Read Under the Skin for Free Online Page B

but in the mirror, Padraic could still see Minoru's gaze locked on his body. It was a strangely intimate moment, and he realized that it might be the first time that he could look at Minoru all he wanted to. Underneath his fingertips, his tech thrummed, but he couldn't erase Minoru from his mind.
    When Minoru wasn't guarded, when he wasn't strutting in front of other executives or trying to remind them that of course he knew what he was doing, there was something almost achingly young about the Inoue heir. Padraic thought he could see the man that Minoru would be in a few years, slightly taller, perhaps slightly broader. That arrogance could turn into pride and confidence, but Padraic would have bet good money that Minoru's mouth would be the same: painfully sharp but almost ungodly sensual.
    He glanced up again and found that Minoru hadn't moved; the Inoue heir was still hovering in the doorway, watching him with intent black eyes. There was something intense there that caught Padraic's gaze, and he didn't realize that he was staring until Minoru frowned.
    "What?” Minoru asked.
    Padraic started to respond, and then he realized he was hearing an extremely faint hum in the air. After making sure it wasn't coming from him, he looked at Minoru again.
    "Are you calling for a pizza?"
    Minoru looked somewhat embarrassed but showed him a small phone, flipped open and active. Padraic was surprised; everyone he knew had a temporal communication implant located behind the ear.
    "I have emergency services on speed dial,” Minoru said. “They can be here inside of six minutes."
    Padraic smiled. It was something that Arch might have done for him, but even Arch had never stirred the same feelings in him that Minoru did.
    "Thank you."
    * * * *
    An hour later, Padraic's fingers were sore and red, and he was no closer to figuring out what was wrong.
    "It's not hardware.” He looked up at Minoru and Jenner helplessly. “For something like this, it should be hardware... but it's just not."
    "Then we move on to the next thing that it could be,” Jenner said. “At least if it's software, there's less of a chance it'll blow your brains out."
    "Software mostly can't hurt your organics,” said Padraic automatically.
    Something about Jenner's smile made Padraic uneasy, but then his bodyguard was looking thoughtfully at his chest. The plate was still off, exposing all of the delicate wiring and circuitry that made up Padraic's sum worth in Japan.
    "We need diagnostics,” Jenner said finally. “Once over, from the beginning."
    "But software wouldn't...” Padraic trailed off as his head throbbed again.
    "Did you check the hardware thoroughly?"
    "Yes..."
    "Would anyone know it as well as you?"
    "No..."
    "Then we go to software.” Jenner snapped his fingers. “I'm heading to that little free-zone kiosk I saw down the street. I can grab something from my home server and be back inside half an hour."
    Jenner was already putting on his jacket and slipping into his shoes.
    "Don't go anywhere,” he said, smiling.
    "Some bodyguard,” was all the rejoinder Padraic could make while his head was hurting so abominably. “Leaving me here all alone..."
    "I expect Inoue-san to protect you with his life,” Jenner said over his shoulder as he walked out the door. “If you lose yours, I'm going to make him replace it with his."
    "He's joking,” Padraic said in the silence that followed.
    "No,” said Minoru approvingly. “He's not."
    * * * *
    The bed in the hotel room was soft enough that Padraic sank several inches down into it. He nearly moaned at the pleasure of lying down, but choked it off when he remembered that Minoru was still in the room. Minoru just laid a cool washrag on Padraic's forehead, smiling a little.
    "When I felt ill, my father would do this for me."
    With his eyes closed, Padraic could feel his body start to relax. Even in the hotel bed, in a room that smelled strongly of chemical cleaners, it felt good. Minoru was somewhere close