“Get out!” Corinne said emphatically. “And stay out of my mind. I want privacy, Dayan. It’s humiliating enough having to be carried to the bathroom like a baby. I’m an independent woman, totally self-reliant at all times.”
Grumbling, Dayan gave in to her demands, leaving her alone in the room and going so far as to close the door behind him. Outside he began pacing back and forth with restless energy. ‘The healer said you needed complete bed rest.’
‘Dayan!’ She half wailed his name, half laughed. ‘You’re not getting it.’
‘I am keeping vigil. Standing guard.’
Corinne refused to laugh and she wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of replying. She stared at her pale face in the mirror, mildly shocked by her reflection. She looked different. She felt different.
‘Doing my duty. Watching out for my lifemate.’ Dayan managed to sound put upon and abused.
Corinne shook her head, laughter bubbling up despite her resolve to ignore him. There was every amenity in the immaculate bathroom, and she took full advantage. She took her time brushing her teeth, mainly because it was difficult to stand and she needed to lean against the sink. She was surprised at how weak she was. Her legs felt rubbery, but her breathing was much easier.
‘Okay, Corinne, that is as patient as I can be under the circumstances. I feel your weakness, and you are still being stubborn. I am coming in.’
‘I want to brush my hair.’ As soon as Corinne sent the message back to him, she realized she had communicated with him telepathically. Easily. Naturally.
Dayan shoved open the door and picked her up, his black eyes moving over her anxiously as he inspected her. “Do not panic simply because you have done something totally natural. I am your lifemate – of course you can talk to me. It is not the first time.”
Corinne was grateful for his hard strength, resting her head on his shoulder. “There was a difference, Dayan. You read my thoughts. I directed them to you in answer maybe, but you were reading what was in my mind. This time I sent you my thoughts, my words. That’s a very big difference.”
“Why should that alarm you?” he asked curiously, placing her carefully back in the bed. His hand rested on her small stomach as the baby moved inside her. He smiled. “See? She is happy and healthy. And she recognizes my voice now. She likes to hear me sing to her.” His impossibly long lashes came down to conceal his expression. “I wrote a lullaby for her.”
His words were a hesitant offering of love, rendering a seemingly invincible man vulnerable, and her heart melted again. She stretched both arms up to capture him, to bring his head down to hers so she could find his sculpted mouth with hers. Corinne couldn’t help herself, she just relaxed and allowed the world with all its troubles to whirl away from her until there was only Dayan. Dayan with his broad shoulders and strong arms and perfect mouth. There was no thinking when Dayan kissed her, only feeling. Pure feeling. He swept her into another world where there were no limits, where time and space meant nothing at all.
Her body flared to life, melting and shaping itself perfectly into his. She paid no attention to her crazy heart, the way it raced just because he was close to her. Nothing frightened her when he was kissing her. She felt strong, his other half. She felt as if she belonged. Corinne never wanted to stop. It was the baby, kicking strongly, thumping Dayan right through Corinne’s skin, that had them breaking apart, laughing softly in wonder.
“She is strong, isn’t she?” Corinne said softly, not hiding the expression in her eyes from him. She was tired of attempting to be practical. Dayan was the most wonderful man she’d ever met, and she wanted to be with him. Now more than ever. He made her feel beautiful even in the middle of her pregnancy. He made her feel as if she were the only woman in the world when her hair was tumbling out of control and she was wearing a man’s shirt to bed.