Her Possessive Guard

Kara looked at the freezer in the grocery store, trying to decide which one to buy.

She had avoided the flavor since that night.

The night she saw Max with Karen, his tongue down her throat. They barely noticed her there, and she saw way more than she wanted to see.

Because Karen was also a psychology student and therefore Kara’s classmate, Kara had to endure her presence for weeks on end, trying to push away the image of them kissing out of her head.

While Max was just her friend, Kara was in love with him. She always assumed they would end up together. They had been best friends since childhood, and she had had a crush on him ever since.

The night she caught Max and Karen together, she bought two containers of chocolate hazelnut ice cream, sat on the living room floor, and devoured both. Kara ended up getting sick and vomiting all night. It was bad enough she was heartbroken, but she also had her head in the toilet.

As she examined the ice cream shelf, trying to decide if she was ready for chocolate hazelnut again, she heard someone clear their throat.

Kara looked up, and there he was. One of the most attractive men she had ever seen in her entire life. He had dark hair that was cropped really short. With icy blue eyes and a mouth that was flattened into a thin line, he looked severe.

He had high cheekbones, full lips, and a jawline that was so pronounced she wanted to run her fingers across it. His eyebrows were hawkish, and three frown lines adorned his forehead.

It was only then that she noticed the rest of him.

He was tall. So freaking tall.

At her silence, he lifted one eyebrow.

“What?” Kara finally asked.

“You’ve been hogging the ice cream shelf,” he snapped right back without hesitation.

“I’m sorry,” she said, “I didn’t realize me picking out ice cream was ruining anyone’s day.”

“Well, you were,” he grabbed the last container of chocolate hazelnut ice cream, “and now you’re not anymore.”

“Nice choice,” Kara yelled back at him as he walked away.

He looked back, snorting sarcastically. His blue eyes glimmered deviously.

Kara settled on cookies and cream and headed out.

As she walked to her car, the man was driving off. They made eye contact, and Kara stuck her middle finger up. He smirked and rolled his eyes. Kara could see their bright shade of blue, even from behind his car window.

When she got home, Kara carried her grocery bags up to her apartment. She could have still been living with her parents if she wanted to. They lived near campus in a beautiful home. But Kara wanted to be independent, choosing to live in her own on-campus apartment instead. It was her third year after all, and she would soon graduate into the real world with a degree in psychology.

Her dad had protested at first, but her mom had seemed to understand. So now, here she was, living on her own.

Her older brother, Lucas, worked at their father’s company, Price Enterprises Ltd., but wanted to launch his own soon. Kara’s parents wanted her to follow in his footsteps and join the company after graduation, but Kara wasn’t so sure.

Her parents were more than eager to supply her with an allowance that was more than enough to cover all her expenses, including tuition fees.

But Kara tried her best to make it work without their help, taking it only when she was in an extremely tight spot.

“Anyone home?” called a voice from the front door as Kara put away her groceries.

It was Megan, Kara’s roommate.

“There you are,” Megan said, giving Kara a kiss on the cheek.

“Any special plans tonight?” Megan asked cheekily, “perhaps a date with the boyfriend?”

While Karen was hung up on Max, she did have a sweet and caring boyfriend, Gerald. Megan liked to call him ‘the boyfriend’ because she sensed he wasn’t the One. Kara knew that too.

“No,” Kara replied, “do you?”

“Don’t you remember silly?”

Kara glared back at Megan, confused, racking her brain trying to remember what she might be missing.

When Kara couldn’t remember, Megan rolled her eyes.

“My cousin?” she asked, trying to remind Kara, “I told you he was coming into town for a while and would be crashing on our couch.”

Kara stared blankly at her.

“You literally said he could stay with us,” repeated Megan, “about a month ago?”

“I really don’t remember you asking this,” insisted Kara.

“Sure you do,” explained Megan, “it was that night you were eating ice cream on the living room floor. You were watching rom coms and sobbing.”

“Oh,” said Kara, realizing what night Megan was referring to, “the Max and Karen night.”

“Oh babe,” Megan hugged her, “I’m so sorry.”

Kara sobbed onto Megan’s shoulder.

“Is your cousin at least hot?” said Kara after a while.

“Ew,” replied Megan, “he’s literally my cousin.”

“But look at me I’m so sad,” urged Kara, “come on pull up his Instagram for me.”

“Ugh fine,” Megan caved, “but only because you’re crying and I feel bad for you.”

Megan pulled out her phone and typed something into it.

“Here,” Megan flashed Kara her phone, “meet my cousin Adam.”

It was a photo of a tall man with dark hair.

“Pass it to me,” Kara snatched the phone out of Megan’s hand to take a closer look.

When she zoomed into the man’s face, there they were. Those piercing blue eyes.

Before Kara could explain, the doorbell rang.