I Thought It Was You
Author: Shiloh Walker
Date: 2010-07-13 04:00:00+00:00
Keywords: Paranormal; Paranormal Romance; Romance; Erotica; Fantasy; Short Stories; Urban Fantasy; Fairy Tales; Angels; Fiction
Description: Grimm's Circle, Book 2.5 The events of this free short story take place between the events of No Prince Charming and Ren’s story, Crazed Hearts. It turns out both Ren and Elle had some loose ends they needed to tie up…and that’s what this story is about. It’s not Ren’s happy ever after. That’s in Crazed Hearts.
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Rights: All Rights Reserved, (c) 2010 Shiloh Walker

Dedication

For all of those who’ve fallen for Ren. I kinda fell for him too, and I usually don’t do that.

And for my family. Always for you. I love you all so much. Thank God for you guys.

Chapter One

“Oh… I thought it was you.”

“Well, it looks like you were right.” Ren smirked through the open door at Michael’s face. He tried hard not to feel too much resentment at the look of satisfaction in the man’s green eyes.

It wasn’t easy. His gut instinct was to hate the bastard.

After all, in a few more weeks he’d be marrying the woman Ren was still half in love with.

“Ren!”

Speak of the devil.

She came through the door, a blonde bombshell, a towel barely covering her, her hair hanging in wet ropes down her shoulders. He caught her in his arms, wet and naked—the fucking towel, it might as well not even be there.

Her name was Elle. A few hundred years ago, she had lived in a small country. She’d fallen in love with a prince, and although no glass slipper had been involved, their story had helped inspire some of the Cinderella fairy tales.

A number of the fairy tales involved people who had actually lived. Many of them still lived. They weren’t really people though. Not any more. They were angels…guardian angels. Or at least that’s how they ended up.

Will had a rather twisted sense of humor.

He’s a sick, cruel bastard, doing this to me, Ren thought darkly as Elle tipped her head back and smiled up at him. “What are you doing here?”

“Hello, princess,” he said softly. A fist formed around his heart, rising to lodge somewhere in the vicinity of his throat. He stroked a hand up her back, remembering to keep the touch as fraternal as he could, considering how precious little she wore.

Fuck me, a towel.

Looking at Michael over her shoulder, he set his jaw and hoped the hell raging inside him didn’t show.

The last thing he wanted was for his rival to realize just how much he envied him.

Pride was a bloody cold bed partner, but it was better than no bed partner at all, Ren supposed.

“Elle,” Michael said, with just the faintest edge to his voice. “Perhaps you could stop strangling him long enough to let him come inside.”

She laughed, a happy gurgle of sound and gave Ren one last, delighted squeeze before she bounced away, grabbing at her towel before it could start a slow descent.

Ren couldn’t decide if he was glad of that or not.

Not that he needed to see those sweet curves—he’d held that lovely body against his time after time, and the memory of it was emblazoned on his mind. As she moved to lean against Michael, Ren tucked his hands inside his pockets.

Easier that way—lessened the temptation to reach for her.

“So,” Michael said, his voice still a little cool, and little too edgy. “To what do we owe this pleasure?”

Chapter Two

“Exactly why did Will send you again?”

Seated on the couch, staring into the fire, Ren heard Michael’s question, but it took a moment or two to filter inside his mind.

“Ren?”

Frowning, he glanced up and looked at the other man, then sighed. “Will. Now, you have met the man, right? You have noticed he doesn’t always seem to have reasons for the things he does? Or fathomable ones, at least?”

“So he sent you here just to say hello?”

“Well, likely not.” He flashed Michael a sharp-edged smile. “Because the bastard knows I’m more inclined to tell you to get fucked than say hello.”

“Thom…be nice.” Elle scowled at him from a fat, overstuffed chair placed just under a large window. She held a glass of wine in her hand and there was a frown on her face. “And yes, we all know Will can do… Well, weird things. But if he sent you here, I’d think there was a reason. I don’t like not knowing what it is.”

She shifted her gaze to him.

A hundred years with her had taught him what it felt like when she was…prying. As he felt that light, deft touch, Ren lifted a brow. “You’re being rather rude there, poppet.”

“Are you okay?”

Ren smirked. “Why wouldn’t I be?” He wasn’t—darkness hung in the back of his mind, a waiting thunderstorm, but he’d hold it back, hold it off for as long as he could, for as long as he had to.

There had been times when Will had sent him to Elle because something about her gift had always helped him level out in the past, but that…that was in the past now.

Feeling the weight of an intense stare, he shifted his eyes to Michael. “So, about this wedding… I got the invite, heartbroken you didn’t ask me to stand up with you.”

Elle, in the middle of sipping from her wine, choked and started to sputter.

Michael settled on the back of the chair, rubbing her back. “Well, it might have occurred to me, but you know, when Will asks if anybody has any reason why these two should not be wed, I’d rather you not be standing front and center when you shout out your answer. From the back, maybe you’re less likely to be heard.”

“He won’t say anything,” Elle said, wheezing a little. She wiped the tears away and sat her glass on the table by the chair. “Damn it, Ren, are you trying to kill me?”

“Takes a bit more than that to do us in, princess.” Unable to take sitting here, aware that she was watching him far too closely, he rose. “All I can tell you is that Will wanted me here, and he said for us all to wait until he decided to grace us with his presence. Well, those weren’t the exact words, but you get the point. Now then, I’m worn out. Is there a place where I can crash?”

He wasn’t tired. But he knew Elle wasn’t going to call him on it, even if she did know otherwise. As she slid out of the chair, she stroked a hand down Michael’s arm, smiled at him.

Ren looked away. Just seeing that affection between them…it hurt.

It wasn’t quite dawn, but Ren had slept for about two hours.

He would have liked more—needed more, but it had taken until midnight to even fall asleep. And sometime after two his dreams had taken a dark, dark turn and self-preservation had dragged him into wakefulness.

Knowing he’d wake them if he remained inside, he’d slid out through the window—bless Elle, there were woods. And where there were woods, he could find some semblance of peace.

It wasn’t much, but he’d wandered in the darkness. A couple of raccoons had followed along behind him. Their presence had soothed him somewhat, but once he’d slid back inside the house, that warmth had faded.

Now he was alone in his thoughts again—alone in them and feeling too tight, too drawn, and the darkness was…too much.

Come on, Will, you bugger. What in the hell am I doing here?

He reached down and touched the cuff on his wrist, scraped his nail over the etched silver wings. A hundred years old and the silver never tarnished, the wings never faded.

