Dark Melody (17 page)

Her hands slid beneath his shirt, his hands were tugging at her blouse. The fire was explosive, the heat an inferno. There was no rational thought, only the feel of skin, hers satin soft, his firm and defined with hard muscle. He shifted her, his knee thrusting between her legs so she was riding on the hard column of his thigh.

Dayan made a soft sound, an edgy note of ravenous hunger welling up from his soul. The tone pierced her heart, invaded her mind so that she wrapped her arms around his head to cradle him to her, giving him everything, anything. Wanting to be whatever he needed. He pushed her shirt up out of his way, all the while his mouth and hers performed a tango of seduction.

His tongue stroked and teased, danced with hers. His teeth nibbled at her lower lip, the comer of her mouth, settled over her dimple. His lips drifted over her skin, down her neck and throat, leaving flames in their wake. He lifted his head then. Inhaled. Drank her scent in, deep within his lungs. His half-closed eyes slid over her.

Rested on her breasts. Soft. Creamy. Firm and tantalizing.

Her bra was a lacy dusky rose, lovingly cupping her full breasts. Corinne heard the hitch in his breath as he slowly bent his head to her. His long hair slid over her skin, brushed at her like silken caresses. His hands were incredibly gently as he cupped the soft weight of her, lifting one breast free of the bra. His tongue swirled over her nipple. Waves of sensation rocked her, shook her. His mouth, hot and moist, closed around her aching flesh. Corinne's legs almost went out from under her. She leaned back into the piano, the keys playing a jangling note. Streaks of lightning sizzled in her bloodstream, raced to the very core of her.

Her body clenched, dampened. She closed her eyes and gave herself up to the pure ecstasy of feeling he was evoking with his mouth. With his hands.

A small, discordant note invaded his consciousness. A whisper of trouble. Her breath was labored, her heart struggling. At once Dayan lifted his head, buried his face in the hollow of her shoulder. Her hands were exploring his back, driving him to the very brink of insanity, so he caught her wrists and held her still.

When he could breathe again, when it was safe again, he lifted his head to look at her. She was so beautiful with her thoroughly kissed mouth and her wide, dazed eyes, he was nearly undone. "Your heart and the baby," he reminded her. "Another couple of minutes and we were not going to be able to stop. I do not want you going unexpectedly into labor. Your safety and that of the baby come first. I was being selfish, and I ask your forgiveness. In truth, I was not thinking clearly."

His voice was a blend of haunting notes, so beautiful it brought tears to her eyes. It wrapped her in a cocoon of safety, a dark melody of love and sensual hunger. "There's nothing to forgive, Dayan. It was both of us. I wanted you as much as you wanted me. Thank you for being strong enough for both of us." Her hands crept protectively over her baby. She smiled up at him. "In truth, I wasn't thinking clearly either, and if you really knew me, you'd know how rare that is."

His eyes drifted over her face, intense, hungry, melting with warmth. "You are my heart and soul, Corinne. You do not know me, because you cannot merge your mind with mine, but I can read your thoughts, your memories. I know you as no other ever could. I do not need days, weeks, months to get to know you. I have only to touch your mind to know what you are like. I know how intelligent you are. I know how very much this baby means to you. We will be much more careful."

Very gently he drew her shirt down over her swollen, aching breasts. She circled his neck with her arms and leaned into his larger frame, allowing him to take her weight. "I'm sorry, Dayan, I didn't mean for things to get out of hand. I know better." Her hand slipped down his chest, rested on the front of his jeans. "I don't want to leave you this way." She could feel the bulge of his erection, so heavy with desire.

His body shuddered with excitement, anticipation, hardening more, his blood thickening. Dayan took a deep, steadying breath. "You mean the same way I have left you? Aching and unfulfilled? I think we will be partners, Corinne. When I am able to take care of your needs, you will take care of mine." He brushed a kiss along her temple. "We are in this together."

She pulled back to look into his eyes. "You really mean that, don't you?"

Dayan nodded. "I am no saint, Corinne. You are looking at me with stars in your eyes. I want to devour you right now. I think the safest thing for us to do is pack up your things and Lisa's and go back where we will no longer be alone."

