Demon Blood: A Demon Soul Prequel (The Caine Brothers) Read Online Free

let me bunk here tonight, and I’ll be fine in the morning.” Gideon crossed his arms over his chest but his chin drooped. “More or less.”
    “He’s a tribred. Not a demon.” Hannah let out an impatient huff as she turned toward Marie-Therese. “He’s not going to kill you, you know.”
    “Now Hannah. If she’s never met a tribred, she’s allowed to freak out a bit. But Hannah’s right, Marie-Therese. Gideon won’t hurt you, much less kill you.”
    Marie-Therese just stared at the doctor, who sighed and looked to his charts before lifting his gaze to Gideon.
    “I can’t let you stay, Gideon. As soon as we leave tonight, the fumigators are coming in. We’ve got rats,” the doctor added. “Courtesy of the construction not far away.”
    “Hannah? You got room at your place? I know Frank won’t mind if I bag the couch.”
    “My husband would be proud to have you, Gideon. And the boys love you. Of course you can stay.” Hannah frowned at Marie-Therese and patted Gideon’s shoulder. “It’s never a problem, you know that.”
    “I’ll take him.” The words burst out of her mouth before she could stop them. Horrified, Marie-Therese clapped her hands over her mouth. Jealousy had hit her straight in the gut. There was no way she’d let Gideon stay with Hannah, even if the woman did have a husband and kids.
    The doctor nodded and his manner became brisk. “I’ve got drops for his eyes. He’ll need to have them put in every four hours, as a precaution to any side nasties that the demon may have passed to him through the slice on his arm. Make sure you get at least two drops in per eye. Is that understood?” He pressed the small bottle into her hand. “He needs to sleep a good twelve hours. If you do try to heal him, go slowly, and temper the power.”
    She ignored Gideon’s snort and grabbed onto the doctor’s hand, desperation filling her. “You really think I can?”
    The doctor patted her hand and looked at her kindly. “A better question to ask is, why do you think you can’t?”

Chapter 2
    A ll the way back to her apartment, fear rode her. Marie-Therese had tried to answer Gideon’s chatter with something coherent, but after a couple of attempts, she fell silent and so did he.
    She pulled into her parking space and took a breath. He was just a man. Correction. A gorgeous, um, tribred. With demon blood in him. And he was blind for a few hours, and since he got hurt while he was with her, it was her honor to serve him. She sent him a nervous glance. At least his current state of blindness meant he couldn’t see how much he unnerved her.
    She unbuckled her seatbelt. “We’re here.” Damn it. Way to sound like an idiot.
    “Good. Maybe now you won’t be so nervous.” He unbuckled his seatbelt, felt around for the handle, and opened the door. “Are you coming?”
    At the sly innuendo in his voice, she bit her lip and got out of the car, slamming it shut a little more forcefully than usual. She took a step away from the car, realized he waited for her, and swallowed a sigh at her forgetfulness.
    She went to his side and slipped an arm through his. “This way.” She pulled gently on his arm to steer him toward the pathway to her door. He gripped the plastic bag with his wet pants and weapons.
    “Have you lived here long?” His husky voice made her think of hot sex and dark nights.
    She shook her head to get the images out of it, dug her nails into her hand. “Two weeks. I’m not sure how long I need to be here, so I’m on a month-to-month lease.” She unlocked the door. “A small step up.”
    They made it inside and she steered him to the couch. She turned on only one lamp at the far side of the room, which leant a warm glow to the otherwise sterile apartment. “So, eye drops. Then I’ll find a blanket and an extra pillow, and you can bunk here.”
    “Not with you?”
    His voice turned velvet, and a part of her melted. She cleared her throat. “I’ll just deal with your wet