Her mouth dropped open, and heated tingles ticked through her abdomen. “Well, I, hmmm.”
“Karma? I am not pleased.” He did not sound pleased in the slightest.
Her body quaked. She tore her head free and turned away from the building to stride toward the river.
“Stop.” It was a command, and her body immediately obeyed.
“Turn the hell around,” he ordered.
She slowly turned, but she didn’t cower. Nor did she run.
He watched her like a hawk she’d once observed that had been choosing which field mouse to strike. His jaw was set, and he took several deep breaths before continuing. “What were you thinking?” he calmly asked, his stance casual.
She jolted. “I was thinking of saving my girls.” The truth seemed like the correct avenue with Benjamin.
“Did I, or did I not, tell you that I would find your girls?” The strain in his voice made her wince.
“Are you in pain?” she whispered.
“No,” he murmured.
She shifted her feet beneath the skirt. “Then why do you sound so…bad?” She couldn’t think of another way to ask him.
His chin dropped, and she could swear steam came out of his ears. “Bad? Why do I sound bad?” In fact, he sounded like he was trying to swallow glass. “I’m doing my best to keep my temper under control. I don’t want to scare you…much.”
At those words, her temper blew. “How dare you? You think I’m so weak I can’t handle you in full temper?” She was not a wimp. Sure, she didn’t know how to fight, and yeah, she was used to running and hiding when angry males were around, but still. The simple truth caught her. Benjamin Reese would never harm her. No matter how angry he became. “Besides. You kept the true strategy from me, so I can make my own plans. For now, let me have it. Go for it. Give me what you’ve got.”
His eyes widened, and then, by all the saints, he lost his mind. “Fine. You want it? You’ve got it.” He threw up his hands and prowled toward the river, his hair matted and probably bloody. “I was in Kurjan territory when I discovered that you called Terre. You remember Terre?” His voice rose, and he was full-out shouting.
“Yes,” she said, tilting her head to watch him. Interesting. She really had no fear of him.
“He wants to mate you,” Benny bellowed, his hands moving as much as his legs. He paced. “Like mate you, mate you. The guy is obsessed. Probably has been for centuries. If you ask me, he let you escape just so you could take the virus and be free of the mating bond.”
She nodded. “Yes, I believe that was his plan.”
Benjamin paused. “You knew?”
Again, the truth was the only way to go. Though he wasn’t going to hurt her, lying to him might bring on more anger than she knew how to handle. “Yes. He has never hidden his desire for me, and he made it clear that I would take the virus when I escaped. He has my children, Benjamin. For the time being, he will win this one.”
“I don’t give two fucks about him winning anything,” Benjamin yelled, the veins in his neck bulging out. “I care about you and those girls. If you don’t start trusting me, we’re going to have a serious problem.”
Mercy and Logan walked along the river from the direction of the lodge. “Everything okay?” Logan asked, also still wearing his torn and bloody clothing.
“Hell no,” Benjamin bellowed.
Karma grit her back teeth together. “Benny? That’s enough. I understand that you’re angry, and you have every right, but enough with the yelling.”
The male was twice her size and could probably take on a cadre of elite Cyst soldiers without breaking a sweat. He could certainly kill her with one blow. But when she spoke, he immediately calmed down. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“I’m not scared,” she admitted, shocked that it was the truth. “But you are giving me a headache.” The hybrid had a set of lungs on him.
“And you look crazier than heck,” Mercy chimed in.
Benny ran a rough hand through his hair, looked at them all, and then glanced down at his bloodied clothing. “Right. Okay.” Without another word, he moved toward Karma and tossed her over his shoulder before turning to stride along the river walk.
The air whooshed out of her lungs, and shock kept her immobile for several yards. Then she smiled. Against all reason, she chuckled. “Benjamin? What in the world are you doing?” Her braid hung nearly to his ankles.
“I need a shower. You’re going to join me, and we’ll have a nice chat naked.” He sounded marginally calmer.
She lost the smile. “Naked?”
Chapter Thirty
Benny walked into his bathroom with Karma still over his shoulder. She’d laughed for most of the walk, and that sound had calmed him down fast. Then her soft chuckle had wandered through his entire body, making him ache much worse than he had earlier. Finally, he flipped her upright.
She grabbed his forearms to catch her balance.
He exhaled. “I’m still not happy with you.”
The smile on her face as she looked up made it nearly impossible not to share her joy. “Okay.”
He kissed her forehead. “Being carried makes you happy?” She was truly a mystery, wasn’t she?
“No.” She laughed again, her eyes sparkling. “I’m happy you yelled at me and I didn’t get scared. It’s nice to trust somebody. I’m also happy you made it back safely and saved your friend. Everything has worked out for now.”
For now. He agreed. Yet she wasn’t getting him. Not completely. “Listen. I’m sorry I yelled, and I’m glad you didn’t get scared. But the bottom line is that you went against logic and safety when you contacted Terre behind my back. You knew I wouldn’t like that. If I had been here, I would’ve stopped you.”
“That’s why I called when you weren’t here,” she said logically.
He paused. The fact that she wasn’t frightened of him pleased him, but still, a guy could use some control. What a conundrum. He wanted her to feel free, so he had to fight every inclination he had to lock her down and keep her safe. “You’re killing me,” he admitted. Maybe he should go spar with Logan for a while. The kid had completely healed by the time they’d gotten back.
Of course, Logan was probably with Mercy right now. Benny didn’t want to walk in on them. Ugh.
Karma sobered. “Benjamin? Did you find out anything about my girls?”
“No.” He brushed a couple of wayward tendrils away from her face. “But I’m not done yet. I will find them.”