Answer me, you bastard, damn it.

But there was no answer. He hadn’t really expected one.

Will rarely gave anybody any answers. Not even when they really needed them.

Brooding, he fetched himself a soft drink and wondered why he felt so…drained. It wasn’t physical.

Their kind didn’t really get physically tired. After all, guardian angels wouldn’t do much good if they suffered such mortal maladies, would they?

They might not be so prone to physical exhaustion, but Ren was so mentally drained, so emotionally worn thin…and so damned empty. He felt so achingly empty.

Hearing the soft, quiet tread of footsteps, he lowered his drink and looked up just as Michael appeared in the doorway of the kitchen.

“Can’t you sleep?” Michael asked.

Isn’t he observant? Ren thought, smirking to himself. “Well, seeing as how I’m here in the dark, it would seem not.”

Michael sighed. “You ever get tired of being the smart ass?”

“Hmmm. No. No, I don’t think I do. Are you going to get tired of pretending to be the polite host when we both know you want to boot me out on my arse?” Ren replied, kicking back and propping his feet on the table. Even as he said it, he told himself to shut the hell up.

But for some reason, he couldn’t.

He had an angry, edgy beast in his belly, and he couldn’t shut it up.

It wasn’t just jealousy, but that sure as hell was part of it.

Even though he knew in his gut, in his heart, that he didn’t love Elle the way Michael did. Even though he knew in his heart that Elle hadn’t ever loved him the way she loved the man before him.

Jealousy, loneliness, rage, it was a bad, ugly mix and it prodded him to uncoil from his chair and move to stand in front of Michael, cocking a brow at him and giving him a wide, taunting smile.

“Come on, mate—can’t be easy having me here, after all. You just got her back after how many years? A few centuries? And she’s spent much of the past hundred years with me…”

“If you’re trying to pick a fight with me, it’s not going to work,” Michael said, shaking his head. “I might not much like you, but I know she does—you matter to her, and I’ll be damned if I do something to hurt her.”

Those words were as effective as a sucker punch—or a splash of cold water.

Spinning away from Michael, Ren snarled.

Fuck. One hand curled into a fist, and if he hadn’t been the middle of what he could tell was a pretty, rather new kitchen, he might have punched a hole through a wall.

Darkness edged in on his mind, pushing at him, hard, fast.

Too hard.

“My apologies,” he bit off, his voice harsh and brittle. “I’m…not myself.”

It took every last bit of his control just to force those words out before he started for the back door. Yes, he fucking knew he was supposed to be waiting here for some so-called assignment, but Will was out of his mind if he thought this was a safe arrangement for Ren’s state of mind.

It wasn’t like his state of mind was stable even in the best of times.

“Damn it, Ren…”

Abruptly, a hand touched his arm.

It was a smaller hand, softer, yet strong.

Familiar.

“Thom.”

Looking down, he met Elle’s brilliant blue eyes.

Swallowing, he shook his head and said, “This was a bad idea, me coming here, princess. Go back to your prince charming and leave me be. Will can find me when it’s time and I’ll trot on back here like the good angel boy he wants me to be. But for now, just leave me the fuck alone.”

“No.” Then she moved in closer and slid an arm around his waist, pressing her golden head against his naked chest. As she pressed her cheek against him, she said, “What is wrong, Thom? You’re in chaos—I feel it.”

Chaos.

The blackness of his mind tried to edge closer, and memories—so unwanted, so unwelcome—tried to overtake him.

He sucked in a breath, and for some reason he felt something draw tight around his throat, although it had been years—more than a century, really, since that had happened. And he didn’t even remember that, not truly.

Get a fucking grip.

He heard a gasp. The hands touching him fell away and he stumbled, his shoulders slamming against the wood and glass of the back door.

Voices rose, but he barely heard them.

Swearing, he lifted his hands, pressed them to his eyes.

No, no, no, no, no…

Vaguely, he heard Elle, recognized her voice.

Heard Michael, sensed the fear and concern there.

“Damn it, would you just stop it? I’m not leaving him like this!”

But he couldn’t think about that—had to focus.

Then she was here again, her hands gripping his wrists, forcing his hands down from his face, those large, lovely eyes of blue gazing into his. “Thom…damn it, Thomas, you look at me, right now,” she said.

Chapter Three

Thom…

Thomas.

No. I’m not Thomas. Not any more.

He remembered Thomas—remembered the weakling he’d been, how he’d failed to protect the one precious person in his life. Remembered how he’d broken. How he’d failed.

He wasn’t Thomas.

He was Ren, damn it, and he wouldn’t break, not here. Not in front of Elle.

Swallowing, he forced himself to hold her gaze. “I’m…I’m not Thom, Elle,” he said gruffly.

She cupped his face in her hands, stroked a finger over his lower lip.

Ren shuddered, then knocked her hands aside. “Stop it,” he muttered. “You…you need to stop it, now.”

Stop it, please, he thought desperately. Damn it, would you just stop touching me?

But that was a very, very bad thing to think around an empath, especially when he was too fucking weak to shield against her. Under normal circumstances, he could, and he could do it damn well. He should, after all. She’d trained him.

But normal circumstances for him had shattered when he’d been told he was supposed to report for duty here, of all the fucking places.

As her hands fell away, he saw the pain glimmer in her blue eyes and he could have kicked himself.

Backing away, Ren sighed, skimmed a hand over his naked scalp. “Damn it, Elle…”

“Fine. You don’t want me around you,” she said, swallowing. Her voice shook. “I get the point. Shit, Ren. What the hell happened? We used to be friends.”

From the corner of his eye, Ren saw Michael close his eyes.

“Friends.” A harsh laugh escaped him. “Fuck me… Friends. I’m sorry, Cinderella, but I didn’t spend the past century chasing you around and getting inside your skirts as often as possible because I wanted to be your friend. I wanted more than that—I always wanted more, and now I’ll never have it. I show up here, you throw yourself at me in a bleeding towel—a towel, for pity’s sake, Elle. Then I’m three seconds away from having a meltdown and thank you for helping, yes. But damn it, you can’t keep touching me, because it’s tearing my damn heart out!”

He was shouting by the time he was done, shouting…and shaking.

And although the pain in his heart was now clawing and free, he realized that darkness that had been edging through him had disappeared.

Pain…or insanity. What a lovely choice to make.

He turned away and leaned against the door, resting his brow against the beveled glass and staring out into the lessening night.

