“Fine, but make no mistake,” Benny started, his gaze not leaving hers, “if you plan to go into Kurjan territory, you’ll do so as my mate. My mark will protect you from Terre to a degree.”
She gasped. “I can’t do that. If I’m mated, Terre has no reason not to just kill me.”
Benny smiled, and the sight was frightening this time. “Not if he thinks you have access to the virus. Give him a little hope, a little rope, and I’ll make sure to strangle him with it.”
Karma swallowed, her mind reeling. This was a side of Benjamin she’d never witnessed, and his determination was intimidating. And intriguing. He’d also had no problem making such a declaration in front of everyone else. So much for privacy. “I don’t know.”
“I do,” he said, his tone unrelenting.
Mating Benjamin? For real? Her body heated and then flushed. Goodness.
Chapter Thirty-Two
After another night spent in wild copulation with Karma, Benny was about to lose his mind. It had been two nights and two more days, and he only had one day left to find her twins. She’d told him story after story about the girls, and while he had no clue what to do with children’s feelings, he knew how to protect and defend. That he could definitely do for them. The female had been correct that the contingent of Kurjan soldiers moved around. He’d almost had them the day before, but they’d moved on.
Satellites weren’t as helpful as he’d hoped they’d be.
“We could reach out to the Realm for help,” Garrett said from his computer console in the main room. “I can’t guarantee they’ll assist us, and it may take them more than a day to get up to speed, which won’t help us any.” He kept his voice calm, but a thread of anger wove through each word. “I’ll back your play, Benny.”
“Ditto,” Logan said from a computer down the way. “If you don’t want Karma to go, we’ll stand by you.”
Benny appreciated the support, but he had to make a decision on this. Karma and Mercy were downstairs in the gym working on self-defense moves.
Garrett turned around in his chair. “I don’t want to get my head snapped off my neck, and this is none of my business, but I don’t think you should send her in mated.”
Benny rolled his neck and forced himself to think calmly. “Explain.”
Garrett poked at a hole in his T-shirt. “From everything we’ve gathered, Terre has a shitty temper. The second he senses that she’s mated, he might kill her. Or beat the hell out of her with a bat or something that won’t give him the mating allergy.” Garrett scrabbled a hand through his unruly hair. “That’s not all.”
“What?” Benny growled.
Logan partially turned. “If you mate her, no way will you let her go.”
Benny stared at the young warrior. He wasn’t wrong. “I know.”
Garrett held up a hand. “Again, I’ll back you, no matter the consequences. But I have a mom who’d walk through fire for me, Logan has one who would happily blow up an entire island for him, and I assume your mama was a warrior, too. Karma’s a mother. In my experience, there’s nothing she won’t sacrifice to save those kids.”
That was one of the many things Benny admired and truly liked in the female. “Terre will rape her. How can I let that happen?”
Garrett steepled his fingers beneath his chin and his eyes burned. “You’ve been training her nonstop. She can fight.”
“She can’t fight,” Benny said quietly, glancing toward the door to make sure Karma wasn’t there to hear him. “It’s been only three days—she’ll be no match for Terre or anybody else. Even Mercy, who frankly isn’t the best sparrer, is having to pull her punches wearing cushy gloves.” The idea of Karma being harmed was like a dual kick to the solar plexus and the balls.
Logan’s eyes swirled with understanding. “If she’s hurt, we’ll help her heal after we get her back. Again, this is up to you.”
Karma bustled into the room with Mercy on her heels. Both women were winded, and Karma’s blouse hung with the bottom twisted as if they’d grappled on the ground. “We were sparring, kind of, and I have an idea.” Her eyes were bright and her voice rushed.
Benny couldn’t keep himself from reaching for her. “Go on.”
“We can’t mate.” Her lips turned down, and her face turned pink. “I appreciate the offer, but one, I don’t want to mate for convenience or any other rational reason. I want love and passion and crazy, over-the-top possessiveness. Like Mercy has.”
Mercy grimaced.
Benny sent her a look. The last thing he needed was Mercy working against him. “We have passion. I’m definitely possessive.”
“I want love. The whole wild experience of it.” Karma placed her hands on his chest. “And two, we have an idea. Maybe a good one.”
He couldn’t give her the words. She meant so much to him, but what was love? He didn’t want to sing in the rain, and he sure didn’t want somebody telling him what to do or changing who he was or needed to be in the future. “What’s your idea?”
She hopped once. “A rash. A big, ugly, itchy rash all over my body. We can tell Terre that it’s a side effect of the virus, and it takes a while for the mating bond to dissipate. That should get me at least a little time before he, well, you know.”
“Tries to rape you?” Benny growled, unwilling to use euphemisms.
“Yes.” Karma turned pale. “Even so, I’m going, Benjamin. If the worst happens and I can’t kill him, then I’ll deal with what happens after I get my children to safety. I miss them. Terribly. It’s like there’s a hole in my soul, and I’m so afraid they’re scared or hurt. It’s torture worse than anything Terre could possibly do to me.”
How could Benny argue with that? “You’re immortal. How are you going to get a rash?”
“Poison ivy,” Mercy said, plopping onto Logan’s lap and wrapping her arm over his shoulder. “It grows wild across the river, and we can rub her from head to toe with the stuff.”
“That’s a decent plan.” Logan clicked his tongue. “Healing cells fix allergic reactions within seconds, but if Karma refuses to use her cells, she could claim the rash was a reaction to Virus-27. The Kurjans don’t have a sample of the virus, so they don’t know much about it.”
Karma expression brightened even more. “It’s a fantastic idea, because Yvonne will want to test me immediately. She’s desperate to know more about the virus, so maybe Terre will take me to her right away. We want that, because her location is stable and more than likely where the kidnapped enhanced females are being held.”