Twisted Karma

by Lizzy Ford

  “You don’t have to trust me. You just have to fuck me,” he said with a smile. “I promise. It’ll make you feel better.”

  She rolled her eyes, and he knew he had her.

  Wynn kissed her gently, testing her response, as he had the night before. He ignored her attempt to deepen the kiss and instead, nuzzled her cheek. “Agreed?” he whispered.

  Karma sought his lips. He brushed his against hers then shifted away once more.

  She growled in frustration.

  “Agreed?” he asked more firmly.

  “Fine. Yes. Just kiss me!” she exclaimed.

  He kissed her, long, deep, and slow. She pressed herself to him. He steadied her with one arm around her, and she melted. Her mouth was hungry, their bond searing, her control rapidly dissipating.

  Her surrender was as much of a turn on as her power. The need to possess her, to claim what was his, tore through him with force that alarmed him. He’d never experienced anything this intense in all his experiences in either life. It was beyond his ability to restrain, beyond the sizzling electricity of the bond, beyond his ability to stop.

  There was only eager, hungry Karma – and the fire raging in his blood.

  Sixteen

  Karma awoke before dawn. No pain or stiffness came with her movement. She’d been sore after their first night together. He had to have healed her when she slept.

  She sat up and gently shifted free of Wynn. He slept beside her, his deep breathing assuring her he slumbered. Her gaze went to his face, lit by the lingering light of the moon.

  The fear she’d started to experience whenever they interacted had nothing to do with fucking and everything to do with the emotions she couldn’t control. She’d seen what the mating bond did to her brother and Stephanie but had no idea how strong it was. It overrode every other one of her instincts, her thoughts, and consumed every inch of her existence.

  Last night, Wynn had been raw, and close to losing control. The idea she’d done that to the most calculating, coldest man she’d ever met sent her insides singing and gave her no short amount of euphoric triumph. She’d conquered the man no one else could beat by submitting to his every whim. They’d both erupted into fierce, wild passion and lust unlike anything she thought was possible. Their fucking sealed them together and did nothing to minimize the need tormenting her. She wanted him again and again and again – until eternity.

  But now, seated beside him on the bed, the fear was returning.

  She resisted the urge to touch him, suspecting he’d awaken if she did.

  This man had sent her brother to Hell. He fucked her with ferocity she loved and lusted for, but he was the most dangerous man Fate had ever crossed, and no god anywhere interacted with Wynn without a great deal of caution. He’d only said a few sentences to the two gods last night, and they both left. It took no open display of power, no magic whatsoever. Wynn used knowledge to manipulate people, which seemed far more frightening than if he beat some sense into someone.

  She couldn’t trust him out of the bedroom. She couldn’t figure him out. She couldn’t possibly spend eternity with a man whose power and ability to influence could be used against her. He was the kind of man who used everyone and everything around him to further his cause. She had no intention of being one of those things, but he was also right. She couldn’t walk away from him, either.

  Even now, every part of her body and mind urged her to return to his arms or better yet, to wake him, so he could fuck her into oblivion again with the savage need they shared. She shivered, afraid to stay, afraid to leave, afraid of everything she felt.

  I want to stay. Karma had never had a home, outside of her cell in the Underworld. She never saw the appeal before, either, since neither she nor her brother was of the nature to choose a place and settle there. Their power and duties took them everywhere. It made no sense to stay in one place forever.

  Likewise, she felt no connection to this location, but … could a person be a home?

  The realization sent a streak of cold through her. She wasn’t ready for this amount of complication. Wynn steadied her, left her feeling as if she wasn’t alone in the hurricane of emotions and power that constantly tormented her. He never backed down and never would. If she let him, he’d be the calm at the middle of her storm, the man she always went back to, the only person who could help her control her own mind. She could lose herself and trust him to find her. Her brother had been too volatile in his own right to ground her or stabilize her, but Wynn could do it. His self-control and mind were legendary, and she understood why. The possibility of what they could be, and the effect his nearness had on her, scared her as much as what she felt.