Corinne leaned closer, pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth. "I hate to tell you this, but my things are in the bedroom." She laughed softly, teasingly, and stepped away from him, knowing she was perfectly safe with him. Her legs weren't completely steady but. she managed to walk without falling. He followed her into her bedroom, watching her with dark, intense eyes. She felt the weight of his gaze on her as she moved about the room, and it did nothing to calm her own storm of desire. Resolutely she gathered her things without looking at him. He robbed her of good sense, and for both their sakes, she needed to be responsible. Corinne continued into Lisa's room, pausing for a moment to place her hand over the baby. Dayan had protected both of them.

"Is she kicking?" Dayan asked softly, managing to make the question sinfully intimate.

Corinne nodded, afraid to look at him, afraid she would lose herself in his terrible hunger. In his poet's soul. Dayan moved up behind her, as silent as any jungle cat, and wrapped his arms around her, his palm over the small mound of her belly. He bent his head so his mouth was dangerously close to her frantically pounding pulse. "She is very strong. Such a miracle. All around the world people are finding out they are having babies, yet they do not appreciate what a miracle it is. Perhaps if they had no women, no babies, they would understand what is supposed to be treasured. As I treasure you, so do I treasure this child."

Corinne closed her eyes and allowed his words to seep through the pores of her skin. How could he say such beautiful things? How could his words always be so perfect? Why had she found him now, when she had so little time left? For a moment she leaned against his hard strength, inhaled his wild, untamed scent, was grateful for his enormous strength and poet's words and the way he made her feel that her child was a part of him too. Totally accepted. Without reservation.

"I want you to feel that way," he said softly, his breath warm, inviting, "because it is the simple truth."

"You are temptation personified," Corinne scolded, but her voice gave away her pleasure, and she covered his hand with her own. "You could have any woman, Dayan. Why in the world are you with me?" Her heart ached for him. She didn't want him to be hurt.

"There is only you. I can see no other, nor will I," he answered, completely certain. "You are everything."

Corinne pulled away from him gently, regretfully. "And what if I don't feel the same way? What would you do then?" There was a wealth of interest as well as humor in her voice.

He reached around her to pick up both suitcases. "You forget I read minds. If you truly did not want me, then of course I would have to accept such a thing, but you are my lifemate. There is no mistake. I see in color. I feel emotion. I look at you and there is meaning to my existence. You look back at me."

Corinne smiled then – she couldn't help herself. "I definitely look at you, I can't very well deny that. And I want to be with you. I knew John practically my entire life. I loved him, yet I couldn't give him passion, I couldn't give him my soul. I look at you and everything in me wants you, wants to be everything you've ever needed."

Dayan shook his head. Corinne was confused by the intensity of her emotions, the sheer chemistry between them. He didn't want her to feel guilt for not having shared her passion with her husband. "I am your lifemate, you were meant for me. We know each other, recognize one another because we're meant to be together. You loved John as a dear friend, but you belong with me. Lifemates do not lie to one another. I am telling you the truth."

She reached out to touch his strong jaw, her fingers gently caressing. "Thank you, Dayan." She took another look around the house. "I think we have everything."

He took possession of the suitcases and made certain the house was securely locked before following her down the brick pathway and across the large expanse of immaculate lawn. Corinne stopped suddenly, looking up at the abundance of stars overhead. Stars that couldn't be seen earlier. "Aren't they beautiful?"

Dayan nodded and continued to walk to the car. Corinne was very pale, and he could hear her struggling to breathe. She acted as if she were normal, as if she were strong, but he was beginning to be alarmed again. He wanted to swoop her up and fly across the night sky with her, taking her to the nearest healer to demand she be put right. "You need to get in the car, honey," he advised softly.

She nodded, hating the weakness that prevented her from enjoying so simple a pleasure. Headlights caught her in a bright spotlight as a car whipped around the corner and raced straight toward her. Corinne stood frozen, her heart stammering, her baby kicking as a rush of adrenaline flooded her mother's body.

