Santorini at midnight is a dream painted in shadows and silver. The white-washed walls of the villa glow under the Aegean moon, but I can’t appreciate the beauty. Not when my heart is drumming a frantic rhythm, and the man standing behind me feels like a storm waiting to break.

Cassian Thorne. He doesn't walk; he prowls. He’s six-foot-four of lethal muscle and scarred silence. He’s a former Tier 1 operator hired to keep me alive. "The perimeter is set," he says, his voice a low hum. "We stay dark."

Cassian turns. The moonlight catches the jagged scar that runs from his temple to his jaw. "I don't lose my assets, Lyra." Asset. That’s all I am to him. I turn toward the center of the room and freeze. In the center of the room, there is only one piece of furniture: a single, massive bed draped in white linen.

"Cassian, there’s a mistake."

He doesn't flinch. "I don't sleep, Lyra. I watch. But I need to be within arm’s reach of you at all times." He commands me into the bed. He sits on top of the duvet, his back against the headboard.

"Cassian? Why did you take this job?"

"Because you’re the only innocent thing I’ve seen in a very long time," he says. I turn to look at him, and his hand suddenly shoots out, tangling in my hair. "Don't play games with me. You have no idea how hard it is to stay on this side of the line. Go to sleep, Lyra. Before I forget who’s paying me."

🛏️ "I need to be within arm’s reach..." Are you screaming at the one-bed trope as much as we are? 🫣 Tell us your favorite Cassian line in the comments! 👇 Hit ❤️ if you love a grumpy, protective bodyguard, and share this with your romance-loving bestie. 🌙✨ #RomanticAudioClub