Despite his black mood, Korum couldn’t help smiling as she entered the house. She was dressed in a cream-colored dress that left most of her back bare, and her dark hair was pinned up in a thick, messy knot. The hairstyle was surprisingly sexy, exposing her delicate nape and drawing his attention to the elegant column of her throat.
“Honey, I’m home,” she said, grinning from ear to ear.
Unable to help hi
mself, Korum laughed and picked her up, bringing her up for a thorough kiss.
When he lowered her back to her feet, her smile was almost blinding. She looked at him as though he was her entire world – and Korum’s heart felt like it would shatter into a million pieces.
“How was your day, my sweet?” he asked, his hands still holding her waist.
“It was great,” she said, still grinning. “I met Adam again. He’s very nice. I like him a lot.”
Korum felt a surge of jealousy, but he tamped down on it, refusing to give in to the emotion. Mia had always liked her partner, but, as far as Korum knew, her feelings were entirely platonic. Besides, the young K already had a human he was obsessed with; Korum had found that out during a background check he’d done on Adam shortly after Mia started working with him.
“We did a lot of digging through Saret’s files,” Mia continued, her eyes shining with excitement. “Adam thinks we might learn something useful about my condition this way.”
At that moment, her stomach rumbled and her cheeks turned pink in response, making Korum smile. “I’m guessing someone’s hungry,” he teased.
“Busted,” she said, laughing.
Smiling, Korum let her go and headed to the kitchen. A few minutes later, they were sitting down to a meal of grilled vegetable sandwiches with miso-avocado dip.
Mia quickly devoured everything on her plate, and so did he, his appetite strong after his swim earlier today. For dessert, Korum had the house make them a kiwi-mango pie with a crust made of ground macadamia nuts – and tea for Mia.
As they were enjoying the treat, Korum reached across the table and took her hand, stroking the middle of her palm with his thumb. “Mia,” he said quietly, “there’s something I have to tell you.”
She froze for a second, apparently reacting to the serious note in his voice. “What is it?”
“I spoke to Saret today,” Korum said, his fingers tightening around her palm. “He didn’t just wipe out your recent memories. He also did something to make you . . . more accepting of things.”
* * *
Mia stared at her lover, unable to believe what she was hearing. “What? What does that mean?”
“He called it ‘softening’,” Korum said, and the expression on his face was grim. “It was apparently a way to make you more amenable to his advances. If he didn’t lie about it, you don’t experience fear as strongly as you did before . . . and you’re also more open to new impressions.”
Mia frowned. “I don’t understand. How would this have helped Saret?”
“Because you’re not only more open to new impressions – which explains why you’re acclimating so well – but you’re also prone to new attachments.” Korum’s mouth was tight with anger.
“New attachments?” And then it dawned her. “He thought I would fall in love with him? That’s insane!” She laughed, inviting him to share the joke.
Korum didn’t respond, and her amusement faded. “Wait a second,” she said slowly. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?
“I’m sorry, Mia. I really wish it wasn’t true.”
Automatically shaking her head, Mia pulled her hand out of his grasp and rose to her feet. “But that’s ridiculous,” she said. “Are you saying that I’m not myself? That everything I think and feel is a product of some madman’s procedure? That what I feel for you isn’t real?”
Korum got up as well. “It’s all my fault,” he said, his voice heavy with guilt. “I should’ve been there. I should’ve protected you from him –”
“No.” Mia refused to believe this. “How do you know he wasn’t lying? Wouldn’t it make sense for him to lie?”
“It would,” Korum said. “It would make all the sense in the world. And that’s why I want to have you seen by the mind lab in Arizona. We’ll go there tomorrow.”
“But you don’t think he’s lying.”
“No.” Korum gave her a pained look. “I don’t.”