Close Liaisons

Chapter 3



“Here we are. Welcome to my humble abode.”

Mia stared around in amazement, her gaze lingering on floor-to-ceiling windows looking out over the Hudson, gleaming wooden floors, and luxurious cream-colored furnishings. A few pieces of modern art on the walls and luscious-looking plants near the windows provided tasteful touches of color. It was the most beautiful apartment she had ever seen. And it looked completely human.

“You live here?” she asked in astonishment.

“Only when I come to New York.”

Korum was hanging his trench coat in the closet by the door. It was such a simple, mundane action, but somehow his movements were just too fluid to be fully human. He was now clad only in a blue T-shirt and a pair of jeans. The clothes hugged his lean, powerful body to perfection. Mia swallowed, realizing that her incredible surroundings paled next to the gorgeous creature who was apparently occupying them.

How could he afford this place? Were all the Ks rich? When the limo had pulled into the parking garage at the newest luxury high-rise in TriBeCa, Mia had been shocked to find herself escorted to a private elevator that took them directly to the penthouse floor. The apartment looked huge, particularly by Manhattan standards. Did it occupy the entire top floor of the building?

“Yes, the apartment is the whole floor.”

Mia blushed, just realizing that she had asked the question out loud. “Umm . . . it’s a beautiful place you’ve got here.”

“Thank you. Here, sit down.” He led her to a plush leather couch – cream-colored, of course. “Let me see your hands.”

Mia hesitantly extended her palms, wondering what he intended to do. Use his blood to heal them, the way vampires from popular fiction used to do?

Instead of cutting his palm or doing anything vampiric, Korum brought a thin silvery object toward her right palm. The size and thickness of an old-fashioned plastic credit card, the thing looked completely innocuous. That is, until it began to emit a soft red light directly over her hand. There was no pain, just a pleasant, warm sensation where the light touched her damaged skin. As Mia watched, her scrapes began to fade and disappear, like pencil marks getting erased. Within a span of two minutes, her palm was completely healed, as though there had been nothing there to begin with. Mia tentatively touched the area with her fingers. No pain whatsoever.

“Wow. That is amazing.” Mia exhaled sharply, releasing a breath she hadn’t even realized she was holding. Of course, she had known that the Ks were far more technologically advanced, but seeing what amounted to a miracle with her own eyes was still shocking.

Korum repeated the process on her other hand. Both of her palms were now completely healed, with no trace of an injury.

“Uh . . . thank you for that.” Mia didn’t really know what to say. Was this a K version of offering a Band-Aid, or did he just perform some kind of a complicated medical procedure on her? Should she offer to pay him? And if he said yes, would he accept student health insurance? Snap out of it, Mia! You’re being ridiculous!

“You’re welcome,” he said softly, still lightly holding her left hand. “Now let’s get you changed out of your wet clothes.”

Mia’s head jerked up in horrified disbelief. Surely he couldn’t mean to . . .

Before she even had a chance to say anything, Korum blew out an exasperated breath. “Mia, when I said that I don’t intend to harm you, I meant it. My definition of harm includes rape, in case you think we have some cultural differences there. So you can relax, and stop jumping at every word I say.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to imply . . .” Mia wished the ground would open up and simply swallow her. Of course, he wouldn’t rape her. He probably wasn’t even interested in her that way. Why would he want some skinny, pale little human when he could have any of the gorgeous K females she’d seen on TV? He’d never said he was attracted to her – just that he found her “interesting.” For all she knew, he could be a K scientist studying the New York breed of humans – and he had just found a curly-haired lab rat.

Letting out another sigh, Korum rose gracefully from the couch, his every move imbued with inhuman athleticism. “Here, come with me.”

Still feeling embarrassed, Mia barely paid attention to her surroundings as he led her down the hall. However, she couldn’t help but gasp at the first sight of the enormous bathroom that lay before her.

The glass shower enclosure was bigger than her entire bathroom back home, and a large elevated jacuzzi occupied the center of the room. The entire bathroom was done in shades of ivory and grey, an unusual combination that nonetheless paired well in this luxurious environment. Two of the walls were floor-to-ceiling mirrors, further adding to the spacious feel. There were plants here too, she noticed with bemusement. Two exotic-looking plants with dark red leaves seemed to be thriving in the corners, apparently getting enough sunlight from the large skylight in the ceiling.

