Title: Guarded Obsession
Series: University Row, Book Two
Author: Brenda Murphy
Publisher: NineStar Press
Release Date: 01/20/2026
Heat Level: 3 - Some Sex
Pairing: Female/Female
Length: 308
Genre: Contemporary suspense, Romance, contemporary, crime/thriller, lesbian, BDSM, university professor, bodyguard, forced proximity
Add to Goodreads
Description
Celeste Choi swore she’d never take another protection job, especially not after the betrayal that almost destroyed her. But when her best friend begs for help, she can’t say no. Lou Chavez is on the run from her vengeful ex—a woman who’ll stop at nothing to get what she wants. Hiding out in a remote cabin, Celeste and Lou find themselves locked in a fight for survival and for each other. Lou doesn’t believe she’s worth saving, but Celeste refuses to let her die on her watch. As their enemies close in and an old rival resurfaces with her own deadly agenda, their undeniable attraction ignites into something dark, intimate, and dangerous. To survive, Celeste and Lou must stand together, risk everything, and decide if the love they’ve found is worth the ultimate price.Excerpt
Guarded Obsession
Brenda Murphy © 2026
All Rights Reserved
The gleaming steel elevator doors opened. Celeste waited a beat, sweeping her gaze over the interior of the car. Satisfied with her safety, she stepped inside. She swiped her key card and pressed the combination of buttons that led to Demure’s subbasement. As she descended, she smoothed her hands over the front of her skirt, checked the fit of her jacket, tugged her sleeves in place, and made sure her weapon didn’t ruin the line of her suit. Her black heels gleamed in the soft glow of the elevator lights.
The doors chimed open. As before, she paused a moment before exiting to assess the situation. Her gaze landed on Bridget, lead sub of Demure. She’d been a professional rugby player, and her thick shoulders tested the limits of her suit jacket. She sank to her knees as Celeste stepped out of the elevator. Celeste indulged herself studying Bridget’s angular profile and dark eyes shining in the fluorescent lights of the hallway before Bridget lowered her gaze.
“Welcome, Mistress Choi. Mistress Yvonne is waiting for you in her office. We’ve moved it since your last time here.” She lifted her hand toward the right hall off the elevator lobby. “It’s two doors down on the left.”
“Thank you, Bridget.” Celeste took a step forward and rested her hand on Bridget’s head. She swept her hand over her crewcut, teasing her finger over the crisp edges. A vision of their last session rose along with Celeste’s desire. “It has been a minute. Did you miss me?”
“More than I dare say, Mistress,” Bridget husked out.
Celeste took advantage of her position to study the rise and fall of Bridget’s chest. She tugged Bridget’s earlobe before pinching it hard. “Are you working all night?”
A visible shiver shook Bridget’s body. “I’m scheduled until eleven, Mistress.”
“Meet me in the blue room after your shift.”
“Yes, Mistress.”
Celeste released Bridget’s ear, stepped past her, and took the right hallway. The wide steel door of Yvonne Li’s office was painted black. In the center of the door, the emblem of the club shone red and silver. She rapped on the door. It slid open to reveal a bookcase-lined office and Yvonne behind her desk.
“You didn’t ask who it was,” Celeste chided.
“I’ve watched your spectacular ass from the time you entered.” Yvonne gestured to the wall of video monitors behind her. “And Bridget would never allow anyone not scheduled to disturb me in my office.
Celeste studied the bank of monitors. “Adequate. But every system has blind spots.”
“That’s why I have Lindsey and Bridget and their crew.”
Celeste shifted her gaze back to Yvonne. “You didn’t ask me here to critique your club’s security. And from the absence of subs, nor for a playdate. Why am I here, Yvonne?”
“I need a favor.”
Celeste opened her suit coat before she eased herself into the leather chair across from Yvonne’s desk. “Favor?”
“I need your personal protection services.”
Celeste moved to the edge of her chair. “Didn’t you just tell me how much you trust Lindsey and Bridget and the others with your safety?”
“Not for me. Anyone who came after me would have to go through them. I trust them with my life and with the lives of my family. I need your services for someone else.”
Celeste leaned back in her chair. “No. Not no, but fuck no. I’m out of the business. Let me call one of my former associates for you.” A chill chased down Celeste’s spine. “What the hell, Yvonne?” She shoved away her annoyance with both hands. She studied the dark circles under her friend’s eyes. “Is someone after Mai?”
Yvonne shook her head. “No. A dear friend.”
“Friend?”
“Sub.”
“Is she one of yours? Why can’t Lindsey handle it?”
“Because it’s beyond her expertise. I need someone with international experience.”
Celeste raised her gaze to the ceiling before bringing it back to Yvonne. “I’ll get you some names.”
“Damn it, Celeste, I don’t need names. I need you.” Yvonne’s eyes blazed fire. “She’s in danger. Has no idea how much. She is delulu and thinks I’m overreacting.”
Celeste huffed out a breath and rubbed the back of her neck. “I know you and Sally have an agreement, but you seem very invested in this woman.”