  But gods, did she love fucking him! When he took charge of her body, she no longer had to worry about how to reign in the power and feelings that ruled her every other moment of the day. She could lose herself in ecstasy without the chance she’d hurt someone else, and she loved to drown her senses in his smell, firm touch, heat, taste, and the friction of their skin as they fucked.

  She had awoken calm and centered with a clear mind. If he hadn’t touched her soul the first night, he had this night.

  Karma left the bed and stood, naked, beside it, once more torn between wanting to spend the rest of her life with him in this bed, and needing to escape the bond interfering with her ability to help her brother.

  After a moment, she dressed and braided her hair.

  “At some point, we need to talk,” Wynn said quietly.

  She backed away from the bed. His voice – soft and deep – threw her off balance, and it wasn’t just because she was recalling all his quiet commands from the night. If he looked at her, she’d grovel at his feet once more and beg him in any way he wanted her to. Already her body was fevered with desire.

  “Not today,” she said, heart hammering in her chest. “Where’s my book?”

  “In the catacombs where I trapped you. You’re welcome to claim it.”

  “You’re supposed to give it to me!”

  “You didn’t specifiy a timeframe,” he told her. “Always specify a timeframe.”

  She gave a sound of frustration, understanding his point and how she’d fucked herself over by not knowing what she should have included in her deal.

  “Stay out of trouble,” Wynn said, amused.

  She snorted. “You can’t tell me what to do, Immortal.”

  “If you get in trouble, I’ll find you, goddess.”

  The simple threat, spoken with husky promise, silenced her. If there was anything she knew this morning, it was that he would follow through.

  Karma called a portal and left. Unable to shake his scent from her skin, or the need that screamed for her to return to him, she stood in the place-between-places, at a loss as to where to go and what to do. Thus far, she’d been unsuccessful in helping her brother.

  She glanced towards the portal she’d come through. It would be natural to return, to lose herself in Wynn once more. She could try to make more examples out of the gods and goddesses but … she shivered, recalling the pleasure of her night. She didn’t feel ready for another confrontation with Wynn. She held the power to judge others but was rendered completely powerless by him.

  Shaking off the spell, Karma turned her thoughts to the few pieces of advice she’d collected over the past few weeks.

  Wynn said to make an example, which she had. He also hinted that the key to manipulating the other deities was to have a favor someone else wanted. She had absolutely no favors right now; in fact, she owed Raphael and two others a debt. She’d gotten nowhere with her own favors.

  Peace and Death urged her to negotiate, which she’d attempted unsuccessfully.

  With her mind clear, and magic stable, Karma’s thoughts went to the one person who would trade her, or flat out give her, a favor. She pictured Stephanie in her mind and strode through the portal that beckoned her.

  Stephanie was asleep. The second Karma set foot in her chamber, the guardian demon
snapped a knife to Karma’s throat. She snatched his wrist.

  “Careful, demon,” she growled. “I’ve balanced a number of your kind. None of them survived.”

  Trayern gazed at her for a long moment before he backed down. She released him.

  Maybe negotiating does work, she thought, pleased.

  “Use the door next time,” he snapped and returned to his chair near the wall.

  Karma rolled her shoulders back and went to Stephanie’s bed. She sat on the edge and reached over to shake her awake.

  Stephanie rolled to face her, squinting. “What the hell?” she mumbled and pushed herself up. “What’re you doing here? Did something happen to him?”

  “No. But I have to talk to you about something. Can we go somewhere private?” Karma asked with a glance at Stephanie’s bodyguards.

  Stephanie flung off the covers. She slid her feet into slippers and walked towards the balcony, yawning.

  Karma trailed her. The pre-dawn chill sent a shiver through her. The forest smelled of pine and dew, and the sky had begun to lighten on the horizon.

