Three years later…
I picked up the cylinder vase from the coffee table in our living room, which was filled with a bouquet of blue bells. The glass of the vase felt so cold as my body was set alight by the anger that burned inside of me.
"Deanara, don't you dare throw that at me!" Eros fumed from across the room.
I glared at him and yelled, "I don't want a bodyguard!" before I tossed the vase at him.
It shattered next to him against the wall; the clear glass sparkled in the sunlight as the flowers scattered across the floor.
"I don't care what you want!" Eros continued after quickly looking at the spot where the vase landed.
"I already have security that follows me around! Stop trying to control me, Eros! Dad would never force this on me!" I spat, and his jaw twitched like it did every time I said something he took personally.
Our father had been in a coma since the night he was shot. The doctors said the probability of him waking up was low, but Eros and my mother refused to give up hope. I, on the other hand, had already accepted that my father had passed on. He deserved to be put to rest, and we all deserved the chance to say goodbye and move on.
Eros had become the head of the Vlachos family. He was now CEO of Vlachos Technology, a software company originally from Greece but now with major branches in the UK and Ireland. Ever since his new responsibility and power, Eros has been insufferable. He wanted to have the perfect image and tried to change how I liked to live my life.
"Yes, but security watches you from a distance, and you always manage to slip away without them." Eros sighed and straightened the grey blazer he had on. "I need someone to follow you closely and go everywhere with you." He added.
"I'm still going to go to parties and visit new places. My life is an adventure. I'm not like you, Eros. I need my freedom, and you're taking that away from me." I huffed and put my hands on my hips.
"You can still do whatever you want, Dee. The bodyguard will just follow you; he's not going to stop you." Eros paused, then shook his head as if he were trying to take back the words. "Well, unless, of course, you put yourself in danger, then I expect him to stop you."
"I'm not an idiot." I rolled my eyes, which made Eros chuckle. "Hey!" I gasped and picked up another vase, which I tossed at him.
Eros quickly ducked as the vase flew past where his head was just a few seconds ago. It shattered behind him as he shot up and glared at me.
"Deanara!" He yelled and started to move closer to me.
"I'm sorry! I wasn't aiming to hit you! I swear!" I gulped and quickly ran behind a couch before he could reach me.
"You're…" Eros clenched his fists as he tried to think of the right word. "Impossible!" He yelled and picked up a vase as well.
Instead of tossing it at me, he threw it at the floor, and the sound of the glass shattering made me slightly jump. I watched as he took a deep inhale and ran his hand through his ginger hair as he stared at the mess.
I hated to admit it, but Eros was quite an attractive man. Well, he was a Vlachos, and being attractive was a shared family trait. From his ginger hair, electric blue eyes, and pale white skin with a dust of freckles, being a member of the family was unmistakable.
Eros was 29—six years older than me. He had a moustache and beard, which he kept short; bushy eyebrows; and had his hair styled classically. A quiff hairstyle with a side part. I always teased him about his long forehead, but it suited his face. He had elongated, oval-hooded eyes and a classic Greek-shaped nose. He had a small mouth with rose-pink lips and annoyingly straight white teeth. His face was rectangular, with a round chin, a broad neck, and a body he kept in shape.
As for his style, Eros wore business suits every day, with a simple silver ring on his right-hand pinkie finger. He had no tattoos, didn't smoke, and only had one glass of whisky a day with a single ice cube. As of today, he hadn't dated a woman since university. Perfectly explains why he was frustrated all the time and took it out on me.
I rolled my eyes at the thought.
"Fine!" I sighed, and Eros looked my way. "If it will shut you up, then I'll meet the lucky man you chose as my bodyguard."
"Lucky isn't a word that I would use." Eros muttered, which made me glare at him. "Thank you, Deanara." He smiled, and his shoulders relaxed.
I nodded and spun around to fix my appearance in the mirror on the wall.
"We'll wait for you in the foyer." Eros added before he walked out of the room.
I ran my fingers across my eyebrows and stared into my own light blue eyes. My ginger hair was wild and full of curls, which fell just below my exposed collar bone. My eyebrows were kept thick and shaped at a soft angle. My nose was like my brothers but with softer curves, and my lips were plump. I had an oval-shaped face with no sharp edges.
As for makeup, mascara, eye liner, and lip gloss were an everyday must. I also had a septum nose piercing with three small diamonds. My eyes were also elongated ovals with naturally long eyelashes.
Today I wore an off-the-shoulder olive green and white lines patterned dress, which had ruffled sleeves, a tight waistline, and a skirt that stopped just below my knees. I left my neck bare, and on my left wrist, I had on a small watch. Rose gold, decorated with diamonds, and oh, so elegant. Paired with my favourite pair of glitter gold Marc Loire wedges. I also had my nails done in a matte maroon.
Personally, I thought I was utterly gorgeous.
I smiled at myself in the mirror, then walked over the shattered glass to go meet my brother in the foyer.
Eros and I lived in a castle on the magnificent hills of Ireland. Just me, him, my mom, and a house full of servants. My father had his own room with a 24-hour nurse so that he could still be close to the family.
As I started my way down the stairs, I heard my brother talking.
"Please, just don't let anything happen to her." Eros sounded worried as he spoke.
"You're my best friend, Eros. I swear I will never leave Deanara's side." Another man replied.
The stranger's voice was calm, and the way he said my name... butterflies had already started. As they came into view, my eyes travelled over the stranger as he faced away from me. He had dark brown hair tied into a small ponytail at the top, but the rest of his head had been shaved short. There was a tattoo of a crescent moon on his neck, shaded in black, and as my eyes moved lower, I loved what I saw.
