by I. T. Lucas
“I’ll take a shredded back over a dead friend any day.”
Taking a deep breath, Kri exhaled through her mouth. “Where do you want to train me?”
“Same place you’re going to do it an hour from now.”
With a groan, Kri nodded.
“Thank you.”
“You owe me. And if after this I can’t sleep, you owe me more.”
“Think of it as an exercise in toughening up.”
She waved a hand. “Yeah, yeah.”
An hour later, Kri had mastered the basics of wielding a whip, but she was still far from skilled. It didn’t matter. Where Brundar prided himself on never breaking the skin, Kri was expected to do just that. She was supposed to deliver a punishment, not satisfy a kink.
She looked like she was going to a funeral. He owed Kri a big favor for this.
“Don’t overthink it.” He patted her shoulder. “Remember that I asked for it. I could’ve taken jail time instead and refused because I didn’t want to waste time. Besides, I’m going to be as good as new in forty-eight hours or less.”
She squared her shoulders. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to faint on you.”
“I know you won’t.”
Edna entered the chamber followed by Kian. Trailing behind them were the rest of the Guardians, including his brother who looked even more pissed now than during Brundar’s earlier sentencing.
Per Brundar’s request, Edna omitted the details of his personal involvement in the matter, only stating that he’d confessed to using an unlawful thrall, and the punishment appropriate for such transgression according to their law.
“No mitigating circumstances?” Anandur had tried to argue in Brundar’s defense.
“Declined by the offender.” Edna hadn’t elaborated, protecting Brundar’s privacy.
When Anandur’s attempts to drag the details of what he’d done out of him had failed, he’d made it clear in so many words that he was done with Brundar and his shitty attitude.
He’d get over it. Even though Brundar didn’t deserve it, his brother always forgave him.
Taking his shirt off, he dropped it on the floor, then disarmed, pulling out every one of the knives he carried on his body and putting them down on the shirt. When he was done, he wrapped them into a tight bundle and handed it to Anandur. “Keep them safe and try not to cut yourself.”
Anandur growled. “Now you’re making a joke? Screw you.”
Brundar turned around and faced Edna. “I’m ready. I chose the Guardian Kri to deliver my penance.”
Edna nodded. “Proceed. Ten strokes.”
Given his repeat offense, it was a merciful number, and he’d made the mistake of pointing it out to Edna.
Never a good thing to piss off the judge.
With a chilling smile, she’d informed him that she could still slap a week of incarceration on top of the whipping. That had shut him up.
Bracing his hands against the cool stone, Brundar closed his eyes and slipped into the zone. The soft murmurs of the Guardians faded away, and all that was left was quiet. Ready, he dipped his head once, giving Kri the signal they’d agreed on.
Chapter 40: Callie
Working at Franco’s, Callie’s schedule consisted of waking up at ten in the morning, two hours of studying, and then lunch. After that, she was free to do as she pleased until her shift started at eight in the evening.
Plenty of time to do nothing.
She’d downloaded a bunch of books on her tablet, spending several blissful afternoons curled up on the couch reading. But the novelty of having so much free time had worn off soon.
Callie was bored and lonely.
No one ever came in.
Brundar, Franco, and the bouncers who sometimes walked her home after her shift never crossed the threshold of her apartment.
When her buzzer went off at four in the afternoon, it was a pleasant surprise.
She padded barefoot to the monitor by the door and pressed the intercom.
“Hi, Brundar.” She tried to sound casual even though her heart started thudding in her rib cage the moment she saw who it was.
“Let me in, Calypso.”
“Of course.”
For a few, seconds she couldn’t tear her eyes away from Brundar, watching him push the lobby’s door open and walk in until he disappeared from the camera’s view. Only then did she make a mad dash for her bedroom to brush her hair and put a bra on. There was no time to change out of her pajama pants or look for a better T-shirt.
He’d never just popped in before. But at least he’d given her a few moments’ notice by buzzing her intercom. Callie was sure Brundar had another set of keys, but it was decent of him not to use it.
Her stoic, indifferent protector was a man of honor.
She wished he had a little less of all three qualities. Less stoic and more feeling, less indifferent and more interested, less honorable and more forward.
It should’ve been illegal to be so attractive and so cold at the same time.
He hadn’t been cold that one time he kissed her, though.
Callie sighed and rushed back to the living room to open the door.
“Hi,” she said as she let him in.
Brundar smiled, actually smiled, showing a little bit of teeth. It was so shocking that she had to ask, “What are you so happy about?”
“I have a present for you.” He handed her a large envelope.
“What is it?” She started opening the flap.
“Your freedom.”
Her hands trembled as she finished pulling out the stack of papers. “How?”
It had been only two weeks since Shawn had been served. She hadn’t known he’d even signed them, interpreting the silence from the attorney to mean nothing was happening yet.
“A little persuasion.”
“Did you beat him up to have him sign so fast?” She leveled Brundar with a hard stare. Not that she minded terribly if he had, but she did mind that he hadn’t told her about it.
