Defensive Rook by M.L. Philpitt

When a princess plays, a rook protects.

Serafina Mancini is a mafia princess without the crown. Raised outside of the mob, she’s always constructed her own game with her own rules, and the mandated live-in bodyguard was never supposed to be a player. Especially not one who treats her like a queen and makes her want to break the unwritten rules.
Lev Petrov prefers being alone, but finds himself agreeing to protect Serafina from a rival mob family. The woman who should be a task calms the noise in his head, tempting him to step beyond his structured rules. Until she’s forced onto another prince’s board and he realizes he’ll do anything to defend her—even keep her.

Defensive Rook is the third book in The Bratva’s Elite, a series of interconnected standalones that are best read in order. A slow burning forced proximity bodyguard romance between a neurodivergent MMC and an anxious FMC with an emotional happily-ever-after. This book involves content some readers may find triggering.