Dark Melody Page 0,88

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."

Her eyes searched his black gaze. There was pain there, in the dark depths. He was hurt, and it upset her. "Dayan, you have probably always had the ability to read minds, so it is second nature to you, but to someone who isn't telepathic it is uncomfortable. I am used to censoring my thoughts, choosing how I want to present myself to the world. You can see into my mind, but for some strange reason, it doesn't bother me. If it were anyone else, including John or Lisa, I would be horrified that someone could read my thoughts. That should tell you something right there."

"You think it tells you something, Corinne. I already know why you feel that way. You are my lifemate, the one who holds the light and compassion, guards these treasures for me. You are my anchor in a world of darkness and violence, of bleak emptiness. You are the other half of my soul. The best half. I know