Close Obsession (The Krinar Chronicles 2)

Adam proved to be indispensable as a lab partner, and Mia quickly realized that Saret had done her a huge favor by putting them together on the projects. The young K – he was only twenty-eight, she’d learned – was razor-sharp and extremely comfortable working with a human. As a teenager, he had apparently already made a fortune in the stock market and set up his adopted human family with a sizable trust fund, ensuring that they would always have a comfortable life. He also held a number of microchip patents that Intel and Apple were bidding for and was hoping to do an apprenticeship with Korum’s company in a few years. To her surprise, she learned that he actually had a human girlfriend (he refused to call her his charl). When Mia tried to pry further, sensing a fascinating story, he refused to divulge any other details. He did promise to have Mia meet her one day, and she had to be content with that.

In the first few days, Mia felt so overwhelmed that she wanted to cry, her brain hurting from the sheer amount of learning that she was trying to accomplish each day. To help her, Adam suggested that they try imprinting her with some of the necessary information, just like they would a Krinar child. Mia initially resisted the idea, but after struggling with basic data collection using some of the more complex lab equipment, she grudgingly agreed. Saret had been delighted to have a live subject to experiment on, even if she didn’t qualify as either a child or a Krinar, and requested Korum’s permission to try the new imprinting procedure on Mia. After grilling both Saret and Adam about the process’s safety and potential side effects, her cheren gave his consent, telling Mia that he hoped it would help her with the difficulty of the initial adjustment period. As a result, Mia spent the majority of the weekend inside the imprinting chamber, her brain rapidly absorbing all the information that Saret had deemed to be useful to his assistant.

By the time Mia left the chamber on Sunday evening, she felt dizzy and nauseated, but she knew enough neurobiology to qualify for an honorary doctorate in the subject. She could also potentially perform brain surgery, particularly on a Krinar subject – although she didn’t think she’d enjoy the physical aspects of that specific task. At the same time, she had – at least theoretically – mastered all the equipment in Saret’s lab and now felt infinitely more comfortable with Krinar technology overall.

After the imprinting, a whole new world opened up to Mia, and her second week in Saret’s lab was significantly less stressful than the first. Instead of feeling like a bumbling idiot all the time, she actually knew how to do all of the simple – and many of the more advanced – tasks that Saret required from his assistants. The three other apprentices in the lab – who had initially looked amused at her presence there – began to treat her as more of an equal, letting her share some of their tools and equipment. They were still reserved around her, as if uncertain about a human in their midst, but Mia didn’t let it bother her. There had been plenty of Krinar applicants for her position, and she was only there because of Korum. It was understandable that the other apprentices thought she didn’t really deserve this opportunity. Mia was determined to prove them wrong.

Now that she had a solid foundation with the imprinting, she became much faster at learning and was even able to offer some suggestions to Adam about potential improvements in the imprinting process. He had already thought of most of them, of course, but he nonetheless told Saret about Mia’s progress, and her boss said that she appeared to have a natural aptitude for his field – words of praise she would’ve never expected

to hear from a Krinar.

She loved working at the lab so much that she wondered why the previous assistant had left.

“I’m not sure,” Adam told her. “Saur just up and left one day. He told Saret he was quitting, and the next day he was gone. He was always a little strange, kind of a loner – none of us knew him that well. But he was really smart. He did a lot of work with mind manipulation, which is the most complex part of what we do. Nobody has seen him since he left. I don’t think he’s in Lenkarda anymore.”

On the home front, her relationship with Korum had undergone a significant change. After her first, rather unwilling confession of love, she felt like she had nothing left to hide, and the words now came quickly and easily to her tongue. Korum seemed to revel in the new situation, frequently demanding that she tell him how much she loved him, and there was a constant warm glow in his eyes when he looked at her. At times, she thought that he had to love her back, at least a little bit, but she didn’t want to ask for fear of spoiling the fragile truce that now seemed to reign between them. Instead, for the first time in her life, she chose to live in the moment and not dwell on the past or worry about the future.

Korum’s own days were occupied with the trial and all the associated politics, and he would often tell her about it over dinner. The Council had commissioned an investigation into the supposed memory loss of the Keiths, and various mind experts – including Saret – had to testify as to the validity of these findings. It was beginning to seem that the memory loss was indeed real, and the final verdict was put off until the Council could find out what exactly had happened and who was behind these strange events. Korum still suspected that Loris was the culprit, but he didn’t have enough evidence to sway the rest of the Council. As a result, the Keiths enjoyed a temporary reprieve while the investigation was ongoing.

