As he got dressed in the morning, Brundar checked his reflection in the mirror, relieved to see that his eyes were back to normal with only a slight purplish hue serving as a reminder of the beating he’d taken.

Having the shit pounded out of him by his brother had been oddly therapeutic. Brundar hadn’t practiced hand to hand in ages, which was a mistake, as Anandur had proven.

Several good things came out of having his face busted, the least of which was him and Anandur getting closer than they had been in years. After his brute of a brother had proven that Brundar wasn’t as invincible as he’d thought he was, the two of them had actually embraced, then had gone back to their apartment and proceeded to demolish a bottle of whiskey each, while reminiscing about the old glory days of the Guardian force.

Anandur had managed to do something extraordinary. Not only had Brundar been nowhere near the zone while fighting his brother but he had felt great about it. In the zone, he felt nothing, good or bad.

Yesterday, even the pain had been good because it had made him feel alive.

But that was the physical pain. The other kind didn’t feel good at all.

The echo of Calypso’s sobs had haunted him throughout the night. He’d hurt her for no good reason. She’d had every right to call him a liar because he was. She hadn’t done it to spite him or to hurt him, she’d done it to force the truth out of him.

Regardless of the fact that he couldn’t have given it to her, he could’ve been much more understanding and forgiving about her accusation.

Bottom line, he needed to go to her and beg for forgiveness. Even if she refused to take him back, which would be the best for both of them, he needed to atone for the way he’d behaved. Brundar wanted the memory of their time together to be something they could both cherish, untainted by how badly it had ended.

He should’ve called, but talking, especially on the phone, wasn’t his forte. He sucked at it. Besides, an apology needed to be done face to face.

Pulling out his phone he did the cowardly thing and texted her.

Can I come over this afternoon?

There was no response.

She was probably still sleeping. Or what was more likely, she was mad at him, and rightfully so.

He hadn’t gone to the club after leaving her apartment. The following day he’d spent working, then training, then having the crap beaten out of him, and later, after he and Anandur had spent some quality time with their friends Jack Daniels and Chivas, he’d gone on rotation.

Two days of radio silence.

What did he expect? That she would text him back with hearts and kisses?

He fired off another one. I want to apologize.

No response.

Fuck, that was bad.

As little as Brundar knew about females, it was a known fact that they were more forgiving than males, especially when said males were offering to grovel at their feet.

His duties calling, he had no choice but stuff the phone in his pocket and head to Kian’s office. He kept checking for messages all throughout Kian’s three-hour morning meeting with Turner, and then during lunch with two dudes who needed funds for their startup and were trying to convince Kian to invest, then back at the keep.

A little before three in the afternoon she finally answered. I was busy running around all morning. You can come anytime before my shift starts.

Busy all morning? Doing what?

Never mind. It was none of his business.

I’ll be there in an hour.

Fine. If you want to eat, bring food.

In Calypso speak, it was like telling him to go screw himself. She was making a point, informing him he didn’t deserve her making an effort for him and feeding him.

Damnation. Did he have time to stop by Gerard’s and beg the guy to make him a to-go dinner?

The restaurant wasn’t open this early, and Brundar didn’t have a membership, but he was Brundar, and very few dared to refuse him anything. Except for one green-eyed spitfire who he could lift with one finger but wouldn’t dare.

A few phone calls later, and a string of profanities in French—Gerard’s—Brundar headed for Calypso’s apartment with a fancy dinner for two packed in an insulated food carrier and a bottle of wine.

She opened the door wearing pajama pants and an old T-shirt, her hair pulled up in a messy ponytail and no shoes—her way of telling him that she didn’t give a damn.

The thing was, she looked sexier in her homebody attire than when all decked out.

“What’s all that?” She eyed the big square carrier.

“You said to bring dinner, so I did.”

“I meant burgers or Chinese.” She moved back to let him and his bulky cargo pass through.

Brundar put the carrier and the bottle of wine on top of one of the dining room’s chairs, then pulled out another for Calypso. “My lady?”

She quirked a brow but took the seat he offered.

Gerard’s crew had packed everything needed for a fancy dinner, including a tablecloth, plates, utensils, napkins, and goblets. All he had to do was to set it up.

Calypso watched as he pulled things out one after the other, doing his best to make the table look as nice as she usually did. Gerard had numbered the containers so Brundar wouldn’t mess up the serving order, but there was nothing about what was in them. Supposedly, everything the guy made was as excellent as what he’d prepared for Syssi and Kian’s wedding.