“Ren—”

“Stop,” he said, forcing the word out through his teeth. “Just stop. I don’t want to hear apologies or platitudes.”

Closing his eyes, he took a deep, slow breath. He needed out of here. Yes, he damned well knew Will wanted him here for some specific reason—other than torturing him.

Absently, he touched the leather cuff at his wrist, rubbed the silver medallion set in the center.

Most of them wore theirs on a chain around their neck, but Ren couldn’t stand the feel of anything around his neck—hated it.

Pressing his fingers against the medallion, he focused. Why, Will? Why are you doing this to me?

But there wasn’t an answer, and behind him there was silence.

For the longest time, there was silence.

Then he heard the softest whisper of sound.

Her hands again, resting on his shoulders. Blowing out a breath, he braced his shoulders and turned. He had to get the fuck out of here, before he snapped.

Oh, shit.

“Elle, what in the hell are you doing?” he muttered.

Michael stood behind her with his arms wrapped her around her waist.

Her naked waist.

The nightshirt she’d had on lay in a crumpled pile on the floor and she was staring at him.

As their gazes locked, Elle moved to meet him, her hands coming up to cup his face. He caught her wrists. “I’m not about to become a pity fuck, princess,” he said, his voice ragged.

Even if he did still want her like mad.

“Ren.” She leaned and pressed her mouth to his chin. “Not even a blind woman could look at you and think pity fuck.”

Her naked breasts pressed against his chest and he could have whimpered, could have begged. Almost did.

But instead, he eased away, forced a few more inches between them. But the door behind him wouldn’t let him back away any more.

“Then what the hell is this? We had the one night, a fantasy, remember? One night,” he said, the words coming faster and faster now. What the hell… “If this happens, then it’s not one night. It’s two. Do the math, poppet. One, two.”

Elle smiled. “I’m well aware of the math. The one night was a fantasy…for me. This…is for both of us. And instead of a fantasy, it’s a goodbye.”

She leaned in and pressed her lips to his, but Ren averted his head and since the fucking door was still in the way—what was with that anyway—he slipped off to the side. Shooting Michael a dark look, he snarled, “Help me out here. You don’t want this. Talk some sense into her.”

“I want her happy. I want her to have what she needs,” Michael said. He shrugged. “And for some reason, she needs this.”

Then he gave Ren a sharp-edged smile and added, “Come on, Thomas. We can give you some closure.”

“Kiss ass.” Ren sneered at Michael. He glanced at Elle and then wished he hadn’t. She still stood there, all tumbled golden hair and pale, pale skin, curves and perfect, sweet curves. One pink nipple played peek-a-boo with her hair and he groaned, covered his eyes with his hands.

Blast it. Even the insanity might be preferable to this.

Through the leather band on his wrist, he felt a scalding hot heat and he swore. It faded as quick as it had come, and he lowered his hands, stared at the band.

And abruptly, he realized just what he had been thinking. Realized just where he had been the past few months. Too close. Too close to that darkness that had overwhelmed him in the past.

The darkness that had pulled at him was not better than the pain of heartbreak. The pain of loneliness. The darkness had been edging back in on him for some time, a darkness relieved by Elle’s presence.

Perhaps that was one of the reasons why her leaving had hit him so hard. That and the fact even though he had known she hadn’t really loved him, part of him had still hoped.

Another lesson. Fuck. In the end, this hadn’t been anything but another lesson. Will was such a bastard.

Swallowing, he looked up, stared at Elle, into her eyes, although it took a monumental effort not to stare…everywhere.

“We’re not doing this,” he said, his voice harsh. “I want you like hell, but no…I don’t need this to…whatever…”

He could, and would, get his fucked-up head back on straight without some erotic version of kiss and make it better.

But if he thought Elle was going to let it go so easily—well, Disney never really did get that particular fairy tale right.

The Cinderella fairy tales were so far from the real Elle, it was almost pathetic.

She smiled at him, but the curve of her lips was a sad, bittersweet one. “And what if I need it as well, Ren? What then?

“We both have demons, Ren. You know that? Neither of us have shared all of ours very well.” She closed her eyes and reached up, touched the medallion that hung between her breasts.

The round silver disk was exactly like the one Ren wore around his wrist, like the one Michael wore around his neck.

Their mark. The mark of the Grimm.

“I never told you, but you know. You were there when the nightmares came, more than once. You know what happened to me.”

A harsh sigh, too close to a sob, escaped her. Then she opened her eyes and looked at him.

“You know, close enough, what happened to me. You know what they did, what they took…how close they came to destroying me. So what if I need this? What if I need to find that part of me again?”

Ren swore. Shifted his focus to Michael. Fuck.

The look in the other man’s gaze was unchanged.

“Are you just going to stand there?” he demanded. Help me out, damn it.

“I have what I need, so if she needs this, especially if she needs it to heal, why can’t I let her have it?” Michael came to stand behind her and embraced her. There was a grim, dark look in his green eyes. “You held her through most of the nightmares. You were there as she healed. But I don’t doubt that she still feels like something is missing…like some part of her is missing. If we can let her find that again, then I’m willing to do whatever the hell it takes.” Then his mouth twisted in a grimace and tightened his arms around Elle. “Well, to a point… I won’t let any other man touch my woman. And after this, it’s done.” He cupped Elle’s chin, dipped his head and nipped her lower lip. “I hope we’re clear on that, darling girl. After this, if you haven’t found whatever you need to find, I’ll buy you a puppy or something.”

Elle grinned. And then she looked at Ren.

And he knew he was lost.

Chapter Four

“Have you ever been able to say no to her, mate?” Ren muttered as Elle backed him into the living room.

Michael laughed. “Have you?”

Perhaps if she hadn’t chosen that particular moment to reach for the button of his jeans, her fingers brushing against his belly, he might have been able to think.

But then again, maybe not. Her lips brushed against his chest and he groaned. Reaching up, he closed his hands around her waist, wondering just what new form of insanity this was.

Her tongue brushed across his nipple. He felt something against the back of his legs—Elle pushed him back. He ended up sprawled on his back on a plush, overstuffed couch, and she didn’t waste even a second before she knelt beside him and went to work on his jeans.

Catching her hands, he went to sit up. “What’s the hurry, poppet?” he murmured.

She shot him a look, and he caught a hint of the turbulence in those dark, dark blue eyes. It hit him square in the heart. Fuck.

“Princess…” Catching her face, he rubbed his thumb over her lower lip. “We don’t need to do this.”