Dayan dropped the suitcases and moved with preternatural speed. He caught her up into the safety of his arms and leapt over the speeding car, taking to the air as he did so. Below him, the driver was spinning around, fishtailing, the occupants yelling with excitement. He could see them clearly, and for the first time, rage was beginning to smolder deep within his soul. He wanted no more humans threatening Corinne. A low growl rumbled deep in his throat, and he leaned over her silky hair, intending to whisper a command to her.

Corinne clutched Dayan's arm as they raced across the sky. He wasn't running anymore. She was certain his feet weren't touching the ground. No one could move that fast. No one. She felt the warmth of his breath against her ear, felt him merging with her mind, the waves of reassurance, of love and commitment. "Don't tell me to forget this," she countered sharply.
'Don't order me to forget, Dayan. Not yet. Let me see you.'

She was seeing him for the first time. Before, she'd had glimpses, tantalizing clues, but she couldn't fit the pieces together. Now he was sharing her mind, and she saw things, memories, images; she saw Dayan in different time periods. His memories didn't make sense to her, but she knew they were real and not from history books. They were too detailed, too vivid. And he had saved her from the speeding car, leaping into the air and virtually flying with her.

'Your heart must match the beat of mine. Listen, Corinne, for I will not lose you. Breathe with me and do not be frightened.'

"I'm not afraid of you," she whispered aloud.
'I'm not afraid of you.'
She didn't want him to use his telepathic ability to rob her of this memory. Was she seeing the reason Dayan was so lonely, so utterly alone in a world where everyone seemed to be drawn to him? He was completely different. He could do magical things.

Dayan took her to the safety of the rooftops, settling her gently in the shelter of a dormer. He glanced at the sky, and immediately clouds began swirling overhead, building fast and furious. The thick fog bank was returning with the unstable weather.

Corinne watched his every move carefully, noting that his expression was exactly the same, but deep within his eyes burned a red flame of retribution. "You're going to confront them, aren't you?"

"I want you to concentrate on your heart, Corinne." He made it an order, delivered in his black-velvet voice. "It needs to be a nice steady beat. Hear it, feel mine." He brought her palm to his chest, right over his heart. "Feel that rhythm? You can control it to some extent."

"How could you move so fast?" she asked, her eyes wide with wonder. Corinne had been handicapped physically all of her life, so Dayan's abilities were wondrous to her.

"We will talk later, honey. I have a few minor details to attend to right now."

She reached out and caught his arm. "Be careful, Dayan. There's such a thing as being
too
confident."

He bent his head to brush her forehead with a kiss. And then he was gone. Corinne blinked and Dayan had disappeared. She drew up her knees, breathing slowly and deeply, concentrating on her heart as he had commanded. For the moment, she allowed herself the luxury of belonging to him, of knowing he wanted her. Only her.
What was he? Who was he?

Dayan felt enormous power sweeping through his mind as he dissolved into droplets of mist. Streaking though the layers of fog, he moved swiftly toward the car that was roaring through the streets. A jagged lightning bolt slammed to earth directly into the path of the car. The vehicle lurched and fishtailed before it raced on. Hail poured out of the sky; ice the size of golf balls rained down on the roof of the car so hard it dented it. Visibility was destroyed by thick fog and sheets of ice. The driver slammed on his brakes, and the car slid to a halt. At once the deadly fog invaded the vehicle, pouring in through the windows and filling the empty spaces until it pushed out all the air.

Within the fog was a peculiar mist, a vapor trail of a shadowy color that left an impression of great menace. The driver reached for the door handle, but it was already too late. The fog was winding around his throat like the coils of a snake. The strangely colored mist wound tighter and tighter until the driver was choking, gasping, turning gray, then blue, his eyes rolling back in his head.

Both men in the back seat reached simultaneously for the doors. The fog seemed alive, fibrous, with tentacles that reached out to envelop them, slipping coil after coil around them like ever-tightening nooses. They struggled frantically, but their struggles caused the loops of fog to squeeze them more tightly until they were gasping and choking, reaching up to tear at the coils around their throats. Their hands simply went through the fog as if it were mist and nothing else. They died silently, without a chance to cry out for help.