She jerked initially, then stilled, her gaze trained on his face.
Korum smiled, some of the tension inside him easing because she allowed his touch. “We’re lovers, Mia,” he said gently, watching her reaction. “You don’t remember me because you lost some of your memory. It’s June now, and we’re in Lenkarda, our Center in Costa Rica.”
Chapter 8
Mia stared at the gorgeous Krinar male who was now softly rubbing her hand. What he’d just told her was pure insanity. They were lovers? She’d lost her memory? Out of all the crazy scenarios running through Mia’s mind, this hadn’t even been on the list of possibilities.
Was he toying with her? If so, why, and what was the real story? Mia tried to control her panic long enough to think, but it was like a part of her brain was filled with fog. Even recent events – spring break, the exams – seemed blurry in her mind, as if they’d happened long ago instead of in the last couple of weeks.
“You don’t believe me, do you?” the K asked, his amber-colored eyes watching her with unsettling warmth.
“No, of course not.” Her voice was surprisingly calm. All things considered, Mia felt like she was handling this reasonably well. She wasn’t crying or screaming, and she was actually carrying on a conversation with an alien who had most likely kidnapped her. An alien who might or might not drink human blood – and who was now stroking her wrist in a way that made her belly tighten with strange excitement.
Why wasn’t she more afraid of him? Everything she knew about his kind suggested she should be terrified for her life.
But she wasn’t.
She was freaking out because she didn’t know where she was or how she’d gotten there – or why she was with a K who claimed to be her lover – but she wasn’t truly afraid. If anything, she found his presence oddly comforting, his touch both soothing and electrifying. Had he done something to make her react this way?
“Of course not,” he repeated, giving her an understanding smile. “How could you believe something so crazy without proof, right?”
Mia nodded, unable to tear her eyes away from that smile. The dimple in his left cheek fascinated her; it was so boyish, so incongruous with the rest of his appearance.
“All right, my darling.” His voice was disconcertingly tender. “Let me show you proof.” And still holding her hand, he gestured to the side, where a three-dimensional holographic image suddenly appeared in mid-air.
Mia gasped, startled, and then she saw that the image was of herself and the K beside her. They appeared to be walking on the beach, talking and laughing. The K reached down and picked up the girl in the image, lifting her as effortlessly as if she was made of air. She laughed again, then wound her arms around his neck, kissing him with such passion that Mia’s cheeks heated up.
“What is that? Where did you get this video from?” Mia felt herself furiously blushing as the K kissed the girl back, holding her up with one arm and using the other to reach underneath her dress.
“It’s just a recording from one of our satellites,” the K named Korum explained, watching her with an unusual golden gleam in his eyes. For some reason, Mia could feel herself getting turned on by that look, her heart starting to beat faster and her nipples hardening underneath the thin fabric of her dress. She desperately hoped the K didn’t notice; it would be embarrassing – and potentially dangerous – if he knew how much he affected her.
And then she realized what he just said. “Wait, your satellites were spying on us?”
“Our satellites are always recording everything,” he explained, those sensuous lips curving into a smile. “But don’t worry, my sweet, only our computers get to see it, unless someone places a specific request – the way I did.”
Mia’s pulse quickened, this time from anxiety. “Are you saying we never have any privacy from you?”
“Of course not,” the K said casually. “You don’t have much of it from your own government either. You know that, right?”
Mia blinked. She did know that. GPS and cell phones had made it practically impossible for a person to hide, and she knew that various government agencies used all the means at their disposal to track down terrorists and other criminals. As a law-abiding citizen, she’d never thought much about the fact that all her activities – from browsing the Internet to placing a phone call – could be monitored if necessary. She’d just accepted it as a part of life in the twenty-first century. But, for some reason, the idea of Krinar satellites watching her every move was more than a little disturbing.
Frowning, Mia realized she was acting as if the image being shown to her was real. There was absolutely no assurance of that; as advanced as the Krinar were, surely it would be child’s play for them to conjure up whatever video they wanted, three-dimensional or not.
“How do I know you didn’t make this up?” she said, gesturing toward the image where the couple were now engaged in a full-blown make-out session. Her blush deepening, Mia looked away again.
“You don’t, of course,” the Krinar said. “I could make this up if I wanted to. I have hundreds of other recordings I could show you, and you’d be smart not to trust any of them.”
Mia laughed nervously, surprised by his frankness. “Okay then, how can you prove any of this to me?” She couldn’t believe she was even entertaining the idea that this could be real. How could any rational person believe this? Surely she would remember if she’d had sex with a gorgeous alien . . . or even just had sex in general.
The K smiled again. “There are a number of ways,” he said. “Let’s start with the fact that you understand me right now, even though I’m speaking to you in Krinar.”
Mia gaped at him in shock. She had definitely understood what he was saying, even though he’d said the last sentence in a language she
was sure she’d never heard before. “Wait, what?” Her words came out in that same language. “You’re talking to me in Krinar?”
“Yes, and you’re answering me in Krinar too,” he said, his smile widening. “And now I’m talking to you in Italian. You still understand me, right?”
Mia nodded, her head spinning from the impossibility of it all.