“Yes, we do,” she said, her voice shaking. “I do.”

Michael came up behind her and knelt down. “Then maybe you should stop treating it like a mission.” He wrapped his arms around her waist. “And relax.”

Ren nuzzled her mouth and the ache in his heart somehow managed to both ease and tighten. Perhaps she did need this. Perhaps she did need him, one last time. “Let me kiss you, princess. I didn’t think I’d get that again.”

A sigh hitched out of her and her mouth opened under his.

He took his time with it, teasing her, tasting her, treating her like it was the first time, even though it was the last. “I remember the first time I saw you,” he whispered against her mouth. “Do you? Will brought you to that soddin’ hell hole in Dublin where he had Perci and Luc working with me.”

As he spoke, he kissed his way down her chin, along her neck. “You wore white, all white. You truly did look like an angel.”

“And you looked like a complete rake.” Her breath shuddered out of her as he cupped her breasts and plumped them together.

Michael tugged on her hair. “Well, neither of you were right. He’s a no-good bastard and you’re a witch. Give me your mouth, darling girl. I’m feeling left out.”

Elle laughed, a shaking, erratic sound.

Ren eased her weight back against Michael as she rested her head on his shoulder and kissed him. Going to his knees in front of her, Ren caught one pink nipple in his mouth. She arched, and faintly, he caught the muffled sound of her cry.

Her body was hot, burning. Stroking her, he cupped her sex in his hand, slid his finger over the slick, swollen crease. “Oh, princess…you’re so wet,” he muttered.

When he pushed inside, she clenched around him and he pulled his mouth away, pressed his face against her neck and prayed for strength…she was so slick, swollen, silky wet.

She rocked against his hand, her inner muscles gripping him. He lifted his eyes and stared at her, watched her profile as she kissed Michael. Lovely…she was so fucking lovely.

He braced himself for that painful, onslaught of jealousy and it came…but the punch wasn’t quite so strong.

And when she pulled her mouth away, rested her head on Michael’s shoulder and stared at him, Ren had only the smallest urge to bloody the other man’s perfect face.

Then she smiled and reached up, touching Michael’s cheek. “I love you.”

“Darling girl…” Michael whispered.

A blush crept up her cheeks, staining them a soft pink as she looked at Ren. He was half-prepared for her to say she’d changed her mind. Almost wished for it. But then she rocked forward and wrapped her arms around his neck, nuzzled him. “Ren…?”

Stroking a hand down her long, graceful back, he buried a hand in her hair. “My lady?” he teased.

“Get back up on the couch.”

He chuckled and shifted, moved up so that he could lie across the foot of it. It was one of those chaise-styled deals, wide and thick, but he had to shift length-ways as he saw what Elle had in mind. She shimmied up and straddled his hips, grinning down at him, her long, golden hair hanging almost to her hips. He tangled his hands in it and muttered, “I love your hair.”

Smiling down at him, she sat back on his hips and gathered it up in her hands, piling it up on her head. “Do you?”

“Fuck, yes.” Then he slid his eyes over the rest of her, admiring the view, taking it in, storing in the depths of his memory. He cupped her hips and shuddered as she rocked against him, the slick folds of her sex cuddling against his cock.

Fuck.

She shifted and reached down, grasping him in her hand. Ren tensed and glanced behind her, looked for Michael. He’d slipped out of the room.

Bloody hell, has he gone looking for something to take my head off with?

But the rest of his mind was incapable of thought and it only got worse as Elle lifted up, tucked the head of his cock against her entrance. And started to sink down…and down…

Slamming his head back against the couch, Ren gritted his teeth and swore. She smiled down at him and lifted back up halfway, then started the slow, teasing possession all over again.

He was sweating by the time she’d taken all of him, sweating and swearing and all but ready to beg for mercy.

And that was when he realized Michael had returned.

He was kneeling on the couch behind Elle, his black hair falling to mix with her golden locks as he dipped his head and rubbed his cheek against hers. “Bend over, darling girl.”

Elle rocked forward, but Ren caught sight of the fear in her eyes. Reaching up, he hooked an arm around her neck.

“Come here, princess,” he teased. “I need a kiss.”

His heart wanted to break.

He wanted to tell Michael to stop.

He wanted to call this whole thing off.

He could feel her heart slamming against his, and though his gifts were nowhere near as attuned to human needs as hers, he could feel her fear. He knew her too well.

Calling this off would only hurt her more. She needed this…needed him, one last time. Stroking the tips of his fingers up her side, he tugged on the ends of her hair. “Kiss me, princess,” he whispered against her cold, stiff lips. “You told me I could have a goodbye, after all…where is my goodbye?”

She didn’t respond, but she didn’t pull away either when he rubbed his lips against hers. And slowly, as he kissed her, her mouth softened under his. Slowly, her mouth opened and she started to return his kiss and once more, she started to rock against him once more. The hungry, wicked heat had faded, but the need was still there…it burned between them, edged with something new, something different.

Truly goodbye, he knew. For him…and for her. Both of them, saying goodbye to different parts of their lives. The bitch of it though—he was probably saying goodbye to the better part of his life.

Lock it down.

Couldn’t let her feel that. Not know…

He cupped her breast in one hand, and over her shoulder he saw Michael watching him. Michael lifted a brow.

Ren looked at Elle, tangled a hand in her hair and focused on nothing but her.

Yes, they’d had damn near a century together as lovers. Michael had her youth, and he had her future, but Ren knew her well. Focusing on that, he did every damn thing he could do bring that hot, hungry woman back to the surface. He shifted and reached between them to stroke the tip of his finger over the budded knot of her clitoris, raking his teeth over her neck.

She was sweating, rocking against him, hovering just on the edge of climax when Michael moved closer. Ren deliberately kept her there, teasing her, taunting her and when he felt her stiffen in fear he goaded her, nipping on her lip and muttering against her mouth, “What is this, princess, you come this far and now…what? Are you going to chicken out on me?”

She snarled against his mouth. “You’re a bastard, Thom.”

“Yes…” He bit her lip.

She bit him and then shoved backward.

Ren groaned, because he felt it—felt it as that action forced Michael inside her. Elle cried out.

“Easy, darling girl,” Michael murmured. “Easy…”

Ren eased her weight up, forced her to prop herself up. Then he stroked a hand down her torso and whispered, “You’re amazing, poppet.”

“Ren…”

Tears burned in her eyes.

He rested a hand on one hip. Michael gripped the other. “Easy,” they murmured.

