Page 6

Ben braced his knuckles on the ground and sank back to rest on his gorilla haunches. I covered my mouth with my handagain to hide my smile. Zoos would be off-limits for me in the future. I could never see real animals now without seeing the shifters I worked with. It was an odd side effect of my paranormal career.

“With my background, there is always that possibility. I’ve lived every day since you found me caged, wondering if someone was going to come after me again. The people your ex-husband worked with no doubt knew some of my background. The group of men I had with me were part of a special group specifically trained to fight paranormal creatures. The average human might not know much about what’s going on in the real world, but the military is very aware that normal humans are not the most powerful creatures on this planet.”

I turned and glared at Rasmus. “I don’t suppose ya made Jack’s military scientists forget Ben’s history when ya were re-programming them to forget the guardians, did ya?”

Rasmus sighed loudly and glared back. “No. We’ve discussed this many times, Aran. I didn’t make them forget anything. I planted a suggestion in their minds that their experiment using my blood had been a failure. I took no memories from them.”

I huffed, exasperated all over again to hear the replay of his half-ass efforts when he had been allegedlyhelpingme. My gaze returned to Ben. “Then I’m guessing the military is back to thinking genetic alterations might be the way to go.”

Ben nodded his gorilla head and snuffled loudly.

“But I couldn’t say that for sure,” Rasmus said.

It was more like Rasmuswouldn’tsay or even make an educated guess, but I would not debate this in front of Zara or Ben. What was done or not done wasn’t the actual issue.

“If it’s the military, we can’t do anything until they outright come after ya, Ben. Ya can stay here and be safe until ya revert to normal. What can we do to make ya more comfortable?”

“I’ll be safe hanging out in your trees tonight. We can talk about this again in the morning.”

Back in our bedroom,I looked around at my creature comforts and felt sorry that Ben had to spend the night in the grove. He’d fought wars and served his country. The man deserved better than to have to sleep in trees, no matter his form.

“I’m trying to understand, Aran. What did I do wrong this time, and when did I do it?”

I stared at the obtuse guardian. Rasmus had been smart enough to remove his shirt before pressing me into a serious conversation. He’d learned the value of distracting me, yet he wasn’t smart enough to figure out how his overly neutral interference might have caused Ben’s predicament.

The facts were plain to me and probably to Conn and Mulan as well. Neither of them had bothered trying to get him to see it, though, but I was stubborn.

I was also foolish enough to let it matter to me. Why? Because I wanted the man I was sleeping with to be on my side and not just give lip service to wanting to be.

I looked away when Rasmus went for the snap on his jeans and fought a sigh when I heard the rasp of his zipper moving down. No other man had ever reduced me to this air-headed version of myself merely by watching him undress. It wasn’t fair.

Fiona had laughed at all my warnings about the allure of non-human men, but Rasmus was proof of my wisdom. The guardian could make me weak in the knees without laying a hand on me. Once he touched me in that intense, passionateway he had, my determination to educate him about evil humans became nothing more than wishful thinking.

“Why is it hard for you to understand? Zara understands. She might not remember her thoughts as clearly, but she still has a good grasp of human motivations. Most people are restless and curious and selfish, Rasmus. For some people, this means seeking money above all else. For others, it’s about power. For scientists, it’s about knowledge and fame. Regardless of what a human seeks, they won’t stop seeking until they have either acquired it or had a massive change of heart.”

“Precisely,” a completely nude Rasmus said with his most serious expression. “I solved your problem with the military scientists at the moment it was happening. I stopped all the killing and redirected their energies to something productive. That bordered on interfering with their free will, but it was the only way I could see to help you.”

My sigh was loud because I was tired of hiding how much he frustrated me. “Every interaction one being has with another affects the free will of both. Some philosophers even argue that free will is a myth. They say it’s just a word we assign to the natural push and pull creatures have with each other.”

“I’m still not clear on how what I did caused Ben’s problem,” he said, trying to pull my shirt off over my head.

I laughed at his efforts to undress me while we argued, but it was impossible to ignore his interest in getting me naked.

“Ya changed the minds of the scientistsa little, Rasmus, but what would have happened if ya changed their mindsa lot? They might have gone off and become shop owners or janitors without a thought in their heads to harm anyone. Instead, they’re back to studying how to make better monsters. They’re likely after Ben now, so they can study him.”

“I still don’t see how I was wrong. Intervening is not something we randomly decide to do. The consequences arecarefully considered before intervention occurs. I had no time to go through that process. My need to protect you overrode my wisdom. Indirectly, this isyourfault. If I hadn’t been so worried about someone killing you, I would have given the situation more thought, and perhaps Ben’s situation could have been avoided.”

I blinked a few times and rubbed my eyes. “Talking to ya gives me a headache, Rasmus.”

“That is regretful. My wish is to make you feel desired enough to desire me back. Is there anything I can do about your headache?”

My gaze fell to his erection and then raised to his sparkling eyes. “It’s a metaphorical headache.”

“That’s the absolute worst kind,” he said in a whisper. “I must think more about this discussion tomorrow. Tonight, I can no longer concentrate on your words.”

He had to bend a bit to reach the snap on my jeans. I locked my knees so I wouldn’t fall when he slowly undid the snap and slid down the zipper. His hands slid inside my jeans and lifted me out of them. He hoisted me up his body until my clothing fell to my ankles.

By the time our bodies hit the bed, I cared too much about the present to worry about the past.