Corinne knew the exact moment he pulled out of her body. The warmth was gone, and she felt the loss of his presence instantly. She turned her head to look at him, slightly bemused. Perhaps he was a black-magic sorcerer. She was totally bewitched by him, completely under his spell. When his black gaze met hers, she saw hunger there, a terrible aching need, a void only she could fill. Corinne felt it, although she realized the intensity of their emotions made no sense.
“I just met you,” she offered softly, her moss-green eyes examining his face.
Dayan linked their hands again, brought hers over his heart. “I have searched the world over for you, through time and distances you cannot imagine. You are the one. My other half. My lifemate.” His voice was gentle, whispering over her like velvet.
Corinne shivered, edged closer to the protection of his strong body without realizing she did so. “I like that word. Lifemate. It sounds magical. Like we were meant to be together.” Her eyes widened. “I can breathe easier, Dayan, I really can. What did you do?” She was experiencing that strange phenomenon again: Her heart was beating in the exact same rhythm as Dayan’s. “Do you hear that? Listen to our hearts.”
“We were made to be together, two halves of the same whole,” he informed her gently, knowing she wouldn’t understand. He meant it literally when she thought he was talking figuratively. “You are the other half of my soul, the light to my darkness. I hold the other half of your heart. We belong, Corinne.”
She loved the way he said her name, a lazy drawl, his strange accent curling the vowel sounds until they were intriguingly sexy. “How strange, when I’ve never believed in love at first sight. You’re overpowering, I’ll give you that much. I can’t make up my mind whether it’s your guitar playing or the sound of your voice that’s making me lose what little sense I had. Which do you think it is?”
“Something made me go into that bar tonight,” he answered softly, his teeth teasing the pad of her thumb. She could feel each gentle scrape all the way down to her toes. “I dreamed you up. You’re my fantasy come true.”
She laughed then, the sound like music in his ears, a melody even his guitar couldn’t match. “Complete with baby on the way, a broken-down heart, and killers stalking me. I’d say you need to try dreaming again, Dayan, you didn’t do a very good job.” She wanted to be his dream come true, wished she were the one he needed.
“You are the only one I need.”
He was so certain, so intense. There was no hint of a smile in his black eyes, rather that strange look that reminded Corinne of a predatory animal. He looked dangerous. She changed the subject abruptly. Their relationship couldn’t really go anywhere, so what was the use in speculation? “How did you find out the two men were in our house without their seeing you?”
Dayan turned on his side, propping his elbow on the bed so he could rest his head in his palm and gaze down at her face. He could see her clearly in the darkness. He was a night creature and his eyes took in everything. Right now his gaze was focused on her face. She looked beautiful to him, lying there, unaware in her innocence of what he was, what he was capable of. “I needed the information,” he replied gently, one fingertip tracing her lush mouth because he couldn’t stop himself.
“That isn’t an answer,” she told him firmly. “Don’t avoid the question.”
“I do not want you to be afraid, Corinne. I am not always the gentlest of men. Those two were lying in wait to attack you and your friend. One of them had certainly participated in killing your husband. If it is the same organization that attempted to wipe out my entire family in one evening, they would have killed both you and Lisa. They are hunting Cullen, whose only sin was to warn us. I did not feel particularly kindly toward these individuals.”