Her head slumped, resting on his shoulder.

Stroking her clitoris, he gritted his teeth, tried not to think about how fucking tight she was now, how sweet, how hot—

A long shudder wracked her body. He circled his fingers around her clit, fast, firm. She started to rock forward, seeking out that contact. Ren groaned, unwittingly arched his hips up.

She gasped.

“Fuck, I’m sorry.”

“No…” Her lashes fluttered closed as she circled her hips against him and whispered, “Oh, I like that.”

Then she did it again in slow, small circles. Ren gritted his teeth and held still, focused on her face and the look of dazed delight that was slowly moving across her face.

She caught her lip between her teeth. Groaned. “Damn it…”

“Shhhh.” He nuzzled her neck, cuddled her close. “Let us…”

He stroked up, then back. Then Michael moved. She tensed.

“Elle?” Michael murmured.

“Again,” she moaned.

So they did. Slowly at first. Then, as she started to move between, harder, quicker, so did they, following the rhythm of her body and the hunger both of them sensed from her.

Her nails bit into Ren’s shoulders. Her teeth marked him.

She started to convulse in his arms only seconds before he knew he was about to lose control. When she started climaxing with a series of harsh, broken moans, he held it together just long enough. And then he couldn’t control it another second. Tangling his hand in her hair, he slanted his mouth against hers and muffled his groan against her lips as he came.

It was…endless.

And still, over far, far too soon.

Distantly, he heard Michael’s muted, muffled curse, felt the other man through the thin membrane of tissue separating them.

As Michael started to sag, Ren just barely had the energy to shift and roll so that Elle was cuddled between them.

She squirmed around until her head rested against Michael’s chest. But her hand reached down and caught his.

That was the last thing he remembered before the darkness of sleep rushed up and caught him.

Chapter Five

There was a vague tightening in the air—vague, but damn familiar.

Either Ren was having a fucking nightmare, or they were about to have a visitor.

He came awake with that thought in his mind.

And he knew it wasn’t a nightmare.

Swearing, he sat up just in time to see a circle of light flash into existence in the middle of Elle and Michael’s living room.

Elle was asleep, her head tucked against Michael’s chest. Michael was rousing, just barely.

The light faded, revealing Will and a dark-haired mortal girl. Michael scowled and rubbed his eyes. “Damn it, don’t you know how to knock?”

Will just smiled.

The girl arched her brows. They were black, black as midnight. And her eyes, dark brown and wicked, were dancing. She looked from Ren to Michael and then finally to Elle who was just now starting to wake.

“Wow. Is this what guardian angels do in their off time? Then damn it, Will, can you just kill me now? I want the off-time benefits, like immediately.”

Will closed his eyes.

If Ren thought the man was capable of such human weaknesses, he’d think the man was praying for patience. Then Will opened pale silver eyes and looked at Ren. Giving him a narrow, thin-lipped smile, he said, “The three of you have an assignment—parasei, in a town four hours south of here. I’m sure you’ll feel it once the…aftermath clears and you get on the road.”

Ren curled his lip. “You couldn’t have given me that message yesterday and helped us get a jump on the job?”

“The shape you were in, you wouldn’t have lived through the job,” Will snapped.

Then he looked away and closed his eyes. When he looked back at Ren, he was smirking. “I expect that’s…changed now. So, do your job. When you’re done, Thomas, you have a new recruit. I’ll take her to your place in Wisconsin.”

Ren blinked.

Then looked at the girl.

“Oh, no,” he said, shaking his head.

She smiled at him.

Scrambling off the couch, he snagged his jeans and dragged them up over his naked hips. “Are you insane?” he demanded.

“No. I think that’s you,” Will replied.

“Well, of course I’m insane. Everybody bloody knows that, so why the hell are you sticking a kid with me? A mortal?”

“Because it will do you a world of good.”

Ren shook his head. He looked at Elle and flung a hand toward Will. “You talk some sense into him, princess. He’s out of his head if he thinks I should be trusted with teaching anybody. Much less a mortal—she’s still mortal too. I can smell it on her.”

The girl scowled and then plucked at her shirt and sniffed it. “What do you mean, you can smell it on me?”

Ren glared at her. “Shut up. This doesn’t concern you!”

“Seeing as how you’re talking about me, it damn well does concern me,” she fired back.

Elle climbed up from the couch, snagged a jewel-toned throw blanket and wound it around her torso. “Ren, you can handle teaching. You’ve been doing this for a hundred years. You’re more than capable.”

“No.” He shook his head. “No, I’m not. Especially not somebody who’s still mortal. They are too…breakable.”

“We were all mortal once…and we have to break. If we want to become.” Elle shrugged. Then she looked at the girl. “What’s your name?”

“Mandy. You?”

“Elle.” She smiled and stroked a hand down Ren’s arm. “Ignore Thom here. He’s having a grumpy moment, but he’ll be okay. He barks much worse than he bites, I promise you.”

“No. I don’t. I bite much, much harder.”

Mandy waggled her eyebrows. “Oh, that sounds promising.”

Will swore and grabbed her arm. “You’ll behave,” he said.

“You’re so boring,” she muttered.

A flash of light appeared. “And you’re incorrigible.”

Ren snapped out, “Damn it, Will, where in the hell are you going?”

“To your woods. You three have a job to do. And then you need to get home. You have a pupil.”

“I don’t want a pupil,” Ren snarled.

But it was too late.

Will was already gone, along with the girl.

Chapter Six

Yes…parasei awaited them.

But they were so easily dispatched that Ren couldn’t even be certain why he’d been sent here in the first place.

Elle and Michael could have handled the nest fine on their own.

They were done with before nightfall, and back at Michael and Elle’s house by midnight.

“Do you get the feeling that was nothing more than a…distraction?” Elle asked.

“That was Will,” Ren said, still trying to figure how to get out training somebody.

A human. How had he gotten stuck with a human?

They broke too easily.

Far too easily.

“Will is nothing if not a master manipulator,” she said, shaking her head as they climbed the stairs of the wraparound porch. She wore a black tank top, black cargo pants that fit snugly over her hips and boots that laced up halfway to her knees.

Funny that she could look every bit as sexy in combat gear as she could in the clubbing clothes she’d worn on their last assignment together.

“You call that master manipulation?” Ren said, shaking his head. Bloody hell. If he knew Will that girl was already in his home.

In his home—the one place where he was… Well, it was his place. His sanctuary. His only sanctuary. He needed to get back there. And try to figure out a way to get her out. “That wasn’t master manipulation pet. It was the most heavy-handed…”

But his voice trailed off at the look in Elle’s eyes.

