Corinne was grateful to them all, but it seemed as if it were all happening to someone else. She was observing everything as if she were hovering above the scene, rather than in the center of it. There were males determined to save her for more reasons than simple sympathy. She was a female of great psychic talent, proven to be capable of conceiving a daughter of extraordinary psychic talent. Her daughter was already prized by these people, a treasure they would guard and protect should something happen to her. She felt it. She read it in their minds, merged as they all were together.
She turned her attention to Dayan. He was pale, lines etched deeply into his handsome face. His black eyes drifted over her face lovingly in a brooding, sensual study that melted her heart. He looked alone, raw, vulnerable. Corinne lifted her hand and touched his face, her fingertips gentle as they traced his mouth. “Don’t look so sad, Dayan,” she said softly. “You came back – that’s all that matters.”
“I should never have left you. There were other hunters who could have killed the vampire. I should have been strong enough to overcome my nature.”
He was exposing more than his guilt to her; he was exposing his heart and soul. Laying them out in front of her, uncaring that she saw his naked vulnerability. His sorrow. His fear. “You are my life, Corinne, everything to me. I want you to fight. Not just for the baby, but for us. Know you are fighting for both of our lives. Keep that knowledge in your heart and mind and soul as you unite with me and with my people to preserve your life, all of our lives.”
Corinne smiled up at him, a slow, loving smile. “I’m not afraid, Dayan, and I don’t want you to be either.”
He bent his dark head to close the inches between them, uncaring that there were so many witnesses. His mouth found hers, gently, tenderly in a dark melody of heart-wrenching love. He lifted his head slowly, reluctantly. Her heart was struggling now with every beat. They all could hear it despite the sound of the water pouring into the cave, despite the chanting of the ancients joining in from faraway countries.
Gregori positioned himself on Corinne’s right side, took her small pale hand in his. Darius approached on the left, laid his hand gently over the small mound of her abdomen. Around the large cave, the Carpathians reached out to one another, linking physically as well as mentally. Julian and Desari stood tall behind Dayan and rested their hands in firm comfort on Dayan’s shoulders.
“We cannot risk a repeat of tonight’s events,’ Darius counseled. ‘You must bind her to you as you give her your blood. It is necessary, Dayan.’
‘I will not take a chance with her life. She would not survive a separation in her fragile state.’ Dayan was adamant.
‘Then you must stay with her at all times, awake or asleep. I do not see that she fears very much. It is better to risk her knowledge of our weakness than another close encounter with the beast.’ There was a finality about the decree. Darius had led his group of Carpathians fearlessly down through the long centuries. They trusted his wisdom and skills. His word was rarely questioned.
Corinne knew that the man Dayan referred to as his brother was speaking telepathically to him. “I can feel his concern for you, Dayan. Whatever he wants you to do, please do it.” She whispered the words against his throat.
“I do not want you to suffer any more on my behalf.”
She smiled at him although her lashes were sweeping down. “I’ve never suffered on your behalf. What an idea! My heart has been failing since the day I was born. You have nothing to do with it.”
“Are you certain? Be certain, Corinne. There is no going back. Each step forward you take is another step into my world.”
“I have never been more certain. Whatever world you’re in, Dayan, I belong there too.” She could hardly speak now.
There was a moment of stillness in the cave. A waiting. Corinne knew the moment Darius and Gregori merged with her, Gregori traveling through her body to her daughter. ‘I love you.’ She whispered the words to Dayan, wanting him to know, wanting him to realize that if this didn’t go the way they all intended, he had been loved unconditionally, accepted unconditionally, even if they had never had the opportunity to consummate their love.