Corinne felt drowsy, and yet her body was on fire, filled with an aching hunger that reduced her mind to erotic images which flared up like dancing flames. She didn’t want him to leave her like this, her body throbbing and crying out for his, yet she couldn’t summon the energy to move her arms. They felt like lead, sliding from him to lie uselessly on the sheets beside her.
When she managed to pry her lashes open a tiny bit, she could only see his eyes, those haunting eyes watching her with a terrible longing, a terrible need. Her throat worked, and tears burned behind her lashes and clogged her throat. She wanted to remove that look from his face for all time. He looked so alone. So terribly alone with that bleakness etched into the lines of his face, that emptiness in his eyes.
Corinne made a supreme effort and lifted her hand so that her finger could caress the shape of his mouth. ‘Don’t look so sad, Dayan. I’m not going anywhere.’ She could only say the words in her head because she was far too tired to speak them. Her lashes were already drifting down.
Dayan caught her wrist and brought her knuckles to his lips, a flare of surprise moving through him. He had not given her his blood, yet the connection between them was so strong! ‘I will never allow you to escape from me, Corinne, not even through death. Nor will I allow any harm to come to you.’
She carried that last thought with her as she succumbed to the demand for sleep. Dayan watched her for a long time as the sun began to climb in the sky. He held her hand and simply breathed her in, memorizing the curve of her cheek and the sweep of her lashes to take with him to ground. He murmured a soft command to her and reluctantly left her as the sun stained the darkness and the sky turned a silvery gray.
* * *
Chapter 4
“Rina, wake up.” Lisa was leaning over the bed and shaking Corinne repeatedly. Her large blue eyes held worry as she looked rather helplessly at Cullen “I can’t wake her up. I can’t believe I went to sleep last night and slept most of the day away. I just left her to take care of everything when she’s so fragile.”
“Don’t worry,” Cullen soothed as he took Corinne’s pulse. Dayan came back last night and he probably worked at healing her. She just needs to sleep. Feel Lisa; her pulse is strong.”
“I want her to wake up.” Lisa was close to tears. Corinne, buried in layers of fog, recognized Lisa’s voice and knew from long experience that Lisa was very upset. Out of habit Corinne answered the call struggling to the surface when she really wanted to sleep. Corinne’s heart began to pound in alarm What in the world was wrong with her? Her body felt like lead, and she didn’t want to wake up. Her mind turned that piece of information over and over in an attempt to make some sense of it. Corinne concentrated on her hand, her fingers, each separate muscle. It was strange that she felt so disconnected from her own body.
Lisa gasped and reached down, clutching Corinne’s hand. “She moved her fingers, Cullen. I think she’s waking up. Rina, come on, girl, wake up,” she encouraged.
Corinne heard the voice much more clearly as another layer of fog seemed to lift between her and the world. She struggled to raise her lashes. She would open her eyes. She forced herself to concentrate harder, bringing every ounce of her strong will to bear. It was odd, but she was certain something was preventing her, commanding her to remain asleep. That made her all the more determined to wake up.
“That’s it, Corinne, come on, you can do it. Are you feeling ill?” Lisa bent over her, shaking her shoulders gently. “Please wake up, you’re scaring me.”
Corinne made a supreme effort, her lashes fluttering for several moments before she managed to raise them. She found herself staring up at Lisa’s anxious face. Corinne made herself smile when all she wanted to do was curl up in a ball and snuggle beneath the covers. “I was up all night, pumpkin. I’m just really sleepy.”