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your chosen . . . major . . . and I think you could be a useful addition to my team. Would you be able to start tomorrow?”
Mia almost jumped from excitement, but controlled herself in the last moment and simply gave Saret a huge grin. “Absolutely! What time do you want me there?” Then, remembering that she should probably consult the K who ran her life, she quickly looked at Korum. He nodded, smiling, and Mia’s grin got impossibly wider.
“Can you be there by nine in the morning?” Saret asked. “I know you need more sleep than us, but I believe that’s a standard business start time among humans . . .”
“Of course,” Mia said eagerly. “I can also come earlier, whatever the regular time is for you –”
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Korum shaking his head at Saret.
“No, there’s no need,” Saret said. “There’s absolutely no urgency, and you’ll be of greater use to us if you’re not sleep-deprived. Just come at nine, okay?”
Mia nodded, feeling like she was floating on air. “Sure, I can’t wait!”
Adam smiled at her enthusiasm. “It’s a very steep learning curve,” he warned. “I’ve been working in this lab for the last two years, and I can tell you that I’m still learning fifty new things a day.”
Mia grinned again, too hyper to feel properly intimidated. “That’s fine – I love to learn.” Turning to Saret, she told him earnestly, “Thank you for this opportunity. I will do my best to make myself useful.”
“Of course,” Saret said with a smile. “I look forward to seeing you tomorrow.” And getting up, he repeated the earlier greeting, touching Korum’s shoulder before walking out.
Adam followed his boss’s example, rising to his feet and shaking Korum’s hand again before departing. Mia noticed that he didn’t offer his hand to her for some reason, even though he had to know that it was somewhat rude to ignore her like that. She guessed there was a taboo of some kind about touching women – or maybe just other Ks’ charl – likely having to do with the Ks’ territorial nature. Since even Adam was following this particular custom, there had to be a fairly compelling reason.
Finally, Korum and Mia were left alone.
Getting up, her lover smiled at her warmly. “You did great – I could tell that Saret was impressed. I’m very proud of you.”
Mia gave him a big smile and got up also, his words filling her with a happy glow. “Thank you. And thanks again for making this possible.”
“Of course,” Korum said, pulling her closer to him and burying his hand in her hair. Holding her pressed against his body and her face tilted up toward him, he said softly, “Now tell me again that you love me.”
Staring up at him, Mia froze, her euphoria fading and a terrible sense of vulnerability taking its place. He wasn’t planning to ignore what happened last night.
She moistened her lips. “Korum, I . . .” She tried to lower her gaze, to look away, but it was impossible with the way he was holding her.
“Tell me, Mia.” His eyes were turning a deeper shade of gold. “I want to hear you say it again.”
She desperately wanted to deny him, to tell him that she’d been out of her mind last night, but the words simply wouldn’t form on her tongue.
Because she did love him, so much that it hurt, so much that she could barely think past the powerful emotions filling her chest. At some point in the last few weeks, he’d gone from being an aloof and dangerous stranger to someone she couldn’t imagine her life without. And as much as she hated her loss of freedom, she also loved the numerous little kindnesses he showed her on a daily basis, the way he made her feel so alive . . .
He was right: she had been merely content with her life before she met him. She’d had a comfortable, mostly happy existence. But she hadn’t truly lived.
“Tell me, my darling,” he urged softly, his hand slipping out of her hair to gently cup her cheek. “Tell me . . .”
“I do. I love you,” she whispered, staring up at him, wondering what he would say now, whether he would somehow use her admission against her.
But he just smiled and leaned down to kiss her, his beautiful lips touching hers so tenderly that she felt her heart squeezing in her chest. “Does it make you happy, being able to have an internship here?” he murmured, lifting his head and regarding her with a warm glow in his golden eyes.
Mia nodded. “Of course,” she said quietly. “You know it does.”
“Good. I want you to be happy here,” he said softly, stepping back and releasing her from his embrace. And then, taking her hand, he led her out of their private room and into the hallway.
* * *
They arrived at the house a couple of minutes later.
During the short ride, Mia kept her gaze trained on the transparent floor, though she could hardly see the scenery below with her mind occupied by the evening’s events. In some strange way, it was almost liberating to open herself up to Korum like this, to tell him how she really felt. Now she didn’t have to constantly be on her guard, worried that he would guess that she’d fallen in love with him. She didn’t have to fear that he would mock her for being a silly young girl and confusing sex with emotions.
No, he hadn’t mocked her at all. Contrary to her expectations, he seemed to welcome the emotional aspect; in fact, he’d practically forced her to admit she loved him. He hadn’t reciprocated with his own words of love, but then she hadn’t really expected him to. He’d said in the past that he cared for her, and she believed him. But love? Could someone like Korum truly fall in love with a human? Arman seemed to love Maria, but their relationship was so different from what Mia had with her cheren.
