by I. T. Lucas
“Is she seeing anyone?” Magnus asked.
“Why? Are you interested?”
Magnus shook his head. “I wish she was my type. An immortal female I’m not related to is quite a catch, but unfortunately she isn’t.”
Anandur’s first response to Magnus’s question had been anger, then he’d calmed down when the guy had said he wasn’t interested, and then he’d gotten angry once again. Wonder was beautiful, kind, smart, and resourceful. What was there not to love?
“Why the hell not?”
“Everyone has a type. You have yours, and I have mine, and Gregor over there has his.”
“Some women are everyone’s type. Show me one guy who doesn’t think Victoria’s Secret models are hot.”
“You’re wrong.” Magnus turned to Gregor. “What’s your type, Gregor?”
“I don’t have one. I’m a lover of all women.”
Anandur waved a hand. “You see? I’m right.”
Magnus huffed. “Liar. Who’s your favorite actress?”
“Liv Tyler,” Gregor answered immediately.
Magnus crossed his arms over his chest. “There you go. That’s your type.” He looked down his nose at Anandur.
“Okay, let’s pretend that I agree with you. Who’s your type?”
“Natalie Portman, particularly as Queen Amidala.”
“Seriously?” Anandur chuckled. “That tiny, flat-chested thing? That’s not a woman, that’s a twig with a pretty face.”
Magnus glared at him. “I didn’t insult your type, don’t insult mine. Not everyone is into giant amazon women. I prefer mine delicate and sophisticated. I could also go for Rachel Weisz.”
“Now, that’s a woman.” She was petite, but she had some curves on her. The hair was awesome too. Anandur wasn’t particular about the color, but he liked thick, wavy hair.
“I’m glad we agree on something. Now if you don’t mind, I would like to catch a nap.” Magnus closed his eyes.
Touchy fellow. It was one thing to get offended on behalf of one’s love interest, and an entirely different thing to get offended on behalf of an actress he’d never met and wasn’t going to.
Love interest. Is that what Wonder was to him?
Was he falling in love with the girl?
Anandur scratched his beard, then his head, and then rubbed his hand over the back of his neck.
It was about time he stopped pretending and manned up to his feelings. The truth was that he’d fallen for her at first sight. He’d never believed in that crap. Even as a romantic at heart, he’d thought that it was nonsense.
A pretty face and a hot body induced desire, not love. To love someone you had to get to know her first. Love was supposed to be about the meeting of the souls, not the bodies.
Well, preferably both.
Maybe what he’d felt at first was only desire, and then when he’d gotten to know her better, that desire had turned into admiration and then into love.
Yeah, that was more reasonable. He’d fallen for her over time.
What the hell was he going to do about it though? If he hadn’t been so stubborn and so set in his ways, he would’ve seduced her by now, and the memory of that other guy would have been just a distant echo.
Not really.
If the kiss had been the catalyst for the memory’s return, then it didn’t matter when it had happened. In fact, maybe it was better that he hadn’t kissed her earlier. The more time they’d spent together, the more feelings Wonder had developed for him.
Yeah, he was glad about waiting. If it had happened earlier, she would have been even more affected by the memory. Instead of ambivalence, she would’ve focused on her feelings for that Esag dude.
One thing had become clear to him, though. He wasn’t going to give up on her without one hell of a fight.
And if that meant ghost exorcising, so be it.
It was crucial that he found Esag and proved to Wonder that she couldn’t possibly love the other guy because she was in love with him.
He had to step up his game and court her properly, take her out on dates and turn on the charm.
But to do that, he needed to have more spare time. Anandur had accumulated plenty of vacation days he hadn’t claimed, and there were enough Guardians now so he could take some time off.
Kian would have to manage without him for a few days.
The first thing Anandur was going to do when he returned to the village was to march into Kian’s office and ask for time off. The second thing he was going to do was to find Wonder and offer to take her out on a proper date. Not in the café, and not an evening stroll through the village, but a real one in a nice restaurant in town. Maybe he’d even take her to a movie, or to see a musical, or a rock concert.
There were so many possibilities.
He’d never dated anyone before, not in the way of courting. There had been that one time he’d taken Lana to a nightclub. Did it count if it had been part of his mission to get her talking?
Probably not.
Had Wonder dated anyone?
It was highly unlikely. Wonder had been too busy surviving.
He chuckled. As far as dating went, they were on par. A nearly one-thousand-year-old immortal was just as inexperienced as a twenty-year-old.
51
wonder
Wonder walked out of the pavilion and headed straight for the café. It was a little after four o’clock. She could still put in a couple of work hours.
But as she neared the place, Carol started shaking her head. “What are you doing here? I told you to take the rest of the day off.”
“Aren’t you glad to see me?” She rounded the counter and bent to pull out her apron.
Carol gave her a quick hug. “Of course, I am, silly. So how was it? Did you get to talk to Vanessa?”
“For about five minutes.” Wonder leaned to whisper in Carol’s ear. “Basically she told me to keep kissing Anandur and see if any more memories return.”