“This is for you.” Korum slid open part of the glass wall and took out a large ivory towel and a soft-looking thick grey robe. “You can take a hot shower and change into this, and then I will throw your clothes in the dryer.”

With a nod and a murmured thank-you, Mia accepted the two items, watching as Korum exited the room and closed the door behind him.

A sense of unreality gripped her as she stared at the cutting-edge luxury all around her. This could not be happening to her. Could this be a really vivid dream? Surely Mia Stalis, from Ormond Beach, Florida, was not standing here in a bathroom fit for a king, having been told to take a hot shower by a K who had practically kidnapped her in order to heal her insignificant scratches with an alien magic device. Maybe if she blinked a few times, she would wake up back in her cramped room at the apartment she shared with Jessie.

To test that theory, Mia shut her eyes tightly and opened them again. Nope, she was still standing there, feeling the plush towel and robe heavy in her arms. If this was a dream, then it was the most realistic dream she’d ever had. She might as well take that shower – now that the excitement was starting to wear off a bit, she felt the chill from her damp clothes sinking deep into her bones.

Putting down her burden on the edge of the tall jacuzzi tub, Mia walked to the door and locked it. Of course, if Korum really wanted to get in, it was doubtful that the flimsy lock would keep him out. The incredible strength of the Krinar was discovered in the first few weeks after the invasion, when some guerrilla fighters in the Middle East ambushed a small group of Ks in violation of the recently signed Coexistence Treaty. Video footage of the event, recorded by some bystander on his iPhone, showed scenes straight out of a horror science fiction movie. The band of thirty-plus Saudis, armed with grenades and automatic assault rifles, had stood no chance against the six unarmed Ks. Even wounded, the aliens moved at a speed exceeding that of all known living creatures on Earth, literally tearing apart their attackers with bare hands. One particularly dramatic scene showed a K throwing two screaming men – each with one hand – high up into the air. The exact height of the throw was later determined to be about sixty feet. Needless to say, the men had not survived their descent. The sheer savagery of that fight – and some subsequent encounters during the days of the Great Panic – stunned the human population, lending credence to the rumors of vampirism that emerged some months later. For all their advances in technology and seeming eco-consciousness, the Ks could be as brutal and violent as any vampire of legend.

And here she was stuck with one. Who wanted to heal her negligible scratches and have her take a hot shower in his fancy penthouse. And put her clothes in his dryer.

A hysterical giggle escaped Mia at the thought.

Of course, he might like his snacks clean and sweet-smelling, but somehow Mia believed him when he said he didn’t want to hurt her. Besides, there was very little she could do about her current situation – she might as well stop freaking out and take advantage of the most luxurious shower of her life.

Peeling off her wet clothes, Mia caught sight of herself in the mirror. Why was he interested in her? Sure, she was skinny, which was still in vogue, but he probably had the most beautiful women of both species fawning over him. Standing there naked, Mia tried to look at herself objectively and not through the eyes of a self-conscious teenager. The mirror reflected a thin young woman, with small, but nicely rounded breasts, slim hips, and a narrow waist. Her butt was reasonably curvy, considering the rest of her frame. Naked, she didn’t look like the shapeless stick figure she always felt like in her baggy clothes. If she were taller, she might even think she had a nice figure. However, her skin was way too pale and the dark mess of curls framing her face was much too frizzy for her to ever be considered more than moderately cute or passably pretty.

Sighing, Mia stepped into the shower. After a brief battle with the touchscreen controls, she figured out how to work them and was soon enjoying warm water coming at her from five different directions. She even used his soap, which had a very faint but pleasing scent of something tropical.

Ten minutes later, Mia regretfully turned off the water and stepped out onto a thick ivory bath rug. She dried herself with the towel Korum had so graciously provided, wrapped it around her wet hair, and put on the robe – which was, to her surprise, only a little big on her. It had to be a woman’s robe, she realized with an unpleasant pang of something that felt oddly like jealousy. Don’t be silly, Mia, of course he has female guests! A creature that gorgeous would hardly be celibate. He might even have a girlfriend or a wife.

