Sia motioned for the file in his hands, and Julian obediently passed it to her. Sia went through it quietly, comparing it with the one she had in her hand, then closed the folder and passed them both back to him.
“Mr. Turner, your success rate is quite impressive. You have never failed a mission before, and your records are clean . . . except for a few client complaints.” Sia finished with a raised eyebrow.
She didn’t need to see his file to know that about him; she had done her research. He wasn’t too old, either. He even appeared a few years younger than her. Twenty-nine, maybe? But that was good. Youth meant strength and stamina,very essential qualities in a bodyguard, among several others.
“I’m aware of the things that may trouble you, Mrs. Milton—”
“Miss.” Sia immediately put a stop to that sentence.
Julian nodded, wondering why that made him feel oddly satisfied. He had never taken married women to his bed, no matter what rumors Sia might have heard. That was one vow he’d never break.
“Right,” he continued, “I have to let you know that all the ‘complaints’ were consensual. I did not force myself on them. And also, as you may already know, that didn’t affect my work or my concentration. It was just a favor that was asked of me. No one got hurt,” he replied with a straight face. It was a little defensive, but his tone was respectful and calm.
“True. After all, no one can resist willing candidates.” Sia couldn’t help but mock him a bit even as she made her statement clear: she wasn’t in the market.
Julian gritted his teeth. No one has ever dared mock him before. They have been too affected by his charm to utter anything other than a moan. And if they had a complaint against him, it would only be on his quick dismissal of them.” But with Sia, he couldn’t say why, but she was different. He seemed to be the one under her spell while she remained unaffected. Julian had never dated older women before either.
Wait, “date”? Where the hell did that thought come from? He didn’t do dates. He only sleeps with willing women. The only memory of a date he had was during his freshmen year of high school.
“So I hope you know how serious my case is?” Sia asked finally, snapping him out of his trance.
“I know that there had been two attempts on your life, and one was probably to scare you. First, there was the elevator power cutoff,and you were stuck in there for almost an hour . . . alone with decreasing oxygen levels. If my guess is right, you’re claustrophobic.
“The second was a supposed burglary attempt, except that nothing was stolen and he made enough noise to wake you up. And when you tried to stop him from escaping, he stabbed you, missing any vital organs but hitting your arm nonetheless, a superficial wound.You made a narrow escape before the police arrived.
“The third was the short circuit in your office which failed because the night guard became the victim when he went to turn off the lights. Last but not the least, there was the kidnapping attempt on your son, from which he was able to escape since he was on his bike. Those are all the attempts that have been made so far.” Julian finished, watching her grimace at every event he mentioned.
“I was lucky, I guess.” Sia rubbed her temples. “I hate elevators, but I have to ride it up here to the seventh floor. People in the office know about my claustrophobia, so I was rescued right on time. The thief missed because I fell on the ground just as he was about to stab me, and I feel really sorry for the watchman. He shouldn’t be in the hospital right now. It should’ve been me,” Sia said sadly.
Did he hear things right? She should be happy she’s alive, and not want to take another man’s place! He didn’t think showing humanity was part of the character of the high-class society. Sia Milton seemed to be the exact opposite of the class stereotypes he’d been working for till date.
A thought struck him.
“It has to be someone you know! Someone who is family or even a friend?” he asked quickly. All evidence pointed to just that. Or how would the person intent on harming her know about her schedules or her phobias?
“Friends? Family! Goodness, no! Why would anyone—”
“Think about it,” he cut her off, “You are claustrophobic. That is the exact reason you were trapped in the elevator. That thief wanted to kill you,and the circuit was meant for you, so that when you switch on something in the morning,you will get electrocuted, and the kidnap attempt on your son was also meant to hurt you. As a mother, you’d be devastated if something were to happen to your son. Whoever it is, they want to hurt you physically or mentally, any chance they get,” Julian concluded, feeling a ripple of pain in his heart as he talked about the relationship between a mother and her child. His birth mother hadn’t cared,and he could do nothing to change that, but Cecelia Turner had more than made up for his loveless childhood. It was from her that Julian had learned what having a mother felt like.
Sia was stunned into silence. Never in her wildest dreams would she have gotten to this conclusion. Her friends or family! God help her, she was about to faint! Talking to Julian had given her a whole lot more to think about. “Mr. Turner, there are things I’d like to discuss with you in private. I believe my office is no longer safe for having such conversations anymore,” Sia said slowly, calming her nerves even as her eyes roamed the length of the room, searching for the red light of a camera. “Please report on duty tomorrow morning at my house. Your accommodation and meals will be taken care of.”
