She touched his face with gentle ringers. “What you are is a man with exceptional gifts, Dayan. The things you are talking about I see occasional glimpses of – I won’t pretend I don’t – but that is not who you are.”
His perfectly chiseled lips curved into a beguiling smile, and he deliberately drew her finger into the moist cavern of his mouth. “You think I am an alien being from another planet.” There was teasing laughter in his voice.
Corinne found herself grinning at him sheepishly. “It could happen.”
“I am Carpathian. We are as old as time, doomed to wander the earth until we make the choice to give up our lives. Our males are dark, deadly predators; the beast lies strong within us, ever growing until such time as we find our lifemates to anchor us in the world of light.”
Corinne knew he was telling her something of great importance, but she truly didn’t understand him. “I have never heard the term Carpathian. If I still remember my geography, there is a range of mountains, the Carpathian Mountains in Romania and Transylvania…” She trailed off as the significance of that region hit her. She remembered vividly the strange twist her dream in the cave had taken. She was silent for a moment, gathering her courage. “Did you give me your blood?” she asked very quietly, unsure whether she wanted him to answer her.
“Are you certain you want the truth?”
She shrugged her shoulders, a delicately feminine motion. “I want the truth, Dayan, though I’m not certain I can take it. I wasn’t dreaming in that cave, was I? It all happened just as I remember it. All those people were there to help you save my life. And you gave me your blood. Why? What did that do for me?” She tried to be very analytical about it, afraid that if she dwelled too long on the subject, she would be sick. She swallowed hard. “Why did you feel it was necessary?”
“To save your life and the life of the baby.” Dayan watched her expressive face carefully, was a shadow in her mind monitoring her thoughts. He listened to her heart and breathing for signs of extreme stress.
Corinne sat very still, allowed her heart to follow the stronger, steadier beat of his. She nodded, not fully comprehending but knowing she was getting closer to the truth. If his blood could save her daughter, then it was worth everything to her. She gathered her courage, watched his face intently. “Are you a vampire, Dayan?” She felt somewhat ridiculous asking such an absurd question, but she had never seen him in the daylight hours. Also, he was too mesmerizing. And if her strange dream had been a reality, he had given his blood to her in a rather unorthodox manner.
Dayan wanted to smile at her thoughts. Corinne was struggling to understand, heading in the right direction, while at the same time totally disbelieving her own wisdom. He liked the idea that she found him too anything. He was also aware that she had banished the actual picture of receiving his blood from her mind.
The pad of his thumb rubbed gently, soothingly, along her inner wrist. “Not a vampire, honey, but we share some of the same traits. A vampire is the undead, a Carpathian male who has chosen to give up his soul for the momentary pleasure of feeling the power of the kill. He is deceitful, treacherous and depraved. Wholly evil. Carpathians hunt down and destroy vampires. It is necessary for the preservation of mortals and immortals alike.”
She stared at him with enormous moss-green eyes. Her mind went from racing to perfectly blank. She just stared at him. Carefully she cleared her throat, stalling for time. He believed every word he was saying. Either Dayan was telling the absolute truth or he was totally insane. She took a deep breath, let it out slowly. “Obviously, I don’t know what to say.” Her voice was neutral.
Dayan leaned down to brush the top of her silky head with his mouth. “You are not crazy, honey, and neither am I. Think about it. What can you hear that you should not be able to hear?”