Gathering Darkness: A Paranormal Romance Collection

by Anna Zaires

  “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 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 FOUR

  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.

  For some reason, that pissed her off. Yes, she felt like he had stripped her naked with his words in the car, leaving her feeling raw and vulnerable. Yes, if she thought too deeply about the meaning of his last words, she would probably start running and screaming. But she was hardly a Victorian maiden—her lack of experience notwithstanding—and she refused to let a few explicit phrases send her into vapors.

  Resolutely getting up, Mia left her bag in the chair as a placeholder—nobody would steal a computer that old—and headed to the coffee shop to get something hot to drink. On the way there, she stopped by the bathroom. Splashing warm water on her face in an attempt to regain her equilibrium, Mia inadvertently caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. The usual pale face staring back at her looked subtly different—somehow softer and prettier. Her lips appeared fuller, as though slightly swollen where he had touched them. Her eyes looked brighter, and there was a hint of color on her cheeks.

  He was right, Mia thought. She had been extremely turned on in the car, his words alone bringing her nearly to the edge of orgasm—despite her shock and fear. What that said about her was not something she cared to analyze too deeply. Even now, she could feel the residual dampness in her underwear and a slight pulsing sensation deep within her sex whenever she thought back to that limo ride.

  Taking a deep breath, Mia squared her shoulders and exited the restroom. Her sex life in all its extraterrestrial manifestations would have to wait until the paper was done and submitted.

  Her priorities were two-fold right now—an extra-large coffee and a few hours of uninterrupted quality time with the Mac.

  ***

  The ringing of the doorbell and an excited squeal by her roommate woke up Mia twelve minutes before her alarm.

  Groaning, she rolled over and put her pillow over her head, hoping that the source of the noise would go away and let her get the remaining few minutes of precious sleep.

  She had gotten home at three in the morning, after finally finishing the evil paper. Unfortunately, she had a 9 a.m. class on Mondays, which meant that she would get less than five hours of sleep that night. Even so, her overtired brain had refused to let go of the day’s events, with dark, erotic dreams interrupting her sleep—dreams in which she would see his face, feel his touch burning her skin, hear his voice promising both pain and ecstasy.

  And now she couldn’t even enjoy a few moments of peaceful rest, as Jessie apparently couldn’t contain her excitement over whatever it was that came to the door.

  “Mia! Mia! Guess what?” Jessie was practically singing as she knocked on Mia’s bedroom door.

  “I’m sleeping!” Mia growled, wanting to smack Jessie for the first time in her life.

  “Oh come on, I know your alarm is about to go off. Rise and shine, Sleeping Beauty, and see what you got from Prince Charming!”

  Mia bolted upright in her bed, all trace of sleepiness forgotten. “What are you talking about?” Jumping out of bed, she flung open the door, confronting her disgustingly cheerful and bright-eyed roommate.

  “This!” With a huge excited grin, Jessie gestured toward a large vase of exotic pink and white flowers that occupied the center of their kitchen table. “The delivery guy just came and brought this. Look, there’s even a card and everything! Do you know who sent it? Is there some secret admirer that you haven’t told me about?”

  Mia felt a sudden inner chill even as her pulse speeded up. Approaching the table, she reached for the card and opened it with trepidation. The content of the note—written in neat, but clearly masculine handwriting—was simple:

  Tonight, 7pm. I will pick you up. Wear something nice.

  Her hand shaking slightly, Mia put down the note. For some reason, she hadn’t thought he would want to see her again so soon, much less come to her apartment.

  “Well? Don’t keep me in suspense!” Unable to wait any longer, Jessie grabbed the note and read it herse
lf. “Ooh, what’s this? You have a date?”

  Mia felt the beginnings of a throbbing headache. “Not exactly,” she said wearily. “Let me get dressed for class, and we can talk on the way.”

  Ten minutes later, Mia grabbed a breakfast bar and headed out the door with Jessie, who was nearly bursting with curiosity at this point. Sighing, Mia relayed a shortened version of the story, leaving out a few details that she felt were too private to share—such as his exact words and her reaction to him.

  “Oh my God.” Jessie’s face reflected horrified disbelief. “And now he wants to see you again? Mia—this is bad, really bad.”

  “I know.”

  “I can’t believe he just openly told you he intends to have sex with you.” Jessie was wringing her hands in distress. “What if you don’t show up tonight—go to the library instead or something?”

  “I’m pretty sure he’ll be able to find me there. He’s done that before. And I don’t know what he’ll do if he gets mad.”

  Jessie’s eyes widened. “Do you think he would hurt you?” she asked in a hushed tone.

  Mia thought about it for a few seconds. All his actions toward her thus far had been . . . solicitous, for lack of a better word. It could all be an act, of course, but somehow she doubted that he would physically abuse her.

  “I don’t think so,” she said slowly. “But I don’t know what else he might be capable of.”

  “Like what?”

  “Well, that’s the thing—I just don’t know.” Mia nervously tugged at one long curl. “He’s definitely not playing by any kind of normal dating rules. I mean, he practically kidnapped me off the street yesterday . . .”

  “What if you go home to Florida?” Jessie was obviously desperate to find a solution.

  “That seems like an overreaction. Besides, it’s the middle of the semester. I can’t go anywhere until this summer.”

  “Crap.” Jessie sounded stumped for a second. “Well, then just tell him no when he shows up tonight. Do you think he would force you to go with him anyway?”