Julian smiled in satisfaction. He knew what he was capable of, yet every time a client officially hires him, he’d always feel a surge of relief. “I promise you won’t regret it, Ma’am,” he said firmly as he stood and extended his hand to Sia.
“I hope so too.” Sia, too, stood from her seat,and for the first time, he saw that she was wearing a white pencil skirt under her cotton shirt, and she looked fine in them. He noted that she was also very tall. Five-eight, maybe? A wonderful height for a woman, he remarked to himself.
But as soon as her hands touched his, Sia felt a surge of electricity pass through her skin,and she broke the handshake prematurely. “Good day, Mr. Turner, I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said hastily.
“Looking forward to it,” Julian said with a small smile as he walked out of the room.
Oh, he was looking forward to it all right! He knew Sia had felt that surge of electricity that had passed between them and, judging by the hastiness with which she’d pulled her hand free, he knew she wasn’t as unaffected by him as she had pretended to be.
But as he walked out of her office, Julian wondered why he was so eager to get a reaction out of Sia when his entire career depended upon his full attention on this mission.
When Sia finally woke up from her slumber, it was almost noon the next day.But she was in no hurry. She had created her best wedding dress to date and at the cheapest rate possible. She was happy that she was able to meet the demands of the underprivileged couple who will be starting their life together shortly. She sat up slowly and stretched, relieving the tension in her arm muscles. She hadn’t trusted anyone else with her designs this time, considering how the wedding season was in full swing. Employees are often tempted to sell designs to more prestigious companies who would charge a far higher rate for the gown she’d created, satisfying their own greed over bringing a smile on a woman’s face.Sia had learned that the hard way when the company she had been working for as an intern had stolen her design, and the man she considered her guru had taken full credit for the work. So through gritted teeth, she waited until her internship was over.After
Sia took her time admiring Julian. His black hair was still wet from his shower, and his bare arms showed powerful muscles.He was wearing a black shirt with its sleeves rolled up to his elbows and dark blue jeans with white and blue sneakers. Blue would’ve matched his eyes better, Sia thought to herself before she remembered that he was her new bodyguard, not her client.After almost 14 years of having no partner or, rather, avoiding the need to find one at any cost, Sia was surprised that Julian, aka Lucifer, had sparked an interest in her at all. Not that she would fuel it, but there was no reason not to admire this fine specimen. That is, unless she got caught in the act.Leo was already waiting for them when Sia took Julian to the living room. She could tell just by looking that Julian was surprised at the lack of resemblance between her and Leo. Unfortunately, Leo looked exactly like his father, which should’ve been cause for pain to Sia, but
The work station in Sia’s house was almost similar to her office. A table and a chair were placed in one corner near the windows,which allow natural light in. Numerous materials lined the shelves in a cupboard with a glass door, a few mannequins with partly styled clothes hung on them and numerous fashion magazines were strewn all over the room. The only odd ones out were the two bean bags in front of the lit fireplace and a huge bookshelf with a hundred or so novels piled in it.Sia sat in one of the beanbags in front of the fireplace, a glass of red wine in hand, and looked unblinking at the fire. It wasn’t winter yet, so the fire was only there more as a source of light rather than warmth, but it had rained earlier in the evening so the weather was a bit chilly. The fire gave enough warmth to beat off the chill.“You wanted to say something?” Julian asked, not wanting to interrupt Sia but also curious as to what she had to say.