She gave him a sad smile. “No. Not the girl. Although I think it will be good for you. Really. But I’m talking about you being here.”

She licked her lips. “Are you… You’re leaving now, aren’t you?”

Ren winced. “I…I need to. If he has her at my place…”

“I understand. You and I, we never did settle easy. And when we had a place where we did settle, well, outsiders weren’t welcome. Just remember, this isn’t her fault.”

“I know.” He shoved his hands into pockets and glanced over his bike, reluctant to just walk away, although he needed to. And he could now. He realized that. The raw, aching wound in his chest he’d had every time he thought of Elle had eased.

She wasn’t his, but he was okay with that. Or at least, he was better with it than he had been.

Looking at Michael, he said, “You’ll take care of her.”

“Always,” the other man said, inclining his head.

“Good.” He gave a short, terse nod. But still…he couldn’t walk away. Not yet.

Elle looked at Michael. “Can you give us a moment?” she asked quietly.

He brushed a hand across her shoulder, then touched his lips to her cheek. But before he went inside, he held out a hand to Ren. “I can honestly say this time, take care of yourself,” Michael said.

Ren grimaced. “Well, I’ve never been very good at that. But I’ll survive—that’s one thing I’ve always done, whether I wanted to do it or not.”

They shook, and before Michael let go, he said, “She wouldn’t have spent the past century with a complete bastard. You deserve something more than just surviving. I hope you find it.”

Ren didn’t know what to say to that. So as Michael walked away, he said nothing.

“So what are you going to do now?” Elle asked as Michael disappeared inside the house.

Ren crooked a grin at her and wished she couldn’t read him so easily. “Oh, come now, princess. Don’t look so glum. You heard our fearless leader. I’ve a trainee to attend to—unless I can chase her off or talk Will out of this.”

“That’s not going to happen,” Elle said, shaking her head.

“No.” Ren sighed and smoothed a hand back over his naked scalp. “I suspect you’re right.”

“I’m going to worry about you.” Her breathing hitched. “Hell, I’ve always worried about you, but we spent so much time together, I was able to keep an eye on you. That’s not going to happen from here on out, I don’t think.”

Ren sighed and jogged down the stairs, suddenly impatient to be gone. “Elle, I’m a big boy. I don’t need a nanny…or even a fairy-tale princess watching my mangy hide.”

“How about a friend? One who still loves you, even if it’s not quite the way you’d hoped?”

He grimaced. “Elle…”

“Damn it.” She sighed, then glanced back over her shoulder to where her future husband, her prince, her life waited. “Fuck, Ren. I’m sorry.”

He sighed, then turned back to her and mounted the stairs. Stopping a step below her so that they stood eye to eye, he caught her hand. “Sorry for what? For being you? Elle, don’t be. No, things aren’t working out for me the way I’d hoped. But they are working out the way they need to…for you, for him. And I’m not angry over that. I don’t begrudge you your happiness. You deserve it.”

He lifted a brow and glanced around her. “Although I’m small enough to admit, sometimes I might begrudge him.”

“No, you don’t.” She forced a smile, though tears gleamed in her eyes. “Empath, remember?”

She licked her lips and reached up. “Sometimes I wished I was like one of those women in some of those wicked books you so love to tease me over—that I could love two guys. But that’s not me.”

“If it was you, I wouldn’t have fallen for you the way I did. I couldn’t share you, neither could he. Not forever. We’d kill each other, and you know it.” Ren leaned in and bussed her mouth softly. “Go on inside now, princess. Go to your man. And stop worrying so over me. I’ll be okay.”

“I don’t want you okay. I want you happy.” She lingered, lifted a hand to rest over his heart. “You know, Michael said something just now…you deserve something more than just surviving. He’s right. And you’ve always been looking for something. I’ve seen it, sensed it. For something. Maybe now you can go on, you can move on…and find it.”

“Maybe.” He curled his hand around her wrist and with an elegant, aristocratic grace even her prince might have admired, he bowed over her hand with a flourish and kissed it. “Perhaps, my princess. Perhaps. You know, I thought for the longest time that it was you. I thought it was you…and I was wrong. So now, I start looking again.”

He let go of her hand and then backed away, giving her a smile. “I’ll see you, princess.”

“You better.”

About the Author

To learn more about Shiloh, please visit www.shilohwalker.com. Send an email to Shiloh at shilohwalker@gmail.com or visit her blog at www.shilohwalker.com/website/

Look for these titles by Shiloh Walker

Now Available:

Always Yours

Legends: Hunters and Heroes

Talking with the Dead

Malachi

Hunter’s Pride

The Huntress

For the Love of Jazz

Beautiful Girl

Hunter’s Edge

Vicious Vixen

Playing for Keeps

My Lady

The Redeeming

Candy Houses

No Prince Charming

Coming Soon:

Crazed Hearts

Tarnished Knight

Her Happy-Ever-After has been a long time coming…

No Prince Charming

© 2010 Shiloh Walker

Grimm’s Circle, Book 2

Elle spent years trying to get over her so-called Prince Charming, and she’s finally getting the hang of it. A Grimm—a guardian angel with unique gifts—she spends her nights trolling for demons and kicking ass, and lately, her days have been spent with her on-and-off-again lover, Ren, a fellow Grimm. But fate has other plans in store for Elle, plans that include Michael, the prince from her youth who broke her heart.

“What do you choose…live for her? Or would you rather die?” That was the choice Michael was given all those years ago. Although he knew she’d never forgive him, when Michael was given the chance to become a Grimm, he took it. Still, he isn’t so sure Elle needs him in her life. With a lover at her side and a mission before her, Elle looks like she’s doing just fine without him.

But the not-so-charming prince isn’t going to back off that easily…not if there’s a chance she might need him again. He’d do anything to save her. Kill for her, live for her, die for her…

Warning: This dark, twisted version of Cinderella involves demons, deceit, desire, and debauchery between a princess and two sexy guardian angels, both determined to win the fair Cinderella.

Enjoy the following excerpt for No Prince Charming:

“We’ve got to get inside tonight,” I told Ren. Halfway across the parking lot, I picked up my pace. “It’s getting darker in there. We’re going to lose more if we don’t move soon.”

There was so much life…so much emotion.

Lust. Anger. Jealousy. Need. Love. Rage. Hatred.

