by I. T. Lucas
Shawn snorted. “You’re wasting your time. No one is going to give you money. I don’t know why you even bother. College education is worthless these days. I’m doing perfectly fine without it.”
Aha. That was the crux of it. Shawn didn’t want his “little wife” gaining a college degree because he didn’t have one.
Asshole. Just for that Brundar should slit his throat. Hell, slicing his head clean off would be even more satisfying.
Why in damnation had Calypso married someone like that?
She seemed like a sensible woman, insightful, a good judge of character. Tomorrow he would ask her what prompted her to say yes when she should’ve said hell no and run as fast and as far as she could.
Had she ever loved him?
Had Shawn charmed her into believing that he was worthy of her love?
Her youth and innocence must’ve blinded her.
How old was she then?
Eighteen?
Nineteen?
Truth be told, at that age Brundar was already a hardened warrior, but then his innocence and naïveté had been shattered years before. He was only twelve when he’d learned his lesson the hard way. Sometimes evil was so well masked by a charming face that even the most guarded and suspicious couldn’t detect it until it was too late.
To this day, the betrayal hurt more than the violation that had followed.
Closing his eyes, Brundar brought up the memory that had been forever playing on a loop in his head. It was what had kept him training when every muscle burned with fatigue and he could barely move his legs. When anyone else would have collapsed from exhaustion, the anger had given him the extra fuel needed to push himself harder.
That memory had helped shape him into the lethal weapon he was.
He had to become invincible.
Fates, he’d been such a soft boy. A gentle soul that wouldn’t have harmed a butterfly. No wonder the human village boys had called him a girl.
His looks hadn’t helped either.
He was too pretty for a boy, they’d said. He should’ve been born a girl, they’d teased. He was a mistake. A freak.
Lachlann had been the only one who befriended him, probably because he’d been as much of an outcast as Brundar, though for different reasons that Brundar had been too young to understand at the time.
His mother had told him to stay away from the human boys. She’d told him they were up to no good. But like every other teenager throughout history, Brundar hadn’t listened.
As the only boy in their small community of immortals, he was lonely. Besides, at the time he was still a human. At twelve, he’d had an entire year ahead of him before he could transition.
Anandur was a grown man, a warrior, who’d considered Brundar a nuisance—a kid too scrawny and weak to bother even with sword practice.
“You should think of becoming a scholar,” Anandur said. “You don’t have the heart of a warrior.”
Brundar chuckled. He’d proven his brother wrong and then some. Not only was he a warrior, he was the best. And as for his heart? It beat steady in his chest during the most vicious of fights.
Calm, cold, calculated, and lethal.
But he hadn’t been born this way. He’d been made. A living proof that even the lowliest of beginnings can produce a champion.
There was a price to pay, but Brundar hadn’t minded giving up his so-called humanity. It was a good thing. He had done so gladly. Humans were traitorous, deceitful, and cruel.
Not all of them, but enough.
“Let’s go fishing,” Lachlann offered.
Brundar would’ve loved nothing better than to join his best friend at the lake. “I cannae. My mam forbids it.”
“Do ye always do what your mam tells ye?”
“I dinnae.” Brundar puffed out his chest. “Wait for me by the lake,” he told Lachlann. “I’m going to sneak out.”
He’d lied. Brundar had usually listened to his mother, and to Anandur. But to admit it would’ve made him look even more of a wuss than everyone had accused him of being.
He’d waited until his mother went out, grabbed his fishing pole, and sprinted for the lake.
Sitting side by side on a big rock protruding from the shallow water, Lachlann and Brundar waited patiently for a fish to get hooked like they had done many times before.
Lachlann had moved a little closer, draping his arm over Brundar’s slim shoulders.
“You know you are my best friend? Right?”
“I know. And you are mine.”
“You have such pretty hair.” Lachlann grabbed a fistful of Brundar’s chin-length hair and brought it to his nose. “You smell nice too.”
Brundar shrugged. “I wash myself.”
“I know. I saw you.”
“So?” That summer, they had swum naked in the lake almost every day. All the boys were doing it with nothing on.
“Nothing.” Lachlann dropped Brundar’s hair.
He should’ve seen the signs, but he hadn’t known about things like that yet. Brundar had had a good idea about what went on between a man and a woman. Living with animals, most everyone had those days, but not that the same could happen between two men.
Chapter 13: Callie
Just as he’d promised, Brundar walked into Aussie exactly at eight, turning everyone’s heads, men and women alike.
It wasn’t every day that a gorgeous man with waist-long, pale-blond hair walked into the restaurant. He looked more like a movie star or a rocker than a bodyguard. But that was only upon casual observation. Those who dared to look at him for a little longer noticed his hard expression and cold as ice gaze, quickly averting their eyes.
There was a deadly aura around him that should’ve terrified her, but instead it made her feel safer. Brundar was putting all that lethal power at Callie’s disposal. He was going to hold her within the bounds of that aura, where no one and nothing could hurt her.
