KISS ME KILL ME;HIS ENEMY HIS OBSESSION

Elira's POV

Present day

There was a knock at the office door.

I was in my chair, Lucifer sprawled across my lap, purring softly as I scratched behind his ears. I still reeked of blood and gunpowder from earlier, and I should really clean myself up, but I was exhausted and still had a lot to do, plus Lucifer didn’t seem to mind. He never did. My finger hovered near the small trigger on the hidden holster under my desk.

"Enter," I called, voice cold.

The door creaked open.

He stepped in. Tall. Lean. Hair dark, a little too perfectly messy. Jaw like it had been carved by sin and his eyes... Those dark eyes stared into my soul. I didn’t need to hear him speak to know I didn’t like him.

My gun was already out, trained on the space between his eyes.

"Who the fuck are you?"

His hands lifted slowly, palms facing me. Not a flicker of fear in his eyes. He didn't even flinch at my tone.

That unnerved me more than anything.

"Aiden," he said simply.

His voice was deep. Smooth. Polished in a way that screamed he was used to commanding rooms without lifting a finger. I hated that.

Lucifer flicked his tail once and meowed, unbothered as the barrel of my gun stayed locked on this stranger's face.

Then Nico stepped in.

Of course, I thought as I rolled my eyes.

"My lady," Nico said with a short bow, glancing between the gun and Aiden. "This is your new bodyguard."

Without warning, I repositioned my aim and I fired.

The bullet struck the floor between Aiden’s feet with a sharp crack, sending up a puff of dust. He didn’t even blink or step back from the fact that I just shot between his feet or it could have been his head instead.

Impressive.

Infuriating.

I let a smirk curl on my lips as I swivelled my chair around to face the large windows overlooking the compound, dropping my gun to my lap, keeping it away from Lucifer.

"I don’t need a bodyguard."

Nico sighed behind me. "Elira, please."

"No."

"After the last attack, you can’t keep refusing security detail. They broke into your hotel room. They planted a bomb under your goddamn bed."

"And I’m still alive."

"Only because you happened to check under the bed for bugs."

I turned back slowly. "Is it my fault I’m cautious?"

"It’s not about blame. It’s about preventing the next hit, Elira."

"I still don't want one" I retorted, adamantly

"Your father would want you to be safe and since you're my responsibility now, I have to keep you safe. This isn't up for a debate."

I swivelled back to face them and narrowed my eyes at Nico, making him flinch a bit. "Don't you dare bring up my father in this"

He ran his hand through his hair in frustration letting out a sigh.

Nico had been taking care of me since the day I lost everything. He practically trained me to be who I am today, and he does have some sort of control over me, but I'd like to think that he doesn't.

I flicked my gaze back to Aiden, who was still standing perfectly straight. He didn't give off any reaction regarding the conversation Nico and I just had or how I reacted at the mention of my father. He just stood perfectly still.

Something about him ticked every warning bell in my head. Not in the way normal men did when they looked at me too long. No. This was deeper and Instinctive.

"He gives me bad vibes."

"He’s the best, Elira. Former special forces, discharged after a mission went south. Then contracted for private intel groups. He’s never failed a single client. Not once."

I narrowed my eyes. "That's supposed to impress me?"

"It’s supposed to keep you alive."

I leaned back into my chair and exhaled through my nose.

"Fine. But if he breathes funny, I’ll kill him myself."

Nico nodded. "Noted."

Aiden finally spoke again. "Understood, ma’am."

I hated how calm he sounded. I hated that he didn’t look away when I glared at him. Like he was looking through me. Like he knew something I didn’t.

Lucifer hissed once. Even he was picking up on it.

---

That evening, I went to the underground shooting range in the compound. It was my form of meditation. Meditation with bullets. The kind that made my blood settle and my thoughts calm a bit.

I set up the targets myself, refusing help from the guards. They knew better than to offer.

I stood at the line, my Glock steady in my hand. Breathe. Aim. Fire.

Each bullet hit the torso, clean centre mass. Perfect as always, the enemy wouldn't have enough time to think to save himself before he bleeds out.

I comically blew the top of my gun like they did in movies, swirled my gun around my index finger and then reloaded my gun,' when I heard footsteps.

"Your grip was off," Aiden said, stepping closer.

I stiffened. "Excuse me?"

"Your stance. You're leaning too much into your front foot. That'll throw off your balance if you need to move quickly."

I turned slowly, eyes like ice. He was standing barely three feet away, gaze flicking to my hands.

"Show me, then," I said, sarcasm curling on my tongue.

He moved behind me, not touching, just gesturing. "Try this: shoulders looser, feet shoulder-width apart. Don’t overcompensate on recoil."

His voice was low. Close. Too close.

And for a second, I thought of the way his breath warmed the air near my neck.

Nope.

Fuck that.

I spun around and pushed him away from me. He didn't move a bit, not even by a muscle. How strong was this guy? This ticked me off beyond measure, so I raised the gun again, took aim.

And shot him.

The bullet lodged in his shoulder. He stumbled back, eyes wide for a split second as blood began soaking through his shirt.

"Shit," he hissed, dropping to one knee, clutching the wound.

I lowered my weapon and walked toward him slowly.

"Oops. My finger slipped."

His gaze met mine from the floor. Still no fear. Just a flicker of something else. Curiosity?

"I guess I need more practice," I said flatly.

Nico burst into the room seconds later, already yelling.

"ELIRA! What the hell?!"

I shrugged. "He was correcting my form."

Nico looked like he was going to lose it. Aiden was already pulling gauze from his belt pouch with one hand, pressing it to the wound without complaint.

"She shot you," Nico said to him, worried.

He must be thinking Aiden would want to quit. That would only make him a weakling if he actually does though.

Aiden nodded. "She missed my head."

And he smiled.

The bastard fucking smiled.

I turned back to the range, gun in hand, practising like Aiden and Nico were invisible and not trying so hard to patch up Aiden's shoulder.

He wasn't afraid of me. That made him dangerous and a threat.

And I wasn't sure if I wanted to kill him... Or keep him around just to figure out why he made my spine itch.