Brundar shrugged. “I didn’t have to beat him up to have him sign. As I told you before, I can be very persuasive.”
He wasn’t lying, but he wasn’t telling her the whole truth either. “Is he okay?”
“That depends on what you consider okay.”
She rolled her eyes. A question addressed to Brundar needed to be precise. “Is he in the morgue? Or in a hospital with broken bones?”
“No.”
Exasperated, she threw her hands in the air. “Please, just tell me what you mean without me having to drag every freaking word out of you.”
He seemed taken aback by her outburst, his pale blue eyes widening for a moment. “Shawn’s mind is twisted. The world would be a better place without him. But my hands are tied by the law and by your request not to harm him.”
Letting out a breath, Callie let her head drop. She felt so bad for snapping at him. It was no way to repay the guy after all he’d done for her. “Thank you. For everything.”
He nodded.
“Please, would you like to take a seat?” She pointed at the couch.
Without answering, he walked over and sat down, his back straight as an arrow, his legs crossed at the knee.
“Can I offer you a drink? Coffee?” He’d never made good on his promise to bring her a good wine. After their kiss, Brundar had turned from cold to icy. Not in an angry way, or dismissive, just remote and indifferent. He might as well have painted a sign on his forehead saying ‘I’m not interested’.
“Do you want to have dinner with me?” he asked.
It took a great effort not to let her jaw drop. Brundar was asking her out?
Impossible.
Maybe he wanted her to make him dinner? He liked her cooking. “Would you like me to whip up something quick for us instead?”
His eyes brightened. “Your fajitas were exceptional.”
Callie guessed it was a yes. “I don’t have the ingredients for fajitas, but I can make something else.
If you’d given me advance notice, I would have cooked you a gourmet five-course meal.”
“You can do that?”
She chuckled. He was so literal. “I’m a good cook, but calling what I do gourmet is a slight exaggeration.” To demonstrate, she put two fingers together with barely any space between them.
Brundar smiled again.
Wow, at this rate she might make him laugh. Wouldn’t that be a great achievement? Worthy of a mention in The Guinness Book of World Records?
“Let me see what I have to work with.” She turned around and headed for the refrigerator.
Brundar followed, taking a seat on the same barstool he’d sat on the other time she’d cooked for him.
Maybe that was the ticket.
Wasn’t there a saying that the way to a man’s heart was through his stomach?
“I can make lasagna but it will take too long. Do you like Thai?” Holding the fridge door open she turned her head around, catching him ogling her ass.
If he was embarrassed about getting caught, he didn’t show it. Brundar’s austere, handsome face was expressionless as ever.
“I will like anything you make.”
It was such a nice thing to say, and if it were anyone else she would have interpreted it as flirting. But Brundar meant it literally.
Either way, she knew it was a compliment. That didn’t mean, however, that she couldn’t tease him about it.
“Did you mean to say that you think I’m a good cook and that you’re sure everything I make tastes good, or that you’re not particular about what you put in your mouth?” She pulled out a few ingredients from the fridge, then opened the pantry in search of a can of coconut cream.
“You know the answer. I told you I liked your fajitas.”
Callie winked. “I’m just teasing you. Trying to loosen you up a bit.”
He pinned her with a hard stare she couldn’t decipher, sending shivers of desire dancing along her spine. She waited for him to say something, admonish her for suggesting he wasn’t loose enough, or for teasing him, but he remained silent.
Oh, well.
Pulling out a cutting board, she started chopping vegetables into large chunks. The way Brundar was following her every move, as if he was her apprentice and was trying to commit every detail to memory, it was a miracle she didn’t slice off a finger.
Having his undivided attention was doing strange things to her. She’d never had anyone focus on her like that. Even during the good times with Shawn, when he’d still been charming and attentive, the focus had always been on him, not her.
He’d talked and she listened, he’d told jokes and she’d laughed.
In a way, it had suited her. To be with Shawn hadn’t taken much effort on her part. Not in the beginning. But then he’d changed, or maybe she’d just started seeing him more clearly. Being around him had felt like being next to a black hole—he’d sucked the life out of her.
With Brundar it was the opposite. It was all up to her. With laser-like focus, he listened and he watched as she talked, as she made jokes. Being around him was like getting hooked to an electrical outlet, the sizzling current between them filling her with energy, with life.
The powerful vibe he exuded wasn’t stifling, it was like pure oxygen to a smoldering fire, igniting a dangerous flame.
Chapter 41: Brundar
He shouldn’t have stayed.
It was pure torture pretending he didn’t know Calypso wanted him, ignoring the scent of her arousal. But she’d looked so relieved, her beautiful face relaxed and happy for the first time in months that he wanted to gaze at her for a little longer.
Brundar’s idea had been to celebrate Calypso’s freedom by taking her out to a nice restaurant, but when she’d suggested cooking for him, he could not bring himself to refuse.
Being alone with her, watching her do this for him, was too precious to squander. For a couple of hours, he could pretend she was his. That he was normal. That he was sharing his life with her.
That he had a mate.
