Locking the bathroom door, Mia hurriedly changed into her comfortably ugly – and pleasantly warm from the dryer – clothes. He had somehow managed to dry her Uggs as well, Mia noticed with pleasure as she pulled them on. Feeling much more like herself, she unwrapped the towel from her hair, which was only slightly damp at this point, and left the curly mess down to finish drying. Then, thinking that she was as ready as she would ever be, Mia left the relative safety of the bathroom and ventured back out into the living room to face Korum and his confusing behavior.
He was again sitting on the couch, analyzing something in his palm. He seemed very absorbed in it, so Mia cautiously cleared her throat to notify him of her presence.
At the sound, he looked up with a mysterious smile. “There you are, all nice and dry.”
“Ah, yeah, thanks for that.” Mia self-consciously shifted from one foot to another. “And thanks again for your hospitality. I really should get going now, try to write that paper and finish up some other homework . . .”
“Sure, I’ll take you wherever you want to go.” He got up in one smooth motion, heading to the coat closet.
“Oh no, you don’t have to do that,” protested Mia. “Really, I have no problem taking the subway. The rain has stopped, so I’ll be totally fine.”
He just gave her an incredulous look. “I said I will take you there.” His tone left no room for negotiation.
Mia decided not to argue. It’s not as if she rode in a limo every day. Since Korum was so determined to give her a lift, she might as well enjoy the experience. So Mia kept quiet and meekly followed him as he entered a posh-looking elevator and pressed the button for the ground floor.
Roger and his limo were already waiting in front of the building. The doors slid open at their approach, and Korum courteously waited until Mia climbed inside before getting in himself. Mia wondered where he had learned all of these polite human gestures. Somehow she doubted that “ladies first” was a universal custom.
“Where would you like to go?” he inquired, sitting down next to her.
Mia thought about it for a second. As much as she’d love to run home and blab about the entire unbelievable encounter to Jessie, the deadline for her paper was looming. She needed to go to the library. She only hoped that she could put the day’s events out of her mind for a few hours, or however long it took her to write the damn paper. “The Bobst Library, please, if it’s not too much trouble,” she requested tentatively.
“It’s no trouble at all,” he reassured her, pressing the intercom button and conveying the instructions to Roger.
Sitting in the closed quarters of the limo, Mia became increasingly aware of his large, warm body less than a foot away from her. Her body reacted to his nearness without reservations.
He really was an incredibly beautiful male specimen by anyone’s standards, Mia thought with an almost analytical detachment. She guessed his height to be somewhere just over six feet, and he appeared to be quite muscular, judging by the way his T-shirt fit him earlier. With his striking coloring, he was easily the most handsome man she’d ever seen, in real life or on video. It was no wonder he was having such an effect on her, she told herself – any normal woman would feel the same. Understanding the rationale behind her attraction to him, however, did not lessen its power one bit.
“So, Mia, tell me about yourself.” His softly spoken directive interrupted her thoughts.
“Um, okay.” For some reason, the q
uestion flustered her. “What do you want to know?”
He shrugged and smiled. “Everything.”
“Well, I’m a junior at NYU, majoring in psychology,” Mia began, hoping she wasn’t babbling. “I’m originally from a small town in Florida, and I came to New York to go to school.”
He stopped her with a shake of his head. “I know all that. Tell me something more than basic facts.”
Mia stared at him in shock, suddenly feeling like a hunted rabbit. With surprising calm, she asked, “How do you know all this?”
“The same way I knew where to find you today. It’s very easy to find information on humans, especially those with nothing to hide.” He smiled, as though he hadn’t just shattered all of her illusions about privacy.
“But why?” Mia could no longer hold back a question that had been tormenting her for the last two days. “Why are you so interested in me? Why go to all these lengths?” She waved her hand, indicating the limo and everything he had done so far.
He looked at her steadily, his gaze nearly hypnotizing in its intensity. “Because I want to fuck you, Mia. Is that what you’re afraid of hearing, why you’ve been acting so scared of me all along?” Without giving her a chance to catch her breath, he continued in the same gently mocking tone. “Well, it’s true. I do. For some reason, you caught my attention yesterday, sitting there on that bench with your curly hair and big blue eyes, so frightened when I looked your way. You’re not my type at all. I don’t typically go for scared little girls, particularly of the human variety, but you –” he reached across with his right hand and slowly stroked her cheek, “– you made me want to strip you down right there in the middle of that park, and see what’s hidden underneath these ugly clothes of yours. It took all my willpower to let you go then, and, when you licked your little finger so enticingly in my kitchen, I could barely stop myself from spreading open your robe and burying myself between your thighs right there on the kitchen table.”
His touch felt like it was leaving burning streaks in its aftermath as he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and gently brushed his knuckles across her lips. “But I’m not a rapist. And that’s what it would be right now – rape – because you’re so frightened of me, and of your own sexuality.” Leaning closer, he murmured softly, “I know you want me, Mia. I can see the flush of arousal on your pretty cheeks, and I can smell it in your underwear. I know your little nipples are hard right now, and that you’re getting wet even as we speak, your body lubricating itself for my penetration. If I were to take you right now, you would enjoy it once you got past the fear and the pain of losing your virginity – yes, I know about that too – but I will wait for you to get used to the idea of being mine. Just don’t take too long – I only have so much patience left for you.”
Chapter 4
Mia hardly remembered the remainder of the ride.
At some point in the next few minutes, the limo had pulled up to the Bobst Library, and Korum had courteously opened the door for her again and handed her the backpack. He then proceeded to gently brush his lips against her cheek, as though parting ways with his sister, and left her standing on the curb in front of the imposing library building.
Moving on autopilot, Mia somehow found herself inside, sitting in one of the plush armchairs that were her favorite place to study. Going through the motions, she took out her Mac and placed it on the side table, noting with some interest that her hand was shaking and her fingernails had a slight bluish tint to them. She also felt cold deep inside.
Shock, Mia realized. She had to be in a state of mild shock.