Read Online Sire by Thomas Galvin - Free Book Online Page B

been healed; the bruises around her arm, the sore hip, the kink in her neck ... every little ache and pain that she had felt was gone. She felt alive in a way she hadn't thought possible, strong and confident and ... invincible.
    She scrubbed herself clean, making sure to get every last drop of blood off. There was a full complement of soaps and scrubs, which kind of surprised her. Michael didn't seem like the pomegranate body wash type of guy.
    Michael. Mysterious, beautiful, heroic Michael. She closed her eyes, savoring the thought of him.
    An image flashed through her head. Michael, a few rooms away, still naked from the waist up. Running a shower himself, steam rising up around him like smoke. The room he was in was dark, but she could still see him. The colors were washed out, muted, almost black and white, but she could see.
    She could see everything . Feel everything. Feel his muscles flexing as he walked across the room. Feel his power and grace. Feel the cold tile beneath his feet.
    Michael stripped off his clothes, and Caitlin murmured in pleasure. She could see the long muscles of his legs, the tight lines of his stomach. She felt it as the warm water spilled over Michael's skin, felt the abrasion of the cloth he used to clean himself.
    She could feel him. The tension, the worry. His emotions roiled within him, a mixture of anger and concern and fear.
    All of it about her.
    He wanted to lash out at something, anything. He wanted to find Liam and tear him apart. He wanted to protect her.
    But he couldn't. Liam was too powerful, too unpredictable. Too dangerous.
    Something was building inside of him. Something impulsive, uncontrollable. Something just as unpredictable and dangerous as Liam. Would it be enough? He didn't know. He didn't care. He would end this.
    His mood changed. He was thinking about her now. Not about protecting her. Just about her. Her hair, her skin, her eyes. The curves of her body. The sweep of her legs. His chest rumbled at the thought.
    Caitlin's heart raced, and she moaned.
    And then, instantly, it was gone. The image disappeared, replaced by the darkness of her closed eyes. Caitlin put her hand on the wall to steady herself, and took deep breaths, trying to calm her heart.
    She turned the water cold, and let the icy spray cover her.
    ***
    Her clothes were gone, and a set of black silk pajamas were lying on the bed. Caitlin finished toweling off and dressed, enjoying the feel of the fabric against her skin. Then she walked out of the bedroom and back down stairs.
    She found Michael in a vast living room, sipping from a glass that looked like it contained brandy ... but probably didn't. He was sitting in an old armchair near a fireplace. A pair of swords hung over the mantle. There was another chair next to him, and a tray stacked with sandwiches.
    "Feel better?" he asked.
    "Yeah, I'm fine." She sat down and grabbed a sandwich. It was hard to look at him after she had just seen him, well, the way she had seen him.
    "Are you sure? You look flushed. And your heart is pounding."
    Caitlin's eyes went wide. "You can hear my heart?"
    He nodded. "And I can see your pulse. Your neck is quivering."
    "That's ... creepy."
    "So what has you all spun up?"
    "Oh, it's nothing. Stupid. It's just, when I was in the ... when I was upstairs, I had this image stuck in my head."
    "Of what?"
    "Um, you."
    He gave her a crooked grin. "Well, I am pretty memorable."
    "Like, all of you. It's like I could see through your eyes. And you were, you know ..."
    " Oh. Right, sorry. I should have warned you about that. That's one of the effects of the blood. You're linked to me now. You'll be able to get inside my head for a few days. Any strong emotions I feel will bleed over into you. And you'll probably dream about me."
    "Can you see inside of my head?"
    "No, I'd have to drink your blood for that to happen."
    "Oh. Okay." Then she smiled. "So wait ... I can just look into your head? Like, I can see what you're doing? Know what