Close Obsession (29 page)

“Probably,” Mia agreed, shrugging. “He said it’s been over between them for a few years and it was never serious in the first place. Still, I just can’t help imagining the two of them together, you know?”

For about a minute, they walked in comfortable silence, slowly drinking their smoothies and looking out over the water.

Then Marisa spoke again. “You really love him, don’t you?” she asked, sounding worried for the first time.

Mia sighed and looked down at the sand. “More than I can say,” she admitted. “More than I could’ve ever imagined.”

“Oh Mia . . .”

“I know, I know. I don’t need a lecture on this. It can’t possibly end well, believe me, I know.”

Her sister reached out and squeezed her hand. “Well, for what it’s worth, he seems crazy about you. Absolutely crazy. I’ve never seen anything like that. He looks at you like he wants to devour you – and like he would do anything for you at the same time. He seems obsessed with you, baby sis . . .”

Mia laughed, Marisa’s words startling her out of her gloomy mood. “Oh, please, I’m sure you’re exaggerating. We just have good chemistry, that’s all –”

“No, Mia,” Marisa shook her head, looking serious. “What you guys have is way more than that. I don’t even know how to describe it. He watches your every move. It’s kind of uncanny, actually. And he can’t seem to go more than a couple of minutes without touching you . . .”

Mia flushed a little, wondering if her sister had overheard their earlier conversation. If so, then Ellet definitively did; the Krinar tended to have a sharper sense of hearing than most humans.

“How did you end up getting involved with him, anyway?” Marisa asked with unconcealed curiosity. “You never really told me the full story, just that BS about your lover from Dubai . . . You’ve always been so cautious and by the rules – I can’t quite picture you jumping into an affair with a K.”

Mia hesitated. She didn’t want to lie to her sister anymore, but she also wasn’t up to telling her family the full story. “It wasn’t easy for me,” she admitted. “I was pretty scared in the beginning, and Korum can be . . . intimidating at times. But I was very attracted to him, obviously, and he was very persistent . . . and, well, you know the rest of the story.”

Marisa regarded her intently. “I see. I’m sure there’s more to it, but you can tell me when you’re ready.”

“Thanks, Marisa. You’re the best sister a girl can ask for,” Mia told her sincerely.

“I know – and very modest, too.” Her sister grinned as she said this, and Mia smiled back at her.

They walked some more, each occupied with her own thoughts, until Marisa spoke again. “Is there any way things could work out for you guys?” she asked, her face serious again. “Any way at all?”

Mia shook her head. “No, I don’t see how. We are literally different species – with very different lifespans. He will ultimately leave me . . . and I don’t know how I will survive that at this point.”

“Oh Mia . . . Baby, I don’t even know what to say . . .” There was a look of intense pity on Marisa’s pretty face.

“You don’t have to say anything,” Mia told her calmly. “It’s my own fault for falling in love with him. I could’ve found myself a nice, normal guy – someone like Connor – but no, I had to get involved with an alien. I’m sure I will ultimately recover . . . and maybe even meet a human man that I will grow to care about.”

“Have you talked to him about any of this?”

“Not, I haven’t,” Mia told her honestly. “I’m too happy right now to bring this up quite yet. For once, I’m trying to seize the moment – to enjoy something without worrying about the consequences . . .”

Marisa smiled, but there was still a shadow of worry on her face. “You go, baby girl. Carpe diem and all that.”

* * *

The Krinar watched the two girls walking slowly along the beach. They were both pretty, but only one held his interest.

There was no point in observing her now, rationally he knew that. He should be concentrating on his enemy, not some little human who couldn’t possibly be a threat to his plans.

Yet he couldn’t look away.

She laughed, turning her face up toward the sun, and he zoomed in, pausing the recording for a second. Her lips were parted, showing even white teeth, and her pale skin appeared luminous, almost glowing.

She looked happy, and he almost regretted what he had to do. If it worked tomorrow, she would be upset for a while.

At least until he had a chance to take her pain away.

* * *

That evening, Korum took the whole family out to dinner, bringing them to a gourmet restaurant that had recently opened in Hammock Beach, an exclusive private community not too far from Ormond.

To Connor’s happy surprise, there was actual seafood on the menu, as well as steak and caviar. The prices for animal products were astronomical, of course, with some of the dishes costing close to what some teachers made in a week. Her parents gaped at the menu, stunned, until Korum told them firmly that the dinner was his treat and that he would not hear any protests in that regard. Initially hesitant, her family ultimately gave in, with Connor ordering himself a prime rib and her parents sharing a shrimp cocktail as an appetizer and lobster as the main course. Mia got noodles made from real egg, while Marisa had some Russian-style blinis with caviar. Korum, as usual, stuck to mostly plant-based fare, although he did allow a little butter in his hibachi vegetables. “One of the tastier human inventions,” he explained wryly.

The first part of the dinner passed uneventfully, with Korum politely asking her parents about their jobs and how they came to this country as children. He seemed particularly interested in the immigrant experience and the acclimation process for humans. Her parents were more than happy to talk about that, and the conversation flowed smoothly and easily.

A few glasses of wine later, however, her brother-in-law began to venture into some less comfortable territory. “So why did you guys come to Earth, anyway?” Connor asked, looking at Korum with unconcealed curiosity.

Mia froze, remembering her lover’s rather low opinion of the human race and its treatment of Earth – the planet the Ks regarded as their future home.

But she needn’t have worried. Korum’s parent-pleasing façade was firmly in place. “Our solar system is much older than yours,” he explained casually. “And our star will begin to die long before your sun. So it made sense for us to begin preparing for that eventuality. Also, it’s good to be diversified in terms of locations: if some kind of a cosmic disaster were to befall Krina or our home galaxy, at least some of the Krinar would survive.”