Emotions—uncontrolled emotions drew predators. That’s why the demons were here. Wherever there were people there would be emotion. And wherever there was emotion there would be demons.

Wherever there are demons there would be Grimms.

There would be us. Unlikely guardian angels trying to keep the unsuspecting mortals from making bad, bad and worse mistakes.

That was our job. We would do it. We would do the job. We would deal with the succubi and incubi. We would find the king or queen and eliminate them. Then Ren or I would hang around long enough to make it clear this area was now under the Circle’s watch.

If I had my way about it, it would be Ren hanging around. If at all possible, I wanted to clear the hell out the second we dealt with the king or queen.

I was planning on getting out of Ohio as quick as possible.

Maybe head for New York this time. Or Chicago—

No. Screw that. I was going to Milan. And the Circle could pick up the damn ticket, too.

I’d asked for a break and I’d ended up with an assignment instead.

They owed me that break, damn it.

I took a deep breath and glanced down at my clothes. Barbie goes badass. That was the look I’d been going for. I had on a black silk corset and, unlike some of the corsets I’d seen around lately, mine was the real thing—it pushed my boobs together and up, cinched my waist and kept my spine ramrod straight.

I was as comfortable in one as anybody could hope to be, but then again, I’d had a lot of practice. I’d grown up wearing these things when I had to—thanks to a doting father, I hadn’t spent my entire childhood in one.

But I had worn them often enough.

Never one quite like this though. Black-on-black silk brocade with blood-red lacing. I’d paired it with leather pants and heels that would break my neck—if I fell, and if I could break my neck in such a mundane manner. Which I can’t. I’d pulled my blonde hair into a high ponytail, gone a little heavy with the black eyeliner and red lipstick.

Barbie does badass, with a little bit of Dominatrix Barbie thrown in for good measure.

“You look delicious,” Ren said as he kissed one bare shoulder. “You sure you don’t have a whip lying around?”

“Oh, please.” I smirked at him and took a few seconds to adjust the bodice. I had my pendant tucked between my breasts. Wasn’t very comfortable, but I couldn’t afford to have the wrong person see it, nor could I afford to be without it. There wasn’t any room for weapons on me, but that had been intentional.

I wanted to look around this first trip in, not fight. I’d made that clear to Ren as well, but he’d have weapons on him. I knew that as sure as I knew my own name.

Still, I knew I could trust him not to draw them unless he had to.

I just hoped nobody forced his hand…or mine. I might not have weapons, but I’m pretty far from helpless.

The air closer to the building felt hot and heavy, a warning of what lay inside.

I’d known from the get-go this wouldn’t be a quick, easy job. I might have been harboring hopes, but they were dying, fading, withering away with every second I remained close to this abyss of darkness.

“Should be a piece of cake,” he had told me. Those had been my boss’s exact words.

“Will, one of these days, I’m going to kick your ass,” I said to myself.

“Hmmm?”

I shook my head. “Just grumbling about Will. He had the nerve to say this should be an easy job.”

“Well, so far all I’ve done is make out with you in view of others and watch other people making out as well,” Ren shot me his trademark devilish smile and in a low voice added, “Seems remarkably easy.”

“Your luck is about to break.”

This wasn’t going to be easy. It wasn’t going to be quick. We would have to kill while we were here. Not tonight, but sometime before the job was over. I knew it as sure as I was standing there. Possession by succubi or incubi was subtle…a seduction. It started out as just a minor need. Sex—something pleasant…maybe even harmless.

But the more the victim fed that need—through sex, naturally—the stronger the hold. It was like an addiction.

In the early days it was possible to rid the victim of the demon’s presence. Possible, but not easy, and the longer it went on the harder it would become.

Sooner or later, without intervention, the demon would be in control and the need for sex would dominate over anything else. Everything else.

Either the victim literally screwed themselves to death—forgoing food, water, anything and everything that wasn’t sex. The other scenario—the need for sex became so overwhelming they lost all inhibitions and all sense of right and wrong.

I’d saved people in the past before one of the possessed could rape them.

Somebody in there was already too far gone. Either they were killing themselves without realizing it, or I’d have to kill them when they went too far. Personally, I’d rather find whoever it was and just end it now.

A waste. Such a waste. Somebody had given up everything.

Do I sound slightly bitter? Sorry. Can’t help it. I’d lost my rose-colored glasses a few hundred years ago. Right about the time I lost my virginity and, shortly thereafter, my Prince Charming.

“Elle.”

Speak of the devil.

I knew that voice. It was the last voice I wanted to hear right now. Unless he was saying something along the lines of, “Ow, that hurts!” as I beat him across the head with a heavy, blunt object.

I stood there, frozen. Although I didn’t want to turn and face the music, my partner had no reservations.

I dug my fingers into Ren’s arm.

Why?

Will. Damn it. He’d done this—orchestrated this.

Schooling my features, I turned around and I’m proud to say, I didn’t feel the urge to swoon. Not even for a second.

That angel face of his hadn’t changed at all in the past three hundred years.

He looked as perfect now as he had the day he kissed me for the first time.

Heat flashed through his grass-green eyes as he studied my clothes and despite myself, my belly clenched in response.

He’s no fairy-tale prince. But he just may be the hero she needs.

Crazed Hearts

© 2010 Shiloh Walker

Grimm’s Circle, Book 3

Ren has always danced along the fine line between being a little bit crazy and being overcome by a darkness that’s haunted him since his mortal days. As an empath, he prefers to live far from people who would leak their emotions all over him, so he’s not expecting the woman who drives right into the heart of his wood. She has a cursed book with her and demons hot on her heels. Even more surprising are her abilities and the reaction Ren has to her.

Aileas is on the run. She just isn’t certain if she’s running from something real or imagined. One thing is for sure, her brother is dead and she’s certain the book she found has something to do with his death. She really starts to doubt her sanity when she meets a hot but somewhat crazed man in the middle of nowhere.

He calls himself Ren, and although he doesn’t seem to be out to hurt her, he definitely seems to want something. She just doesn’t understand what. She does know what she wants though. She wants him, and the shadows and darkness she glimpses inside him don’t matter. At least, right up until he claims to be a guardian angel.

And she thought she was going crazy.

Warning: this title contains soul-sucking demons, kick-ass angels and a hero who is a little crazy and a whole lot sexy.

Enjoy the following excerpt for Crazed Hearts:

Don’t stop. If you stop, you’ll die.

It was one hell of a motivator, she had to admit.