“What Sally and I have is none of your business. Yes, I am invested in her survival. Look, are you going to help me or not?” Yvonne pushed her hair back with her hand. “I’m not going to beg but you’re the only person for this job. Please. I am asking as your friend and as one Mistress to another.”
Celeste lifted a shoulder. “Look, you got me out of more than one jam. But my credentials are not up to-date. I let it all go after that mess with the Burlingtons. I’m not—”
“This is off the books.” Yvonne drew her fingers over a dark-blue file folder on the desk.
Celeste squinted. “Protection off the books? Who did she kill?”
“No one. But some people have spent and will spend a large portion of their lives behind bars because of her.”
“Drugs? I don’t fuck with drug cartels.” Celeste smoothed her fingers over the hem of her short skirt.
“You mean you don’t anymore.” Yvonne held her gaze.
“Water under the bridge. So, what is it?”
“Art.”
“Art?”
She was a key witness in an international art fraud case.”
“And?”
“And in the last nine months, six members of the prosecutor’s office and investigative team involved with the case have died under suspicious circumstances. Car accidents, falls from high places, or simply vanished. On the surface it seems like a series of coincidences.” Yvonne leaned back in her wheelchair.
“So let the feds handle it.” Celeste shifted in her seat.
Yvonne lifted a perfectly shaped brow. “Are you high? Did you hear what I said? Might as well put a target on her back if the feds get involved.”
Celeste squirmed under Yvonne’s withering gaze. “It’s not— I don’t think—”
“Forget it. Get out.” Yvonne spun her wheelchair around, showing Celeste her back. Icy waves of anger radiated from her. Celeste studied the set of her shoulders. Yvonne had remained her friend when others had walked away, helped her when no one else would. Yvonne stood up to a powerful family on Celeste’s behalf and won. She owed her a debt she never expected to be able to repay.
Celeste stood and rounded the desk. “Hey. Look at me.”
“I don’t want to see your face. I believed you when you said you would do anything for me. For eight years I haven’t asked you for a damn thing.”
Guilt pricked Celeste’s skin. She shoved aside her fear. “I’ll do it.”
Yvonne kept her head turned from Celeste’s face. “No. I don’t need your pity. Nor resigned agreement. Get out. Leave me to think.”
“No. I’m not leaving. You said no one else can do this job. Let me do this. Sorry, I said no. You know why.”
“I do. And I’ll tell you now what I did then. None of it was your fault. Your client lied to you. Deliberately disobeyed your instructions. Her death was her own doing. I wouldn’t ask for your help if I didn’t think you are the one person who might be able to keep Lou safe.”
“Lou? Fuck boi Lou?” Celeste stepped back and away from Yvonne.
Yvonne spun her chair to face Celeste. “Don’t slut-shame. Yes, Lou. She is a flirt. As you have witnessed, no doubt. But she is the least promiscuous person I know.”
Celeste rested her hands on her hips. “She’s a trust fund baby. She could afford all the protection she needs. Why is this your responsibility?” She cocked her head. “Is she yours?”
“As much as she is anyone’s.” Yvonne rubbed her hands together. “She started coming here as a fresh-faced twenty-three-year-old, a fine arts graduate student, green as hell.”
“You trained her? Were you her first Mistress?” Celeste squinted, trying to imagine Yvonne with a butch sub.
“No. Not my type. But I arranged for others to teach her protocol, safety, and consent. She’s evolved into a sub who makes every Mistress she ever scened with hungry for more. She’s skilled in all the right ways, and she knows it. She has used it to get whatever and whoever she wants.” Yvonne pursed her lips. “She’s cocky as hell and dares you take her down. A top from the bottom ass, but her submission is tantalizing and addictive. She could have her pick of Mistresses.”
“So why isn’t she someone’s? No one strong enough for her?”
“No. She came close once. It ended badly.”
“How badly?”
“Stalking. Restraining order for the Mistress. I blame myself I didn’t see the signs.”
Celeste crossed to the chair opposite Yvonne’s desk. She shed her suit coat before she sat. “Give me her file.”
Yvonne laid her hand on top of it. “No going back once you see this.”
Celeste tilted her head and met Yvonne’s gaze. “When have I ever backed down?”
Yvonne shoved the file toward Celeste. “I won’t remind you of you closing your business and ghosting the world for the last eight years.”
“Don’t. And I wasn’t ghosting anyone. I want a quiet life.”
“Quiet lives are overrated.” Yvonne lifted her chin. “What can I get you to drink while you’re reading?”
“A nonalcoholic ginger beer.”
Yvonne’s mouth lifted in a crooked grin. “Ahh yes, you’re seeing Bridget later. She’s missed you. What do you have planned for her?”
“What are you—a lip reader? Or do you have the place wired for sound as well as video?”
“Wired for both.”
Celeste shifted her gaze from Yvonne’s eager expression to the clock. “I’m not telling you anything. Tune in later if you’re curious.” She opened the thick folder.
Yvonne called in their drink order while Celeste scanned the first page of Lou’s file. The passport photo clipped to the first page didn’t do Lou justice, but then how could an image capture the essence of a sexy bold butch unafraid to be herself?
Purchase
NineStar Press | Books2Read
