Close Obsession (14 page)

Stretching, she yawned and then remembered the promised beach outing. Jumping out of bed and putting on her robe, she went to brush her teeth and splash some water on her face before going to look for Korum.

To her surprise, he was nowhere to be found. Before she could wonder about his whereabouts, she heard something in the living room and left the kitchen to investigate. Sure enough, Korum was just walking in through the opening in one of the walls.

And Mia gasped in horrified shock at the sight.

Far from his usual immaculate self, her lover looked like he had just rolled in the mud, his clothes dirty and torn. And were those . . .
traces of blood
on his arms and face?

Seeing her standing there, Korum flashed her a quick grin, his teeth startlingly white in his dirt-streaked face. “You woke up early. I was hoping you’d still be asleep and I’d have a chance to shower before you saw me like this.”

Mia finally found her tongue. “What happened? Are you all right?”

He laughed, his eyes glittering with excitement. “I’m fine. I was just out playing
defrebs
– it’s a type of sport I enjoy.”

“Oh . . .” Mia exhaled in relief. “So it’s like a ball game or something?”

“More like a type of martial arts,” he explained, walking toward the bathroom.

Curious, Mia followed him there, watching as he stripped off his dirty clothes, dropping them on the floor and revealing the magnificent body underneath. He smelled deliciously sweaty, and his golden skin gleamed with perspiration. He looked like a warrior fresh from battle, and she could now see that those were definitely scratches and bloody streaks on his arms and legs.

“Is that what you do for exercise? Martial arts?” she asked, perching on the edge of the jacuzzi as he turned on the shower, adjusting the controls. The dirty clothes had already disappeared, having been absorbed into one of the walls, and the floor was again spotless. Another useful function of the house, Mia guessed.

“Pretty much,” he admitted, stepping under the water. His voice sounded a little muffled by the water spray, so she came closer to hear him better. “We rarely exercise the way many modern humans do, in a gym environment or doing only one type of physical activity. Instead, we usually engage in some type of sports. Defrebs is particularly popular because it’s the closest we get to fighting outside of the Arena –”

“Arena?”

“Ah, you haven’t gotten to that part of your reading yet . . .” He paused for a few seconds, lathering his hair and rinsing out the shampoo before continuing. “The Arena is a place where our citizens get to resolve certain irreconcilable differences. If, let’s say, I believe that someone has done me irreparable harm, I can challenge him to the Arena – and he would have to accept my challenge or lose much of his standing.”

Mia looked at the foggy shower glass with surprise. “So what would you do in the Arena? Fight?”

“Exactly. No weapons are allowed, but everything else goes. The goal is to win, to subdue your enemy completely while everyone watches . . .”

Mia laughed incredulously. “What, like gladiators in ancient Rome?”

“Where do you think the Romans got the idea?”

“What? Seriously?”

Korum shut off the water and opened the door, grabbing a towel from a nearby rack. “Absolutely. The same group of scientists I told you about earlier – the ones who had been the source of many of your Greek and Roman myths – they’re responsible for that as well. A couple of them missed that aspect of life on Krina, so they gradually introduced the tradition into Roman culture and then it took on a life of its own. We were quite surprised, actually, how long the games persisted and how popular they became.”

Mia could hardly believe her ears. “And you still have these games? In the modern era?”

“Sure,” he said, his eyes bright with golden undertones. “It’s a way for us to satisfy certain . . . urges . . . that would otherwise get in the way of a peaceful and prosperous society.”

Urges? She blinked, watching him warily as he finished drying himself off. So the Krinar did still have the violent tendencies she’d just finished reading about. No wonder there had been so many rumors about their brutality during the days of the Great Panic –

Before she could analyze that thought any further, he came up to her and lifted her up by the waist. Startled, Mia grabbed his shoulders as he slanted his mouth over hers, kissing her with tightly leashed aggression. Playing the sport had clearly excited him, and she could feel his cock hardening against her leg even through the thick fabric of her robe. Her own response was instantaneous, her loins clenching with desire and her nipples pinching into tight buds.

