I Thought It Was You (4 page)

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
[email protected]
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.