DARK ANGEL'S SEDUCTION

by I. T. Lucas

When Sylvia left the room, Roni asked the most pertinent question. “Tell me about your equipment. I need to know what I got to work with.”

  William’s face brightened with the first real smile since he’d gotten there. “You’re in for a real treat, Roni. I have the best setup in the world.”

  “I highly doubt it. Until yesterday, I worked with the finest setup the government of the United States of America can put together. I’m sure it’s the best in the world. You can’t possibly have anything even remotely as powerful.”

  “You’ll be singing a different tune once I tell you what I got.”

  CHAPTER 9: BRUNDAR

  Brundar knocked on Onegus’s door.

  “Come in.”

  “I’m leaving early today,” he said as he walked in, stopping a couple of feet away from Onegus’s desk.

  “Again? What about your evening classes?”

  “Taken care of.”

  Instead of the reprimand Brundar had been expecting, the chief Guardian smirked. “So it’s true. You’ve got yourself a woman.”

  Out of respect for his superior, Brundar didn’t tell him to fuck off. Instead, he lifted a brow then turned on his heel and walked out.

  What a bunch of juvenile busybodies. Given the respect the Guardians were regarded with by the rest of the clan, they should at least behave like the warriors they were supposed to be. In war and in peacetime.

  Besides, Brundar didn’t have a woman. Calypso wasn’t his. She was a temporary distraction he needed to get out of his system. Maybe his obsession with her would end once he finally bedded her.

  If he were lucky, it was the same for her. Once she satisfied her curiosity, she might realize he wasn’t the right guy for her. Because he wasn’t. He wasn’t the right guy for any woman.

  It would be best if she pushed him away.

  Hell, he had a feeling that as long as it was up to him to break them up, it was not going to happen anytime soon. When Calypso pushed his buttons, he responded. She controlled him as if he had no mind of his own.

  Brundar shook his head. It boiled down to two options. Either Calypso stopped pushing those buttons of her own volition, or he ensured she had no access to them.

  To prove his newfound resolve or rather lack thereof, he stopped by a liquor store to get the wine and cocktail fixings he’d promised her because he was a man of his word, and not because he felt as if Calypso’s dinner invitation was a date and it would be rude to arrive empty-handed. Leaving everything in the cardboard box the cashier had given him would send the right message—no fancy wrapping paper and no sappy cards to give her the wrong idea.

  As Brundar let himself into the building using the extra set of keys and took the stairs up to her apartment, the smell of delicious food made him salivate in anticipation.

  He rapped his knuckles on her door.

  A moment later, Calypso opened the way, rendering him breathless and speechless.

  “Hi.” She looked at the box tucked under his arm.

  It took him a moment to respond. “You look beautiful.” He couldn’t stop his eyes from roaming up and down her body.

  Her hair was done in big fat waves, her green eyes were emphasized by long lashes painted black, and her perfect body was encased in a knee-length, strapless black dress that had no visible zipper, which meant it could be pulled down or up with a single tug.

  A pair of small, gold earrings was all the jewelry she had on, but then Calypso didn’t need any decorations to accentuate her beauty. Dressed in that curve-hugging dress, a pair of tall, spiky heels making her legs look amazing, she was sure to cause men to drool and stutter, which meant she was never leaving her apartment in that getup unless escorted by him.

  The woman was beautiful in jeans and sneakers, with no makeup and her hair gathered in a ponytail. All decked out she was a stunner.

  A smile brightened Calypso’s face. “Thank you. You look amazing. But then you always do.” She motioned for him to get in.

  Brundar had put on the grey slacks and the blue button-down shirt not because this was a date, but out of respect for all the trouble Calypso had gone to in preparing this special dinner.

  Damnation. Who was he fooling? It was a date, and they’d both dressed up for the occasion.

  Putting the box on the kitchen counter, Brundar started pulling out the assortment of wines, liqueurs, and vodkas he’d bought. “Where do you want me to put these?”