Sensing her arousal, he growled low in his throat and backed her up against the wall, his hands tearing at the tie holding her robe together. Bending his right knee, he set her astride it, causing her naked genitals to grind against his leg, and Mia moaned into his mouth, the pressure on her clitoris turning her on even more. His hands migrated lower, grabbing her thighs and opening them wide, and then he was inside her, impaling her with no further preliminaries.

Mia cried out at the hard force of his entry; as aroused as she was, he was still too large for her to accommodate easily, and her delicate inner channel felt stretched to the point of pain. He paused for a second, letting her adjust, and then he slowly began thrusting, still holding her legs open, preventing her from controlling the sexual act in any way. The thick head of his cock nudged her G-spot with each stroke, and the wide-open position allowed his pelvis to press against her clitoris each time he bottomed inside her, causing the pressure to build further and further.

Finally, she climaxed with a scream, her entire body spasming in his arms. Unable to resist the rhythmic pulsations of her inner muscles around his penis, he came too, groaning harshly against her ear.

Panting, Mia hung in his grasp until he carefully lowered her to the ground, slowly withdrawing from her and handing her a tissue.

Her knees wobbled a little, and he held her up, staring down at her with a slightly perplexed look on his beautiful face. “Believe it or not, I didn’t really mean for this to happen,” Korum said, a self-deprecating smile curving his lips. “I honestly don’t know why I don’t seem to have any control around you. It’s like I have to get inside you every chance I get . . .”

Her pussy still throbbing with the remnants of her orgasm, Mia moistened her lips and shrugged slightly, absurdly flattered by his admission. “It’s okay . . . It’s not like I don’t enjoy it . . .”

“Oh really?” he teased, a big grin breaking out on his face. “You enjoy it? I would’ve never guessed –”

Mia frowned at him, cleaning herself up with the tissue. “You did promise me a trip to the beach, though,” she reminded him, wanting to change the topic. The strength of her own sexual response to him – of her feelings for him in general – still made her uncomfortable. Why couldn’t she have fallen for someone less complicated? Why did it have to be this hard, uncompromising man with his domineering nature? Even Arman would’ve been an easier person to have a relationship with; at least with someone like him, she would’ve felt a little more in control, instead of constantly feeling off-balance.

“We should still be able to make it,” Korum said, creating an outfit for himself with the aid of the nanomachines and putting it on. “I’ll make you breakfast and we’ll go.”

“Okay,” Mia said. “I’ll grab a quick shower and be right there.”

* * *

Seven minutes later, Mia entered the kitchen and saw that Korum was making something green in a regular human blender.

“What is that?” she asked him, curiously observing the strange concoction.

Korum smiled, his features lighting up at the sight of her. “Ah, I was hoping you’d be quick.” Taking two steps toward her, he dropped a light kiss on her forehead and then returned to his task. “This is a blend of mango, banana, spinach, and bowit – that’s a type of sweet nut from Krina. Are you hungry?”

“Always,” Mia admitted with a sheepish smile. The smoothie sounded very promising. “Do we have enough time to swim before the trial begins?”

“Absolutely,” he said, and then started up the blender. Mia put her hands over her ears at the noise, which thankfully lasted only about ten seconds. Once the room was quiet again, he added, “We have about two hours, so I should be able to show you some interesting places around here and then we could go for a quick swim.”

“That would be great,” Mia said, eager to get out and explore the area. “I was feeling pretty cooped up yesterday –”

“Of course,” he said, pouring the green shake into a tall, clear cup and handing it to her. “I don’t want you to feel that way. Try this – it should be quite good.”

Mia took a sip of the thick concoction, and her tastebuds nearly exploded with the sweet, rich taste. It was unlike anything she’d ever tasted before, with hints of chocolate, cream, and a completely indescribable something underneath the more familiar fruity flavors. “Wow.” She swallowed and licked her lips. “Whatever that bo-thing is, it’s absolutely amazing.”

