Blood Revealed Read Free Page B

of his mind, Patrick knew that Garrett had spotted his distress. That was a secondary consideration. Right now, it was all he could do to control his reaction and stay sitting in the chair.
    His heart leapt as he recognized that what he was experiencing wasn’t just hunger, but a ravening sexual need. It exploded through his body, making muscles clench and the cool blood in his veins race. He could even feel the blood grow warmer as his heart worked despite his best efforts to bring it back under control.
    He was helpless to do anything other than watch Dominic as the man stood there, completely unaware of the scrutiny.
    Patrick had been aware, before, that Dominic was a good-looking man. The knowledge had been subconscious, a measurement that he had made just as he did with everyone that he met. Appearance was generally considered superficial yet it drove business decisions in Hollywood. Measuring a man’s appearance was an automatic defense mechanism here.
    So he was aware that Dominic had subdued Latino good looks, and that was as far as Patrick’s assessment had gone. Now that knowledge seemed to sit in the front of his mind like a glowing neon sign. This time he saw not just the man’s dark hair and pale olive skin, but the thick locks of hair that waved forward to brush his forehead.
    His eyes, of course, were his best feature. The intense darkness of them drew anyone’s gaze. He also had a square, sharply drawn jawline, softened by a scrubby beard and moustache that made his eyes seem even more intense by comparison.
    Patrick couldn’t control his heart. He had spent weeks learning to keep it contained, to only let it beat when he absolutely must have a functioning heart. The intense training that Nial and Sebastian had pushed him through, that Garrett and Roman underlined whenever they could, centered around the conservation of energy, to extend feedings as far apart as possible. If he controlled his heart and only let it beat when he must, then he could stretch out the feedings far longer.
    Patrick had been learning the way of it quite well, yet now his heart was a wild beast, not responding to him.
    Now Roman lifted his head to look at Patrick sharply, as if his attention had been caught by a shout. Perhaps it had. Patrick was quite sure that his heartbeat was loud enough for Roman to hear it even across the room.
    Thankfully, however, Dominic was completely unaware of any of it.
    Patrick would’ve put that down to him being merely human, except that Dominic’s gaze, which had been roaming around the room, had focused with as much sharpness as Roman’s attention had been caught, except that his focus was on the far corner.
    That entire corner of the room was taken up by a baby grand piano that stood with the lid down and covered with a brocade throw that had been artfully and casually tossed across it.
    Because he was focused so much upon Dominic, Patrick was able to hear his heart beat loudly. It leapt in Dominic’s chest at a frantic pace. His breathing increased. Curiously, none of that showed. Dominic simply stood and looked at the piano with an expressionless face.
    Kate, the one other human in the room at that moment, lifted her head from the sheet of paper and looked around. Her attention had been caught, too. Perhaps it was the silence that had settled over the room. Nevertheless, she spotted Dominic’s fierce concentration on the piano.
    “Do you play, Dominic?” Her voice was soft, as if she was afraid she would startle him if she spoke any louder.
    Dominic didn’t jump the way Patrick expected him to. Instead, he drew in a breath that was sharp and hard. He swallowed.
    Then with casual indifference, he swiveled away from the piano, putting it at his back. He shrugged. “No, I don’t play.” Then he deliberately changed the subject. “I’d better get back. Nial is expecting me to return and confirm that you’ve got the information.”
    “An email would’ve been much quicker,” Kate