Mia swallowed to get rid of an obstruction in her throat that seemed to rise up at that thought. Stop it, Mia! She had no idea what he wanted from her, and she had absolutely no reason to feel like this about an alien from outer space who may or may not drink human blood.

Padding to the door in her bare feet, Mia picked up her discarded clothes from the floor. They felt wet and yucky in her hands, and she was glad she was no longer wearing them. Carefully opening the door, she peeked out into the hallway, spotting a soft-looking pair of grey house slippers that Korum apparently left for her.

No sign of Korum himself.

Putting on the slippers, Mia left the bathroom and headed to the left, hoping that she was going back toward the living room. The last thing she wanted was to stumble into his bedroom, even though that thought made her feel warm and flushed all over.

He was sitting on the couch, looking at something in his palm. Sensing her presence, he lifted his head, and a big smile slowly lit his face at the sight of her standing there in the too-big robe and turban-like towel on her head.

“You look adorable in that.” His voice was low and somehow intimate, even from across the room, making her insides clench in a strangely sexual way. Oh God, what did he mean by that? Was he actually interested in her? Mia was sure she had just turned beet-red as her heart rate suddenly picked up.

“Ah, thanks,” she mumbled, unable to think of a better response. Was it her imagination, or did his eyes turn an even deeper shade of gold?

“Here, let me have those.” Before she had a chance to recover her composure, he was next to her, taking her wet clothes from her slightly shaky arms. “Have a seat, and I’ll drop these in the dryer.”

With that, he disappeared down the hall. Mia stared after him, wondering if she should be worried. He said he wasn’t going to hurt her, but would he take no for an answer if he really was interested in her sexually? More importantly, would she be able to say no, given her response to him thus far?

She’d heard of humans having sex with Ks, so their species were definitely compatible in that way. In fact, there were even websites where people who wanted to have sex with Ks posted ads designed to attract them. Some of the ads must have garnered responses, since the websites stayed in business. Mia always used to think that these xenos – short for xenophiles, a derogatory term for K addicts – were crazy. Sure, most of the invaders tended to be very good-looking, but they were so far from being human that one might as well have sex with a gorilla; there were fewer differences between gorilla and human DNA than between human and Krinar.

Yet here she was, apparently very attracted to one particular K.

A minute later, Korum returned empty-handed, interrupting Mia’s chain of thought. “The clothes are drying,” he announced. “Are you hungry? I can make us something to eat in the meanwhile.”

Ks could cook? Mia suddenly realized that she was, in fact, famished. With all the excitement of the past hour, her bagel breakfast seemed like a very long time ago. Cooking and eating also seemed like a very innocuous way to pass the time.

“Sure, that sounds great. Thank you.”

“Okay, come with me to the kitchen, and I’ll make something.”

With that promise, he walked over to a door she hadn’t noticed before and slid it open, revealing a large kitchen. Like the rest of the penthouse, it was striking. Gleaming stainless steel appliances, black and ivory marble floors, and black enameled lava countertops populated the space, for an almost futuristic look. Some kind of big-leafed plants in silvery pots hung from the ceiling near the windows, seeming very much at home in an otherwise sterile-looking environment.

“How do you feel about a salad and a roasted veggie sandwich?” Korum was already opening the refrigerator, which looked like the latest version of the iZero – a smart fridge jointly created by Apple and Sub-Zero a couple of years ago.

“That sounds great, thanks,” Mia answered absentmindedly, still studying her surroundings. Something was nagging at her, some obvious question that begged an answer.

Suddenly, it hit her.

“Your home only has our technology in it,” Mia blurted out. “Well, except for the little healing tool you used on me. All of these appliances, all of our technology – it must seem so primitive to you. Why do you use it instead of whatever you guys have instead?”

Korum grinned, revealing the dimple in his left cheek again, and walked over to the sink to rinse the lettuce. “I enjoy experiencing different things. A lot of your technology is really so ingenious, considering your limitations. And, to use one of your sayings, when in Rome . . .”

“So you’re basically slumming,” Mia concluded. “Living with the primitives, using their basic tools –”

“If you want to think of it that way.”

He started chopping the veggies, his hands moving faster than any professional chef’s. Mia stared at him in fascination, struck by the incongruity of a creature from outer space making a salad. All of his movements were fluid and elegant – and somehow very inhuman.

“What do you normally eat on Krina?” she asked, suddenly very curious. “Is your diet very different from ours?”

