Dark Survivor Echoes of Love

by I. T. Lucas

  “I don’t. But Kri says I should wear a sports bra when training because my bouncy duo is distracting the guys in her class.”

  “I can imagine.” Amanda chuckled. “You’re the most sought after female in the village.”

  Wonder grimaced. “Yeah, just not by the one I want.”

  “Let’s have a girl talk. Maybe I can help.” Amanda wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

  Waving her dishrag, Carol huffed. “Good luck with that. She dismisses everything I say, and we all know I’m an expert on the subject.”

  Just thinking about Carol’s suggestions made Wonder blush. The woman used to be a pro who’d seen nothing wrong with exchanging her charms for material things from men. When she’d told Wonder about her days as a courtesan, which she’d explained was a kind of paid mistress, Carol had sounded wistful, not remorseful.

  Amanda waved a hand. “I can imagine what kind of advice you gave her. Wonder is still just a girl. She needs to learn how to be a woman first. Then, when she’s confident in her femininity, she can use some of your tricks.”

  “I’m right here.” Wonder pointed to herself. “You’re talking about me as if I’m not.”

  “My bad.” Amanda led her to a table. “Carol, can you get us all cappuccinos and put up the closed sign? We can’t have guys intruding on our girl talk.”

  “I’m on it.”

  “So tell me, darling, who is that guy who’s pretending not to be interested?”

  “How do you know he is only pretending?”

  “First of all because there isn’t an unmatched male here who doesn’t want you. But I assume we are talking about a certain tall and hunky redhead?”

  Wonder nodded.

  “What makes you think he is not interested? I hear that you guys are spending a lot of time together.”

  Where to start? And how was she going to explain Anandur’s mixed signals when she didn’t understand them herself?

  “He says he’s too old for me. But then he gets jealous when he sees young immortals talking to me. When he was my prisoner, he flirted with me all of the time, but that was only to make me cooperate with him. Now I don’t know what he wants. He walks me home every evening, he comes to eat lunch here whenever he can, and we had dinner at his brother’s house three times already.” Wonder ran out of air.

  “I see.” Amanda regarded her while tapping a finger on her lips. “You need a makeover, darling.”

  “Amanda thinks everything can be solved with the right clothes.” Carol put down a cardboard carrier with three small paper cups inside it.

  “Not just clothes, darling, it’s the whole package. We need to make Wonder look like a woman, and even more importantly feel like one. Everything will be different when she is confident in her femininity.” She flicked Wonder’s braid aside. “Can you do me a favor and let your hair down?”

  “Why?”

  “I want to see it.”

  “Fine.” She pulled down the rubber band holding the end and unraveled the strands.”

  “Ugh.” Amanda looked at her hair with a grimace. “When was the last time you had a haircut?”

  “I didn’t. I just put it in a braid.”

  “Figures.” Amanda finished her coffee in one gulp and pushed to her feet. “Get your packages from the office. I’ll get my trusty shears and my makeup case and meet you at your place.”

  “And I’ll bring my hair products and curling iron,” Carol offered.

  Oh, boy. The idea of a makeover was kind of exciting, but also a little scary. She didn’t want to look too different.

  On the other hand, she kind of understood what Amanda had meant. Dressing and acting the part would not only help Anandur see her as a grown woman, but also help her own her femininity.

  “I appreciate the offer, but I’m not sure I want to change the way I look too drastically. What if Anandur doesn’t like the new me?”

  “Don’t worry about it. I know what I’m doing. The change will be very subtle.” She pointed at Wonder’s chest. “Fifteen minutes. Your place.”

  “Oh, wait. What about training?” Wonder asked as she and Carol headed for the office building.

  “Classes are canceled for today and tomorrow. Didn’t you get the text?” Carol asked.

  “No.”

  “That’s probably because you’re not on the list. I’ll add you when I have the chance.”

  “Is it because of the raid?”

  Carol nodded. “The Guardians are busy getting ready.”

