He rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Childish? That is a strong term. Harsh. Very harsh.” She was smiling again, that smile that could light up the world. Dayan had no choice but to fasten his mouth to hers.
The earth moved and time stopped and he couldn’t find the discipline to make it a gentle, tender moment. She had scared him, stopped his heart, and he needed her. Needed to feed on her mouth, drown in her sweetness for just a few moments. Dayan forced his body under rigid control and slowly, reluctantly lifted his head. “Please do not ever do that to me again.” His voice was a velvet weapon, and he used it shamelessly. Briefly he rested his forehead against hers. “I found you. In the darkness, where there was no hope for me, where I struggled and battled the monster every second of every night, you came to me. You saved me, Corinne. You cannot abandon me now. I cannot go back to a life alone. No one can ask that of me, not even you. How can I make you understand? I cannot go back. You must make up your mind to live, if not for yourself and the baby, for me. Love me that much. Do it for me.”
At once tears swam in her large green eyes. “Dayan.” She whispered his name softly, hopelessly, lovingly. “Don’t you think I would promise you if I could? I want that more than anything – I do, but I’m only human, I can’t do the impossible.” Her fingers tangled in his thick, dark hair. “I had a strange dream that your healers came to me and tried to help me. I know the doctors said I was dying – I heard them talking to Lisa. I heard her crying. Yet I’m still alive, and so is my daughter. Tell me.”
“Gregori did his best to repair your heart, Corinne, but the improvement is temporary, to give the baby a chance to grow. Darius said the child is strong and wants to live. We have that in our favor. It is a delicate balance, waiting until she is big enough to survive without you. Gregori wants a few more weeks for her. He is working with your heart to give us that time.”
“Then it wasn’t all a dream.” Corinne caught his head and lifted it so that he was forced to look at her. “What are you, Dayan? Was part of it a dream, or were you there too, helping them in some way?”
For the first time ever, his black gaze slid away from hers. He sat up straight, fussing with her covers. “I love you, Corinne,” he said softly. “I love you more than anything or anyone on this earth. You need to know that.”
“Look at me.” Corinne took his hand and brought it to her mouth, her breath warm against his skin. “Dayan, look at me, please.”
He sighed, and she could hear his heart pounding strongly. His reaction was unusual, and she knew it was significant in some way. “What is it that you think I can’t love in you? Because that’s what I feel. You’re giving me a part of you, but you don’t want me to know all of you. I feel connected to you. Strongly connected. We’re two halves of the same whole. I’ve been married, Dayan. I knew what I was supposed to feel. I loved John, but not in the same way. With you I feel everything and more. I could listen to you talk forever. Or simply sit beside you quietly without words. It would be enough for me. I want to be with you, but I don’t know who you are. You say you can love me because you know me through my mind. I don’t have that advantage. In order for me to know you, really know you, you have to talk to me. There’s a part of you closed off to me. Don’t you trust me to care for you no matter what it is?”
“You do not trust yourself. I can see into your mind, Corinne. I see you wrestling with doubts. You think it all happened too fast. That it is simply chemistry. Purely sexual. Or that it is just because you are pregnant and you need someone. You give yourself many reasons, many excuses for your feelings toward me. You do not say to yourself that you love me.”