Close Obsession (The Krinar Chronicles 2)

The bedroom door opened quietly, and Korum walked in, interrupting her thoughts. “Hey there, sleepyhead, how are you feeling?”

Mia couldn’t help smiling at him, forgetting her concerns for the moment. For the first time since she’d known him, Korum was dressed in Krinar clothing: a sleeveless shirt made of some soft-looking white material and a pair of loose grey shorts that ended just above his knees. It was a simple outfit, but it did wonders for his physique, accentuating his powerfully muscled build. He looked mouthwateringly gorgeous, his smooth bronze skin glowing with health and those amber eyes shining as he looked at her lying on his bed.

“The bed is awesome,” Mia confided. “I don’t know how you slept on anything else.”

He grinned, sitting down next to her and picking up a strand of her hair to play with. “I know. It was a real sacrifice – but your presence made it quite tolerable.”

Mia laughed and rolled over onto her stomach, feeling absurdly happy. “So what now? Do I get to meet other intelligent objects? I have to say, your technology is very cool.”

“Oh, you have no idea just how cool our technology is,” Korum said, looking at her with a mysterious smile. “But you’ll learn soon.”

Bending down, he kissed her exposed shoulder and then lightly nibbled on her neck, his mouth warm and soft on her skin. Closing her eyes, Mia shivered from the pleasant sensation. Her body immediately responded to his touch, and she moaned softly, feeling a surge of warm moisture between her legs.

He stopped and sat up straight.

Surprised, Mia opened her eyes and looked at him. “You don’t want me?” she asked quietly, trying to keep the hurt note out of her voice.

“What? No, my darling, I very much want you.” And it was true; she could see the warm golden flecks in his expressive eyes, and the soft material of his shorts did little to hide his erection.

“Then why did you stop?” asked Mia, trying very hard not to sound like a child deprived of candy.

He sighed, looking frustrated. “A friend of mine is coming over to meet you. He’ll be here in a few minutes.”

Mia looked at him in surprise. “Your friend wants to meet me? Why?”

Korum smiled. “Because he’s heard a lot about you from me. And also because he’s one of our top mind experts and can help you with the adjustment process.”

Mia frowned slightly. “A mind expert? You want me to see a shrink?”

Korum shook his head, grinning. “No, he’s not a shrink. In our society, a mind expert is someone who deals with all aspects of the brain. He’s like a neurosurgeon, psychiatrist, and therapist combined – literally an expert on all matters having to do with the mind.”

That was interesting, but didn’t really answer her question. “So why does he want to see me?”

“Because I think there’s something he can do to make you feel more at home here,” Korum said, his fingers trailing down her arm, rubbing it softly.

He liked to do that, Mia had noticed, to just randomly touch her during their conversations, as though craving constant physical contact. Mia didn’t mind. It was that chemistry he had talked about before; their bodies gravitated toward each other like two objects in space.

She forced her attention back to the conversation. “Like what?” she asked, feeling slightly wary.

“Well, for instance, would you like to be able to understand and speak our language?”

Mia’s eyes widened, and she nodded eagerly. “Of course!”

“Have you ever wondered how I’m able to speak English so well? And every other human language? How all of us speak like this?”

“I didn’t know you spoke other languages besides English,” Mia confessed, staring at him in amazement. She had briefly wondered how he knew such perfect American English, but she’d always assumed the Ks had simply studied everything before coming to Earth. Korum was incredibly smart, so she’d never really questioned the fact that he knew her language and was able to speak it without any accent. And now he was telling her that he spoke a bunch of other languages as well?

“So you speak French?” she asked. At his nod, she continued, “Spanish? Russian? Polish? Mandarin?” He made an affirmative gesture each time.

“Okay . . . What about Swahili?” asked Mia, sure that she had caught him this time.

“That too,” he said, smiling at her astounded expression.

“Okay,” said Mia slowly. “I gather you’re about to tell me that it’s not just pure smarts on your part.”

He grinned. “Exactly. I could’ve learned the languages on my own given enough time, but there’s a more efficient way – and that’s what Saret can do for you.”

Mia stared at him. “He can teach me how to speak Krinar?”