“I like that advice. Anything else?”
Wonder shrugged. “She said I need to expose myself to more experiences and that reading or listening to books is not enough. According to Vanessa, I need to stimulate the other senses as well.”
“I agree. Kisses are just the beginning.” Carol waggled her brows. “There is so much more. If you come by my house later, I can give you pointers.” She looked around. “There are too many ears over here.”
“Since when has that stopped you?”
“It hasn’t, not really.” By the twinkle in Carol’s eyes, that was the wrong thing to say. If Wonder didn’t change the direction the conversation was taking, Carol would give her a sex education lecture in front of all the patrons of the café.
“Are the Guardians back already?” Wonder asked.
That was the main reason for her not going home after Kri had brought her back. The café’s central location was perfect for monitoring the comings and goings of clan members. When Anandur returned, he would have to pass by it.
“Yes, but they are in a meeting with Kian. Debriefing and all that. They’ll probably hit the sack when that’s done. I don’t think any of them got much sleep last night.”
An immortal whose name Wonder had forgotten, leaned on the counter. “Can I have a cappuccino, ladies?”
“Of course.” Carol turned to him with a smile. “Would you like a pastry with that?”
He eyed the display. “That bear-claw looks tasty.”
“Would you like me to warm it up for you?”
“Sure.”
As Carol stuck the bear-claw in the toaster oven, Wonder started on the cappuccino.
It was weird how Carol knew everything about the Guardians. She worked alongside them in the training center, but she wasn’t one of them.
Carol took the cappuccino cup Wonder had made and handed it to the guy together with his bear-claw. “Enjoy.”
“I will, thank you.” The guy winked at Wonder and walked away to find a table.
&nbs
p; “How come you’re so well informed about everything the Guardians do?” Wonder asked.
Smirking, Carol tapped her ear. “I have an earpiece. Brundar gave me one just in case. That was before all the old Guardians returned. Now I’m not really needed, but he never asked me to give it back.”
“Just in case what?”
Carol shrugged. “I can be useful. I’m an excellent markswoman. I can also drive an escape vehicle. But you didn't need to wait to ask me. Kri gets all the updates, and she could’ve told you.”
“She was bummed about not being allowed on the raid. I didn’t want to upset her with too many questions.”
“I bet. It sucks being the only female Guardian.” She narrowed her eyes at Wonder.
“Would you stop it? Even Kri doesn't think I have what it takes to be one. She says I’m too soft.”
Carol looked doubtful. “Really? She said that?”
“Yep. Do you think I’d lie to you about something like that?”
“No, of course not. I’m just surprised.” Carol twirled a lock of hair around her finger, released it, and then twirled it again. “Maybe she doesn't want another girl on the force? It could be that she likes being the only one.”
“She’s not like that. Kri is cool. You should’ve seen her with those girls. They worship her.”
The trip to Ojai had taught Wonder a valuable lesson. She realized that her opinion of Kri had been based on superficial observation and had done the Guardian a disservice.
There was much more to Kri than met the eye.
The Guardian only appeared tough and uncompromising. On the inside, Kri had a big heart and cared deeply for the rescued girls. She was helping the best way she knew how.
It had been a lesson in humility. She’d been doing to Kri precisely what she hated people doing to her.
Prejudging.
Maybe they could be friends after all, especially since Kri seemed to be the only one who really understood Wonder. Even Carol, the one person she’d been spending the most time with, didn’t get her at all. Otherwise, she would have stopped suggesting that Wonder pursue a career as a Guardian.
Anandur didn’t get her either.
Was it too much to hope for a guy to see past her exterior and actually try to understand who she was on the inside?
First of all, she wasn’t too young for him. Carol refused to reveal her age, but given her stories, she must’ve been at least a couple of hundred years old, and yet she acted less mature than Wonder, which proved that actual age was meaningless.
“I’m going to wipe the tables,” she told Carol and pulled out a bottle of cleaner and a rag from under the counter.
Cleaning always helped her think.
The thing was, before she blamed Anandur for the sorry state of their relationship, or the lack thereof, she needed to figure out who Esag was and what he meant to her.
As vague as the memory of him was, it evoked a pang of longing that she couldn’t deny. But that didn’t necessarily mean that she’d been in love with him, did it?
Maybe he’d been her boyfriend, but they’d broken up, and somewhere deep inside her locked memories was sorrow for the breakup?
Or maybe something had happened to him, and the tightness in her heart that his name evoked was grief?
Shit on a stick.
She was running in circles inside her brain. Amanda was right. The smart thing to do was to forget all about the mystery guy and focus on making things right with Anandur.
Then again, she couldn't lie to him and say that the memory meant nothing to her.
More serious cleaning was needed if she were to figure out a solution to this seemingly insoluble problem. Done with the tables, Wonder returned the rag and the bottle of cleaner to their place under the counter and grabbed the broom.
Carol put her hand on Wonder’s arm. “Let’s wait until closing time to do the sweeping.”
“I’d rather do it now if you don’t mind. It helps me think, and it calms me down.”