He looked up from the chopping and smiled at her. “It’s different in some ways, but very similar in other ways. We’re omnivorous like you, but lean even more toward plant foods in our diet. There’s a huge variety of edible plants on Krina – more so than here on Earth. Some of our plants are very dense in calories and rich in flavor, so we never quite developed the taste for meat that humans seem to have acquired recently.”

Mia blinked, surprised. There was something predatory in the way he moved – the way all Ks moved. Their speed and strength, as well as the violent streak they’d displayed, did not make sense for a primarily herbivorous species. So there must be something to the vampire rumors after all. If they didn’t hunt animals for their meat, then how had they evolved all these hunter-like traits?

She wanted to ask him that, but had a feeling that she might not want to know the answer. If his species really did view humans as prey, it was probably best not to remind him about it when she was alone with him in his lair.

Mia decided to stick with something safer instead. “So is that why you guys emphasize plant foods so much for us? Because you like it yourselves?”

He shook his head, continuing to chop. “Not really. Our main concern was the abuse of your planet’s resources. Your unhealthy addiction to animal products was destroying the environment at a much faster rate than anything else you were doing, and that was not something we wanted to see.”

Mia shrugged, not being particularly environmentally conscious herself. Since he was being so accommodating, though, she decided to resume her earlier line of questioning. “Is that why you’re here in New York, to experience something different?”

“Among other reasons.” He turned on the oven and placed sliced zucchini, eggplant, peppers, and tomatoes on a tray inside.

How frustrating. He was being evasive, and Mia didn’t like it one bit. She decided to change her approach. “What brings you to Earth in general? Are you one of the soldiers, or the scientists, or do you do something else . . .” Her voice trailed off suggestively.

“Why, Mia, are you asking me about my occupation?” He sounded like he was again laughing at her.

Predictably, Mia felt her hackles rising. “Why, yes, I am. Is that classified information?”

He threw back his head and burst out laughing. “Only for curious little girls.” Mia stared back at him with a stony expression on her face. Still chuckling, he revealed, “I’m an engineer by profession. My company designed the ships that brought us here.”

“The ships that brought you here? But I thought the Krinar had been visiting Earth for thousands of years before you formally came here?” That had been one of the most striking revelations about the invaders – the fact that they’d been observing humans and living among them long before K-Day.

He nodded, still smiling. “That’s true. We’ve been able to visit you for a long time. However, traveling to Earth had always been a dangerous task – as was space travel in general – so only a few intrepid individuals would attempt it at any given time. It’s only in the past few hundred years that we fully perfected the technology for faster-than-light travel, and my company succeeded in building ships that could safely transport thousands of civilians to this part of the universe.”

That was interesting. She’d never heard this before. Was he telling her something that wasn’t public knowledge? Encouraged and unbearably curious, Mia continued with her questions. “So have you been to Earth before K-Day?” she asked, staring at him in wide-eyed fascination.

He shrugged – a human gesture that was apparently used by the Ks as well. “A couple of times.”

“Is it true that all our UFO sightings are based on actual interactions with the Krinar?”

He grinned. “No, that was mostly weather balloons and your own governments testing classified aircraft. Less than one percent of those sightings could actually be attributed to us.”

“And the Greek and Roman myths?” Mia had read recent speculation that the Krinar may have been worshipped as deities in antiquity, giving rise to the Greek and Roman polytheistic religions. Of course, even today, some religious groups had embraced the Ks as the true creators of humankind, spawning an entirely new movement dedicated to venerating and emulating the invaders. The Krinarians, as these K-worshippers were known, sought every opportunity to interact with the beings they viewed as real-life gods, believing it increased their odds of reincarnating as a K. The Big Three – Christianity, Islam, and Judaism – had reacted very differently, refusing to accept that Ks were in any way responsible for the origin of life on Earth. Some more extreme religious factions had even declared the Krinar to be demons and claimed that their arrival was part of the end-of-days prophecy. Most people, however, had accepted the aliens for what they were – an ancient, highly advanced species that had sent DNA from Krina to Earth, thus starting life on this planet.

