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“What?” she asked, feeling a bit self-conscious.
“Nothing,” he murmured, still smiling. “You just look very cute like this, with your eyelashes and hair all wet. Reminds me of that day when you were caught in the rain.”
“You mean the second time I saw you, when I sneezed all over you?” Mia asked wryly, still somewhat embarrassed at the memory.
He nodded. “You were the cutest thing I’d seen in a long time, all dripping curls and big blue eyes . . . and I could barely stop myself from kissing you right then and there.”
Mia gave him a disbelieving look. “Really? I thought I looked terrible, like a drowned rat.”
He laughed. “More like a drowned kitten, if you want to use animal analogies. Or a wet fregu – that’s a cute, fluffy mammal we have on Krina.”
“Do you have any of them here?” Mia asked, suddenly excited at the prospect of seeing some alien fauna. “In Lenkarda, I mean –”
Korum shook his head. “No, the fregu are not domesticated in any way, and we don’t take wild animals out of their habitats. We don’t domesticate animals in general.”
“So no pets of any kind?” Mia asked, surprised.
Another wave approached at that moment, and Korum lifted her higher, enabling her to keep her head above water this time. “No pets,” he confirmed once the wave passed. “That’s a uniquely human institution.”
“Really? I would’ve never thought that. My parents have a dog,” Mia confided. “A little Chihuahua. She’s very cute.”
“I know,” Korum said. “I’ve seen recordings.”
Somehow Mia wasn’t shocked. “Of course you have,” she said, sighing. She knew she should be upset at this invasion of her family’s privacy, but she felt oddly resigned instead. Her lover clearly had no sense of proper boundaries, and Mia was too content right now to spoil it with another argument. Still, she couldn’t resist asking, “Is there anything you don’t know about me or my family?”
“Probably not much at this point,” he admitted casually. “Your family is fascinating to me.”
Her family? “Why?” Mia asked, puzzled. “We’re just a regular American family –”
“Because you are fascinating to me,” Korum said, looking at her with an inscrutable amber gaze. “And I want to better understand who you are and where you’re coming from.”
Mia stared at him. “I see,” she murmured, but she didn’t see, not really. Why someone like him – a brilliant K with such a high standing in their society – would be interested in a regular human girl was beyond her comprehension.
Suddenly, he grinned at her, and the strange tension dissolved. “So how about you show me just how good of a swimmer you are?” he suggested playfully, letting go of her.
Mia grinned back, feeling almost unbearably happy. “Watch and learn,” she told him cockily, and headed for the ocean depths with a strong, even stroke, secure in the knowledge that she was far safer with Korum in deep water than she would be in a kiddie pool with a lifeguard.
* * *
The Krinar watched his enemy frolicking in the water with his charl.
Initially, he hadn’t really understood the girl’s appeal; she’d seemed like a typical human to him. A pretty little human, but nothing truly special. However, as he kept observing her, he’d slowly begun to notice the fine delicacy of her facial features, the creaminess of her pale skin. Her body was small and fragile, but it was perfectly curved in just the right places, and there was an innocent sensuality in the way she moved, in the angle at which she held her head when she spoke.
To his shock, the K realized that he wanted to bury his fingers in her thick, curly hair and inhale her scent, to lick her neck and feel the warm rush of blood in her veins through that soft skin. That was the best part about sex with human women – the knowledge that just a tiny bite away, paradise awaited.
The craving caught him by surprise. It wasn’t part of his plan. He’d thought himself above such nonsense, such primitive urges. He rarely indulged these days; he couldn’t afford the distraction. There was too much at stake to throw everything away for the sake of fleeting physical pleasure.
With a heroic effort, he pushed away the fantasy and focused on the task at hand.
Chapter 10
After their swim, Korum brought her back home, jumped into the shower, and left within two minutes, moving like a whirlwind. Bemused, Mia could only watch as he paused to brush a quick kiss on her forehead and then practically flew out the door.
Following his departure, Mia also took a shower and fortified herself with a snack of mango and walnuts, preparing for another potentially lengthy presentation. Then, putting on the bracelet Korum had given her yesterday, she settled comfortably on the couch and immersed herself in the show.
The second day of the trial started with the now-familiar chime.
As before, Mia found her way through the crowd toward Korum’s podium and perched on top of it. This time, she refused to touch his virtual self in any way, her cheeks heating up at the memory of what he’d done to her last night as a result of her actions yesterday.
