Page 6 of Guarded

Ariella Reyes resembles a living doll—those hair-raising porcelain ones that old lonely women collect. She has the same green eyes as Axel, but hers are softer.

The few times I’ve seen Ariella Reyes, she has been dressed up. Her outfits always include some variation of pink. Even now, she wears a satin pink pajama set.

I didn’t pay her much attention before, considering I was a decade older, but I could see now why men would lust over her at every event. My eyes roam over the fabric of her shorts, which barely covers her delicate light skin.

She was beautiful in that unattainable way that made women want to be her and men desire to be with her. I’d seen the way they would look at her. The desperate way they watched her dance. Fools tripped over themselves to get to her before she could even sit down. Anything to get their three minutes with her. She would smile at all of them, giving them a false sense of security—a small hit of hope that they could ever own something as beautiful as her.

Her body stiffens when she hears our arrival. Turning to face us, she scowls at Axel. She pins a glare on him, but then those green eyes widen when she sees me. I see the exact moment when her anger morphs into fear. Her plump pink lips part slightly to reveal a hint of her straight white teeth. A flush of soft pink rises to her cheeks and over her neck. Taking a step back, she sways slightly on her back foot.

“No,” she says before stomping into her room. I avert my eyes downward as Adan walks into the room.

Not my usual response from women, but I’ll take it. It was the reminder I needed after I let my eyes roam too long. This was a job. There were incentives at stake, and I wasn’t willing to jeopardize those for her.

Chapter 3

Nero

Iwake up in a panic as I do every night. My breathing calms when my eyes meet the darkness of the room. I preferred the darkness to any nightmares plagued with real-life scenes of my fucked-up childhood. Sleep was never more than a few hours each night in my quest to avoid the memories. Reaching for the rosary on my nightstand, I drape the beads over my neck. It’s a habit I have. The only thing that silences the hammering in my ears.

I walk to the bathroom and splash water onto my face. Looking up, I see my reflection staring back at me. I take in the discolored scarring on my upper chest. The most fucked up of all my memories. There would be no walking around shirtless here in the penthouse. Not without my new roommate.

Grabbing a cigarette, I walk onto the balcony, enjoying the night’s fresh air. The first two weeks as Ariella’s bodyguard have gone by quickly. Mainly because we say the bare minimum to each other throughout the day. The first two days, she tried ordering me around.

“Nero, get me a Dr. Pepper from the vending machine?”No.

“Nero, can you carry these Amazon boxes to the penthouse?”No, again.

“Nero, can you take Guapo to pee?”Fuck No.

Ignoring her aggravated the hell out of her. I get the feeling that she’s annoyed by my presence, and the feeling is fucking mutual. Anytime I catch her glaring at me in the penthouse, I smile at her, causing her to roll her eyes and walk into another room. She stays as far away from me as she can.

We just coexist. And I like that. There’s no talking or getting to know each other. I know everything I need to know about her from her TikTok lives and phone conversations. She never shuts up. Talking into her phone, to Guapo, and even herself.

She’s also a creature of habit which makes my job really fucking easy. Every morning, she was up at six am, and since I never sleep, it gives me something to do. She’s not thrilled that I follow her to the gym, but tough shit. I could let her go alone, but why would I? Not when I find joy in pissing her off.

Before she heads to the gym, she feeds Guapo, her dog. She feeds him cat food. That’s right, she feeds her dogcatfood. I bite my tongue from asking her why. It’s weird, but I have to remind myself I don’t fucking care.

She also pours something that looks like vomit into one of the 10,000 pink cups she collects. I’ll give her five years before she’s on a hoarder show. Apparently, the green shit is edible because she slurps it down in record time, washes the cup, dries it, then places it inside another cabinet.

Turning to find me, she lets out a sigh. Every damn time. Like she woke up and thought today would be the day I disappear from her life.Surprise Princess.

It’s amusing to watch how pissed off she gets. Her nostrils flare, and her pout is fucking adorable. She breathes deep, murmuring in between, and the woosah kicks in somewhere after the fifth dramatic exhale.

I keep my distance from her enough that she has her own space but not enough to let anyone else access her. Her uncletrained both Jasper and me when we worked for the hotel. Which is why I don’t get why she’s so bothered by my presence. She’s a cartel princess, and while I don’t know everything about her world, I know enough to know I’m not her first bodyguard.

“Buenos Dias Besties! Today’s workout is an upp—” she says into the camera, huffing again and turning to face me.

“Can you get out of my camera view!?” she demands.

“Oh, of course, Princess,” I say, feigning remorse.

This really pisses her off. I learned early on that she hated being called Princess, so I did it more regularly.

The dog is cool, though. We have had a secret alliance ever since I started leaving dog food for him on the balcony, and Homeboy has been a frequent visitor since. He reminds me of Charlie, my childhood dog, so that’s the only reason I carry him when she asks.

Today, Guapo and I are sitting on a nearby bench while Ari records her entire workout routine on TikTok live. It pisses me off how naïve she is. Unphased by everything going on around her.

The gym is usually empty when she goes in, but every now and then, there will be some lucky bastard who leaves with a hard-on after watching her squat in biker shorts and a sports bra. If I catch them, I give them one look, and they avert their eyes. She shouldn’t be giving them a free fucking show. I debate telling Axel this, but againnot my fucking problem.

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