Close Remembrance (The Krinar Chronicles 3)

Before the waves had a chance to fade, he was already inside her, his shorts ripped open at the crotch area and his thick length buried deep within her small channel. Gasping at his abrupt entry, Mia grabbed his shoulders, holding on tightly as he began to stroke in and out, stimulating the nerve endings that were still sensitive from her orgasm. Panting, she opened her eyes and met his golden gaze.

He was staring at her with an intense look of hunger on his face. Bending his head, he took her mouth in a savage kiss, ravaging her with his tongue even as his cock continued to plunge into her from below. One of his hands held her hair, keeping her head immobile, while his other hand slid down her side and underneath her hips, touching her folds where they were joined. His finger rubbed around her entrance, gathering the moisture there, and then that same finger burrowed between her cheeks and pushed into her other opening.

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Overwhelmed by the sensations, Mia moaned helplessly. With the way he was holding her, she couldn’t do anything but feel. He was on top of her, inside her, all over her, and she couldn’t catch her breath, her heartbeat skyrocketing as the tension within her spiraled higher and higher. His finger in her ass seemed impossibly large, invasive, yet there was a dark pleasure there too, an unusual feeling of fullness that added to the sensuality of the moment.

Without any warning, everything inside her tightened and convulsed, and Mia came, her body twisting and shuddering in his arms. He groaned, grinding against her, trying to get even deeper, and she could feel his cock pulsing within her as he found his own release.

After a couple of minutes, he slowly withdrew from her. “All right?” he asked softly, and Mia nodded, too limp and relaxed to move.

He smiled and picked her up, carrying her to the shower for another quick rinse, and then they got dressed and ready for breakfast with her family.

At breakfast, Mia found her attention wandering, her mind again turning to her dream and that conversation with Saret. After a few minutes of dwelling on it, she realized what was bothering her.

Why did Saret try to claim that Korum was the villain? Was he delusional, or did he think Mia would be so gullible as to believe his lies? And why bother lying to her at all, if he was planning to erase her memory shortly afterwards? She tried to think of his exact words, something about Korum wanting to take her planet. What the hell did that even mean? The Krinar were already there, on Earth, sharing it alongside humans – which is what Korum had said was their intention.

Still, Mia couldn’t quite shake an uneasy feeling. She knew her lover had a ruthless streak – and she knew he was loyal to his people. Could that loyalty extend as far as wanting to get rid of an entire rival species to gain a precious resource? Korum had told her himself that Earth was unique, that out of all the planets out there, it came closest to mimicking Krina. And now that Mia was here, she could see that it was indeed the case; if anything ever happened to Earth, humans would be more than happy to live on Krina – and likely vice versa with the Krinar.

Putting down her tong-like utensil, Mia studied her lover as he conversed and joked with her family. It seemed impossible that there could be something sinister hidden beneath his beautiful exterior and warm smile. Could he love her and simultaneously want to destroy her people? Just how far did his ambition extend?

Taking a bite of her food, Mia tried to think about it rationally. Surely she would’ve known if she had fallen for a monster. Nobody could hide such darkness for so long. Korum was no angel – and he didn’t necessarily hold her kind in the highest regard – but he would never go so far as to take their planet away.

Or would he?

The food she just swallowed sat heavily in Mia’s stomach. Excusing herself, she got up and went to the restroom to freshen up. Splashing some water on her face, she stared in the mirror, seeing the poorly concealed look of panic in her eyes.

She needed to talk to Korum and she needed to do it now, before the old doubts and suspicions got a chance to poison their relationship again. If there was anything Mia had learned from the Resistance fiasco, it was the folly of jumping to conclusions and assuming the worst. She was no longer the girl who was too scared to talk to her K lover for fear of betraying her people. Korum now belonged to her as much as she belonged to him – and one way or another, she would know the truth.

Breakfast seemed to last forever. Mia smiled and chatted with her family, all the while squirming with impatience inside. She could see Korum giving her occasional questioning glances, and she knew he could tell that something was wrong, that her smiles had a brittle edge to them.

Finally, it was over. Marisa returned to her room to take a post-meal nap – something she’d started doing recently to combat pregnancy-related tiredness – and Connor joined her, not wanting to be separated from his wife. Mia’s parents retired to their room as well, to read and watch some shows about Krina that Korum had set up for them.

“Do you want to go for a walk?” Mia asked Korum as soon as her parents were out of the earshot.

His eyebrows rose. “It’s not too hot for you right now?”

“It should be fine.” Mia had no idea if it would be fine or not, but she wanted to get out of the house – and out of her family’s earshot.

“Okay, sure.” Korum got to his feet as smoothly as only a Krinar could. “Let’s go.”

The blast of heat hit Mia as soon as they exited the house. It was around eleven in the morning, and the sun was incredibly bright in the cloudless sky. All around them, Mia could hear the chirping and singing of insects, birds, and other creatures – some seemingly familiar, others strange and exotic.

They walked for a few minutes toward the lake, following the same path they took yesterday. In the light of day, their surroundings were even more beautiful and striking than they had been at twilight, but Mia couldn’t focus on that now. Her stomach was twisted into knots, and she felt nauseated, as though she’d eaten something that didn’t agree with her.

“All right, Mia.” Korum stopped in a shaded area when they reached the lake and pulled her down to sit beside him on a thick patch of grass-like plants. “What’s wrong, my sweet? What’s going on with you this morning?”

Mia looked at the man she loved more than life itself. “I want to know if there’s any truth to what Saret said.”

His gaze was steady and unblinking. “Which part?”

“The part –” Her voice broke mid-sentence. “The part about you wanting to take Earth from us.”

For a moment, there was only silence, during which they stared at each other. Then he said softly, “We want to share your planet with you. I told you that.”

“Then why did Saret say you want to take it from us?” Something didn’t ring true. “Is he completely deluded, or is there something I should know? What are your real intentions, Korum? How exactly are you going to share our planet when your sun finally dies?”

He was again silent for a few seconds, his face hard and unreadable. “You still don’t trust me, do you?” he finally said. “After everything, you still think I’m the bad guy.”