Read Online Sire by Thomas Galvin - Free Book Online

and took her into his arms again. He crouched and jumped, and they sailed over the old stone, landing gently in the grass on the other side.
    His car was waiting for them. It was some kind of sports car, all curvy and black and gleaming. The thing looked like it was crouching, ready to spring forward at a moment's notice. The doors unlocked themselves as Michael walked toward it. Michael reclaimed his blades, and slid them into the back seat.
    He crossed to the other side and opened the door, holding it for Caitlin. Caitlin paused just long enough to take another look at Michael's chest, then slipped inside.
    Michael climbed into the driver's seat, and the car growled to life. He slammed it into gear and smashed the accelerator, and the car roared forward.
    "Um, where are we going?" Caitlin asked.
    "Home."
    "Oh, okay. Um, I live on the campus, and—"
    " My home."
    "Oh. Oh. Okay then. Um, why?"
    "Because I can't protect you if I'm not with you, and I'm not in the mood for Jell-O shots."
    "Oh."
    They drove for a few minutes before Caitlin spoke again. "Um, Michael? Can you turn the headlights on? I know you probably don't need them or anything, but you're kind of freaking me out."
    Michael glanced over, then flicked the lights on. "Sorry," he said.
    "So, you can see in the dark? How dark can it be before you can't see any more?"
    Michael sighed.
    ***
    "So really, were you always this pretty, or did you become pretty when they made you a vampire?"
    Michael gave Caitlin another sideways glance, but really, she thought is was a fair question. Both of the vampires— vampires —that she had met so far were gorgeous, and the stories she had read weren't exactly consistent. Some of them made it sound like every vampire was a supermodel waiting to happen, and some of them had vampires with potbellies.
    This kind of information was important.
    "I'm different, but you'd still recognize me. The change kind of brings out your best features." He nodded his chin at her. "You'll probably notice your skin and hair are better for the next couple of weeks."
    "So, like, the back of my legs. I have a really hard time toning the back of my legs. If I was a vampire ...?"
    He looked at Caitlin's legs long enough to make her worry that he was going to drive off the road. "Your legs are fine," he said, a trace of a smile on his face. Then he turned his attention back to steering the car. "You don't need to die to improve them."
    Caitlin was simultaneously happy at the compliment and miffed that he hadn't given her a direct answer. "What about your hair? Can you cut your hair?"
    "No. Well I can, but it grows back the next time I eat. I've seen Angelica change her hair style, though, so there must be some trick to it that I don't know yet."
    "Angelica was the girl who called you away from the club, right? Who is she?"
    "She's ... complicated. She's the Regent of this area. Kind of like a queen, or a governor. This place, all of this, is hers."
    "All of this? What do you mean?"
    "St. Troy. All of it belongs to her. Some of it literally, she owns a ton of property. But this is her Regency, the area she governs, and there's no one strong enough to challenge her."
    "How strong is she?"
    "Strong enough to walk in the sunlight."
    "Oh. What did she want with you?"
    "Like I said, it's complicated. And we're home."
    Michael pulled off the road and into a long, winding driveway. The wrought iron gate surrounding the house swung itself open as they approached. The driveway must have been a mile long, and the whole estate was surrounded by trees, just like Liam's.
    "So I guess vampires like their privacy," Caitlin said.
    "It makes things easier."
    Then they were at the house itself. It was a sprawling Tudor style structure, made of old brick and iron and lead glass. The whole face of it was covered in windows, and Caitlin was surprised to see lights burning inside. The roof was made of slate, and there were a series of chimneys. It looked like something out of an