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Need crawled through his body and pounded out a rhythe bar, an edgy, co melody as dark and driven as he was The notes were ripped frouitar cradled in his arht cradle a wos that reminded him he was alive and not one of the undead

He could feel the stares, although he never looked up He could hear the breathing of the crowd, the air ht train He heard blood ebbing, flowing in veins, beckoning, a sweet seductress, teasing his senses until his craving was an obsession as dark and relentless as the shadow across his soul

They whispered Hundreds of conversations Secrets Pickup lines The things whispered in bars under the cover of e with the young, enthusiastic band he was ja with He heard the whispers of wouitarist for the Dark Troubadours They wanted to bed hi reasons, and he wanted them for reasons that would have terrified them

The song ended, the crowd roared, stolanced at the lass of water toward him, one eyebrow up

What are we doing here?

Dayan read the expression clearly, read thethere? What had couitar and play for the crowd? His performance would only draarranted attention to them It wasn't safe They were hunted, yet Dayan had no choice He needed to be in this bar He aiting for so for someone

Dayan's fingers were already picking up another rhyth to be released His voice stilled the crowd, beckoned, seduced, tempted He called to her Commanded her His lover His lifeive hi hi in the shadows, vulnerable to the crouching beast

Save me Come to me

The words took the breath froht tears to the eyes of the women

They pushed closer to the stage, unaware that they did so Unaware of the power of his voice, his eyes He mesmerized theerous predator a easy prey

Save me Please save me

His voice washed over them, seeped into pores, soaked into brains so that they stared up at hihtening senses He kept his eyes closed, blocking out the sight of the crowd, losing hi to her His lifemate The one woman who could save him Where was she?

The door opened, allowing the night breeze to rush into the rooether in too small a space It was the sound of a heartbeat that ular, beating too fast, laboring too hard Dayan looked up and literally lost his ability to breathe There she was Just like that His lungs burned for air and his fingers lost their age-old rhythe rhythm of hers

Dayan forced a breath into his body First one, then a second The band was staring at hian a melody he had never played before, one that was always there, locked in his heart Dimly he are the band had taken its cue fro his lead, but he paid no attention to the others He couldn't look away froht-haired companion spoke with several acquaintances

What rong with her heart?

His black eyesher She was small, curvy, with lush dark hair and enormous eyes He watched the way she moved, watched the sway of her hips To Dayan, she was incredibly beautiful And she was human He kneas possible for one of his kind, a Carpathian, to have a huined his other half would be one

She paused for awith his for the briefest instant Her perfecther head toward the tall blonde who accoed her, led the way through the crowd to a booth in a dark corner of the club He heard the soft ed Where before the club had been visible to hiray, it was now brilliantly alive with vivid, dazzling color

E in on him fast and hard, so many he couldn't sort the over his beloved guitar He felt that His guitar It a behind his eyes Dayan was al hier Colors Lust It was a volcano,And there was jealousy Dark Dangerous He realized he didn't like to see theover to talk to her

At once that thought triggered the rising of the beast in hierous in this state The h him; wild emotion almost choked him; he was blinded by a ht for control and won

What rong with her heart?

He kept his head bent over his guitar, but his empty black eyes were fixed on his prey, the only woman who mattered to him He played to her, poured his heart out to her, allowed the beauty of his music to speak to her He wanted her to see the poet in him, not the predator Not the darkness All the while he played, he listened to the conversation she was having, listened for the sound of her voice

"I can't believe it's really him, Lisa That's Dayan, of the Dark Troubadours He's practically a god a musicians I've never heard anyone play like hi with this band?" That was her voice, soft and feminine She spoke in a reverent tone

Her fingers were tapping out a rhythuitar riff

Lisa leaned across the booth to be heard over the noise in the bar "I heard he was vacationing nearby I guess he's just jaht, Corinne I kno ive you a surprise"

That was her name

Corinne

Even her name fit the music in Dayan's mind He unasha to hisat him in rapt adoration the way the other wo The way he would have liked

"But how did you know? He's not just anyone, Lisa He's a genius when he's playing How did you know he'd be here tonight?"

"Bruce-you rerapher Bruce knows you're a huge music fan He stopped in for a drink and called to tell ht Bruce said that uitarist's and that he travels with the Dark Troubadours" Lisa indicated Cullen "Everyone's hoping itfor new places to play"

"Well, they do prefer the sht they would play here?" Corinne said Her gaze strayed to Dayan, their eyes met, and she hastily looked away

The iers nearly lost their rhythave a funny lurch and his very breath slas

"Is he really that fa at Corinne

"He's absolutely fahter was affectionate, teasing "His band doesn't have a contract with any label Soo to concerts The tapes are worth a fortune"

"You have an old record and several tapes, don't you?" Lisa asked

Color swept up Corinne's face "Ssh! For heaven's sake, Lisa, those tapes are black-market What if someone hears you?" Guilt was in her voice "The band travels and plays mostly in small places, like old-fashioned troubadours That's probably how they came up with the name"