There was no safer place for her than at his side. Or behind his back. Whatever spot worked.
The question was what price he’d demand for his protection services. Frankly, she would be more than happy to pay up. Whatever he wanted was his.
In fact, she was hoping he would make the demand and was afraid he wouldn’t.
“Are you ready?” Brundar asked, not bothering with a hello.
Efficient, not rude, Callie reminded herself.
She’d already transferred the care of her customers to another waiter and was ready to go on her break.
“Hi, and yes, I’m ready.”
He nodded.
“Do you want to sit out on the patio again?”
He nodded again.
Today Brundar was communicating with even less than the monosyllables from the day before yesterday. Was it a sign of stress? Was he more talkative when relaxed?
Callie hoped she would get to know him well enough to figure that out.
“Come on.” She threaded her arm through his.
For a moment, he looked surprised, glancing at her hand on his arm, but then pulled her a little closer so their sides touched, but not as close as a lover would.
Out on the patio, she found them a table in a semi-secluded corner, signaling Suzan, whose shift had just started, that she was claiming it.
With a wink, Suzan gave her the thumbs up.
Her astute coworkers weren’t buying the cousin from Scotland story.
“Are you hungry?” she asked Brundar.
“Always.”
Callie waved her friend over. “My cousin would like to order dinner.”
Suzan pulled out her best smile for him. “What would you like?”
“Your largest steak, medium well, mash potatoes, and a Chivas.”
“Excellent choices, sir. And for you, Callie?”
“A mojito, but tell Tony to make it light. I still have a shift to finish.”
“Anything to eat?”
“No, thank you.”
“Perfect. I’ll get your drinks.”
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“Have you decided?” Brundar asked the moment Suzan was out of earshot.
The guy didn’t beat around the bush and neither would she. He’d probably get annoyed if she did. “Yes. I’m going to take you up on your offer.”
His stoic mask slipped for a moment, showing relief. “Good.”
“I have a few concerns, though, that I would like to run by you.”
“Naturally.”
“My father and my best friend. How do I ensure their safety? The first place Shawn will look for me is at my father’s and then at Dawn’s. What if he threatens them? Or worse, harms them?”
“It’s a valid concern. Where do they reside?”
“My father is in South Carolina, and Dawn in Massachusetts.”
“Good. It means that Shawn would have to buy a plane ticket to get to either of them. I have a friend who can put an alert on him.”
Brundar sure had useful friends, but it wasn’t surprising given what he did for a living. He probably had the whole protection thing figured out.
“Just out of curiosity, how is your friend going to do that? Don’t you have to work for the government?”
A smile tugged at the corner of Brundar’s lips, which in his case meant that he was very amused. “Who said my friend is not working for the government?” He leaned closer and whispered, “He’ll flag your soon to be ex-husband as a suspected terrorist.”
Callie chuckled. “I love it. It’s perfect.”
Suzan arrived with their drinks and a bread basket. “I’ll have your dinner ready in a few minutes.” She winked. “I put a rush on it.”
“You’re the best, Suzan.”
“I know.” She sauntered over to the next table. “What can I get you, folks?”
“Any other concerns?” Brundar asked.
She sighed. “Where do I start?”
“The order doesn’t matter.”
Sheesh, the guy was so literal. “Where do I stay? What about my car? What if Shawn goes to the police and files a missing persons report? Where will I work? How will I get to work if I don’t have a car? And if I find work in another restaurant, will he be able to find me there?”
“I’ll find you a place to stay.”
“Where?”
“Leave it to me. I know a lot of people. I’ll ask around if anyone needs a house sitter.”
“What if no one does?”
“Then I’ll give you a room at the club.”
The kinky portion?
Not something she was comfortable with, but as the saying went—beggars can’t be choosers.
“I don’t want to dump all of my problems on you, but I really don’t know what else I’m going to do. It would’ve been so much simpler if I didn’t need to hide. But I know I do. I’m going to take half of what’s in our savings account, but it’s not much. I need to work.”
“You can work at the nightclub. Serve drinks. I’ll have Franco pay you cash. The car is not a problem either, the same person who needs a house sitter will probably have a car idling in the garage. You can borrow it until the divorce is final.”
If it all sounded too good to be true, it probably was.
But what choice did she have?
It was either accept the help or stay with Shawn and be miserable and scared for the rest of her life.
The deciding factor was that she felt safer with this stranger than with her husband.
Brundar was dangerous, even lethal, but not to her and not any other decent person. His enemies, however, or any who earned his wrath should be terrified.
The problem was that she was basing it all on a gut feeling, and it was difficult to read a man who displayed no emotions. Brundar’s usual expression was an impassive mask, and when he spoke, it was in a flat tone with no inflection. In a movie, he could’ve played the part of a robot. She was betting her safety on the little glimpses of humanity she’d caught, and a sixth sense that was telling her Brundar wasn’t evil.
