Good, because looking at my good luck, I’d choke on the juice just as I swallow it. 

“My father would like to speak with me. Can you please take me to him?” I ask as I put the glass down on the table. 

Without another word, he places a hand on my lower back and leads me towards my father’s office. We’ll probably be having this conversation in front of Ruin, too, and that’s actually fine with me. 

The conversation with my father doesn’t change much from what he told me before Ruin arrived—nothing new added. Ruin will be my bodyguard until I get married to Alpha Mason in six months' time.

My father doesn’t even mention the small print, like the possible heirs, and with Ruin here, I don’t want to go into it. That’s a personal conversation for just my father…but just how will I broach the subject with him?