Every night, Korum made dinner for them, constantly introducing her to new and exotic foods from Krina. Afterwards, they would either go for a walk on the beach or sit in his office, quietly working side by side. Whenever Mia allowed herself to think about her life in Lenkarda, she was struck by just how different – and amazing – it was compared to her initial expectations. Far from feeling like Korum’s human pet, she woke up every morning with a sense of purpose, excited to face the day ahead and learn everything her new job could teach her. Her evenings were spent enjoying the company of her lover, while her nights were consumed with passionate sex.

In bed, Korum was insatiable, and Mia realized that he had been holding back in New York. His hunger for her seemed to know no bounds, and he would often fuck her until she was completely worn out and literally passing out in his arms. Surprisingly, her body appeared to have acclimated to his lovemaking, and Mia no longer had to worry about internal soreness or achy muscles in the morning. Even on those occasions when he took her blood, she recovered with unusual ease.

He also began to introduce virtual reality into their sex life. Now, at least a couple of times a week, they had sex in a variety of public and private settings, ranging from the stage at a Beyonce concert to the top of Mount Everest (which had been far too cold for Mia’s taste). After that first time in the virtual club environment, he didn’t push her too far beyond her comfort zone, although she had no doubt that he’d just begun to scratch the surface of everything he ultimately planned to do with her in bed.

On some days, she marveled at her own seemingly inexhaustible energy. While she definitely tired more easily than her Krinar counterparts in Saret’s lab, she managed to work ten-plus hours a day and then spend several hours more with Korum, of which at least a couple were in bed – or wherever they happened to be when the mood struck him. She should’ve been exhausted and dragging all the time, but she felt great instead. She chalked it up to the fresh Costa Rican air and the general excitement of her new job.

She called Jessie after a week and told her how happy she was.

“Really, Mia? You’re happy there?” Jessie asked disbelievingly. “After everything he’s done to you?”

“It’s different now,” Mia explained to her roommate. “I was wrong to be so frightened of him in the beginning. I think he truly does care for me –”

“A blood-drinking alien who pretty much kidnapped you? Are you suffering from some weird version of Stockholm’s Syndrome?”

Mia laughed. “Hey, I’m the psych major here. And no, I don’t think so . . .” She didn’t go into all the details about her improved relationship with Korum – it still felt too fragile and precious – but she did tell Jessie about her internship and described some of the cool new things she was learning.

“Oh my God, Mia, you’re going to be an expert on the Ks when you come back,” Jessie said jealously. “Okay, I can see that he’s not exactly mistreating you –”

“No, far from it,” Mia told her earnestly. “I actually think I’m happier than I’ve ever been in my life.”

“But you are coming back to New York, right?” Jessie asked worriedly. “You’re not just going to decide to stay there, are you?”

“No, of course not,” Mia reassured her. “I have to finish college and everything . . .” Even if the thought of returning was not nearly as compelling as it had been just a few days ago.

She called her parents a couple of times as well, telling them that all was well and that she would be arriving home on Friday, almost exactly two weeks after she was initially scheduled to be there. Korum had cleared her vacation with Saret, telling him that Mia needed to see her family. Her boss had been less than pleased that Mia would be gone for an entire week, but he accepted it, particularly after she promised to stay in touch with Adam and keep up with the latest developments on her projects.

“What flight will you be on?” her mom asked eagerly. “We need to know so we can pick you up.”

Mia winced, glad that her mom couldn’t see her. She had no idea how she was going to get to Florida, and she’d been so busy at work that she’d forgotten to ask Korum about the specifics of their trip.

“I’m currently on a waitlist for an early morning flight,” Mia lied, cringing internally at yet another falsehood she had to tell her parents. “But it might end up being in the afternoon, so I really don’t know at this point. But don’t worry – the professor arranged a rental car for me, so I don’t need to be picked up at the airport.”

“Okay, honey,” her mom said, sounding surprised. “If you’re sure . . . We truly don’t mind. Are you flying into Orlando or Jacksonville?”

“Orlando,” Mia told her. It sounded plausible enough.

* * *