Close Liaisons (The Krinar Chronicles 1)

She didn’t want to die, but she didn’t think she could kill him, not even in self-defense.

Taking a deep breath, Mia asked, “When is it happening? How long until the attack takes place?”

Leslie hesitated, apparently wondering if Mia was still trustworthy.

“Leslie,” Mia said wearily, “I know what would happen if he found out I was helping you. I won’t warn him. I can’t, not without losing my life in the process. I have no regrets about what I’ve done. Just because I can’t kill someone I’ve been intimate with for the past month doesn’t mean I would betray our cause. I just want to know how much longer I have –”

“Until tomorrow,” said Leslie. “You have until tomorrow. My advice is to disappear in the morning – get away as far as you can. Don’t pack, don’t do anything to raise his suspicions. Just leave. One way or another, everything will be over by this weekend.”

* * *

That evening, Korum came home late, closer to nine o’clock.

Mia found herself pacing back and forth in the living room starting at five o’clock, unable to sit still or relax in anticipation of what was to come. If Leslie had told her the truth, this would be her last night together with Korum . . . and maybe the last

night she was alive. To maximize her chances of survival, she decided to follow Leslie’s advice about leaving first thing in the morning. Korum would likely be gone from the apartment by then, and she would have a chance to escape – maybe taking the subway to one of the boroughs. The dissolver, as she’d decided to call it, was sitting in her purse, safe and sound. She had no intention of using it on Korum, but it was still good to know that she had something she could defend herself with, in case all hell did break loose on Friday.

Just to keep herself busy, she went through her closet and tried on a few of her new dresses. Her wardrobe was so large now that many of her clothes still had tags on them, and she had no idea what she owned. Everything fit her perfectly, of course; the shoppers from Saks had done their job. After an hour of trying on one outfit after another, Mia settled on a simple grey sleeveless dress, made of some cotton-silk blend, that hugged her upper body and flared gently from the waist down to her knees. Despite the conservative color and cut, it looked stylish and sexy – as did most of what Mia wore now. To go with the dress, Mia decided to apply some makeup, putting on one coat of mascara and a light dusting of powder. She had no idea why it was suddenly so important to look good tonight, since she didn’t normally obsess over such things, but she wanted to appear particularly attractive to Korum this evening. Finishing the outfit with a pair of strappy black heels, Mia resumed her impatient pacing.

He had given her a phone number where he could be reached in case she needed him, but Mia had never used it before. As eight o’clock rolled by, however, she seriously contemplated calling him to find out his whereabouts. But that would be so far out of character for her that he might wonder – and she didn’t want to chance his getting suspicious.

Finally, the door opened at a quarter to nine. He came in, dressed in a simple pair of blue jeans and a black T-shirt. It didn’t matter what he wore, of course; he would have looked stunning in rags. At the sight of her standing there, a wide dimpled smile appeared on his beautiful face, lighting his features and making those amber eyes crinkle at the corners. And then a familiar golden glow lit his gaze.

Before she had a chance to say anything, he was next to her, lifting her up effortlessly for a deep, thorough kiss. His tongue stabbed into her mouth, and Mia wound her arms around him and kissed him back, passionately and a little desperately. Her legs found their way around his hips, and they stayed like that, locked in each others’ arms, until Mia was gasping for breath and writhing against him, her breasts rubbing against his chest and her loins grinding on his pelvis. He groaned low in his throat, and she could feel his erection grow even bigger, pressing into her nether regions through the material that separated them. Holding her up with one arm, he found the lacy scrap of material that covered her pussy and tore it off, his fingers petting and exploring her moist folds. Mia moaned, driven nearly mindless with desire, and heard the sound of a zipper sliding down. And then he was inside her, his cock thrusting up into her even as he still held her like that, lifted up against him while he was standing in the middle of the living room.

Shocked at the suddenness of his penetration, Mia cried out, her inner tissues struggling to accommodate the intrusion, and he paused for a second, letting her get used to the feel of him in the unfamiliar position. And then he started moving, raising her up and down on his penis with one hand while his other hand buried itself in her hair, bringing her mouth back toward him. There was no slow and gentle build-up this time, as everything inside Mia tensed simultaneously, and then she was hurling into the climax, her muscles clamping down on his cock, and he was coming too, so deeply inside her that she felt his contractions in her belly.

Panting, Mia collapsed against him, unable to believe that this happened just now, in the span of all of two minutes. His breathing was heavy as well, and she could feel his powerful chest moving up and down as she hung in his grasp, his penis still inside her. Once the pulsations of his orgasm ended, he lifted her up and placed her carefully on the ground, his hands still wrapped around her waist. Mia’s legs were shaking, and she clung to him, grateful for the support.

Staring up at him, Mia noticed that his eyes were returning back to their regular amber color. His lips curling into a small, wry smile, he said huskily, “I guess I have to apologize again – clearly I don’t have any control where you’re concerned. I really didn’t mean to jump you like that first thing. You’re probably hungry too . . .”

Mia actually was, but it didn’t matter. Blushing a little at the feel of his semen sliding down her leg, she mumbled quietly, “No, no need for apologies . . . you know that I really enjoyed it too . . .”

His smile now held purely masculine satisfaction. “I’m glad,” he murmured. “Now how about some dinner?”

Mia nodded in agreement, and blushed even more when he disappeared for a second and came back with a paper towel that he handed to her. Embarrassed, Mia looked away as she cleaned off the remnants of their passion.

He laughed softly. “You’re still such a prude,” he teased gently. “We’ll have to cure you of that at some point. It’s all natural, you know.”

Mia shrugged, purposefully not meeting his eyes. For some reason, she still had these occasional bouts of shyness around him, despite all the hot and raunchy sex they’ve had in the past month.

Korum laughed some more, and then asked, “Since you’re dressed so nicely, how do you feel about going out for some French cuisine?”

Mia felt great about that, and she told him so.

“Okay, then, let me take a quick rinse and change, and we’ll go,” he said, stripping off the T-shirt on the way to the bathroom. The sight of his lean, muscled back made her insides clench with desire again. Why him, she wondered again in desperation, why did he have to be the one to make her feel this way? And how would she be able to bear it when he was gone for good?

The dinner was at a little French place Mia had never heard of. Nonetheless, the meal was outstanding, from the ratatouille Mia had gotten for her main course to the super-light pastry they ended up sharing for dessert.

“So are you now officially done with school for this year?” Korum asked, taking a sip of his red wine. He seemed to like wine and champagne, Mia had noticed, although she had never seen it have any effect on him. Then again, she’d never seen him have more than a couple of glasses.

“That’s it,” she replied, spearing a piece of zucchini with her fork. “The school year is officially over for me. I turned in all the papers today, and now I can be a total bum.”

He grinned. “Somehow I can’t quite envision you bumming around all day. Ever since I’ve known you, you’ve been busy studying or doing something for school.” Reaching for her, he lightly stroked her cheek, his expression becoming more serious. “It’ll be nice to have you relax a little. You’ve been working way too hard in these past couple of weeks. I don’t think all that stress is good for your health.”

Mia gave him a surprised look. “I’m fine,” she protested. “I feel great – it’s really not a problem at all.”

Korum regarded her intently, a concerned expression on his face. “I don’t know,” he said, shaking his head. “Your immune system is so delicate, so fragile – it’s really not good for you to overload yourself like that.”