  “Is Kri going?”

  “If she is, it’s not as part of the raiding party,” Carol said. “Kian doesn’t allow females anywhere near Doomers, not even Kri who can kick ass with the best of the guys. But she can do other stuff, like keep the humans calm and help evacuate them.”

  Wonder found her last package, tucked it under her arm, and waited for Carol to find all of hers.

  “Why is that? What’s the difference? If she can fight as well as a guy, then why not?”

  Carol’s pretty face contorted into a snarl. “Trust me. There is a good reason for it. I agree with Kian on that.”

  36

  Anandur

  By the end of the pre-mission orientation with Kian, Anandur was all hyped for the upcoming action but bummed about missing his daily walk with Wonder.

  As he passed Kri’s empty classroom, he glanced inside hoping to see Wonder training by herself, or maybe with Carol, but the place was vacant, as were all the other classrooms. Apparently, no one was overly upset about the self-defense classes getting canceled or eager to continue training on his or her own.

  Talk about disappointment.

  With Kian spending half a day at Turner’s office in town, and then the video conference with Onegus and Magnus in the afternoon, Anandur hadn’t seen Wonder all day.

  He missed her.

  She was so much fun to talk to, finding everything he told her fascinating. After nearly a millennia of eventful life, Anandur had an almost endless supply of stories to share. The problem was that most of his Guardian buddies had either taken part in the action or had already heard all about it. But Wonder hadn’t, and he loved the way she listened intently, with her eyes peeled wide and the occasional uhh and ahh.

  The other benefit of the storytelling was to help focus his attention on something other than his desperate need for her.

  While his head was in the past, reconstructing this or that event, he wasn’t thinking about how beautiful she was, or how soft her feminine curves were, and how it would feel to touch her all over.

  Without making a conscious decision about it, Anandur was living like a monk.

  Since the day Wonder had caught him with his pants down in the back alley of her club, Anandur hadn’t gone hunting for sex even once.

  He’d lost his appetite for all others, but he couldn’t have the one he craved.

  Wanting Wonder and keeping his hands off her was torture.

  And the worst part was that he knew she wouldn’t object if he crushed her against him and kissed the living daylights out of her.

  Wonder wanted him too.

  Except, as the responsible adult in their relationship, it was his moral obligation to make sure that she made the right decisions for the right reasons. He’d promised to protect her, and that included from himself. But he’d also promised to take care of her, and that meant being her friend and spending time with her.

  Or at least that was what he told himself every time he came to the café to have lunch with her, or took Wonder to dinner at Callie and Brundar’s, or waited for her outside Kri’s classroom.

  And in that spirit, he pulled out his phone and texted her. Are you up for our nightly walk?

  Her answer came mere seconds later. Yes.

  Anandur smiled. His Wonder wasn’t much of a talker. She used her words frugally. But that was good because he could talk enough for the two of them.

  I’m heading in your direction. Can you be ready in ten minutes?


  Yes.

  When he got to her house, he was half expecting Wonder to wait for him on the porch, but she didn’t, and he had to knock on the door which made him feel awkward. Gertrude and Hildegard could get the wrong idea and then spread the rumor around the entire village.

  Anandur had been the source of enough rumors to know how it worked.

  Instead of one of the nurses, though, Carol opened the door with a big smirk on her lovely face. “Wonder will be out in a minute. Take a seat.” She pointed to the wooden swing on the porch.

  He quirked a brow. “Aren’t you going to invite me in?”

  “No.” She grinned and closed the door in his face.

  Anandur shook his head. What was this? Elementary school? But he did as Carol had instructed. Sitting on the swing, he pushed with his legs to start the swaying motion and closed his eyes.

  The creaking of the door opening got him to turn his head, and then immediately jump up to his feet.

  Wonder had gone through one hell of a transformation.

  Instead of looking like a high-school girl, she looked like a freaking supermodel. And not just any supermodel, a Victoria’s Secret supermodel.