“Oh, wow, you guys really think ahead, huh?”

Connor sounded impressed, and Korum gave him a small smile before steering the conversation to Mia’s childhood and what she had been like in kindergarten.

The rest of the dinner flew by, with her family competing for a chance to tell the most amusing and embarrassing story about Mia as a baby – everything from her odd preference for purple clothes when she was three to Marisa bribing her with candy to get her to do her math homework in first grade.

“I find it hard to believe that Mia ever had to be forced to do her homework,” Korum said, smiling at her warmly. “I can’t get her to stop doing it now. Her work ethic is incredible – even Saret is impressed, and he’s had a lot of talented and dedicated assistants over the years.”

Her parents grinned, looking proud and pleased, and Mia realized yet again what a skilled manipulator Korum was. He had her family eating out of the palm of his hand, despite the fact that they should’ve been madly worried about their youngest daughter being in a relationship with an extraterrestrial predator. Not that she minded, of course. Her lover was doing exactly what Mia wanted – setting her parents’ mind at ease – and she was grateful for that.

Finally, the dinner wrapped up around ten. Saying good-bye to her family, Mia climbed into Korum’s Ferrari and they drove home, with Mia feeling happy and full from the delicious meal.

* * *

Waking up the next morning, Mia bounced out of bed full of energy. Quickly brushing her teeth, she put on the two-piece bathing suit that Korum had thoughtfully left for her and went to look for him.

She found him lounging by the pool, sunning himself like a big golden cat. Unlike a human, Korum never burned, his skin always the same lightly bronzed shade. Come to think of it, Mia had somehow managed to avoid sunburn herself thus far, despite not using any sunblock. For a second, she wondered if Korum had given her something to protect her skin without her knowing and then forgot about it, too excited to start the day.

Seeing her enter the pool area, Korum gave her a slow, sensuous smile that reminded Mia of the wicked things he’d done to her last night. Her lower belly tightened with remembered pleasure. He couldn’t seem to get enough of her – and she of him – to the point that Mia was beginning to wonder whether they were addicted to each other after all. Of course, Korum had warned her of blood addiction, not sexual addiction, but she couldn’t imagine craving him more than she did already.

Tall shrubs and a solid white fence surrounded the pool area, blocking it from the view of anyone passing by on the beach and providing privacy for the mansion’s residents. Encouraged by that, Mia came up to him and ran her hand down his chest, reveling in the feel of his smooth, sun-warmed skin.

He grinned and caught her hand, bringing it to his mouth for a kiss. “Ah, my lady awakes,” he teased, his soft lips nibbling lightly at the back of her hand.

A shiver of pleasure ran through her at his touch, and she suddenly felt much warmer. Fighting a blush, she asked, “Do you want to go to the beach this morning?”

They were supposed to meet her parents for lunch today and then drive to St. Augustine to visit the Alligator Farm, one of Mia’s favorite attractions in the area. However, it was only 9 a.m. right now, so they had plenty of time to kill.

“What about breakfast?” he asked her. “You’re not hungry?”

“I can eat a banana on the way,” Mia told him, itching to go for a swim in the ocean. “I’m still sort of full from yesterday’s dinner.”

“Then let’s go.”

The beach in front of their house was beautiful and almost completely deserted. Although it was not a private beach, there were no hotels nearby and no easy parking for the potential beach-goers. As a result, only the wealthy residents of the beachfront houses and a few hardy souls practicing long-distance beach walking were likely to be found there.

Exiting through the gated pool area, they walked on a narrow wooden bridge that led from the house to the sand, bypassing the dunes.

As soon as they stepped off the bridge, Mia kicked off her flip-flops and ran toward the water, eager to test its temperature. At this time of year, the Atlantic was not as warm as it would be later in the summer, but she didn’t care. Despite the relatively early hour, it was already hot outside, and she was looking forward to the coolness of the ocean.

They swam for a solid hour until Mia felt pleasantly tired, her muscles aching from the unusual exertion. She was surprised at her own endurance; other than swimming a little in Costa Rica in the evenings, she really hadn’t done much cardio in recent months. Perhaps she was still in shape from a year ago, when Jessie had signed both of them up for a 5K charity race and Mia had gone on a mad exercise spree to prepare for it. Or maybe all that nutritious food Korum was feeding her was actually that good for her body.

When they finally came out of the water, Mia stretched out on a big towel they had brought from the house, and Korum lay down beside her. Closing her eyes, she relaxed, the hot rays of the sun beaming down on her skin. She vaguely wondered if she should put on sunblock, but she felt far too lazy to move. Just a few minutes, she promised herself, just enough to produce some vitamin D . . .

A pleasant tickling sensation woke her up from her nap some time later.

Opening her eyes, she turned her head to the side, squinting a little from the bright light. Korum was lying there beside her, propped up on one elbow. Looking down at her with a smile, he was gently stroking the side of her ribcage with one long finger. His dark hair gleamed in the sunlight, and there was a warm glow in his thickly lashed amber eyes.

“What?” Mia murmured, feeling a bit self-conscious. The bikini she was wearing left very little to the imagination, and the way he was staring at her right now made her feel absurdly shy.

“Nothing,” he said softly. “Your skin just looks so delectable in this light. I never realized before how pretty such pale skin could be.”

“Um, thank you . . .”

“And it blushes so prettily too,” he teased, brushing his fingers against her suddenly too-warm cheeks.

Mia gave him a slightly embarrassed smile. It was still so new to her, being in a relationship, having someone touching and admiring her body like that. And to have that someone be the gorgeous creature lying beside her – that was beyond anything Mia could’ve ever imagined.

“How long was I out for?” she asked, remembering her impromptu nap. “I really didn’t mean to drift off . . .”