Brundar shook his head. A human couldn’t be his mate. And hoping Calypso was a Dormant was like hoping to win the lottery by buying the first ticket.
She had none of the indicators. Not unless cooking could be considered a paranormal talent.
“Do you think I’m safe from Shawn now? Do you think he could still come after me?”
Not in the very near future, but unless Brundar thralled the jerk every couple of weeks, the last thrall he’d put over him would eventually fade. Regrettably, other than Annani none of the clan members had the ability to place a permanent compulsion on a human, and the goddess couldn’t be bothered with every abusive asshole. She would end up doing nothing but.
“No.”
Calypso arched a brow, indicating his answer wasn’t satisfactory. It wasn’t. But he was so used to brushing everyone off with his terse answers he had to relearn how to talk to someone he didn’t want to push away. “His mind is not right. I don’t know how long he is going to hold a grudge against you, but I don’t expect him to forget about it anytime soon.”
She nodded, satisfied with the completeness of his answer, but not with the implication. “What am I going to do in the meantime? I want to get my teaching degree, maybe even continue and get a Master’s. I can’t do it if I can’t attend classes.”
“You can. With caution.”
She lowered the flame under the wok and leaned against the other side of the cooktop. “Meaning?”
Brundar’s lips twitched. He was starting to rub off on her. Did she notice she just used a one word sentence?”
“To start with, you’ll need to change your name.”
She shook her head. “I was admitted as Calypso Davidson.”
“I’m sure the university’s administration will have no problem with a new name once you explain the circumstances. I can get you a legit new identification. I know a guy.”
“Sure you do. You know a lot of people in the right places.”
“It’s my job.”
“And other than changing my name?”
“A few small changes in appearance. Different hair color and cut, large glasses, different style of clothing.”
She pondered his suggestions for a moment, then nodded. “It won’t fool Shawn up close, but it might from a distance.”
“That’s the idea.”
Calypso let out a breath and uncrossed her arms. “I can live with that. And with a different name, I can open a new bank account, and Franco can start paying me with checks. I can even get myself a car, a cheap, used one I can buy with cash.”
She took out two clean plates from the dishwasher and heaped them with what was in the wok.
“What would you like to drink with that? I only have Diet Coke and orange juice.”
“Water is fine.”
She put the plates on the counter, took out a can of Coke from the fridge and poured him a glass of water from a pitcher she’d kept there.
“Thank you.”
He waited to take the first bite until Calypso sat next to him.
“I hope you don’t mind tofu,” she said.
“I don’t.”
Calypso watched him as he forked a cube together with a few pieces of vegetables and stuffed it in his mouth.
“How is it?”
“Very good.” It was the truth. He wasn’t crazy about tofu, but the dish was so full of flavor it compensated for the tofu’s bland taste.
Calypso chuckled. “I would’ve never pegged you as someone who eats tofu. Not after the steaks you wolfed down at Aussie.”
“My cousin is vegan, and his butler cooks vegan dishes for him. Sometimes my brother and I invite ourselves for lunch.”
She shook her head. “You have a cousin who has a butler? Who has butlers these days? Is he royalty?”
In a way, Kian was royalty. But it would be difficult to explain without revealing too much. “He is a businessman.”
“A very successful one, I
assume.”
“Yes.” Brundar stuffed his mouth with another forkful before Calypso threw more questions at him. In the short time he’d spent with her, he’d talked more than he usually talked in a year. It was tiring. He wasn’t used to that.
Thankfully, she dug into her own plate and for a few minutes they ate in blissful quiet.
It didn’t last long. Calypso put her fork down and wiped her mouth with a napkin. “I should start looking for an apartment. Your friend will want this one back.”
Brundar scrambled for a passable lie. He remembered telling her that his made-up friend was teaching a semester abroad. “He is not coming back anytime soon. They offered him a two-year stint. He is very happy that you’re staying here and making sure his place doesn’t get vandalized.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “He told you that?”
Brundar nodded. Fates, he hated lying.
“When you speak with him again, please tell him I’m grateful and that I’m more than happy to pay him rent.”
If she knew how much the rent was, she would have thought twice before suggesting it. She wasn’t making that kind of money at the club.
“He doesn’t want a tenant. He wants a house sitter. And besides, you need to save up the money you’re making to pay tuition.”
She lowered her head. “Right. I forgot about that.”
Her embarrassment made him uncomfortable. She’d seemed so upbeat and hopeful about her prospects until he’d mentioned the tuition. Maybe what she was making at Franco wasn’t enough.
“If you need help with that, I can loan you the money. Interest free.”
She lifted her eyes to him. “Thank you, but I’ll manage. I’m living rent free.” She run a hand through her hair. “God, Brundar, how will I ever repay you for all this?”
Brundar could’ve said that it was nothing, and heaped on more lies about his nonexistent friend, but he didn’t want to. Instead, he changed the subject. “I would advise against visiting your father and your friend. If Shawn is plotting revenge, he will keep tabs on them, waiting for you to show up.”
“Yeah. I know. Maybe I can get them to meet me somewhere.”