“Those were based on the Krinar,” confirmed Korum. “A few thousand years ago, a small group of our scientists, sent here to study and observe, became overly involved in human affairs – to the point that they overstayed their mission by a few hundred years. They ultimately had to be forcibly returned to Krina when it became obvious that they were purposefully preying on human ignorance.”

Before Mia had a chance to digest that information, the oven let out a little beep signifying the food’s readiness.

“Ah, here we go.” He took out the roasted veggies and dropped them into a marinade he’d managed to whip up during their conversation. Placing a large salad in the middle of the table, he picked up a sizable portion and deposited it on Mia’s plate. “We can start with this while the veggies are marinating.”

Mia dug into her salad, holding back an inappropriate giggle at the thought that she was literally eating food of the gods – or at least food that had been prepared by someone who would’ve been worshipped as a god a couple of thousand years ago. The salad was delicious – crispy lettuce, creamy avocado, crunchy peppers, and sweet tomatoes were combined with some type of tangy lemony dressing that was mildly spicy. She was either super-hungry, or it was the best salad she’d had in a long time. In the past few years, she’d learned to tolerate salad out of necessity, but this kind of salad she could actually grow to like.

“Thank you, this is delicious,” she mumbled around a mouthful of salad.

“You’re welcome.” He was digging in as well, with obvious enjoyment. For a little while, there was only the sound of them munching on the salad in companionable silence. After finishing his portion – he even ate faster than normal, Mia noticed – Korum got up to make the sandwiches.

Two minutes later, a beautifully made sandwich was sitting in front of Mia. The dark crusty bread appeared to be freshly baked, and the veggies looked tender and were seasoned with some kind of orange spices. Mia picked up her portion and bit into it, nearly stifling a moan of enjoyment. It tasted even better than it looked.

“This is great. Where did you learn to cook like this?” Mia inquired with curiosity after swallowing her fifth bite.

He shrugged, finishing up his own larger sandwich. “I enjoy making things. Cooking is just one manifestation of that. I also like to eat, so it’s helpful to know how to make good food.”

That made sense to her. Mia ate the last bite of her sandwich and licked her finger to get the remainder of the delicious marinade. Lifting her head, she suddenly froze at the look on Korum’s face.

He was staring at her mouth with what looked like raw hunger, his eyes turning more golden by the second.

“Do that again,” he ordered softly, his voice a dark purr from across the table.

Mia’s heart skipped a beat.

The atmosphere had suddenly turned heavy and intensely sexual, and she had no idea how to deal with it. The full vulnerability of her situation dawned on her. She was completely naked underneath the thick robe. All he had to do was pull on the flimsy belt holding the robe together, and her body would be fully revealed to him. Not that clothes would provide any protection against a K – or a human male for that matter, given her size – but wearing only a robe made her feel much more exposed.

Slowly getting up, she took a step away from the table. Her heartbeat thundering in her ears, Mia nervously blurted out, “Thank you for the meal, but I should really get going now. Do you think my clothes might be dry?”

For a second, Korum did not respond, continuing to look at her with that disconcertingly hungry expression. Then, as if coming to some internal decision, he slowly smiled and got up himself. “They should be ready by now. Why don’t you put the dishes in the dishwasher while I go check?”

Mia nodded in agreement, afraid that her voice would tremble if she spoke out loud. Her legs felt like cooked noodles, but she started gathering the dishes. Korum smiled approvingly and exited the room, leaving Mia alone to recover her composure.

By the time he came back, his arms loaded with her dry clothes, Mia had managed to convince herself that she had overreacted to a potentially harmless remark. Most likely, her imagination was working in overdrive, adding sexual overtones to where there were none. Given his apparent fascination with human technology and lifestyle, it wasn’t all that surprising that he would find an actual human interesting as well – maybe even cute in something they did – the same way Mia felt about animals in the zoo.

Feeling slightly bad about her earlier awkwardness, Mia tentatively smiled at Korum as he handed her the clothes. “Thanks for drying these – I really appreciate it.”

“No problem. It was my pleasure.” He smiled back, but there was a hint of something mildly disturbing in the look he gave her.

“If you don’t mind, I’ll just go change.” Still feeling inexplicably nervous, Mia turned toward the kitchen exit.

“Sure. Do you remember the way to the bathroom? You can go change there.” He pointed down the hall, watching with a half-smile as she gratefully escaped.





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 question 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 f*ck 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.”