Sia had a huge headache. That was the first thing she thought when she woke up. The next thing was that she wasn’t in her bedroom.Events from the previous night came back to her mind, intensifying the headache she was already having. Groaning, she sat up, surprised to find a blanket draped over her body and herself lying not in the bean bag anymore but on the comfortable sofa in one corner of her work station.Her face heated up when she remembered how Julian had held her in his strong arms as she cried,how he had made her feel comfortable. She could still feel a tingle in her earlobes from when his warm breath had fanned her face. But the good memories stopped there. She wrapped her arms around herself as she felt the past whisper in her ears, trying to haul her back into the darkness that she couldn’t seem to leave behind. But she shook her head, refusing to feed the demons, and stood up from the sofa.The clock on the wall read 11:23 AM. She sigh
It had been an amazing lunch date with her son and her bodyguard. And yes, all Julian was to her was a bodyguard. He had promised to keep her and her son safe. But did it change the fact that she was physically attracted to him? No, it didn’t. But she’d be damned if she decided to act on it. Last night was a moment of weakness, but she’ll make sure it never happened again.Sia decided to focus on things other than the six-foot-something impeccable man that was her bodyguard. She hadn’t been able to take time off from work due to immense pressure, but she had finally decided she needed time with her son—her family. And she didn’t regret the decision of skipping work for lunch. The only problem was even the amazing food in front of her didn’t help curb the jealousy that she felt when a waitress would give Julian flirty looks or when they would bend down a little more than necessary just to give him a peek of their cleavage. Good thing J
“Did any outside party help him?” Julian asked Selena as they stared at their own copies of the blueprint of the Central Prison.“Nope.” Selena shook her head, her long black wavyhair pulled back into a ponytail. “Any friends he’d made were inside the prison. In fact, he even escaped like a rat, through the sewer system.”“How?” Julian asked as Selena went over the map to show him the details.Selena was wearing her usual outfit of dark jeans paired with a black company T-shirt and a black leather jacket over it. Not only did she prefer to dress like a badass, but she was also one in real life too—even if she just appeared on a screen on his laptop like right now. No one could question her efficiency.Now she pointed her finger, its nail painted bright red, at a cell near the back of the prison. “This is where he had been kept for the last two years. In fact, this entire area is reserved fo
He found sleep hard to come by.Especially when he could feel the warmth of her body to his very bones. Her fragrance filled his lungs as he took shallow breaths, trying not to indulge in the fresh cherry blossom of her scent. His heartbeat was a tattoo against his ribcage.Sometime during the night, Sia had moved even closer to him for warmth, her small hands placed gently on his shoulder and her face inches from his. Her dark hair spilled onto the pillow like liquid dark ink, making his fingers itch.He looked down at her and wondered if she could feel his heartbeat, hear it thundering against his chest. He placed his head back against the pillows and closed his eyes, refusing to give into the temptation of Sia Milton. But fuck it! He was a man who appreciated women, and Sia was his biggest temptation to date. And until this moment, he had never had to suppress his urges for a woman he had wanted. And he wanted Sia with a passion.But after wha
Gasping for breath, Sia forced her eyes open, the memory still fresh in her mind.Julian’s concerned face was the first thing she saw, andshe didn’t waste any time jumping into his open arms.“It’s okay. I’m here. Nothing will happen to you,” Julian said and kept repeating the words to her as she clung to him for dear life, her entire body trembling. Her quiet sobs raked through his body like a thousand knives to his heart.It was then, with Sia in his arms, that he realized that he would do anything for her—no matter what the cost. Love was a strong emotion, and Julian didn’t know if it was love he felt, but he did like her—a lot. And there was definitely physical attraction. Most of all, he knew that he’d barrel headfirst into any situation to ensure her safety.Sia didn’t know how much time had passed, but she slowly began to relax in Julian’s comforting embrace. His scent was a co
CHRISTIAN AND VANESSA’SDINNER DATEBonus ChapterBodyguardChristian looked into the mirror, once again debating the rationality of he was about to do.“You’ve lived in the shadows your entire life. It’s time to let people know what an amazing person you are.”Sia had told him that, a sister’s concern for a person she had so readily accepted as her older brother.Even so, the world wasn’t ready for him. Not yet. And he had his doubts if it’ll ever be ready.“The world is ready, big brother. It’s you who has to be prepared to accept yourself. And I think it’s time. People will talk. They always do. But you don’t have to let them get under your skin.”He’d always been the optimistic one, that Julian. He was scarred in an entirely different way than him. Julian’s scars had been internal, while his were
Abhay and Selena’s One Shot:“Hurry up, geek!” Selena snapped in a hushed tone.“Well sorry, genius, if you can do this any faster, then by all means, be my guest,”came Abhay’s sour reply from his crouched position in front of the main circuit board.“Fucking the motherboard is your speciality.” Selena blew a stray lock of her hair off of her face as she checked her watch for the hundredth time.“Hey! Always respect the motherboard!” Abhay snapped at her. “It’s the heart of the computer.”“Jeez, look at you getting all emotional over a damn machine heart.” Selena shook her head at Abhay’s obsession with electronics. But she had to admit, the guy was a fantastic hacker.“Well, the government is paying us a handsome bill just so I can flirt with this ‘damn machine heart’ all I want,” Abhay reminded her. &ldqu
Sia was running late . . . again.“No, Millan! I told you I can’t be there today. I have family coming over!” she repeated for literally the hundredth time today. Why was it that the new clients had to show up on the exact date as her anniversary?“Yes. Okay, I’ll check them tomorrow. For sure,” she answered Millan’s questions with her phone lodged between her ear and shoulder while her hands were busy with a ladle and a saucepan.“Food’s about to burn,” Martha warned as she passed Sia on the way to the dining table, a pot of boiling hot chicken soup in her hand.“Millan, I’ll call you back later.” Sia cut her off and hung up, before tossing the phone over her shoulder in no particular direction.Just before it hit the ground, Leo reached out his hand and caught it in time. “Careful, Mom!” he told her in a mock berating tone at the close call.
