Naughty Karma

Chapter Twenty-Eight Ice Melt

Prometheus was no stranger to fucking up, but usually when he fucked up this royally he’d actually done something.

Though he wasn’t entirely blameless. He hadn’t exactly been forthcoming with Karma and he had entertained the thought, more than once, of trading her unwanted abilities for his own—though never quite so coarsely as simply selling her to Deuma and never without her consent. Had she really seen a likely future? Or were her subconscious doubts about him directing her toward highly unlikely variants that painted him in an ugly light?

Either way he probably hadn’t helped the situation by keeping her ignorant of his own plans. He wasn’t even sure why he’d lied—if they were classifying omissions as lies, which Karma certainly did. He’d kept waiting for the right moment to tell her about his master plan to have it all, waiting for her to be invested enough, to care enough. Waiting for some sign that she would never turn on him as she had this morning.

So much for that.

Neither of them seemed inclined to succumb to trusting the other—which worked just fucking fine since trust wasn’t required in today’s summoning. And after the summoning… Well, he’d known they were done. He just hadn’t expected it to end quite like that. He’d never really given any thought to how it would end, actually. He wasn’t much for looking into the future. That was more Karma’s terrain, and if knowing the future was going to make him as miserable as she was, he’d pass, thank you very much.

The elevator doors shushed open and the Karma who stepped out of the lift was every inch the rigid ice queen he’d first met. Every hair in place. The stick up her ass firmly in position. Ms. Holier-Than-Thou Professionalism was back.

“Rodriguez will be here any minute.” She looked at him, her eyes cool and expressionless. No more passionate, dazed Karma for him.

Prometheus waved at the box containing his fucked-up heart. “We’re all set.”

She nodded briskly. “Good.” Then she slipped into the outer office, likely to unlock the door even though he could have done it with a thought. She probably wanted to get away from him. Cool and collected she may be on the surface, but her energy was all over the place, flaring out then pulling back behind those fucking walls she’d erected again.

He half-expected her to wait out front for reinforcements, but she returned to her office and strode to take the seat behind her massive desk. He’d always have fond memories of that desk. Even if he wasn’t feeling particularly charitable toward the woman sitting behind it at the moment.

He folded his arms. “I wouldn’t have done it. Traded you to her.”

“I don’t want to discuss it.”

“You see what you want to see Karma. When there is a chance your people might be in trouble, you see the worst-case scenario. When you need a happy moment, you see cuddly babies and everything beautiful. When you’re doubting me, what the fuck did you expect to see?”

“I wasn’t doubting you.”

“Weren’t you?”

They both heard the front door open.

“They’re here,” Karma said unnecessarily, rising.

Brittany and Rodriguez entered, Brittany bouncing like Christmas morning and Rodriguez with a wry smile as he watched her enthusiasm. “Who’s ready for a summoning?” she chirped.

Karma didn’t chirp. “Brittany, I’d like you to go.”

The secretary visibly deflated. “But I’m good luck.”

“We’ll have to make our own luck today. I don’t want to risk you. Rodriguez needs to be here, but I don’t want anyone else in range who can be used by this devil.” The way she hit the last two words made Prometheus wonder if she was referring to Deuma or himself. As if he would ever let anything happen to Brittany. She was the only one here who actually gave him credit for being a semi-decent human being.

Rodriguez’s gaze flicked back and forth between them, reading the currents in the air, but Brittany looked confused. “I guess…” she mumbled.

“Come on,” Rodriguez urged. “I’ll walk you to the car. Let’s let Mom and Dad fight in peace.”

Brittany frowned, talking over her shoulder as Rodriguez guided her through the door. “Are you guys fighting? You shouldn’t be fighting. You need only good energy going into the universe right now. Kiss and make up, okay?”

Prometheus looked to Karma, wondering if Brittany’s words were having any effect, but even the receptionist wasn’t that lucky. She was still the ice queen and he was still frozen out.