As he opened the first container, marked number one, and lifted the appetizer plate, Brundar understood why each individual serving came with its own plate and was packed separately. The artistic presentation wasn’t something Brundar could’ve ever managed.

Calypso’s eyes widened as he placed the small plate in front of her. “Where did you get this?”

He smirked. “I told you I have a cousin who’s a renowned chef.”

“Right. Another cousin.”

Brundar pulled out the second appetizer plate and sat next to Calypso. “Don’t ask me what this is because I have no clue.”

She lifted one of the three forks that came with the place settings and held it above the small stack of unidentifiable ingredients. “I’m dying to taste it, but I feel bad about ruining this work of art.”

Brundar waited until she finally poked it with her fork and took a tiny bite. “Oh, wow. That’s amazing.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “How long have you been planning this?”

“Since you told me to bring food.”

“Impossible. That was an hour ago. No one can prepare a gourmet meal like that on such short notice.”

Brundar cast her one of his stern looks. “Are you calling me a liar again?”

Calypso let her head drop, sighed, then looked up again. “I’m sorry. Calling you a liar was rude.”

She wasn’t retracting her accusation, just apologizing for calling him out on it. Still, he appreciated it. It must’ve been difficult for her to do.

“I lied about the apartment, so I deserved it. But I didn’t lie about the other things.”

“What about this?” She waved a hand over the table.

Brundar smirked. “I bullied my cousin into it. He was preparing dinner for a private party tonight, and I twisted his arm to part with some of it.”

“What is he going to do?”

Brundar couldn’t care less. Some of those French profanities Gerard had hurled at him were quite colorful. “He has enough time to fill the shortage.”

Calypso took another small forkful but didn’t bring it up to her mouth. “Why did you leave the way you did? And more importantly, why did you come back?”

He admired her directness. No beating around the bush for this gutsy girl. The thing was, he didn’t know how to answer that. But he was going to try. She wouldn’t let him get away without at least making an effort.

“I was doing my best under the circumstances, but it wasn’t enough for you. You kept pushing for more until I snapped. I’ve never been in a relationship. I don’t know how to play this game. It’s hard to explain, but in a situation like that, when I need to calm down, the best thing for me to do is to slip into the unfeeling, cold place I call the zone. That is where I function the best. I don’t need anyone when I’m there.”

Calypso put her fork down. “So if I understand correctly what you’re trying to say, you felt threatened, retreated into your safe place, and stayed there. That’s why you didn’t call or text?”

“Right.”

“What has changed?”

“Anandur beat the shit out of me.”

Calypso gasped. “What? Why? How? Aren’t you the best?”

“I am the weapons master. Anandur is the champion of hand to hand. He challenged me, and I accepted, thinking I could best him at that too, but he proved me wrong.”

“I still don’t understand what sparring with your brother has to do with you coming back to me.”

“A wake-up call. While he was beating me up, he talked some sense into me. He made me realize that living in the zone wasn’t living. To avoid pain, I was giving up on life.”

Calypso’s eyes softened. “He is a smart man.” She chuckled in an obvious attempt to lighten the mood. “From your description of him, I thought he was a silly clown. But apparently, he has depth.”

“He is a good man.”

A crease in her forehead warned him that another question was coming. “I thought you never let anyone close enough to touch you. That’s why you always fight with weapons. Is it different with your brother? Is it okay for him to touch you?”

“No. That’s why we never sparred like that before. I thought I wouldn’t be able to tolerate it, but I did. We even embraced when he helped me up, and it was tolerable. I guess enough time has passed.”

“Enough time from what?”

Damnation. Brundar pinched his forehead between his thumb and forefinger. He hadn’t told anyone about what had happened all those years ago. He’d never even talked about it with Anandur, who was the only one who knew.

The last thing he wanted was to reopen those old wounds and let anyone in on the humiliation and guilt that had been eating at him for years. But for some reason, he felt compelled to tell Calypso. Not the entire story, he could never do that, but maybe a highly modified and censored version.

She was the first person he’d let get close to him since the event that had changed him irrevocably.

“Something bad happened to me when I was twelve. Someone who I thought of as a friend, whom I loved as a brother, betrayed me in the worst possible way. I got hurt, but I wasn’t the only one. My entire family suffered as a result. That’s all I can tell you. Please don’t ask for more. Not now, and not ever.”