Tempest slipped her hand into his larger one, a silent gesture of love. She touched the mind of her lifemate and found he was simply stating the facts as he saw them. He was making no judgment. Darius had long been without emotion until she had come into his life, and he possessed a will of iron and tremendous discipline. She leaned into him and reached up to find his mouth with hers. His apparent lack of emotion still intimidated her at times. She was feeling her way into Carpathian life, still struggling to be part of a family when she had always been so solitary.
Darius responded the way he always did, his kiss hot and possessive. Tempest melted into him, instantly pliant, her arms stealing around his neck. “I think of you too much,” she pointed out.
“I fear for Dayan, Tempest. This problem is a difficult one. I honestly do not know if we can save his lifemate.” With Tempest, this once, he would allow doubt to intrude. With her, he could be vulnerable and show his tremendous love for his family. “If it were you…” He trailed off, his gut lurching in protest.
“It isn’t me,” Tempest pointed out. “I’m healthy and strong. And you won’t fail Dayan. You have been there for him over the centuries, and you will be the rock he leans on now.”
Corinne turned over, snuggled closer to warmth. She knew who lay beside her and she didn’t bother to open her eyes. “Dayan, you aren’t sleeping. I can tell by the way you’re breathing. Tell me what’s wrong.”
Dayan tensed. Her voice was drowsy, sexy, arousing his body when he had been utterly relaxed. “You are supposed to be asleep until the next rising.” He meant it literally. He had given her a command.
Corinne rubbed her face along his chest and laughed softly. “You have to admit you phrased the order rather oddly. I was to sleep safely until you rose. What exactly does that mean?” She yawned sleepily, covering her mouth politely. “If you don’t ever go to sleep and just lie there all night staring at the ceiling, does that mean I don’t have to obey? Or does it mean I have to stay asleep until you actually rise from the bed?”
Dayan found himself grinning at the ceiling. He had been lying there beside her, simply enjoying being in the same room with her, wondering at the beauty of the night. Outside the room he could hear the night creatures stirring. The wind was rushing through the trees, and he felt vitally alive. “For your information, I was not staring at the ceiling. I was staring at you.” He leaned over and kissed the corner of her mouth, laughing softly. “You little witch. How did you manage to wake up when you’re supposed to be asleep?”
“It was a fairly wimpy command, Dayan,” she pointed out, lifting her lashes so her green eyes could laugh at him there in the dark. “I mean, I heard you giving it to me, and felt the push, and I allowed myself to sort of go with it but all the time I was thinking that I wouldn’t necessarily obey it.”
“Wimpy? It was not wimpy. I was careful of your… er… condition. I was being sensitive. I object strenuously to your using the word wimpy. I was firm but gentle.”
She rolled over to pillow her head on his shoulder “You underestimated me. Admit it. You’re so darned used to making people do what you want, it didn’t occur to you I could resist.”
His eyebrow shot up. “You did it on purpose.”
“Well, of course. You can’t just go around trying to force people to do what you want them to do.” She turned so she was nearly nose to nose with him. Glaring. “Like Lisa. You have to stop influencing her, Dayan. And don’t deny it, I know you do.”
“I was not going to deny it. I told you, it is important that she accepts me in your life.” Dayan linked his fingers behind his head. “Lisa has an unusually high resistance to my persuasion.”
“Because Lisa is not like the rest of us. In her own way, she is different too,” Corinne explained. “She is inherently good, and I think she is gifted with a protection of sorts. Lisa has to be allowed to work out her relationship with you on her own.” She traced his lips with the pad of her finger. “You’re rather ruthless at times, aren’t you?”