It was never meant to go this far.

You were just a job to him, an assignment that needed fulfilment in the shortest timeframe possible. Someone wanted you dead. You were being threatened daily, suspicious letters thrown underneath your door, as well as flower bouquets with ominous notes on them attached.

Russell’s job was to find that person and ensure your safety. He was around you 24/7, always there like a shadow who knew everything, yet absolutely nothing about you. He caught the person pretty soon after all of that, and as it turned out, it was your vicious ex. Yet, even though the job was done, he couldn’t just leave and forget about you like he usually did.

There was something that kept pulling him in towards you like a strong magnet. Whether it was that look in your eyes that made his heartbeat stutter or the way he would listen to your voice with bated breath. Not only were you truly talented, but you were a good person as well — which seemed like an uncanny combination in the world of fame. That’s probably what had driven him so much to you — how genuine you could be in a world full of fake people and shady schemes.

He sighed and took a drag of his cigarette, the smoke clouding around him as he was standing on the balcony. His back was against the railing, and his eyes were focused on your sleeping form, lying bare underneath the silk sheets.

His pretty little actress.

He put the last of his cig out and went back into the room. He crawled back into bed, wrapping his strong arms around your smaller frame and burying his face in your neck, his beard scratching the sensitive skin there.

“Wake up for me, sweetheart,” he hummed lowly as his hand ran up and down the curve of your waist.