Wonder took a long gulp from the water bottle, then handed it to Anandur. “I think we should go straight to the hotel and save the sightseeing for tomorrow. It’s getting dark.”

“It was a long day, but we can still squeeze in the Colossi of Memnon.” Steering with one hand, he drank his fill before returning the bottle to her. “We’ll have a quick look, take a few pictures with the statues, and then continue to the hotel.”

“Okay.” She screwed the lid back on the bottle and put it inside the cooler bag.

Anandur waited patiently until she was done, then took her hand, brought it to his lips for a kiss, put it on his thigh, and covered it with his.

Unless he was touching her in some way, a feeling of irrational unease started churning in his stomach, intensifying until he made contact with her again.

It had been like that since they’d left the hotel in the morning, and all during the long hours of driving south from Alexandria to Luxor, including the stop at Abydos to visit the monuments there.

Fourteen hours in total, during which Anandur had trouble thinking of anything other than getting Wonder naked as soon as possible.

So yeah, he was an old lecher, but it wasn’t as if Wonder was going to object. The lass seemed just as impatient for him as he was for her.

The ruins in Abydos had provided plenty of nooks and crannies for the two of them to kiss and neck away from prying eyes. In a backward country like Egypt, such behavior would not have been tolerated, and Anandur didn’t want to get his hands dirty beating up opinionated humans during his vacation.

Heck, it was much more than a vacation. It felt like a honeymoon.

Except for the wedding, all the ingredients were there. A couple in love, first lovemaking, luxury hotels, and fascinating sights.

Anandur was spending more on this vacation than he’d spent in his entire long life on everything he’d ever bought, and it was worth every penny. Pampering Wonder was his prerogative, it was his duty and his pleasure. The amount of satisfaction he was deriving from that rivaled that of his Guardian job, which until now had been the primary source of his self-esteem, and what had defined him as a person.

Now, he was Wonder’s mate first and a Guardian second.

Did Brundar feel the same about Callie? Probably.

Why the hell hadn’t the tight-lipped bastard said anything?

Most likely because Anandur wouldn’t have understood and would’ve made fun of him for being a lovesick sap.

Casting a sidelong glance at Wonder, he caught her smiling again. She’d been doing it a lot since last night, which meant that she had loved their lovemaking.

It was quite an accomplishment, if he said so himself.

Tonight, he was going to show her that this was just the beginning, and that she still had a lot to learn about all the ways he could pleasure her.

Damn, he shouldn’t have gone there. Now his stiff shaft was wedged uncomfortably, and he had to release Wonder's hand to rearrange himself.

She glanced down at his crotch. “What were you thinking about just now?”

“I’ll give you one guess.”

Her eyes widened in mock innocence. “Me?”

“No, the Queen of England. Of course, you.”

She pouted. “That’s why I wanted to head straight to the hotel. You were the one who wanted to stop for sightseeing.”

He retook her hand and kissed the back of it. “All in good time, lass. The anticipation is half the fun.”

An evil smirk lifting the corners of her mouth, she breathed, “Oh, yeah? Tell me all the wicked things you’re going to do to me so I’ll know what to anticipate.” She annunciated the last word.

“Minx. Your delectable ass is in danger of getting spanked for mercilessly teasing an old man.”

The smirk turned into a full-on grin. “I’m counting on it.”

With a groan, he shifted in his seat. “Ugh, lass. You’re killing me.”

A satisfied expression on her beautiful face, Wonder got comfortable in the passenger chair. “You’ll live. How far to those statues you just have to see?”

“We are almost there.” He pointed with his chin at the road sign. “It's the next exit.”

Due to the late hour, there were only a few cars in the parking lot when they arrived. His tiny pocket camera in hand, Anandur got out of the car and circled around to open the door for Wonder. As usual, she didn’t wait for him to do the honors.

“Can you let me be a gentleman and wait for me to open the door for you?”

“It’s silly. I don’t need help getting out of the car.”

“True.” He took her hand. “You don’t need help with most things, but it’s my pleasure to offer it.”

“So what are you saying, that I need to do it for you?”

She was right. It was silly and old-fashioned. Except, it made him uncomfortable every time she did that. Maybe he was the one who needed to adjust, not her.

“No, lass, I don’t want you doing anything you’re uncomfortable with. I’m the old fart who still lives by outdated rules of conduct.”

She stopped and turned to him, then wrapped her arm around his neck and brought him down to her for a kiss. “Stop saying that you’re old. And if it makes you happy to open the door for me, I can wait for you to do that.” She lifted a finger. “On one condition.”

“Name it.”

“You kiss me every time you give me a hand up.”

Like that was a tough bargain. “Done.”

Strolling hand in hand, they approached the nearly sixty-foot-tall mammoth statues. In the past, the two depictions of King Amenhotep III had guarded the king’s temple. But very little remained of the once impressive structure, and the statues’ faces had suffered significant damage.

Regrettably, the destruction had happened long before Anandur’s birth, so even if he’d had a chance to visit, he would not have seen much more than he saw now.

“Let me take a picture of you. Stand over there,” he directed Wonder in front of one of the statues.

“Is here good?”

“Perfect.” He started snapping photos when a prickling sensation in the back of his neck had him look over his shoulder.

Several tourists were milling around, taking pictures and conversing in a number of languages. None looked threatening or acted strange, and yet that slight prickling wasn't going away.

Just to be safe, he strode over to Wonder and wrapped his arm around her waist.

“What happened? You look worried.”

“I felt something.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Do you feel anything?”

She looked up at him. “What should I pay attention to?”

He leaned to whisper in her ear. “Remember what you told me about sensing immortals? That.”

Wonder glanced around. “I don’t feel anything,” she whispered back. “But that doesn't mean there are none. I need to be really close to sense their otherness. Besides, I think it got numbed after spending time in the village and being exposed to so many.”

“Let’s go back to the car. If you feel anything on the way, let me know.”

“Okay.”

Taking a meandering route to the parking lot, Anandur made sure to pass by as many of the groups of tourists as he could without it looking suspicious, but the tingling sensation didn’t intensify next to any of them, and eventually it subsided completely.

“Anything?” Wonder asked as he turned on the engine.

“Nope. Must’ve been something else that caused it. My neck is so sweaty and dusty that it might have been a reaction to that.”