Read Online Blood, Body and Mind by Kathi S. Barton - Free Book Online Page B

the child get fixed up first.” Colin was surprised at his attitude toward the girl. He had never heard him be so rude to a woman before. This was going to take some thought.
    Sara turned to glare at Colin. When Duncan came into the kitchen a few minutes later, it was to find Sara and Aaron standing toe to toe screaming at one another. Colin thought it was the funniest thing that he had ever witnessed. Sara, in his estimation, was one or two up on his friend in zingers.
    “ I will not! You, sir, while an ass of major proportions, are not my boss!” She shouted at Aaron, Colin thought, for about the fifth time too.
    “ You will do as I say, right now, or so help me God, I will paddle that pretty butt of yours until you are begging me to give you an order.”
    Colin leaned over in his chair slightly to get a look at her pretty butt. Yep—very pretty indeed. He sat up when he heard Aaron growl at him.
    “ Are you even sane? Are you listening to yourself? Begging you for an order, oh my God, you are seriously delusional, did you know that? I have to get out of here before I need to be locked up right along with you.” She was walking toward the door as she made this prediction.
    Just as Colin started to watch her again, he noticed that Aaron was looking at him.
    “ Good heavens! What has happened now?” Duncan asked him when there was a lull in the noise.
    “ Well, let’s see... He wants her to strip down to her bare skin. Then let him tend to her, and she is taking exception to that. Actually, I think she’s taking exception to a lot of things. But I think it’s mostly to his tone. Or it could be his ‘Godlike feelings about himself,’ I believe is what she said.” He laughed with Duncan.
    “ Colin!” Aaron snarled at him. “You are not helping. If you can’t keep your opinions to yourself, then I’d prefer it if you’d leave the room.”
    “ Yes, sire. I’ll try to be good.” Colin’s look was one of pure innocence, but anyone who had known him for more than ten minutes knew that he did not have an innocent bone in his big body. And right now, he was having entirely too much fun to let Aaron’s foul mood and temper bother him.
    “ I’ve had enough. Duncan, she is bleeding again, tend to her. Colin, don’t let her out of your sight. I will be back in an hour.” He looked directly at Sara and said, “I need to feed. When I return, we will have a talk, and I will get some answers.” With that, he turned on his heel and left the big kitchen.
    Sara promptly sat in one of the kitchen chairs and burst into tears. Colin could not blame her really; over the past several days, she had killed three men, been shot, dragged to a house owned by someone whom she did not know, nor did she want to, manhandled by him, and now she was bleeding again.
    Colin looked to Duncan. He appeared to be ready to sit in the other chair and join her. Duncan didn’t have a lot of experience with women, Colin knew. He would also bet that Duncan didn’t have the slightest clue how to handle a crying one. When Duncan looked frantically at him, Colin sighed. Oh well, he thought, no hope for it.
    “ Come here, lassie. Let me see what all the fuss is about.” He pulled her over to him, chair and all. He winced at the rough sound the chair legs made as he dragged them across the tiled floor.
    “ First I’m a child, now I’m a dog. You vampires sure have a way with women, don’t you?” While she was no longer sobbing, big fat tears were falling down her cheeks. He hated tears from a woman. They could turn him inside out faster than anything.
    He murmured to her softly, not really saying anything while he inspected the bloody stain that now saturated her shirt front. When he started to unbutton the shirt, which looked suspiciously like something Aaron would wear, she slapped his hands away.
    “ You gotta let me see this, sweetheart. Can you lift up your arm for me?”
    When she tentatively lifted the front of the shirt up above