Free Blind Destiny: Grimm's Circle, Book 7 [retail mobi] by Shiloh Walker

You won’t have any trouble pretending I’m your beloved princess. Too bad there’s no tower around. You could even try to rescue me.”
    He let my arm go. “I think I’m going to have pass on your charming offer, Sina.”
    Good. I couldn’t stand to have him touching me and regretting it later. It was already painful enough, wanting what would never really be mine, anyway.
    “I don’t know if I’ve ever wanted a woman the way I want you,” he said quietly. “But I’ll be damned if I make love to a woman who has the opinion of me you seem to have.”
    My mind was still struggling to process those words as he walked away.
    Hell. I was still struggling to process them thirty minutes later when I got to the room.
    I wanted to ask him to say it again.
    I wanted to apologize.
    But the room was empty.
    Luc was gone.
     
     
    It was almost an hour later before Natasha was able to leave.
    An hour later, her nerves shot, so frustrated—
    When she saw the crew waiting out the lobby, she thought she might just cry. She let herself go straight to Lee’s arms, drop her head on the other woman’s shoulder and take a deep, shuddering breath.
    But she wasn’t going to break.
    “What happened?” Fiona whispered, her voice hoarse from crying.
    Natasha just shook her head. Not here.
    Not here.
     
     
    “They don’t know anything ?”
    By the time she was done with the story, the sun was rising.
    Coming in through the window where they sat hovering over tea and coffee, liberally laced with some kind alcohol—Natasha wasn’t sure what it was, but it was strong —they sat drinking and listening as Natasha told them what had happened.
    There was only thing she kept quiet about.
    And she couldn’t even explain why.
    Except…well, the woman didn’t appear to be part of the police department. Nobody there seemed to know who in the hell she was. Natasha wished she could throw off that uneasy feeling about her, but she couldn’t. Maybe she’d feel better about her if she’d talk about the weird occurrence, but what was there to talk about? Some seriously strange bitch showed up, asked a few questions and disappeared.
    End of discussion, right?
    Absently, she stroked her nail down the line of one of the black roses that climbed up her right forearm. “You don’t think he could have had a heart attack, do you?” she asked softly.
    In the pit of her stomach, that just seemed off. Jake had been healthy—healthy as a horse. One of those fitness buffs, always eating the right thing, doing the right things.
    “I don’t know.” Lee leaned against her, her head resting on Natasha’s arm.
    Normally, Natasha would have hugged her, but just then, she wanted to edge away.
    She wanted to be alone. Desperately.
    Instead, she just sat there, feeling alone, although she was with her best friends.
    Minus one.
    Swallowing the knot in her throat, she shifted her head to stare outside.
    “We need to call Neil,” she said softly.
    “Yeah.” The quiet chorus of murmurs went around the room.
    “Then we should all get some rest.” Fiona stood up, looked at each of them, settling into the mama role as she did so well.
    They nodded.
    Yeah. Natasha would get some rest. Then she was going to get her ass out to that house, damn it.
    She might not be able to finish what she came here for—her plan had just been screwed up so bad, but she’d at least see in the Christou house. One time in her life.
     
     
    The run on the beach wasn’t brutal enough.
    Being one of the Grimm had its pitfalls and its advantages. Being able to live on a diet of junk food, beer and Yoo-Hoo wasn’t a lousy thing, at all. He didn’t mind that he could eat the richest, most fattening, artery-clogging food and never have to worry about it affecting him.
    But the flipside—it took a lot to push his body to the very limit and the beach here just wasn’t the kind of grueling terrain he needed.
    If he could get to the mountains and run for several hours, that