The skin along the back of her neck crawled and the hair there stood on edge. Aileas Corbett knew she was being followed. She’d been followed for weeks, ever since she’d buried her brother. Ever since she’d found that damn book…

She’d tried to ignore it at first. Tried to write it off as grief, exhaustion. Tried to go about her job, her life. Tried to ignore the shadows she saw at night and the weird whispers that echoed through the solitary apartment.

But she couldn’t ignore it anymore.

Not after—

No.

She couldn’t think about that right now.

Swallowing, she glanced at the damned thing wrapped in a blanket, lying in the back seat.

Damned.

A shiver raced down her spine. It was damned.

She’d swear she heard it whispering to her.

She hadn’t slept a night through since she’d found the damn thing and that had been nearly three weeks earlier.

“You’re going crazy,” she whispered, reaching up to toy with the strand of pearls she wore around her neck. “That’s all there is to it—you’re going crazy.”

That was the most likely explanation too.

A psychotic break brought on by grief, lack of sleep and who knows what else. A shrink would have a field day with her.

Assuming she actually stopped running to talk with one.

But she wouldn’t stop running. Not until she figured out what to do. And she couldn’t figure out what to do until she had this book someplace where it couldn’t hurt anybody.

She pressed the heel of her hand against her temple and muttered, “I sound insane. It’s a book. It can’t hurt anybody.”

It could though. In her gut, she knew it. And the thought terrified her, left her so frightened, so afraid.

You don’t need to be afraid, the book whispered to her. Open me. Use me. I shall make you strong. I shall make you immortal…immortal. You could avenge the death of your brother.

“Oh, for heaven’s sake,” she muttered. Reaching out, she turned on the radio, but the only thing that came through was static, static and more static. Sighing, she grabbed her iPod and one of the earbuds. So it wasn’t exactly safe. But it wasn’t like she was running into a lot of traffic driving through these woods on the way to the cabin her parents had left to her and her brother.

Just her now though… A sob rose in her throat, tried to break free.

She swallowed it down. Crying right now? On these roads? A quick, certain way to get herself killed. The cabin, tucked away in a remote part of Wisconsin’s North Woods, wasn’t exactly in the most easily accessible area, and if she wanted to keep the car on the road, she didn’t have time to cry.

Of course, if she wanted to be smart, the last thing she needed to be doing right now was driving someplace so isolated when she knew she was being followed.

The fear tried to press in. Overwhelm.

But before it could, without her even understanding why, there was a warm touch on her mind, on her heart, her soul.

“Everything will be fine,” she murmured. “I just need to keep going to the cabin.”

That warm touch spread, became a sense of peace, pushing out the dark, uneasy, edgy feeling. A sense that managed to last right up until the time a big black dog—practically the size of a pony—darted out in front of the car.

With a half-scream, Aileas slammed on the brakes.

Ren heard her scream, but he was more concerned with Pan.

“Damn dog,” he muttered. Glancing at Mandy, he said, “Stay up here.”

Bent over, her hands braced on her knees, she glared at him from under her lashes.

“Aye-aye, Cap-i-tan,” she mocked between breaths.

“Smart arse.”

He jogged down the incline.

There was a woman down there. Ren had had about two seconds to notice the fact that she was female, and the fact that she was far too close to Pan. The wolf/dog breed wasn’t an aggressive animal, but she was a stranger and Pan considered this his territory.

Ren sighed.

He leaped down, covering the twenty foot incline in a silent, single jump. She was being careful, he had to admire that, not trying to approach Pan, talking to the dog in a calm, quiet voice.

“Sit, Pan,” Ren said.

The woman went rigid.

Pan growled.

Ren narrowed his eyes and reached out, silently repeating the order with a mental command that no animal could resist. The dog obeyed, lowering his hindquarters to the ground, still staring at the woman with suspicious eyes.

He was tempted to do the same with the woman, but he hadn’t tried to impress a command on a mortal in decades, more than a century to be exact. He wasn’t about to do it now.

“He won’t attack,” Ren said, keeping his voice light, crisp. “You best get in your car, run along.”

She turned around and studied him, her eyes narrowing. “Run along?” she repeated.

Her tone was offended.

Her eyes were dark brown, shot through with slivers of pale gold.

Around her long, slim neck, she wore a strand of pearls. He wanted to see her wearing nothing but those pearls.

Her mouth was quite possibly the softest he’d ever seen.

When he looked at her, Ren was certain the very earth beneath his feet shifted. He wanted to stare into those eyes for a very long time. Then he wanted to cradle that face in his hands and take his time as he kissed that mouth and learned it, explored it…

He sucked in a breath as the punch of hunger hit him hard and fast. Hunger, need, something too intense for him to describe.

Her eyes widened as she stared at him and he saw something…was it an echo of what he felt? There was something in her eyes. He sensed it dancing just beyond the shields he didn’t dare lower.

He couldn’t risk that.

He didn’t need to lower them to see some things though. Like the way her pulse was pounding against the fragile skin in her neck. The way her nipples hardened, pressing against the thin worn flannel of the shirt she wore.

Slowly, he breathed in through his nose, wondering what she’d smell like.

And that was when he realized something else.

Something rather pressing. It cleared the fire in his blood, the fog in his mind all too quickly.

She had the stink of death, destruction and demon hanging in the air around her.

Around her.

But… He closed his eyes, dragged the air in, tasted it, rolled it around on his tongue… The smell was not on her, but it was damn close.

She hadn’t been tainted…yet. But there was something very, very wrong. And it was close. Far too bloody close and on his land too.

I Thought It Was You

Shiloh Walker

The events of this free short story take place between the events of No Prince Charming and Ren’s story, Crazed Hearts. It turns out both Ren and Elle had some loose ends they needed to tie up…and that’s what this story is about. It’s not Ren’s happy ever after. That’s in Crazed Hearts.

Warning: the following story contains some unfinished business, some unrequited love and a whole lot of action between 3 somewhat debauched guardian angels.

eBooks are not transferable.

They cannot be sold, shared or given away as it is an infringement on the copyright of this work.

This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.

Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

577 Mulberry Street, Suite 1520

Macon GA 31201

I Thought It Was You

Copyright © 2010 by Shiloh Walker

ISBN: 978-1-60928-211-0

Edited by Heidi Moore

Cover by Scott Carpenter

All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

First Samhain Publishing, Ltd. electronic publication: July 2010
www.samhainpublishing.com

Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

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Table of Contents

Cover

Dedication

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

About the Author

Look for these titles by Shiloh Walker

Also Available from Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

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