Blood of the Demon by Rosalie Lario Page B

“Why don’t we take her to Disney World next? The Taj Mahal?”
    “Shut it,” Keegan had snapped.
    Dagan joined them, and he was just as good-looking as his brothers. Not that she hadn’t already expected it. She’d met him back at the apartment when he staggered into the living room, clearly hungover. He’d barely said two words to her, though his words had sent a shiver down her spine. His voice was the most amazing she’d ever heard, the kind that could coax a woman into doing pretty much anything. Right now, he stayed as far away from her as possible. She didn’t know what she’d done to make him dislike her, but it was clear that he did.
    Whatever. She had bigger problems. Like the fact she couldn’t even look at Keegan without the memories of last night’s dreams flooding into her mind, leaving her aching for things she shouldn’t desire. The man was far too distracting.
    “Thanks for bringing me back to my place,” she said.
    “You’re welcome.” The beauty of Keegan’s smile blinded her for one heart-stopping moment. Lord, he was gorgeous.
    Focus on something else. Anything else.
    “I would think the government could afford a private driver rather than having us take the subway,” she half-joked.
    “I usually just fly”—he hesitated—“never mind.” He slid a hand across his hair, an awkward silence hanging between them.
    Eager to dispel it, she jumped on the first thought that came to mind. “You never told me what it is that you can do. Is it the same thing as Taeg?”
    “Charm others?” Keegan laughed. “No.”
    “So, what is it?” she pressed when he didn’t go on.
    “I… I’d rather talk about you right now. How long have you known about your powers?”
    Ah, so he was uncomfortable with what he could do. Well, she knew all too well what that was like, so she let it slide. For now.
    “I’ve been reading memories off objects for as long as I remember. I think my father could do something like that, too, though he never admitted it. To be honest, I never thought I would find others with abilities.”
    “You sound relieved,” he said.
    “It’s hard being around normal people when you aren’t.” She shrugged. “I guess you know all about that.”
    “I suppose so.” Keegan chuckled, and then hesitated for a fraction of a second. “So there’s no one waiting for you at home, then?”
    “No.” Definitely not. “It’s hard to date when you can read a man’s memories. Even a simple brush of his shirt might coax me to learn more, and that’s not the sort of compulsion I can always fight. A lot of times I see stuff I’d rather not know.”
    He gave her a curious look. “What sort of stuff?”
    “Oh, you know, stuff they’ve done.” She laughed to cover her embarrassment. “Usually, I find out a lot more than I’d like to know about their love lives. It tends to be a turnoff.”
    Keegan nodded and arched a brow. “I can understand that. What about your ability to drain other people’s energy?”
    The memory of the day she’d discovered that particular power came back to her in one big rush, threatening to choke her with its heaviness. Sweeping the panic aside, she locked the memory back into her mental vault. She wasn’t ready to talk about it. Might never be.
    “You know, it’s weird,” she said instead, turning her gaze to him. “What I can do—the energy draining thing—it’s worked on everyone except you and your brother. I wonder why that is?”
    Keegan hesitated, rubbing the back of his neck. “I—”
    “Don’t mean to interrupt your little heart-to-heart up there,” Taeg shouted, his voice sarcastic, “but isn’t this where you live, Brynn?”
    She glanced at the building next to her. Whoa. They’d almost passed her apartment building. Taeg, Dagan, and Ronin had stopped right in front of it, close to twenty feet behind them.
    “Oh, yes it is.” Heat burned her cheeks. How was it possible that being with Keegan made her forget what was