He had broad shoulders, toned arms, and back muscles that clung to the black vest he wore. Hmm, I could stay in those arms all day long. A vine tattoo wrapped around his right arm and travelled to his hand. It felt like I had seen a similar tattoo before, but I just couldn't say where exactly.
I continued to devour the sight of the stranger. He wore grey track pants, which hugged his ass nicely. His ass looked tight, round, and so sexy. The pants were looser around his legs, but I could tell he didn't skip leg day at the gym. He also had on black boots, and the image of a sexy soldier sparked in my mind.
"You're the only one I trust." Eros said and placed his hand on the stranger's shoulder, who nodded and moved his opposite arm to touch my brother's hand.
As he did so, the muscles on his back flexed, and this desperate attraction flared inside of me. Eros looked at me then and stepped back to let his arm fall back to his side. The stranger looked back at me, and my heart started racing.
"Oh, Dee, this is your new bodyguard." Eros stated, but it sounded like his voice came from a distance.
Kree's dark blue eyes stared back at me, and he kept my gaze as he turned around to face me. He moved his eyes down my body, and the corner of his mouth lifted.
"You hired Kree?" I asked, confused, as I looked at Eros, who nodded.
"There's no one else who could keep up with you, Dee. Your bodyguard can't just be anyone." Eros replied, and his phone vibrated in his pocket.
As Eros looked down to get out his phone, I looked back at Kree, and our eyes met instantly.
"I assure you; I am more than capable of looking after you." Kree spoke, and his words made sensations tingle between my legs.
"Looking after me? You make it sound like I need a babysitter." I glared at him and crossed my arms across my chest.
Kree's eyes flicked down, and so did mine, as I saw my arms had pushed my cleavage up, which quickly made me look back at Kree, who flashed me a smile.
"If that's what being your bodyguard implies," Kree shrugged, which made Eros laugh while my mouth flew open.
"I love it; you're already bickering like brother and sister." Eros added, making Kree's smile disappear.
Thank the mighty heavens that Kree Baros was not my brother. Because fuck, the things my mind wandered to when I looked at him...
"I have to run; I just got a message that my meeting has been moved to start in 10 minutes." Eros shook his head and shrugged.
He then turned around and walked outside, leaving me alone with Kree.
After that night we met, I had the biggest crush on Kree. He was on my mind for 4 months, and my taste in men even shifted to dark hair, tattoos, and blue eyes. Yet every time he came over to visit Eros, I was ignored. No matter how sexy I dressed, Kree wouldn't spare me a glance. We never spoke, not even a simple "hi" or "excuse me" when I was in his way.
He acted like I was invisible. No one had ever done that to me before. He was my brother's best friend, and he made it heartbreakingly clear that he was not interested. So, I got over that silly crush and started to ignore him as well. We hadn't seen each other for over a year, which explains why it felt like I had just laid eyes on him for the very first time. Shit, that crush was instantly back, which made me wonder if it ever disappeared in the first place.
"So, let me just understand this." I paused and moved my hand to gesture between us. "You ignore me the whole time you come over to visit Eros, but then three years later, you decide to be my bodyguard." I paused again, and he nodded. "You acted like you wanted nothing to do with me, but now you want to spend every minute of every day following me around." I tilted my head slightly as I raised an eyebrow.
"Don't flatter yourself, princess. Your brother begged me to agree to this. I'm going to look after you as a favour to Eros, and that's where my intentions end." Kree coldly replied.
"Like you could even protect me if someone had to actually try to hurt me." I scoffed and rolled my eyes. "What are you going to do? Scare them off with a witty comeback?"
Kree chuckled and ran his hand up his neck, which made my mouth go dry. He shook his head and smiled as he looked away from me, which gave me a chance to run my eyes down his body.
His pecks were so firm and on display through the vest while his hands pressed together and he flexed his toned arms. His top abs begged for me to touch them, and through the shirt, I loved how defined his body was. He wasn't a bodybuilder or overly massive, but damn, he looked so strong. Even the way his pants stretched over his groin made my body come alive.
Kree was hot; there was no denying it.
He looked back at me with the smile still on his lips, which made me want to drop to my knees.
"That mouth of yours must get you in so much trouble." Kree said as he shoved his hands into his pants pockets. His smile faded as he changed the subject: "So, did you have any plans for today? Or a schedule that I should know about?"
"I'm supposed to have lunch with my mother later, but until then, I'll just be in my room." I replied and spun around to walk back up the stairs.
Why did Kree make me feel so flustered? Damn, I had to get a hold of my thoughts while I was around him. This was perhaps one of Eros's worst ideas. A bodyguard? Please. I was just the daughter of a billionaire; no one cared about me. If anyone needed more protection, it was Eros. He is the one in charge around here!
I frowned as I focused on my thoughts and heard another pair of footsteps in the passageway.
"Fuck, Kree. I said I'd be in my room!" I snapped and spun around, which made him stop just a few steps behind me. "If I decide to go anywhere, I'll call you."
Slowly, a smile spread onto his lips.
"Don't you get it, princess?" He asked and took a step closer to me. "Wherever you go, I go. If you want to stay in your room, then I'll wait outside the door. If you want to go for a walk in the garden, I'll be a few steps behind you. If you go have drinks with your friends, I'll be there, watching over you."
"I already hate having you around." I frowned, which made him shrug.
"Hate me all you want; I'm not going anywhere." Kree replied, and goosebumps spread down my spine.
There was just something about him that seemed so dangerous, like an instinct that told me to run away. It was unsettling just how much I was attracted to him, but even more, how he didn't seem bothered to be close to me. Kree Baros could not be the only man not to fall for me.
I was Deanara Vlachos, and I was going to show him just how dangerous I could also be.