Lisa leaned her chin on her hand "He's looking this way I swear, Rina, I really think he's noticed us"

"He's gorgeous I had no idea" Corinne had never been one to fall for ht, whether actor, musician or athlete It wasn't her style; she was too down-to-earth But Dayan reseiving the ith and poithout bulkylike a raven's wing, pulled back at the nape of his neck and secured with a leather thong But it was his face that caught and held Corinne's attention It could have been chiseled froreat sensuality, or great cruelty She couldn't get the ier out of her mind when she looked at him

His mouth was beautiful, as was the shape of his jaith its faint blue-black beard shadow-she had always liked that on a man-but it was his eyes that ensnared her Shedirectly at him His eyes were beautiful, shaped like a cat's eyes, dark and mysterious, empty, yet filled with a thousand secrets She felt alaze, captured for all time She couldn't look away from him Mesmerized

The word came to her out of nowhere She was definitely uitar, but his gaze seearnished attention easily and was coaze locked on her

Her fingers curled into a tight fist, her long nails digging deeply into her pal a crazy sos "I've never heard anyone play so beautifully" Her et the words out

"He can sit in ht," Lisa said

Color crept up Corinne's neck to sweep into her face at the idea of this uitar was not what she had inShe had never thought of anyone like that Not even John Not only did it seem disloyal, but it was totally out of character for her Suddenly she was very afraid She wanted to run like a child and find a place to hide froe effect he seehtened her Perhaps it was his ry, like his eyes

"Corinne!" Lisa said her naht? Do you need your rabbed Corinne's purse and was rue of fear in her voice

"I'm fine, Lisa," Corinne said "I think my hero took my breath away for a ain" She forced herself to laugh

"Oh, yeah," Lisa said dreamily, "he has a sexy voice"

"Be still,at her heart dra out the sudden fear in her eyes, just as Corinne kneould

With his superior hearing, Dayan could hear every word He sorted through conversations easily, dis them from his mind, but not hers Corinne

The other woh happy to know he hadthe situation

Medication Whatwith her heart?

It was important to find out as soon as possible

Dayan directed his attention toward Cullen

Go to the far booth and strike up a conversation with the tomen

He pushed hard,Cullen-it wasn't in Dayan to use soain experience emotions, he could feel the friendship he had with the human male But he needed an emissary, someone to act quickly before Corinne bolted He could read her fear easily enough, and he could not allow her to flee from him

Cullen turned his head and spotted the beautiful blonde To his astonishnized her face Lisa Wentworth She was a azines Ordinarily, he would never have the nerve to speak to her, but for so the distance between them He had been in love one time in his life and had lost his fianc§ڥ Since then he had never really looked at another wo Lisa Wentworth It wasn't just the fact that she was beautiful, it was so from deep within her

"It would be an honor to get you thatever you're drinking," he said as a greeting "My name is Cullen Tucker" He wished he had a pickup line that wouldat her, but he hadn't tried to attract a woman in years

"Lisa Wentworth" Lisa stuck out her hand and flashed a blazing smile while Corinne seehtly averted, her hair spilling down like a silken shield "This is Corinne Corinne Wentworth"

Cullen raised an eyebrow in inquiry They looked nothing alike, although he thought them both beautiful "What would you like to drink?"

"We're both just drinking water," Lisa offered, a flirty set it for us if you promise to sit with us"

"I'll be right back," Cullen co up at Dayan with that look he recognized in sowith the band, that few of the groupies cared what the band members were like, only that they were famous and played in a band

"What are you doing, Lisa?" Corinne hissed "Are you crazy? You never pick uphiuitar player"

"Of course I' about hi to drape on his ar Do you mind so much if he just talks to us? You can stare some more at Dayan while he plays" There was a hopeful note in Lisa's voice

Corinne took a deep breath and let it out slowly She wasn't being fair to Lisa Lisa needed to have fun She had been taking care of Corinne forhand out of sight in her lap and forced herself to shrug casually "I suppose I can do that But I' hiood"

Lisa's eyes were on thehim with interest His shoulders were square and he stood very straight She liked the way he looked her right in the eye There was so that touched her heart She couldn't define or explain it to Corinne, but he looked like a ht of the world on his shoulders and no one to ease his burden The plain truth was, she liked the look of him

"I'll take Cullen," Lisa said half seriously, "and you can go for the guitar player"

Corinne flashed a saucy sood to be true Men like that break hearts everywhere they go They have that eleer because they really are bad boys Woe the to be done about it If you're a smart woman, which I ao near theers burned I'll just listen to him play and be very happy"

Cullen h the crowded club back to the booth where the to to say to the terror in his heart He couldn't possibly become interested in a wo his footsteps Very carefully he set a bottle of water before each of them

Lisa s Cullen to sit beside her The room was crowded and it was very loud She wanted to hear every word this ive Lisa a little ic Lisa deserved to find a nice man Someone She would need someone very soon