Corinne took a deep breath and forced herself to look away from him. Staring into the gathering darkness, she tapped out a nervous rhythm with her bare foot. “You can’t feel this way about me so fast, Dayan. The truth is, I’m not going to live very long. I’m not saying that to make you feel sorry for me; it’s a fact. I’ve faced it, but Lisa hasn’t. You need to be practical, Dayan. It’s hard enough with Lisa pretending all the time – I feel like I have to protect her from the truth. I don’t want you to be that way too.” For no reason at all she felt tears burning behind her eyes. Not for herself – she had gone beyond dreaming – but for him, for that utter loneliness she occasionally glimpsed in the depths of his eyes.
Dayan caught her chin firmly in his fingers, forcing her to face his glittering black eyes burning with such intensity. “You will not die, honey. I will not allow such a thing. Make up your mind to live in this world, because you will share your life with me. I will allow nothing less.”
“You don’t understand, Dayan,” she replied gently. “The doctors – ”
“Are human,” he interrupted. “And they are very much mistaken. I agree we will take precautions until such time as one of our healers can examine you, but you will not die. Is that perfectly clear? You do understand me in this, and you will obey.”
She found herself laughing at his sheer arrogance despite the gravity of their conversation. “Dayan, you can’t just command someone to live. I have a bad heart; I’ve had it for years. I’m carrying a child. My heart isn’t going to last forever.”
His black gaze bore straight into hers until she felt as if he were taking possession of her, forcing compliance in some way. “You will obey me in this.” There was absolute authority in his voice.
The smile faded from Corinne’s soft mouth so that her intriguing dimple simply melted away. “I promise to do my best, Dayan,” she capitulated solemnly.
He bent his dark head to hers, his mouth brushing the top of her silky head. “It is always better to see things my way,” he said with great satisfaction.
* * *
Chapter 5
Corinne pulled away from Dayan, a delicate retreat. The slightest contact with him sent a shiver of anticipation down her spine, turned her insides to mush. “You’re a bit on the arrogant side, but I doubt I’m the first person to tell you that.” She glanced over her shoulder at him, teasing, enticing, without realizing her heart was in her eyes.
He felt the breath slam right out of his lungs. He glided after her, a great jungle cat stalking his prey. Silent. Intense. His gaze fixed on her face as she backed away. Corinne forgot they were on a porch and stepped off the platform without looking. Somehow Dayan managed to catch her. She blinked, and that fast he was cradling her safely in his arms. “Fortunately for you, I can live up to my reputation. Look where you are going next time.” Deliberately he flashed his immaculate white teeth at her, displaying masculine amusement at her predicament.
Corinne raised her eyebrow, managing to look haughty even while cradled in his arms. “How did you do that? How could you move fast enough to catch me?”
“I am a superhero,” he confessed soberly. “I never told you because I feared you would not like men in capes. Mine is very traditional, but nice all the same.”
She laughed so hard she had to clutch at his shoulder, afraid she might fall out of his arms. “You’d like me to believe you’re a superhero. I want to see the all-important cape. You can’t be a superhero without one.” She liked being in his arms. She loved being in his arms. He was enormously strong, yet surprisingly gentle. He could say the most outrageous things with a straight face and innocent black eyes. She looked up at him from under her long lashes. “You need tights to be a superhero too. Bright blue tights,” Corinne pointed out wickedly.