Corinne closed the pinpricks and rested her head on Dayan’s shoulder. They clung together, their hearts beating wildly, fighting to get their breathing under control.
“I love you, Corinne,” Dayan whispered softly against her bare skin, his eyes closed, his black lashes emphasizing the paleness of his face. “I love you so much.” He lifted his head slowly, reluctantly, looking down at her through half-closed eyes.
She was looking up at him, her heart in her eyes. Their bodies were still joined together, and her body was still rippling with little aftershocks. She reached up to touch his wet hair, to trace the perfection of his mouth. “Thank you very much for finding me.”
He smiled then, a slow, tender smile that would always be capable of stealing her heart. “You are very welcome.” Small droplets of water dripped from his hair to splash on her face. They both burst out laughing. “We did not make it into the house.”
“I see that,” Corinne acknowledged, looking around her as if she were waking up from a dream.
Dayan reluctantly parted their bodies, reaching to lift her into his arms. “Crazy woman. Next time you decide to seduce me, make it out of the rain.”
She bent her head to lap the water from his shoulder. “I don’t know. I rather like it myself.”
The touch of her tongue sent flames dancing over his skin. Dayan pushed the door open with his foot and waved a casual hand to light the candles and the wood in the fireplace. There was a thick fur rug on the hardwood floor and he put her down, the fur immediately rubbing along her bare skin so that her body tightened again in anticipation. Dayan stretched out beside her on his back, his long body very male. “You are going to rest for a while.” He made it an order. “I am not taking you back to the healers half dead.”
Corinne laughed at him. “Do you think it’s possible to die from making love?”
“The way we make love, anything is possible.” He stared up at the ceiling, watching the flickering lights dance while the rain fell against the windows. He reached for her hand, laced their fingers together. “I never again want to feel like I did when I thought you were dying, Corinne. You were taking my soul with you.”
She rubbed her face against his shoulder, against his thick hair, which was now threaded with gray. His badge of love for her. “You are such a miracle, Dayan, and you persist in thinking it’s me.” She looked at him with a critical eye. “Why are you so pale? You’re never like this.” She touched his face.
“I need to feed,” he said simply. “In a little while I will hunt, but not right now. I want to spend every minute, every second, in your company.”
She lay quietly for a moment, absorbing what he was telling her. “Will I have to do that, Dayan?” She rolled onto her side to look at him. “Because I’m not certain I can. With you it’s different, but I don’t know about anyone else.”
Dayan’s black eyes moved over her face in a kind of dark, brooding study. “I did not think of such a possibility. I do not like the idea much.” He was quiet for a brief time while the rain and wind blew at the walls and windows. “Now that you have brought it up, I do not recall Tempest ever feeding in front of us.”
“Tempest was human,” Corinne said with hope. “She’s Darius’s lifemate.”
“Yes, she was human when she came to us. I do not ever recall seeing her feed.” A slow smile touched his mouth. “Darius would never tolerate her feeding from another male, human or otherwise. I think it is best for us to adopt the same policy. It is entirely possible I have a jealous streak.”
Corinne laughed at him. “You cannot be in my mind and ever be jealous.” She tugged at his hand. “Come on, lazy, let’s go outside again. I want to run.”
His eyebrows shot up. “If you have an overload of energy, I can think of other far more pleasurable things to do besides running. I am being good because you need to rest.”
Corinne laughed softly. “You think I need to rest?” She stretched, lifting her arms to the sky. “You’re the one who stopped, not me. I want to get the hang of being a Carpathian. I want to run, Dayan. For the first time in my life, I can do it. I really want to run. Please, let’s go running.”
“Right now?” He lay back in lazy contentment, linking his fingers behind his neck, watching her closely, drinking in the perfection of her body. He loved the way she moved, loved the joy in her, the naturalness. “There is a storm out there.”
Her laughter filled the room with warmth, filled his heart and soul. “I think there’s a storm in here too. A little storm never hurt anyone.” She bent over to kiss him, her hair sliding over his chest, the silky strands causing him to shiver with anticipation. “Don’t say no. I’m not overdoing it, really, Dayan. I need to run.”
“You are a crazy woman.” He sighed heavily because he knew he was going to run in the storm with her. How could he resist her happiness? It was impossible for him. He wanted to snuggle up with her somewhere safe, but Corinne wanted life. She faced her new world with the same lack of fear she had faced her former life.
Corinne caught his arm and tugged. “Come on, lazybones, or I’m going without you.” She was looking around the room. “What in the world did we do with our clothes?” She was blushing, crimson creeping up her neck to her cheeks so that she looked like she was glowing.
He shifted position, turning onto his side, propping up his head on his hand as he regarded her naked body with glittering, hungry eyes. “I do not think you need clothes, honey,” he observed matter-of-factly, his black gaze dwelling intently on her full breasts.
At once her body began to tingle with heat. “You stop it, Dayan.” She backed away from his reach, but she didn’t attempt to cover herself. She liked him looking at her with that intensely hungry gaze. “You were the one who said we had to stop. Come on.” She turned her back on him and walked slowly, provocatively, to the door, her hips swaying in invitation and her firm bottom beckoning to him. She had beautiful legs and a long, elegant back. She took his breath away.
Dayan moved quickly, leaping to his feet, scanning the area outside the house to be certain there was no danger. She glanced back at him over her shoulder, her look frankly sexy. “I don’t think running naked, when I’m built like this” — she turned to give him her profile, her hands coming up to cup her generous, firm breasts — “is a very good idea.”
His body tightened at the sight of a nipple peeking out at him through her fingers. “Then
walking
naked will have to do, because I like looking at you.” He caught her hand, his fingertips sliding in a caress over her silken skin.
Her eyes moved over his body, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. “I see that,” she pointed out, completely happy. She could touch the baby’s mind at will, know the infant was
sleeping soundly in the care of the
healers while she discovered the exceptional gifts Dayan had given her. She could have it all, experience it all, and she was determined to.
They moved together out the door onto the porch. Dayan tugged her closer, moving her beneath his broad shoulder for protection. “Remember to regulate your body temperature,” he said. Her body was brushing his as they walked together, and their skin become so sensitized, electricity began arcing between them.
Corinne threw back her head, looking up at the night sky, watching the glittering silvery drops rain down from the shadowy clouds above them. A small sliver of moon slipped out briefly from behind a heavy black cloud to shine on the thick stand of trees swaying all around them. Shadows danced, the air was clean and crisp, and the sound of the rain on the vegetation was a musical melody.
She looked down at her bare feet, shocked that she could walk without shoes on sticks and rocks and pine needles. She seemed to glide over the surface, as an animal might, her body instinctively finding the quietest, easiest way to go through the woods. She marveled that she had such a talent. Not only was her body moving efficiently, but her sense of smell had also become acute, and she could see despite the darkness. Information flew in on the wind, almost through her very pores. It wasn’t from Dayan this time; she was receiving it on her own.