  “Did you learn something about Fate?” Stephanie asked anxiously.

  “No. But I might have figured out how to help him,” Karma said. “I need a favor from him. Via you.”

  “Blank check.” Stephanie nibbled on her lower lip, troubled. “I fucked up last time I did that. Your brother didn’t want me to do it again.”

  “I’ll trade you,” Karma offered, unwilling to admit she already owed her brother two favors.

  Stephanie studied her. “You look different today.”

  “It’s my hair,” Karma said quickly.

  “That’s not it. You’re not pinging off the walls. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you calm.”

  “I don’t ping,” Karma mumbled. Heat touched her cheeks. She knew exactly what Stephanie meant. Fucking Wynn took the edge off her madness and centered her.

  “Whatever,” Stephanie said. “I’ll make the deal if you promise not to let the Dark One end up with the favor.”

  “Done.” Karma held out her hand.

  The two of them shook, and cold fire tore through her. Elated she’d started to figure out a potential path, she opened a portal.

  “Can I ask what you’re going to do with it?” Stephanie asked, unease in her voice.

  “I don’t think you want to know,” Karma replied honestly.

  Stephanie rubbed her face. “Don’t get me in trouble with your brother.”

  Karma flashed a smile and walked into the place-between-places. She had a favor from one of the most sought-after deities in existence: Fate. In theory, she could trade it to someone else for something she wanted. The more desperate the deity, the better her chances of wrangling more out of him or her.

  But where did she start? And what if she made a deal that wasted the current seed of power she’d obtained?

  What could she get if she combined a favor from Fate with a favor from Karma? She didn’t know the worth of her favors or his.

  Wynn does. Karma’s breath caught whenever she thought of him, and fire lit her lower belly. She shook her head, determined to learn to negotiate on her own. She was a goddess. It was time she figured out this game.

  “Peace,” she whispered.

  Another portal beckoned her. Suspecting she’d wind up back in the castle, Karma swore not to cross paths with Wynn until nightfall, when she’d promised to return to his chamber.

  Andre was already up, dressed, and sipping tea when she entered his chamber. He sat reading beside the hearth.

  “Why are you up so early?” she asked.

  “I could ask you the same thing,” Peace replied without looking up from his book.

  “Yes, but you look ready to go to an important meeting,” she said. She dropped into the chair facing him.

  “And you look like you were up all night,” he countered.

  Karma rolled her eyes.

  Andre closed his book and set it on the table beside the tray of tea. “I have to assume you’re the reason Wynn showed an ounce of compassion yesterday.”

  Karma felt her face flush again but tried to maintain her poker face.

  Andre laughed, and she sighed, aware she had never been successful at hiding anything from anyone.

  “How the fuck does everyone know?” she complained.

  “It’s written all over your face. Even if it wasn’t, I saw his mark. He’s not hiding it anymore.”

  “I didn’t realize he was hiding it.” She frowned, disturbed. “He’s probably displaying it because he wants to manipulate someone.”

  “If that were the case, he’d have put it on display the day he saw it, weeks ago,” Andre said. “No, I think he did it for a different reason. You must know by now Wynn has been the master of his own fate for longer than anyone remembers. It must be an adjustment for him to realize he’s not now, and he has a mate to consider. I’d say he’s accepting, and publicly acknowledging, his place at your side.”

  Warmth of a different kind bloomed within her. Karma smiled, unexpectedly touched by Peace’s observation. Wynn left her feeling vulnerable whenever they were together. He could read her, but she couldn’t read him. That he might want this had never crossed her mind.

  Aware of Andre’s gaze, she pushed the thought away. “What do you mean about him showing an ounce of compassion?” she asked.

  “He decided to release two of his sons from prison.”

  Karma didn’t know what to think about the reminder of Wynn’s cruelty toward his sons, after he’d tortured her brother. How was he her home, when he was more of a monster than most deities?

