Houston has one rule: never get emotionally involved with the people he protects.
As a seasoned bodyguard, he’s trained to anticipate threats, control every variable, and keep his clients at arm’s length. Ashlyn should be an easy assignment—she’s the daughter of a high-ranking diplomat finishing a simple research trip to complete her degree. In and out. No complications.
Except Ashlyn isn’t what Houston expects.
Smart, determined, and quietly fearless, she refuses to be treated like fragile cargo. And when her ‘routine’ trip starts attracting the wrong kind of attention, Houston realizes the danger isn’t theoretical—it’s closing in fast.
What begins as a straightforward protection detail turns into a race against unseen enemies, buried secrets, and a growing attraction Houston knows could compromise everything. Because the closer he gets to Ashlyn, the harder it becomes to tell where duty ends…and his heart begins.
Keeping her alive is his job.
Walking away once the danger is over may be the hardest mission of his life.
Guarded is a clean romantic suspense novella featuring a protective hero, strangers to more, escalating danger, and a slow-burn romance under pressure.
As a seasoned bodyguard, he’s trained to anticipate threats, control every variable, and keep his clients at arm’s length. Ashlyn should be an easy assignment—she’s the daughter of a high-ranking diplomat finishing a simple research trip to complete her degree. In and out. No complications.
Except Ashlyn isn’t what Houston expects.
Smart, determined, and quietly fearless, she refuses to be treated like fragile cargo. And when her ‘routine’ trip starts attracting the wrong kind of attention, Houston realizes the danger isn’t theoretical—it’s closing in fast.
What begins as a straightforward protection detail turns into a race against unseen enemies, buried secrets, and a growing attraction Houston knows could compromise everything. Because the closer he gets to Ashlyn, the harder it becomes to tell where duty ends…and his heart begins.
Keeping her alive is his job.
Walking away once the danger is over may be the hardest mission of his life.
Guarded is a clean romantic suspense novella featuring a protective hero, strangers to more, escalating danger, and a slow-burn romance under pressure.
- Bodyguard / Protector Hero
Forced Proximity
Danger Brings Them Together
Slow-Burn Attraction
Competent Heroine
High-Stakes Assignment
Forbidden / Professionally Off-Limits
Reluctant Protector Falls First
Emotional Guardedness → Emotional Intimacy
On the Run (light)
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Used availability for C D Gill's Guarded