Pleased at her reaction, Korum smiled. “Yes, it’s my favorite as well. It takes the bowit plant five years to reach full maturity, so this is the first time we’ve been able to harvest these nuts here, on Earth. They’re quite tasty and go with a lot of different dishes.”

“Can I take this with me?” Mia asked, wanting to get a head start on the day. “That way, I can just dress quickly and we could go . . .”

“Sure, why not?” Korum poured a cup for himself as well. “Let me show you our swimwear.”

Leaving the kitchen, he walked toward the bedroom, sipping his shake. Mia followed him, curious to see what a K version of a bathing suit was like.

Entering the room, he placed his cup on the commode and headed toward the closet. Pulling out what looked like a tiny scrap of white fabric, he laid it on the bed and said, “This is what our women typically wear.”

Mia stared. “Uh . . . I don’t see how that would fit me.” Her parents’ Chihuahua, maybe, but definitely no one bigger than that.

He laughed. “The material is stretchy. Try it on.”

Still dubious, Mia put down her own shake and approached the bed. Picking up the material, she carefully examined it.

“It goes on over your head,” Korum said. “Here, take off your robe, and I’ll show you how to put it on.”

“Okay,” Mia said, untying the robe and dropping it on the bed. She was completely naked underneath, and she could feel the heat of his gaze as it traveled down her body. When his eyes came back up to her face, they were almost purely gold in color. Mia’s breathing quickened, and she could feel her nipples tightening, her body responding to his need.

She heard him take a deep breath, as though inhaling her scent, and then he said huskily, “Here, this goes on like this.” Stretching the bandana-like piece in his hands, he lowered it over her head, letting go when it was securely sitting around her hips. His fingers brushed against her stomach in the process, causing her to feel all warm inside again.

Her lips slightly parted, Mia stared at him, unable to believe she could want him again so soon.

“Don’t look at me like that,” he said, his voice sounding rough. “I promised you an outing this morning, and that’s what we’re going to do.”

Mia flushed. “Of course.” This was ridiculous; he was turning her into a nymphomaniac. Surely, it couldn’t be normal, to want someone like that all the time.

Trying to distract herself, she looked down at the bandanna-like piece of cloth. To her surprise, it had stretched to cover her torso, turning into an unusual one-piece swimsuit. The fabric looped between her legs, concealing her pubic region and the center of her butt, then ran up the sides of her ribcage and lightly cupped her breasts, hiding the nipples from view. Like all K clothing, the material adhered to her shape perfectly and seemed to be sitting on her quite securely despite the fact that there were no ties of any kind to hold it up.

The overall effect was incredibly sexy, Mia realized, and her cheeks turned pink at the thought of leaving the house like that. “Is that all I’m going to wear?” she asked, looking up at Korum.

He shook his head. “No, you would also wear this on top,” he said, handing her what looked like a basic white sheath. “You can take it off when we get to the beach.”

Mia wriggled into the sheath and walked over to the mirror to take a look. It seemed like a simple tube-top dress, just made of some thin and clingy fabric. Not all that different from a coverup one might wear on a Florida beach.

“You can put on these boots,” Korum said, handing her a pair of grey knee-highs. “Since we’re going on foot and you don’t like insects, these might be the best option for you.”

Willing to wear anything to minimize exposure to Costa Rican creepy-crawlies, Mia pulled on the boots. Casting one last look at her reflection in the mirror, she picked up her smoothie from the commode. “I’m ready.”

“Let’s go then.” Grabbing his own cup, Korum led her out of the house and into the green jungle outside.

The first place Korum showed her was a beautiful grotto with two mid-sized waterfalls. The water fell from a distance of about twenty feet into a small, shallow pool and then drained into a small river. On the side of the river, there were a number of large rocks, and the grass looked soft and green. A very inviting place to just relax and read, Mia decided, noting the grotto’s location.