“Welcome to my home away from home.” Anandur punched the numbers into the keypad and pushed the door open, peeking inside before pulling it all the way to let Wonder in.

Thank the Fates, the place was presentable. He was never again going to complain about the human cleaning service coming once a week and keeping the Guardians’ apartments from looking like pigsties.

Walking inside, Wonder took a look around. “You have more than one place?”

“This used to be the clan’s keep, but after everyone moved into the new village, most of it got rented out. We keep a few apartments for the Guardians who are on rotation here and are training in the basement.”

Wonder didn’t move from the entry. “Should I take my shoes off? Everything looks spotless.”

“No need. We have a cleaning service.” He took her by the elbow and led her to Magnus’s bathroom. “This one is my roomie’s, but since the service was here after we left for San Francisco, it’s all nice and tidy. You can take a shower, and I’ll bring you a T-shirt and a pair of sweatpants of mine.” Having a good excuse for it, he allowed himself a thorough look-over. “It’s good that you’re so tall. My stuff is still going to be too big on you, but at least you’re not going to drown in it.”

Wonder blushed. “Yeah. I guess.”

“What’s the matter?” He bent his knees a little so he could look into her green eyes. “What’s bothering you, lass?”

She shrugged. “I don’t like reminders about my size. I know I’m big for a woman.”

“What? Who told you such nonsense? You’re perfect.” He waved a hand over her body. “You’re tall, not huge. And I happen to like women who don’t need to crank their necks way up to look into my eyes.” He flexed his pectorals, each one separately so they did a little dance. “Most women see only this. I know my muscles are awesome, but I have pretty eyes too.” He pretended to pout.

Wonder couldn’t help but chuckle. “And you’re not shy either.”

“Nope. I know that I’m gorgeous, and I own it,” Anandur said in his best valley-girl impersonation while batting his eyelashes. “Now off with you, girlfriend.” He snapped his fingers.

With one hand on his hip, he kept on snapping the fingers of the other. “Get in there and get cleaned up. I’m going to use the other bathroom, and when I’m done scrubbing the yuk off, I’m going to heat us up something yummy to eat.” He didn’t drop the act until he was done, wresting a few more smiles out of Wonder.

All he had as far as food selection were frozen dinners, which were as far from yummy as it got, but after surviving on rice and beans even those were a huge improvement. Besides, saying yummy went well with his valley-girl persona.

Damn, it felt good to slip into his old self again.

Making people smile was what Anandur liked doing best. So yeah, he was an awesome fighter, but other Guardians were nearly as good, or better at one skill or another. However, there was no one better than him at spreading the cheer.

Except, entertaining would be much more enjoyable while he was all cleaned up and wearing freshly laundered clothes that fit.

Whistling a happy tune, Anandur walked into the bathroom, dropped the clothes he had on into the trash, and stepped into the shower. Cranking the temperature way up, he let the scorching water pelt him for a few moments before attacking the filth.

All throughout the soaping and scrubbing, shampooing and conditioning, he kept on whistling one cheerful tune after the other. At first, he thought that his good mood was about finally getting rid of the filth, but then he had an ‘aha’ moment. It had nothing to do with getting clean and everything to do with getting into his old role and following a familiar pattern, one that had been dearly missed.

Anandur had associated the unease he’d been feeling lately with all the recent changes the clan had undergone. But it wasn’t about the move to the village, or about renting out Amanda and Kian’s penthouses to humans, or even about all the new Guardians that had been added to the force.

None of that had been the real issue.

At the source of it was just one monumental change that had eclipsed all others.

Brundar didn’t need him anymore.

Up until now, Anandur had refused to acknowledge the big chunk missing from his life because doing so would have implied, at least in his own mind, that he wasn’t completely happy about his brother’s good fortune, which was absurd. But the truth was that without having to take care of Brundar and ensuring that his brother was doing okay, Anandur felt lost.

Except, what did it mean?

Was he taking Wonder on as his new project?

Was she an honorary little sister to take Brundar’s place?

The girl was so alone, and she needed a protector, maybe not in the physical sense, but in every other.

She had no one but him to look after her. It was the same as it had been with Brundar, and it felt damn good to be needed again.

After what had happened to Brundar as a boy, his brother had grown into a formidable warrior and didn’t require Anandur’s muscle for protection. But even though he would never admit it, Brundar had needed Anandur to keep him among the living in the metaphysical sense.

The dark abyss that constantly threatened to swallow Brundar up had never been far off. It had lurked in lonely moments of isolation and in the cold space that Brundar called the zone.

The only one standing between its destructive allure and Brundar’s sanity had been Anandur, with his jokes and his smiles and the company of people who gravitated toward him because he was the clown who was cheering everyone up.

Anandur had made sure that Brundar was never alone with his demons for long enough to succumb to them.

But then Callie had taken Anandur’s place and put him out of a job.

Except, it wasn’t really the same with Wonder, not by a long shot.

As much as Anandur would have liked to believe that he was taking her under his wing as a little sister, he knew it for the big fat lie that it was.

Despite his best efforts, he couldn’t stop thinking of her as a woman, albeit one who was much too young for someone like him.

The attraction between them was undeniable.

He might have been able to squash it down if it were only him lusting after her, but her wanting him back made it mission impossible.

Damn, he needed to talk to someone about this. Someone who wouldn’t think he was a dumb ass for believing that the girl was way too young to get involved with an immortal who was nearly a thousand years old.

To get a laugh out of people, Anandur was willing to put himself on the line and act the fool, but not about this.

Maybe he should talk to Vanessa.

The therapist should be able to give him advice. Unless the movies had it right, and all she would do was ask him how he felt about that. If that were all therapists did, then what was the point of going to one?

He might just as well stand in front of the mirror and ask himself how he felt about things.

“Anandur?” Wonder asked from behind the bathroom’s closed door. “Are you about done? I need the clothes you said you’re going to let me borrow.”

Crap, he’d been standing under the water and philosophizing instead of taking care of his girl.

“Look inside my closet,” he called out. “Take whatever you want.”

“Thank you!”