  For the first time since he’d met her, her long, nearly black hair hung loosely around her shoulders and down her back, the moonlight reflected from the thick and glossy waves framing Wonder’s beautiful face in a halo.

  “Wow,” he said, suddenly lost for words.

  Smoothing her hand over one long strand, Wonder smiled. “Do you like my new hairstyle?”

  “I love it. You always wore it in a braid before.”

  “What about these?” She lifted her sandaled foot.

  “Are you asking about the sandals or the red nail polish on your toenails?” She had the most beautiful feet, with pretty slim toes and perfectly shaped toenails that the red nail polish accentuated.

  In short, everything about the girl was perfect.

  “Both.”

  “I like both. What’s the occasion?” He put his hand on the small of her back and led her down the steps.

  She shrugged. “Amanda and Carol gave me a makeover. Amanda trimmed my hair, and Carol styled it. Amanda also did my makeup and dressed me up, and Carol gave me a manicure and a pedicure.” She chuckled. “I feel so pampered.”

  “You look beautiful. Not that you weren’t beautiful before,” he added quickly.

  Giving women compliments was tricky, and there were many pitfalls, which Anandur was usually smart enough to steer clear of. But it was hard to think and come up with the right things to say when all he could think was beautiful, gorgeous, alluring, tempting…

  It had been much easier to fight temptation when Wonder looked like a schoolgirl. Looking like she did now, elegant and sophisticated, Anandur felt like he was fighting a losing battle.

  Tonight, he wasn’t going to even wrap his arm around her shoulders, or encourage closeness of any kind. It was too dangerous.

  After several minutes of strained silence, Wonder asked, “How was your day?”

  “The usual. Brundar and I followed Kian around to his meetings in the city, and when we returned, we had the video chat with our guys in San Francisco.”

  He’d already told her about Grud leading Magnus to the warehouse and what was in it, and he doubted she would be interested in hearing about the mission details. Wonder had made it clear that warfare and combat were not subjects she wanted to learn or talk about. Which was a shame because some of his better stories were from the battles he’d fought.

  “What they did to those poor humans is horrible. In my opinion, it’s just as bad as murder because with the damage to their brains these people are no longer who they used to be. It’s like they are dead.” Wonder shivered and wrapped her arms around herself.

  Without thinking, Anandur wrapped his arm around her shoulders and brought her closer to him. He intended to provide comfort, but the jolt delivered by the feel of her against his body reminded him why touching her was a bad idea.

  Except, he couldn’t undo what he’d done. Wonder sighed, her entire body sinking into him, and put her head on his bicep. “Thank you. I needed that,” she murmured.

  Fates. What the hell was he doing?

  By denying what was obviously between them, he was torturing not only himself but Wonder too.

  The poor girl had thanked him for putting his arm around her.

  “Don’t thank me, lass. I don’t deserve it.”

  37

  Wonder

  What an embarrassing slip of the tongue.

  All throughout their walk, Wonder had waited for Anandur to wrap his arm around her, so she could lean against his strong body. This was the only intimacy he allowed, and she’d been looking forward to it, yearning for it.

  It had been such a relief when her wish had finally been granted that the words of gratitude just slipped out.

  Talk about pathetic.

  She needed to salvage what remained of her self-respect. “Why would you say you don’t deserve my thanks? You gave me this.” She waved her hand in a circle. “I have new friends, Gertrude and Hildegard treat me as if I were their beloved niece, and I even got a makeover from a goddess’s daughter. I still can’t believe Amanda did this for me.”

  Anandur chuckled. “She lives for stuff like that. But yeah, Amanda is cool. I like her a lot.”

  “I’m still a little intimidated by her. She is so beautiful and confident and a professor on top of that. And she has great taste in clothes.”

  “With how much money she spends on them it’s not difficult. The trick is to look amazing on a budget. Like me.” Anandur waved a hand over his plain T-shirt and Levi jeans.

