“I always thought I’d want a huge wedding with the long train and roses everywhere, but I really just want you. It would be nice if Dayan and Corinne could be there as witnesses.”
“You name the time and place, Cullen,” Dayan promised at once. “We’ll be there.” He was glad he’d said that when he felt Corinne’s happiness blossoming inside him. She loved Lisa and wanted to see her married.
He slipped his arm around Lisa’s shoulders, pulled her close to him. “Is Barack taking good care of you?” There was a slow draw to his soft voice.
Cullen laughed. “He’s getting used to Syndil adoring me. She has from the moment she laid eyes on me. He just can’t seem to admit it yet.”
To Corinne’s surprise, Lisa laughed with him. “Cullen is so mean to Barack. He’s always winking at Syndil and blowing her kisses. He says outrageous things to her. Barack gets this look on his face – it’s priceless, Corinne.”
“I haven’t met Syndil and Barack yet,” Corinne admitted. “But Desari and her husband, Julian, are very nice.”
Lisa nodded. “They’ve visited every evening. I can’t believe I’ve met the entire band. Even the bodyguard Darius and his wife, Tempest. She’s really nice, but Darius is intimidating.”
Corinne was shocked that she caught the echo of Lisa’s thoughts. Like Dayan. Lisa found both Dayan and Darius intimidating. She thought Barack was funny, and Syndil was a sweetheart. Corinne stretched out her hand to Lisa. “I want to tell you all about baby Jennifer. Come on, let’s go talk while Dayan makes certain Cullen really is as well as he keeps saying he is.”
“How much did she weigh?” Lisa asked.
“She’s very small, only four pounds, but she is gaining weight. She should be out of the incubator soon. She has lots of hair, and little dimples by the comers of her mouth.”
“Lake you do,” Lisa said.
Corinne laughed and hugged her. “I’m so happy, Lisa. Truly, truly happy.”
* * *
Chapter 19
Corinne woke tangled in sheets, her heart pounding erratically and a cry of alarm in her throat. There were tears on her face, and both hands reached protectively for the small mound that was gone from her stomach.
‘What is it?’ Dayan dragged her close to him, his arms closing around her, a safe shelter in the storm of her nightmares. ‘Tell me, honey.’ He was scanning their surroundings, merging more deeply so he could see into Corinne’s haunted dreams.
“I couldn’t breathe, Dayan – for a moment I couldn’t breathe!” Her heart was settling into the calmer, more steady rhythm of his. She lay in his arms, grateful for the strength of his body. She listened to the reassuring sound of her heart and the softer, almost imperceptible sound of her daughter’s breathing. “For a moment, none of it was real – not you or the baby or my new heart. You were gone and I was left alone.”
Dayan pressed his mouth to her temple. “You were resting in the way of humans, Corinne. You wanted to lie down on the bed here in our new home.”
Corinne found herself smiling in spite of the echoes of her terrible dream. “Do people consider tour buses home?”
Dayan turned so he could look down on her face, his fingertips tracing the delicate bone structure. “We live mainly on the road, so these buses become home very quickly. I noticed you were very nervous around the cats.”
His thumb was stroking tiny caresses at the corner of her bottom lip, sending little shivers running down her back to the base of her spine. He always made her so aware of the differences in their bodies. How hard his muscles were, his bones thick and strong; her body seemed soft and very feminine in contrast although her muscles were quite firm. She reveled in her new strength. Still, he made her always remember he was a man and she was a woman.
‘My woman.’ He reminded her he was always a shadow in her mind.
“Cats? Is that what you call those things? They aren’t cats, Dayan, they’re wild animals. Real wild animals. Leopards eat babies. Little Jennifer would be a tasty treat for them,” she pointed out.