His perfectly chiseled lips curved into a beguiling smile, and he deliberately drew her finger into the moist cavern of his mouth. “You think I am an alien being from another planet.” There was teasing laughter in his voice.
Corinne found herself grinning at him sheepishly. “It could happen.”
“I am Carpathian. We are as old as time, doomed to wander the earth until we make the choice to give up our lives. Our males are dark, deadly predators; the beast lies strong within us, ever growing until such time as we find our lifemates to anchor us in the world of light.”
Corinne knew he was telling her something of great importance, but she truly didn’t understand him. “I have never heard the term
Carpathian.
If I still remember my geography, there is a range of mountains, the Carpathian Mountains in Romania and Transylvania...” She trailed off as the significance of that region hit her. She remembered vividly the strange twist her dream in the cave had taken. She was silent for a moment, gathering her courage. “Did you give me your blood?” she asked very quietly, unsure whether she wanted him to answer her.
“Are you certain you want the truth?”
She shrugged her shoulders, a delicately feminine motion. “I want the truth, Dayan, though I’m not certain I can take it. I wasn’t dreaming in that cave, was I? It all happened just as I remember it. All those people were there to help you save my life. And you gave me your blood. Why? What did that do for me?” She tried to be very analytical about it, afraid that if she dwelled too long on the subject, she would be sick.
She swallowed hard. “Why did you feel it was necessary?”
“To save your life and the life of the baby.” Dayan watched her expressive face carefully, was a shadow in her mind monitoring her thoughts. He listened to her heart and breathing for signs of extreme stress.
Corinne sat very still, allowed her heart to follow the stronger, steadier beat of his. She nodded, not fully comprehending but knowing she was getting closer to the truth. If his blood could save her daughter, then it was worth everything to her. She gathered her courage, watched his face intently. “Are you a vampire, Dayan?” She felt somewhat ridiculous asking such an absurd question, but she had never seen him in the daylight hours. Also, he was
too
mesmerizing. And if her strange dream had been a reality, he had given his blood to her in a rather unorthodox manner.
Dayan wanted to smile at her thoughts. Corinne was struggling to understand, heading in the right direction, while at the same time totally disbelieving her own wisdom. He liked the idea that she found him
too
anything. He was also aware that she had banished the actual picture of receiving his blood from her mind.
The pad of his thumb rubbed gently, soothingly, along her inner wrist. “Not a vampire, honey, but we share some of the same traits. A vampire is the undead, a Carpathian male who has chosen to give up his soul for the momentary pleasure of feeling the power of the kill. He is deceitful, treacherous and depraved. Wholly evil. Carpathians hunt down and destroy vampires. It is necessary for the preservation of mortals and immortals alike.”
She stared at him with enormous moss-green eyes. Her mind went from racing to perfectly blank. She just stared at him. Carefully she cleared her throat, stalling for time. He believed every word he was saying. Either Dayan was telling the absolute truth or he was totally insane. She took a deep breath, let it out slowly. “Obviously, I don’t know what to say.” Her voice was neutral.
Dayan leaned down to brush the top of her silky head with his mouth. “You are not crazy, honey, and neither am I. Think about it. What can you hear that you should not be able to hear?”
Corinne continued to gaze at him, looking very young and vulnerable. Her face was pale, almost ashen, and it was becoming difficult for her to breathe. Automatically Dayan did it for her, taking over the job, directing her lungs to push air in and out. “By giving me your blood, did you make me like you?” Her voice was low, a mere thread of sound.
Dayan circled her slender shoulders with his arm. “We do not need to have this talk right now, my love. If you are not feeling up to it, I will remove your memories and we will try again at a later date.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “You can do that? Remove my memories?” Suddenly she glared at him. “Have you done that?”
He shrugged casually, without remorse. “Partially. I made them hazy so you would not be frightened, but left them accessible should you ever wish to put the pieces of the puzzle together.”
For a moment she stared at him; then she burst out laughing. “This really is crazy, you know, because I’m believing you and it’s too bizarre for words.”
“I cannot lie to you, Corinne. You have the ability, through our blood exchange, to look into my memories, into my mind, and see that I am telling you the truth. You are my lifemate. I would not attempt to deceive you for any reason.”
“And a lifemate means...?” she prompted softly, struggling to comprehend.
“For a Carpathian male, there is only one chance at true life. We lose our feelings early. We have the memories of emotion to sustain us, and we have the ability to touch others so that we can share their feelings, but after centuries of loneliness and bleakness, it is difficult to maintain the illusion that life has meaning. The whisper of power calls us continually, a dark stain spreading over our souls. Some give up and seek eternal rest; others choose the darkness and become the things of legend — vampires.”
“If all this is true, how can I be your other half when I am not Carpathian?” She wasn’t certain she wanted the answer. She felt like his other half. She felt as if she belonged with him. Every moment spent in his company only made the feeling stronger. She knew nothing about him, yet she felt as if she knew everything. But if she believed what he was telling her, she would also have to believe in the legendary vampires.
“You have psychic ability. Human women who have paranormal abilities often seem to be able to link with us — at least that is what I have been told. Syndil and Barack are lifemates. Desari’s lifemate, Julian, is Carpathian. But Darius found a human woman. Her name is Tempest, and she came to us through an ad Desari placed for a mechanic to travel with our band. Desari embedded a hidden compulsion in the ad in the hope that it would draw the right person to us, and Tempest answered.”
“Is she human still?”
Dayan brought her fingertips to the warmth of his mouth, nipped gently, tenderly. “Tempest chose to save Darius’s life and in doing so was fully brought over into our world. It was her choice, Corinne. Darius did not want any of us discussing the possibility with her, because he did not want to take any chances with her life.”
“Chances?” she echoed. She was very tired all of a sudden and wished for the familiar comfort of Lisa.
Or John.
Dayan winced visibly. He knew it was natural for her, as natural as it would be for him to think of Desari or Syndil. He had spent several lifetimes with them and loved them deeply. Yet it bothered him that Corinne wanted the comfort of another man’s company, of another man’s arms. He knew he would love the baby; he already felt a strong bond with her. And if he was successful in saving Corinne’s life, it would be his blood running in the child’s veins.
Dayan’s heart turned over at the thought of his child in her body. He framed her face with gentle hands. “There have been mistakes — human women who were not true lifemates, and they became deranged. Darius did not want to chance such a tragedy with his lady.”
“What about you? You say you’ve given me your blood. Are you so willing to take a chance with my life?”
Dayan leaned forward to kiss her soft mouth because he had to. He couldn’t see and feel her distress, her growing fear, without needing to reassure her in some way. The moment his mouth touched hers, feather-light, a brush only, his body clenched hotly and his blood turned to molten lava. She could do that to him with a look, a touch, with the taste of her perfect mouth. His fingers slipped around her face to clench in her hair, holding her still for his exploration.