With a smirk, Carol let go. “In that case, who am I to interfere in your therapy session with Doctor Broom?”
52
Anandur
As the debriefing ended and the Guardians headed for the exit, Anandur walked up to Kian. “Can I have a moment alone with you?”
Kian arched a brow. “I didn’t know you fancied me that way.”
Great, suddenly everyone was a comedian. Any other day he would’ve picked up the thread Kian had thrown his way and continued with the banter until the mighty regent gave up. After centuries of practice, he could go on and on until his verbal opponent conceded defeat. But not today.
Today, Anandur was in no mood for joking around.
Getting no response, Kian’s smirk melted into a frown. “What’s wrong?”
Anandur cast a glance around to make sure everyone else had left. “I need to take some time off.”
Kian let out a puff of breath. “You had me worried for a moment. How long do you need? A day, two?”
“Two weeks.”
“That’s a long vacation. But I guess we have enough Guardians to pick up the slack.”
That wasn’t a yes, but Anandur took it as one. “Thanks.”
“When do you need it?”
“Starting tomorrow.”
Kian raked his fingers through his hair. “Does your sudden need for a vacation have anything to do with Wonder?”
“Yeah, it does.”
“What are you planning to do with those two weeks?”
Apparently, Kian loved gossip as much as the next immortal. There was no harm in telling him, though. After all, they’d been friends for a very long time, or as much as a subordinate could be friends with his boss.
Anandur walked over to the door, closed it, then returned and sat down next to Kian at the conference table.
The guy regarded him with curiosity in his eyes. “Is it going to be a long story?”
“Are you in a hurry? Because we can do it some other time.”
Kian leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m always in a hurry to return to my mate, but for this, I’m willing to stay for as long as it takes.”
Busybody.
Anandur scratched his beard. “You were right. I do have feelings for Wonder.”
“I’m always right.”
“Yeah, well, you forget who you’re talking to. I’ve been your bodyguard for over nine centuries. I know you better than your own mother, or your sisters, or even your wife. And you’ve been wrong plenty of times.”
Kian shrugged. “Perhaps a handful of times.”
“Right. Anyway, I’ve been fighting my attraction to her because she’s so damn young, but when she came on to me, I could no longer resist. I’m not made of stone.”
“Good for her. I admire a woman who knows what she wants and is not afraid to go after it. It speaks of strong character.” He lifted a fist to demonstrate.
“Wonder is incredibly strong, physically and otherwise. That’s one of the many things I find so alluring about her. But she is also inexperienced and a little shy. It took her a while to gather the courage to proposition me. But when my defenses finally crumbled and I kissed her, the kiss triggered a memory of some lost love of hers.” He wasn’t going to elaborate and tell Kian that she’d called out another man’s name while kissing him.
Talk about humiliating.
Kian arched a brow. “So? I don’t see a problem with that. This should make you feel better about wooing Wonder because it means she’s not as innocent as you thought her to be. She’s been in love before.”
“The problem is that Wonder thinks she might still be in love with that guy. As long as this phantom hangs between us, I can’t have a real relationship with her. I need to get rid of the ghost love interest first.”
“Since you’re asking for time off, I assume that you have a plan?”
“Very astute of you. Yes, I do.”
Kian lifted a brow. “Care to
share?”
“Eh, why not?” Anandur waved a hand. “If I told you that much I might as well tell you the rest.”
“Do you want some whiskey with your story?”
“As if you need to ask. I’ll pour us a drink.” Anandur rose to his feet and walked over to the wet bar.
“So you know how Wonder woke up from the coma in Egypt, right?” He pulled out a half-full bottle of Black Label and filled two glasses to the brim.
“Yeah, I do.”
“That means that the guy she thinks she loves is there. I want to take her back and see if she remembers any more details. If I can find the dude, I can fight him for her.” He handed Kian a glass and took a sip from his.
“Fight him how?”
“When I turn on the charm, no flesh and blood guy can outdo me. A phantom, though, is as perfect as Wonder’s imagination makes him out to be.”
Kian took a long gulp, then put the nearly empty glass on the table. “Wonder might have reservations about going abroad with you. From what you tell me, I understand that the two of you haven’t been romantically involved up until that fateful kiss. Am I right?”
Anandur nodded.
“And you also tell me that she is shy and inexperienced.”
“Right.”
“Before you suggest a trip to Egypt, you need to cozy up to her and make her feel comfortable with you.” The left corner of Kian’s lips lifted in a lopsided smirk. “We all know that she has nothing to worry in regards to you getting handsy with her. The girl proved that she can kick your butt, but she might be concerned about emotional vulnerability.”
Anandur shook his head. He was never going to live that down. From now until eternity, everyone would be making fun of him for getting caught by a girl and then tossed aside as if he were some tiny pipsqueak and not a giant of a man who weighed two hundred and eighty pounds. And that was especially true for all of his defeated sparring partners, which included Kian.
He pointed a finger at Kian’s smirking face. “If she can kick my butt, and we both know that I can kick yours, it means that she can kick your butt as well. True?”
