one tried to talk to him, none of the girls even went up to flirt with him. When we went outside, not one single person attempted to stop him. Explain that to me."
"I noticed that too," Lisa said. "I was certain they would crush him, but no one went near him."
Cullen shrugged. "He's like that. I can't explain it, but I've seen it often enough. They come in wanting to meet him, they talk about it at the bar and on the dance floor. I've heard them, the women. They flirt outrageously while he's on the stage, but when he puts down his guitar, when he's finished playing, he always does the same thing. He looks at the audience just once and then he steps off the stage. No one ever approaches him. I honestly think he has some kind of look that terrifies everyone. He can scare the hell out of me when he looks a certain way. I've also wondered if maybe he's a psychic and simply warns everyone to leave him alone." He looked at Lisa. "Did you want to meet him?" He seemed to be holding his breath, waiting for her answer. "Was that why you went to the bar last night?"
Lisa shook her head. "I wanted to surprise Corinne. She loves music, and she's always talking about the Dark Troubadours. A friend called to tell me Dayan was playing."
Cullen arched an eyebrow. "A friend?"
Lisa smiled. "Bruce, an associate I work with. I did joke about meeting Dayan, but once I was in the bar all I could think about was..." She trailed off, the color rising steadily in her cheeks.
Corinne nudged her teasingly. Lisa scowled fiercely over her teacup, signaling Corinne to silence. Corinne smirked at her. Cullen looked at them both, and a slow grin spread across his face.
Corinne opened her mouth to tease Lisa some more, but words faded from her mind. Everything faded but the knowledge of Dayan's presence. She could feel the burning weight of his stare. She turned her head slowly, knowing he was standing in the doorway. A moment before, the doorway had been empty, and in the next instant it was filled with his powerful frame. He was simply standing there in total silence, his hungry gaze fixed on her face.
At once her heart accelerated, slamming alarmingly hard. She swept one hand through her tousled hair. He looked immaculate. Elegant.
Dangerous.
So sexy he robbed her of breath. She found herself staring helplessly at him. Just drinking him in. His black eyes never left her. Intense. Hungry. He was everything she remembered from the previous night. All of her resolve went flying out the window. How could anyone look like he did and not be a mythical Greek god?
A slow smile curved his sculpted mouth, enhancing his sensual black magic.
I am reading your mind.
His voice brushed at the walls of her mind, velvet soft and very intimate. Sheer temptation.
For one moment Corinne could only blink up at him helplessly, a shiver running through her body. The illusion of being alone with him, his strong arms wrapped around her, was so strong, she forgot for a moment that Cullen and Lisa were beside her. "Just stop." Her voice wasn't her own, but instead a blatant invitation.
Lisa stared at her, open-mouthed in disbelief, and Cullen gallantly cleared his throat, drawing Corinne's attention. Dayan's white teeth flashed at her.
Got yourself in trouble.
He was laughing at her, warmth leaping into his fathomless eyes.
"Showoff." Corinne said it very softly, teasingly.
Lisa shared a puzzled look with Cullen and shrugged her shoulders. Dayan hadn't said a single word, but Corinne and Dayan were definitely communicating in a very intimate way. Lisa tried not to feel left out, tried not to be hurt by the look in Corinne's eyes when she stared at Dayan. Tried not to be totally shocked. Corinne had never looked at anyone the way she was looking at the musician.
Dayan glided into the room. A ripple of muscle. Casual. Silent. Lethal. There was something frightening about him that none of them could define. He emanated danger. He was wild. Untamed. Yet he was elegant, courtly even. Corinne smiled up at him, a dimple appearing in the corner of her mouth. She watched him cross the room effortlessly, his body so perfectly coordinated it was sheer poetry.
Dayan reached down and took possession of her hand, bringing her knuckles to the warmth of his mouth. "Did you sleep?" His teeth nibbled, teased.
He knew she had slept