Free Aaron's Kiss Series Boxed Set (Books 1 - 7) by Kathi S. Barton Page B

tone. Or it could be his ‘Godlike feelings about himself,’ I believe is what she said.” He laughed with Duncan.
    “Colin!” Aaron snarled. “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, 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 shirtfront. 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 the wound, he hissed. “Holy Mary, Mother of God, child, what’s happened to you?”
    “I was shot a few days ago. You just threw me against the wall. I’ve had a bad few days. I want to go to my own bed.” She was crying again. Duncan set a large box of tissues in front of her, then busied himself with pulling out clean bandages, scissors, and tape. Colin nodded his thanks and continued with Sara.
    “I donna think he’s gonna let you go today, love. I’m sorry I hurt you, though. Did you really save Aaron’s butt? Wish I could have seen that, I do.” Colin tucked the shirt hem high into the pocket of her shirt to keep it out of his way while he worked.
    Once Colin got the padding pulled away from her skin, he was able to see the bullet wound. It was now just seeping blood instead of pouring as it must have been doing earlier. He was shocked to his core that this woman was walking around as if nothing had happened. She had not made a noise when he had slammed her against the wall. She had, in fact, fought back. He had known grown men who would have been felled by less than this woman.
    “You know, I could heal you right up with a couple sips of my blood…the bruises too, if you’d like.” He did not offer his vein often; seldom, if truth be told. She seemed to understand this without much acquaintance with him.
    “No, but I thank you,” she said demurely.
    Colin found her politeness, bravery, and hardheadedness a huge turn-on and had had a semi-erection since he had held her against the cabinets. It had not gotten any better when she straddled him on the floor either. He made no move to