“Did you have fun?” Anandur asked.

Wonder took her clothes out of the locker and tucked them under her arm. “I like Kri.”

“I don’t want to say it, but I told you so.” He smirked.

“Ground floor,” Wonder said as they entered the elevator.

Naturally, nothing happened.

“William needs to program the elevator to respond to your voice. Ground floor,” he repeated. “Tomorrow I’ll take you to him.”

“Thanks. Can I use the buttons?”

“Until William debugs the voice recognition program to respond to the different accents, the buttons stay on.”

“Why do you need it? Are there people in the village who are not allowed to use the elevators?”

“It’s just another level of security.”

They exited into the pavilion and then through the sliding glass doors into the cool evening air.

“I think Kri is cool, and she really is an amazing fighter,” Wonder said. “She is also a very good teacher. But I don’t think we have anything in common. Kri is a Guardian through and through. It’s like this is who she is, not what she does.”

Anandur arched a brow. “I’m the same way. Does it mean that we can’t be friends?”

Wonder frowned. “You’re more than that.”

“I’m sure that Kri is too. You just need to get to know her better.”

“I guess.”

She sounded embarrassed and unsure, and he should’ve let it go. But he couldn’t help himself. “So you think there is more to me than just being a Guardian, eh?”

Wonder nodded.

“Like what? I’m curious to hear all about my many good qualities.”

Wonder cast him an amused glance. “The walk to my place is too short for that. I can’t possibly list all of your attributes in ten minutes.”

He took her elbow. “No problem. I’m all in for a long stroll.”

“Sounds good to me. But can I drop off my clothes first?” She patted the bundle under her arm.

“Sure. Let me hold them for you.”

“No, that’s okay. I can carry them.”

He pulled on the bundle. “Let me be a gentleman and do this little thing for you.”

“Fine.” She handed him the neatly folded and rolled clothes. “That’s attribute number one, not in importance, it’s just the first one that comes to my mind. You’re a gentleman.”

Anandur lifted his chin. “I’ve grown an inch. What’s the next one?”

“You’re polite, and you don’t use crass language, at least not in front of me. I appreciate that too.”

“Well, that’s part of the first one. I watch my language in front of the ladies.”

She cast him a sidelong glance from under her thick eyelashes. “So you’re different around other guys? Do you cuss a lot when hanging out with the other Guardians?”

“Not really. I can throw the f-bomb here and there or call someone a SOB, but not often. After working with Kian for so long cussing lost its appeal to me. We have very different temperaments. I’m a chill kind of guy while he is a stress ball waiting to explode. I suppose the frequent cussing is his way of releasing some of that pressure.”

Wonder stopped. “Are you serious? Kian? He looks so regal and so refined. I would’ve never guessed it about him.”

Regal and refined my ass.

Next thing she would start gushing about how handsome he was. No female was immune to Kian’s godly good looks, and his crappy attitude probably made him even more desirable.

For reasons Anandur couldn’t understand, women liked bad boys. Should he prod for more?

It was a masochistic move, but again Anandur couldn’t help himself. “He is handsome, isn’t he?”

“Gorgeous.”

Figured that she would think that.

Wonder waved a hand. “He is almost too pretty, for a guy that is. I like more rugged types.” She glanced at him and then blushed profusely.

“Do you think I’m rugged?”

She shrugged.

Sweet. “So I’m a gentleman who doesn't cuss and who is ruggedly handsome. What else?”

“You’re funny.”

“And? That’s it?”

“What else is there?”

“Oh, there is much more.”

As they reached Wonder’s place, she took the bundle from him and put it on one of the steps. “No one is going to take it, right?”

“It’s safe here.”

“I know. It’s a great feeling. I have not felt safe since I woke up from my coma.”

At her admission, a wave of intense protectiveness swept through Anandur. Wrapping his arm around her shoulders, he brought her closer to him. “I promised to keep you safe, lass, and I always keep my promises.”

“That’s because you’re a gentleman.”

As Wonder sighed and leaned into him, resting her head on his bicep, he was ready to forget all about her being too young and kiss her senseless. It was the exact opposite of what her gesture of trust should’ve evoked.

He was a despicable old lecher.

“What’s behind the fence?” she asked, saving them both at the last moment.

“The second phase. Originally, the village was supposed to house only the local clan, but then we got this big operation in motion, and many of the retired Guardians agreed to leave Scotland and come here to help us carry it out. We needed to supply housing for them. But it’s much larger than that. Since we already have the crews here, Kian decided to provide for future expansion and enlarged the scope of work way beyond what was originally planned.”

“Why? Does he expect more of the Scottish clan members to come live here?”

“It’s not likely that many will. Maybe some. Sometimes he just gets carried away. Though this is a really bad time for it. The mission we’ve undertaken is leaching a lot of resources, and money is tight. This is not the right time for grandiose plans.”

“Can you tell me about the mission, or is it a secret?”

It wasn’t a secret, but it wasn’t a pleasant topic for conversation either.

Except, strolling down the pathways with Wonder leaning against him felt so good that Anandur didn’t want it to end. Telling her about the mission would be the perfect excuse to keep on walking.

Hell, he could go on and on about the Chinese crews and their strange prejudices, then continue to tell her about all the special features that had been incorporated into the village, like the water filtration system and the trash incinerators. He had enough material to talk for hours.

“It all started with a luxury yacht and one rotten immortal who was making money on the side by luring young women and then selling them on the sex slave market…”