Naughty Karma

“Don’t you dare try to change the subject.”

“I’m not changing shit. You’re the one who is so fucking scared to look at who you really are that you’d rather bottle up your God-given talents and make yourself crazy than learn how to put them to some use.”

“So that makes it okay to sell me to the highest bidder?”

“You don’t want your power anyway!”

“That doesn’t give you the right to give it away!”

“I didn’t! Goddamn it, Karma, I may have done a lot of shady shit in my life, but I refuse to be tried and hanged for something I didn’t even do. It was a fucking dream.”

“They aren’t just dreams and you know it.”

“Yeah, well, they aren’t fucking infallible either. Maybe you didn’t hear what you thought you heard.”

“I heard plenty.” And it had rocked her to her foundation. She’d trusted him. She hadn’t realized exactly how much until that word, that deal, had shattered it all, leaving shards of broken trust lodged in her veins. What more had he been keeping from her? Who was he, really?

“I think you heard what you wanted to hear.”

“Oh, so it’s my fault? Can you honestly tell me that you would never make that deal? That you wouldn’t even consider it?”

He hesitated. The bastard actually hesitated.

“Oh fuck you.” Suddenly the charm he’d made her seemed to burn against her skin. She couldn’t get it off fast enough. The thong tangled in her hair.

“Karma…I wouldn’t leave you with her. If I was powerless, I wouldn’t be able to come for you—”

“Shut up.” She threw the charm and it hit him in the chest—which was a shame since she’d been aiming for his face. How could she have been so stupid? “What was on that? Some kind of gullibility mojo?”

“No. The charm is clean—just a few extra focus and protection wards.”

There was enough hesitation in the denial to make her snarl, “Oh God, what?”

He grimaced. “The vodka.”

“You spiked the vodka. Of course you did. Because getting me drunk wasn’t good enough.”

“I only added a few little spells to make you relax and trust me. And I drank it too. I made myself just as vulnerable as you were.”

She really had been a prize idiot. He’d been playing her from the word go and she’d known that, but she’d let herself forget it. She’d been totally sucked in. She’d started to actually care for him and the entire time he’d been conning her, stringing her along in an attempt to keep his superhuman powers. She’d been so sure they were more than that, but he hadn’t changed at all.

She’d actually started to think she was falling in love with him. Last night she’d almost said the words without even meaning to. But all along she’d been falling for a man who’d only ever cared about himself. And she’d known that. She’d been so acutely conscious of his faults. But he’d been so honest about who he was; somehow his sincerity about being a liar had allowed him to slip right past her defenses and into her heart—where the bastard had no business being.

“Karma.”

His voice was soft, but she clung to her anger, because if she let it go, she knew the tears would come and Karma Cox didn’t cry. “Take your heart,” she snapped.

“Karma, we can talk about this. Don’t be rash—”

“I thought you liked rash.” He opened his mouth and she held up a hand to stop him. “Never mind. I don’t want to hear another word from you. I’m not reneging on our deal. Though it would serve you right if I did.” Still, she found she couldn’t—and not because of the binding he’d placed on her that first night at his shop. She didn’t want him dead. Even though she probably ought to be ready to dance on his grave, her stomach still roiled at the thought of anything happening to the asshole. “Rodriguez will summon this devil bitch and I will be on hand to make sure you don’t try to hijack my exorcist’s soul, but beyond that, we’re done. Carry your heart upstairs and wait up there. I can’t look at you right now.”

She half-expected pleading, but his expression closed down tight, anger and something darker and much more sinister taking up residence in his eyes. “Fine. We were about done anyway, weren’t we?”

Her heart stuttered. He wasn’t talking about the argument or their deal. It was them, the idea of any sort of a relationship between them. We were about done anyway…

He grabbed the crate without another word and disappeared up the elevator, taking his heart and leaving her alone in the suddenly echoingly empty expanse of her apartment.

She slumped against the couch, pressing a fist to her abdomen. Why did it burn like this? Why was it so hard to think past the massive sense of betrayal hazing her thoughts? What had changed really? She’d known they wouldn’t last. So why did hearing him say it feel like swallowing acid?

Karma closed her eyes and went through her mental exercises, needing them for the first time in a week. When she had her center again, she straightened and smoothed her clothing. It would all be over in a few hours. If she could get through this, she wouldn’t look back.

Her early-warning instincts twitched—Rodriguez would be here in a few minutes. Not long now.

She was Unshakable Karma. It would take more than one unethical warlock to break her. Head held high, she strode to the elevator. Business as usual. Nothing more. And when business was over, she could let that hollow ache in her gut expand to consume her if she wanted, but not now. Now she was the ice queen again and nothing could touch her. Not even him.

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