  He’d meant it as a joke, but the truth was that Wonder couldn't imagine him in anything else. The simple style he’d adopted fit his rugged good looks perfectly. He was too tall and too broad and too redheaded for fancy stuff. A man like him would’ve looked ridiculous in designer jeans or a suit and tie.

  Gods, he was everything Wonder could’ve ever wanted in a man, except for his attitude toward her.

  She wasn’t his little sister.

  The thoughts he evoked in her were as far from sisterly as it got.

  For several moments, they walked in silence with Anandur looking ahead into the night and Wonder trying to keep her heart from racing. It was hard to hide things from an immortal guy who could hear her heartbeat and smell her emotions.

  Her desire for him.

  But then she was an immortal too. Why couldn’t she figure out what Anandur was feeling for her? His real feelings, not the ones he was portraying.

  Was he better than her at masking his emotions?

  Or maybe her senses were not as sharp as his?

  Or maybe she’d been so busy focusing on her own feelings that she’d missed on clues another immortal female could’ve picked up.

  “Did you ask Amanda to style your hair?” Anandur asked.

  “No, she volunteered, and then Carol joined in on the effort.”

  “I’m curious about what prompted it. Did any of the guys invite you on a date?”

  She didn’t need immortal super senses to detect the note of jealousy in Anandur’s voice.

  The nerve of the guy.

  If he wasn’t interested in her romantically, he had no right to envy others that were.

  “And what if they did? It’s not like I have something going on with anyone else.”

  Shit on a stick, she shouldn’t have said that. It was as if she was accusing him.

  Well, she was. The big oaf was acting dumb.

  Anandur sighed. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”

  Gods, what a clueless male. Wonder felt like taking off one of her sandals and beating him over the head with it. Maybe it would clear the tangled mess he had up there, and she wasn’t referring to his hair, although that needed a trim as well. Birds could build a nest in there.

  The guy needed a woman in his life. He needed Wonder. Except, he was too stubbor
n and opinionated to realize a good thing when he saw it.

  She might be inexperienced, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t learn. Besides, relationships were about more than just sex. The two of them enjoyed each other's company, and they had plenty of things to talk about.

  Even a young woman like her knew that it was a good foundation.

  If only Anandur would open his eyes and see her for who she really was. Not a child, and not a teenager, but a grown woman who knew how to take care not only of herself but also of others.

  If she didn’t do something about it, though, Anandur would keep playing his dumb game for gods knew how long.

  Ugh.

  Her anger rising with each passing moment, Wonder was ready to tell Anandur precisely what she thought about his supposedly noble restraint.

  “I like it when you get jealous over me. That’s how I know you want me even though you like to pretend that you don’t.” She stopped and turned to face him. “You’re not fooling me, Anandur.”

  His face looking pained as if someone had punched him in the gut, Anandur let his arm drop by his side. “Fates, Wonder, I’m not a saint. I can’t help being attracted to you. But for both our sakes, I’m doing the best I can to keep my hormones from taking control of my brain.”

  Ooh, he was really making her mad.

  Wonder put her hand on her hip and glared at the stupid male. “You’re doing it for the sake of some dumb notion you’ve gotten into your head that I’m too young for you. You’re not doing it for my sake, that’s for sure.”

  She waved a hand over herself. “I did all of this for you, so maybe you’d finally see me as a woman.”

  Indecision danced over Anandur’s handsome face. “What do you want from me, Wonder?”

  “I want you to take me into your arms and kiss me. But if you’re not up to it, there are plenty of perfectly fine immortal males who would be thrilled to give me my first kiss.”

  Wonder turned on her heel and started walking away. “Or the first that I’m going to remember,” she mumbled under her breath.

  The whoosh of air coming from behind her was the only warning Wonder had before Anandur caught her elbow and flung her around. Caging her in his arms, he dipped his head but stopped an inch away from her lips.