  She looked at the number of bottles and shook her head. “One could go on the table, and the rest wherever you find space. I guess the vodka can go into the freezer.”

  When he was done, Calypso showed him to the dining table. “Please, take a seat.”

  He remained standing. “Do you need help bringing things from the kitchen?”

  “I’ve got it. You can uncork the wine. Other than that just sit down and prepare to get pampered.”

  Why did that sound so good?

  Had he ever been pampered?

  Not even as a boy. His mother was a lovely woman, but she’d been a scatter-brained mother who’d often forgotten to prepare meals for him. Anandur would bring something he’d killed, skinning and roasting it over an open fire, and Brundar had done the same to the fish he’d occasionally caught.

  Though after Lachlann’s betrayal, he’d never fished or eaten fish again.

  Even the smell of anything fishy brought on nausea.

  Brundar reached for the wine bottle. This was not the time to bring up bothersome memories. This was a time to enjoy getting pampered by a beautiful woman.

  Probably the only time he would, so he’d better enjoy it.

  Uncorking the wine, Brundar poured it into the two wine glasses, then sat down and admired the table.

  A white tablecloth, two candlesticks, a vase with several cut flowers, and cutlery for two.

  He wondered how meals were served in other human households. Was dinner a formal affair like this one? Did families gather around a dining table or eat at the kitchen counter? Did it make a difference?

  After all, food was food and how it was served wasn’t important. Or was it?

  Calypso walked in with a bowl in each hand. “Onion soup with cheese crostini.” She placed one in front of Brundar, then sat across from him with the other. “Bon appetit.”

  “Thank you.” Brundar dipped his spoon in the soup and brought it to his mouth. “Delicious,” he said after taking two more spoonfuls.

  Calypso beamed with pride. “Thank you. This is just a simple dish. Wait until I bring out the next one: spicy grilled shrimp over shaved fennel slaw.”

  Before he could think better of it, Brundar grimaced.

  Calypso’s smile wilted. “What’s the matter? You don’t like fennel? Or shrimps?”

  If he could stomach it without getting nauseated, Brundar would have shut up and eaten. But barfing over Calypso’s masterpiece was worse than admitting he didn’t eat shrimp.

  “I don’t like seafood. Can you serve the slaw without the shrimp?”

  “Certainly. I’m sorry. I should’ve asked you beforehand if you were allergic to anything, or if there was anything you didn’t like. It’s just that Shawn ate everything, so it didn’t cross my mind.”

  “I don’t like to hear about your ex while eating.”

  Calypso flushed red. “Oops. Sorry. I don’t like it either. It’s an appetite spoiler.”

  Brundar lifted his wine glass. “To a new life. Let the old one be forgotten.”

  Calypso lifted hers and leaned closer to clink glasses with him. “To a new life.”

  As they drank the wine, Brundar had a passing thought that he should do as he preached. It was hypocritical of him to ask Calypso to forget about her unfortunate marriage while he still clung to old hurts, letting them define who he was and how he lived his life.

  CHAPTER 10: CALLIE

  Embarrassing, Callie thought as she collected the bowls. A good hostess would have checked with her guest about likes and dislikes. She’d been so busy
planning the perfect dinner, it hadn’t crossed her mind that Brundar might have a problem with any of it.

  At least he’d enjoyed the onion soup as evidenced by his empty bowl.

  The slaw wasn’t really a big deal either. The shrimp and the slaw were stored in separate containers in the fridge, so she could just omit the shrimp. If Brundar didn’t like seafood, the smell would probably bother him. She could have them for lunch the next day.

  But the slaw on its own was more of a side dish than an appetizer. Serving it as a separate course wouldn’t look right. Instead, she decided to go straight to the main course and add it to the plates.

  Taking her time to arrange everything the way she’d seen chefs on television, Callie looked at her creation with satisfaction. Not perfect, but pretty damn good for a home cook who’d learned her stuff from searching recipes on the Internet and watching YouTube to see how it was done.