  “I’ve been lecturing you both about compassion for months now,” Peace said. “Looks like you’ll teach it to one another.”

  “Maybe he’s been watching Hallmark movies like I have,” she said, unexpectedly pleased by the information. “But I’m here to talk about that. I want to talk about negotiating with other deities, preferably without destroying the worlds, and how in demand favors are from someone like me or Fate.”

  “Wynn –”

  “No!”

  Andre laughed. “I’ve watched him and my brothers. I may have a few pointers.”

  Karma leaned forward eagerly, thrilled she was finding an open door after too many closed ones.

  Seventeen

  Stephanie suspected she should have forced Karma to reveal what she was doing before swapping favors. She didn’t have it in her to care. Not this day, after the dinner party she’d never be able to scrub from her memory.

  She stayed in bed, ignoring the duty of attending to the petitioners. Kiki would probably hate her, for he was the most likely to be stuck with her shift, but she didn’t care about that, either.

  Nothing mattered. When her alarm sounded, she turned it off and sank beneath her covers, determined not to leave her chamber. If Wynn wanted her to lead the Council, he was going to have to drag her out of bed. She was sick of him and the duties she wasn’t remotely prepared for and never asked to be part of. Neck deep in self-pity, she huddled in bed.

  Her guardians were up and about. Neither of them bothered her. Mithra went to his couch and turned on the television while Trayern sharpened one of his knives.

  As dangerous as she knew it was to piss off Wynn, Stephanie closed her eyes and focused on her mother.

  Chaos, she mentally summoned her.

  Pushing the covers down, she waited for her mother, Rachel Jennings – the goddess Chaos – to appear.

  She didn’t.

  Stephanie tried again with the same result. She pulled her covers up once more, suspecting Wynn had disabled the ability for her to summon anyone as well as her ability to leave via the portals.

  It was probably better, she decided. If Chaos set foot in the castle, Wynn would know and likely do something terrible. Leverage was not something Stephanie wanted to provide the shrewd Ancient. Her life was bad enough without drawing anyone else into it.

  Stephanie started to d
oze when someone knocked at the door. She tensed without leaving the safety of her blankets, expecting Wynn to enter and order her to get up.

  Trayern exchanged a greeting with her visitor. Seconds later, Stephanie was being lifted out of bed and carried towards the door – blankets and all.

  “What the hell?” she shouted and thrashed until she could see.

  Rhyn carried her.

  “Put me down!” she commanded him.

  “We have somewhere to go,” he replied.

  “I don’t care!”

  He strode through the doorway.

  “Wait!” she said. “Rhyn, I don’t have any pants.”

  “I don’t care.”

  She thrashed again, embarrassed when she spotted the Immortal guards making their rounds. “All right!” she snapped. “I’ll get dressed and do Wynn’s evil bidding. Just put me down!”

  Her half-demon brother ceased walking and obeyed.

  Gathering her bedding around her, Stephanie glared at him and shuffled down the hall, back to her chamber. She slammed the door closed and locked it, not caring that Trayern and Rhyn were both trapped outside.

  Mithra glanced her way from his spot on the couch, and Stephanie flung herself across her bed, hating everything about her life at that moment.

  The cool air of the place-between-places brushed her face.

  “This can go one of two ways,” Rhyn said, stepping through the in-between place. “Rhyn nice, or Rhyn not nice. You choose.”

  She groaned. “Why are you letting our psycho father dictate anything?”

  “Our psycho father isn’t the one who wants you to get your ass out of bed.”

  She rolled onto her side, eyeing the muscular half-demon with liquid silver eyes. His arms were crossed to display his roped forearms.

  “Then who does?” she asked.

  “There’s only one way to find out.”

  “If it involves beheading someone, then –”

  “Come on, sis. A little trust.” Rhyn stretched forward to grab her legs and began hauling her off the bed.

  “Stop, stop!” Stephanie cried. “I’m getting up!”