Shawn, on the other hand, reeked of it, metaphorically speaking. Not from the very start, though. When she’d first met him, he was just a bully who pushed and manipulated to get his way.
He’d changed. Was he on something? Was he doing drugs?
She knew for a fact that on occasion he’d lied about going to work and had gone someplace else. He wasn’t making as much in commissions as he used to either. Lately, his pay had dwindled down.
Was that the reason for his nasty moods? Men associated their self-worth with success at work. Maybe he was feeling insecure and taking it out on her?
Except, the decline in earnings had started about the time she’d given up, and Callie no longer cared. Besides, confronting him about it would have resulted in another temper tantrum.
“Calypso? Are you with me?”
She shook her head. “Yes, I’m sorry. Where were we?”
“The last item on your list of concerns. Shawn reporting you missing. You call your father and your friend and tell them you left and that you fear for your life. He’ll call them, looking for you. They’ll tell him that you left.”
And incur his wrath.
But Brundar had this covered too. They would have plenty of advance warning if Shawn made travel plans.
Callie let out a breath. “Okay.”
“When?”
“A week from now. Will you meet me here?”
“What time?”
“Five. When my shift is supposed to start. I’ll stop by the bank on my way and take out half the money. I’ll leave my phone here. Shawn will think I’m at work. It will give me a few hours’ head start.”
“Why take only half? You’re leaving everything else behind. Shouldn’t you take more?”
Callie shook her head. “If I could afford to, I would have left that behind as well. The fewer reasons he has to come after me the better. I’m not going to ask for anything in the divorce settlement either. I just want my freedom.”
Chapter 14: Brundar
On his way back to the keep, Brundar went over the list of things he needed to prepare for Calypso by next Thursday.
First, he needed to rent her an apartment or a house, furnished if possible and if not, do it post haste, and plant fake personal items to make it look as if it belonged to someone who was coming back, giving it a lived in look.
As it was, she had a hard time accepting his help. He needed to keep up the façade of a Good Samaritan who wanted nothing in return.
A lie, because he wanted her like he’d never wanted a woman before, but that was beside the point. He wasn’t going to act on it. Not even if he were human or she an immortal. He wasn’t what she needed and would never be.
The thing was, it would be impossible to convince Calypso of that if she ever found out that he’d lied to her about the friend who needed a house sitter, and rented an apartment for her instead.
The car was a problem. He could buy her one, but his name would appear on the registration. Unless he asked Kian for another set of fake papers, or Anandur to buy it for him.
Brundar didn’t want his brother or anyone else from the clan involved.
Another possible solution was to find her a place to live within walking distance of the club so she wouldn’t need a car.
Or maybe he could give Franco the money and ask him to buy it as part of her compensation package.
Yeah, like that wouldn’t start a thousand questions.
As it was, they didn’t need another waitress in the nightclub, and he was not letting Calypso anywhere near the basement level, even if she weren’t way under the new age limit they insisted on.
What he’d said about giving her a room in the club was another lie. If by next week he still didn’t have a place for her, he’d put her in a hotel.
It wasn’t that Brundar felt the club was inappropriate for Calypso, she could probably benefit from hanging around there. Franco didn’t allow public scenes, and everything happened in private rooms. The public area was a place to hang out and talk with othe
rs, with the benefit of being able to discuss openly experiences, preferences, and lifestyles. Different classes were held almost nightly.
Members could learn bondage techniques, and get introduced to the latest toys and their use. Classes were held on everything from proper etiquette and safety measures, all the way to lectures on the psychology and physiology involved. Most were taught either by Franco or other experienced club members, but on occasion, Franco brought in guest speakers.
Brundar himself had learned a thing or two over the four years he’d been a member.
The real reason he didn’t want Calypso there was that she wasn’t ready. It would be a long time before she felt safe enough to trust a man again. Her bad experience with Shawn had to fade first.
Except, it might not.
Time didn’t do a thing for Brundar. He still didn’t trust anyone aside from Anandur, and he didn’t trust his brother with everything either.
Brundar’s experience, however, had been much more traumatic, which might have explained why he needed complete control in sexual situations. Hell, who was he kidding, there was no situation he could think of where he could let go, but it was most apparent with sex.
Brundar liked his partners tied up, blindfolded, and facing away from him.
Everything else was negotiable. But not that.
If a woman refused his demands, he walked out.
Needs and wants didn’t always align, and that was fine. He respected the hell out of those who were clear on what they wanted and didn’t want and weren’t afraid of saying no.
It still left many who liked what he had to give, as evidenced by his popularity. Brundar never had a shortage of willing partners or repeat requests. Within the limitations of what he would and wouldn’t do, he left his partners fully satisfied and craving the next time.
He, on the other hand, was always left with a sense that something was missing. Brundar suspected the culprit was his muted ability to feel. Even casual sex required some sort of connection, which he was incapable of.
He was hollow, empty, untouchable, and it went deeper than the physical level.