  “Fennel and rosemary-crusted rack of lamb, with spicy-sweet pepper medley, and fennel slaw,” Callie announced as she carried the two plates to the dining room table.

  “Sounds fancy.” Brundar stood up and took one of the plates off her hands. “Smells good too.”

  She sat down and pulled a napkin over her knees. “Bon appetit.”

  The look of bliss on Brundar’s face was worth the hours of effort Callie had put into preparing this meal.

  Would he look as blissed out during sex?

  Regrettably, she wasn’t going to find out anytime soon. Brundar had made it clear that the blindfold wasn’t coming off. Ever.

  We’ll see about that.

  After finishing almost everything on his plate, Brundar lifted his head and glanced at her. “Aren’t you eating?”

  “I’m full.”

  He looked at her plate. “You’ve barely touched anything.”

  “I kept tasting what I was making while cooking it, and I was already quite full when we sat down to eat. The soup finished the job.”

  She smiled when Brundar glanced at her plate longingly. “Would you like to finish it for me?” She hoped he wasn’t grossed out by her offer. Shawn had had no problem polishing her plate clean. But Brundar wasn’t Shawn, and thank God for that.

  “Are you sure? You could save it for later.”

  “I’m sure.” Callie pushed her plate toward him. “I have plenty left over.”

  That settled it for him. In a matter of minutes, he cleaned her plate as well.

  “Can I get you more?”

  He shook his head and leaned back in his chair. “I’m more than full. Thank you. This was the best meal I ever had.”

  Callie chuckled. “Thank you for the compliment, but I guess you’ve never eaten in a gourmet restaurant. Not that I ever had the pleasure, but I’m sure I can’t compare.”

  “On the contrary. One of my cousins is a gourmet chef, and until today I considered his cooking the best.”

  Obviously, he was exaggerating. All she did was find interesting recipes to make. That didn’t make her a chef. Those people invented the recipes.

  “Thank you.” Then the other part of what he’d said registered and she lifted a brow. “Another cousin? How many cousins do you have?”

  “Many.”

  “It must be nice having such a big family.”

  “In some ways it is. In others, it is not.”

  “Like what?”

  He shrugged. “It’s good to have a safety net. As annoying as my family can get, I know they will catch me if I fall. But when those busybodies, who don’t understand the concept of privacy and boundaries, meddle in my life, I’m not sure the net is worth it. It can be suffocating.”

  Callie heard little of what Brundar had said after his first sentence. She was taken by the idea of having a safety net comprised of family members who cared.

  It was a rarity in the modern world.

  How different would life have been if she’d had that? Not that she would have asked for help. But knowing it was there and available if she needed it desperately enough would’ve made her life a lot less stressful.

  Would her father have recovered sooner after losing her mom if he’d had help?

  He might not have sunk into depression if he’d had a support system in place. Brothers, sisters, and cousins who would have taken turns making sure he was okay and helped him raise his daughter.

  “I wish I had a large family that actually cares. You should be grateful for yours.”

  “I am. Defending the clan is my job, and I regard it as both a duty and a privilege.”

  “A whole clan? And what about your cousin the big shot with the butler whom you guard, isn’t he your priority?”

  “That’s part of my job too. He manages the family business for all of us. My brother and I make sure no harm comes to him.”

  Fascinating. It almost sounded like a mob organization. But Brundar was too honorable of a man to take part in something illegal.

  “I think so too. I mean about it being a duty and a privilege.”

  Brundar dipped his head. “I’m glad you see it my way.”

  “I wish I could be part of your clan.” She regretted the words the moment they’d left her mouth. The meaning he could attach to them could be very different from what she meant by them. Callie felt her cheeks get hot. “I mean to be under the protective umbrella of it, I didn’t mean to say that I wish you’d marry me or anything like that.”