The bright lights in her room momentarily blinded her, and it took a while for Sia to adjust to the brightness, but there was no mistaking the voice she had just heard. That voice was etched in her mind, in her heart, and her soul. How could she ever forget his voice?Blinking rapidly, she squinted to see the person whose face was now partially visible in the dim lights. Not only was his sudden presence shocking but the deep scar that ran from his cheek to his chin and also the sling covering his arm were as well. Sia was dying to ask him what was wrong, why was he injured, how did he get injured, but she held herself back by sheer strength of will. He was the one who had left her and disappeared without a trace. She couldn’t give herself up now and show him just how desperate she had been to hear his voice or to even catch just a glimpse of him.“Why are you here?” She didn’t want to sound so rude, but she couldn’t help
Eight months later...“Millan, are the new batches of chiffon and silk here yet?” Sia asked with the phone lodged between her cheek and shoulders, one of her hands flipping through the catalogue while the other took out the designs that the materials would be transformed into.“Yes, Ma’am, they are being unloaded as we speak. It’ll take another three hours or so for them set up in the store room, according to their color schemes,” Millan’s tired voice came from across the line.Sia sighed audibly. “Millan, why don’t you take a small break? We’ll continue from here onwards half an hour later,” Sia told her and smiled at Millan’s eager reply then hung up.Sia sat back down on her chair, stretching her arms above her head, and heard the satisfying sound of her joints popping, but when she tried to lean further back, pain shot through her stomach, making her wince. She lowered he
Arthur dashed forward, trying to tackle Julian to the ground. But Julian skilfully moved to the side, removing Sia out of the way in the process.“Go! Get out!” he yelled at Sia while shoving her roughly toward the front door while trying to avoid Arthur’s punches at the same time.“No, Julia—” Sia began but was cut off when she saw Arthur landing a punch in Julian’s stomach.Julian hunched over in pain but quickly swallowed it up and stood, just in time to block another one of Arthur’s punches. He drew back his fist and landed a solid punch on Arthur’s face and heard the satisfying crunch of his nose breaking. Arthur fell to the floor, groaning and clutching his face in his hands. Julian staggered a little. The fight and his injuries were starting to wear him out.But Julian had to give him this much as the bastard didn’t stay down for long. He got up and ran towards Julian once again, taking ad
“You’ll be fine, Abhay. Just hold on for a few more minutes,” Julian told his friend, running a hand through his hair lightly.“I’ll help carry him.” Leo volunteered from behind him, hunkering down next to Julian as he waited for instructions.“In a minute,” Julian told the boy. “I’ll have to make sure that the coast is clear first.”Julian stood up from his crouched position and began walking towards the garage door, but he didn’t make it far as someone caught hold of his leg and toppled him over. Julian staggered back against the wall and the first man he attacked earlier, who had been lying unconscious on the ground, sprang up on his feet and launched at him with a wrench in his hand. He must have gained consciousness while Julian had been busy freeing Martha and Leo. But Julian quickly kicked him in the nuts and took the wrench away from his hand.Just as the man hit the floor, Ju
“What’s the matter, love? Why are you crying? I’m right here, aren’t I? Come to me, love. Come to me, and I’ll forget everything that happened in the past. I’ll forgive you for everything you’ve ever done,” Arthur spoke to Sia in a tone so loving that it almost made her gag.She hadn’t realized that she had been crying until Arthur said so. She had been kneeling down beside Julian’s unconscious form on the ground while taking a protective stance over him. She was watching helplessly as his life’s blood drained out through a gash on the back of his head. She wanted to stop the blood flow—to help him in any way she could—but she was afraid that if she much as moved an inch, the man behind her would try to harm Julian again. Which was why Arthur’s words didn’t register in her mind at first, but when it did, she felt her blood boil.“Forgive me? Forgive me! How dare
“Arthur.”“Why, hello, bodyguard of my wife. Put the phone on speaker,” came his hoarse reply. Julian gritted his teeth, but did as he said.“Sia, my love!”Oh, how Julian badly wished he could kill him. If only he hadn’t let him escape last night. Extremely embarrassed, he couldn’t look at Sia right now.“A-Arthur?” Sia asked hesitantly.“Sia. Why did you have to run away from me? Now look what you made me do . . .” He trailed off gruffly before chuckling. Everything seemed funny to him. Julian had made a mistake in thinking that Arthur would lay low like usual and wait to get back to his full strength before he struck again. Either Arthur had gotten desperate or his back was up against a wall. Arthur was now in Sia’s house with Sia’s family, and something must have gone immensely wrong if Abhay hadn’t called in yet.Dread settled in