Rodriguez returned and set about getting ready without a word. They had maybe thirty minutes until sunrise.

Thirty minutes. Twenty years of power, nearly forty of life, and it all came down to thirty minutes. Of all the mistakes he’d made in a long life of pissing people off, the only one he wanted to fix, the only thing that felt wrong was the way things were ending with Karma.

Fuck that. He wasn’t going to sit on his hands like a good boy and let her cut him off. That wasn’t him.

Prometheus stalked silently across the room. This wasn’t how they were going to end. He wouldn’t let it be. Karma looked at him with a flash of panic and scrambled to put the width of her desk between them.

“What are you doing?”

She would have kept them circling that damn desk all day, but he was faster, more determined, and he didn’t play fair. He slapped up a telekinetic roadblock—just enough to slow her down so he could get his hands on her. “Come here.” He caught her upper arm and pulled her toward the privacy of the outer office, but Karma wasn’t coming easily.

“Let me go.” She squirmed and dug in her heels, twisting enough to make him seriously consider throwing her over his shoulder—or maybe pulling her across his lap and paddling her ass. She always had to make everything so fucking difficult.

“Damn it, Karma. I just want to talk to you,” he growled.

“I have no interest in listening to anything you have to say.”

Rodriguez muttered something about leaving his favorite crucifix in the lobby and all but ran out of the office, the door snapping shut behind them.

Her struggles lessened when their audience was gone, but Prometheus didn’t loosen his hold. He didn’t trust Karma not to bolt if he did. Instead, he shifted his grip, grabbing her by both shoulders and walking her backward until she bumped up against the wall.

She glared up at him, fire beginning to burn through the ice goddess stare. “You’re a bully and a liar and nothing you can say will change any of that, so you might as well save your breath.”

“I am a bully and a liar and a thousand other things, but I love you.”

Fuck. Where had that come from? Prometheus gulped, as startled as Karma looked by the words that had popped out of his mouth. No turning back now.

“I may not be Prince Charming, but I’m it for you and you know it. No one is ever going to get you like I do. I’m going to push you and challenge you and make you crazy and it will be worth it because we’re better together than we could ever be apart. Fuck.” He swore and dropped his forehead onto hers. She hadn’t said a word. Didn’t look capable of speech, actually. “Love sucks, okay? It’s giving the other person a knife and spending every hour of your life waiting for them to stab you in the heart with it. I never wanted that. I never wanted you, but there you were and when you find the person you can’t live without, you don’t let them go. It’s inconvenient and a pain in the ass and we’ll fight—you know we’ll fight—but I’ll also fight for you. I would never let anyone hurt you—not for any price—so don’t you dare think that. Whatever the fuck you saw, that isn’t our future. You’re mine, Karma. And I fucking protect what’s mine.” He conjured the charm he’d made for her, that modified yin-yang, to fall around her neck. “I will always protect you. Is that clear enough for you?”

Karma blinked up at him, shock and something like panic in her wide eyes. Her fingers rose to brush the soft metal of the charm. She opened her mouth and he held his breath. This was it, the moment when she either saved him or sent him crashing down to hell. “I…”

“My, my.” The silky feminine purr sounded behind him. “Prometheus in love. I never thought I’d see the day. How sweet.”

He stiffened and turned, using his body to shield Karma as much as possible as he faced the she-devil across the room. She perched on the crate containing his heart, a snug red dress leaving little to the imagination and showing off the expanse of her crossed legs. She swung one stiletto-clad foot and tapped the top of the box with a long black nail—in perfect time with the accelerating thump of the heart within.

“It’s nice to see you again, pet. Though from the sound of things, you’ve been a very naughty boy indeed.”

She was early. Which meant they hadn’t summoned her. Which meant she was under no compulsion to deal with them. She knew he’d been trying to double cross her and she’d come before the dawn just to fuck with him. They’d just lost home field advantage. They would be playing by Deuma’s rules now.

Inside the box, Prometheus’s heart began to race.