  A sad smile tugged on Brundar’s thin lips. “Of course, not. You’re too young to be thinking of marriage. The first one robbed you of your youth. You need to attend college, get your degree, and then get a job doing what you love doing. Not to mention the partying a young woman like you should partake in. All those things need to happen before you settle down again.”

  All true, except for the partying. The train had left the station on that a long time ago. What the heck did she have in common with a bunch of college kids? They might be the same age as her, but that didn’t put them on an equal footing. Life had made her older than her years.

  “Speaking of college. I’ll take you up on your offer to produce a fake ID for me. I hope you’re right about the administration accommodating my situation. It’s not like I have a restraining order against Shawn I can show them as proof.”

  “Don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of the fake papers, and I’ll make sure they don’t give you any problems over the name change.”

  “Don’t tell me. You have another cousin working at UCLA.”

  That got a real smile out of him. “Not as far as I know. But my government contacts can come in handy again.”

  Callie shook her head. “Amazing. I still can’t believe how lucky I am to have you as a friend. Fate must’ve prompted me to go to your club that night.”

  Brundar shifted in his chair. “Are we friends, Calypso?”

  She winked. “With benefits.”

  Brundar ignored the suggestive remark, pretending as if he didn’t know its meaning. Not his usual style, true, Brundar was quite direct. But she couldn’t believe a handsome young guy like him didn’t know what the phrase friends with benefits meant.

  CHAPTER 11: BRUNDAR

  Calypso rose to her feet and collected their plates. “Are you ready for dessert?”

  “There is dessert?”

  “Cinnamon-orange crème brûlée.”

  Brundar’s eyes almost rolled back in his head. “I can’t wait to taste it.”

  Talk about pampering. If she were an immortal, he would’ve proposed right there—the whole ridiculous thing of dropping to one knee and begging her to become his. Not really, he wasn’t husband material, but the thought felt good. Evidently, Anandur was rubbing off on him because that was something his brother would have done.

  He should help. Calypso had worked hard to prepare this amazing dinner, and that was pampering enough.

  Pushing his chair back, Brundar got up and followed Calypso to the kitchen. “Can I make coffee?”

  She smiled up at him. “Sure. Yo
u’re good with that machine. I liked my coffee this morning.”

  Yeah, as if putting a pod into the coffeemaker and filling it with water was rocket science.

  “I’m good with a lot of things. Anything kitchen related is not one of them.”

  “Good. Otherwise, there would’ve been nothing left for me to do for you, which would’ve bothered me. You did so much for me. You still do.”

  Brundar wanted to tell her that there was no need but stopped himself in time. For Calypso, it wasn’t just about gratitude, she seemed to genuinely like cooking. The right thing to do was to thank her and tell her how much he’d enjoyed himself.

  “I need to keep coming up with things I can do for you, just so you keep feeding me.”

  “It’s my pleasure. You’re welcome anytime.” Calypso removed the foil from two small serving dishes and sprinkled sugar over them. “This should be done at the dinner table, but I’m afraid I’ll set the place on fire.” She pulled out a gas torch from a drawer.

  “I suggest you stand back.” She waved the torch.

  “What are you going to do?” He stepped back, his eyes following the device in her hand.

  “Just watch.”

  Switching the torch on, Calypso aimed the flame down at one of the dishes. The sugar caught fire, browned, and a moment later the flames died out. She repeated the process with the other one.

  “Yay! I did it!” Grabbing her creations, she carried them to the dining room.

  Brundar waited until the coffee maker finished brewing, filled two cups and brought them to the table. “I didn’t know cooking involved such risks.”

  “That’s only risky in the hands of an amateur, like me. Professional cooks have it down.”

  She didn’t seem like a novice to him.

  “How many of those did you make?”

  She smiled sheepishly. “That’s my second time. Let’s see how well they turned out.”

  Brundar picked up the little spoon and scooped some of the crème into his mouth.

  Bliss.

  “What do you think? Is it any good?”

  “It’s excellent.”