Starstruck: I Was Hired to Protect Her. I Couldn’t Protect My Heart.

By Vivian Reese Clarke

Sloan Reyes knows the drill cold: guard the client, keep your hands off, don’t fall for the face on every billboard.

Then she moves into Ivy Holden’s glass-walled house on the hill. Nights stretch long with just the hum of the fridge and Ivy padding barefoot across the kitchen, pouring tea while rain taps the skylight. A half-eaten bowl of cereal sits forgotten on the counter most mornings. Their eyes meet over the steam.

Ivy laughs soft, asks real questions, remembers how Sloan takes her coffee. The distance shrinks without either of them deciding it should.

Every graze of fingers when they pass the sugar feels like a live wire. Every second Sloan lets the touch linger costs her another piece of control. The stalker is still out there, sending photos, getting closer, and Sloan’s job is to stop him—not to want the woman she’s paid to protect.

The threats turn ugly fast.

Now Sloan has to choose: stick to the rules that have always kept her alive, or reach for Ivy and damn the consequences.

Can she keep Ivy breathing and still keep her?

***

Their journey belongs to Breaking the Rules, where tension sparks, passion deepens, and every ending is worth the risk.

Twelve women. Twelve forbidden desires. One series you won’t forget.

Breaking the Rules brings together bold standalone lesbian romances where tension sharpens, passion burns, and vulnerability finds its voice. Rival athletes. Watchful bodyguards. Former lovers. Surprising new sparks. Each story dives into love that pushes boundaries and heat that refuses to fade.

Perfect for readers who want strong women, layered emotions, and slow-building fire that ends in something real.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Velvet Ink Press
• Release date: Dec 11, 2025

Book preview

Starstruck

Vivian Reese Clarke

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Starstruck

I Was Hired to Protect Her. I Couldn’t Protect My Heart.

Breaking the Rules: FF Steamy Romance Series

Vivian Reese Clarke

Copyright © 2025 by Vivian Reese Clarke

All rights reserved. This book, including all individual stories and original content, is protected under international copyright law. No part of this publication may be copied, reproduced, distributed, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without prior written permission from the author, except for brief excerpts used in reviews or academic commentary, which must be properly credited.

Fiction Disclaimer:

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons living or dead is entirely coincidental.

Creative Tools Notice:

Some aspects of this book including cover artwork, illustrations, or other visual and creative elements were developed with the assistance of licensed generative technologies under appropriate commercial-use terms. These elements are original compositions intended solely for this publication.

Thank you for reading this book. I hope you enjoy every page inside.

Table of Contents

Starstruck

Description

Chapter 1: The Assignment

Chapter 2: Settling In

Chapter 3: Rising Tension

Chapter 4: Crossing Boundaries

Chapter 5: Hidden Truths

Chapter 6: The Breaking Point

Chapter 7: All In

Chapter 8: New Beginnings

Epilogue: One year later

Starstruck

Description

Sloan Reyes knows the drill cold: guard the client, keep your hands off, don’t fall for the face on every billboard.

Then she moves into Ivy Holden’s glass-walled house on the hill. Nights stretch long with just the hum of the fridge and Ivy padding barefoot across the kitchen, pouring tea while rain taps the skylight. A half-eaten bowl of cereal sits forgotten on the counter most mornings. Their eyes meet over the steam.

Ivy laughs soft, asks real questions, remembers how Sloan takes her coffee. The distance shrinks without either of them deciding it should.

Every graze of fingers when they pass the sugar feels like a live wire. Every second Sloan lets the touch linger costs her another piece of control. The stalker is still out there, sending photos, getting closer, and Sloan’s job is to stop him not to want the woman she’s paid to protect.

The threats turn ugly fast.

Now Sloan has to choose: stick to the rules that have always kept her alive, or reach for Ivy and damn the consequences.

Can she keep Ivy breathing and still keep her?

***

Their journey belongs to Breaking the Rules, where tension sparks, passion deepens, and every ending is worth the risk.

Twelve women. Twelve forbidden desires. One series you won’t forget.

Breaking the Rules brings together bold standalone lesbian romances where tension sharpens, passion burns, and vulnerability finds its voice.