Zurlo, Michele - Riley [Daughters of Circe 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour)

Daughters of Circe 3

Riley

Soren wants Riley. He’s left behind all the power he once wielded in order to be with her. Once he finds her, their union triggers events three thousand years in the making. Hidden beneath a human exterior and eons of forgotten memories, Circe is finally revealed.

Relegated to life as the Shadow Man, Teigh diligently watched over the werewolves, searching for the wolf who carried the soul of one of the men he loved. At long last, he finds Soren and Circe. Though neither of them fully remembers who they are, they both remember their love for him.

For three thousand years, Caiden has watched over his daughters as they cycled through life after life. Now Circe has been awakened. As a spirit being, he can only contact her when she’s asleep.

When Soren’s demons return, the four of them must renew their bond to fight against the evil that tore them apart in the first place.

Genre:
Contemporary, Paranormal, Vampires/Werewolves
Length:
49,180 words

RILEY

Daughters of Circe 3

Michele Zurlo

MENAGE AMOUR

Siren Publishing, Inc.

www.SirenPublishing.com

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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK

IMPRINT: Ménage Amour

RILEY

Copyright © 2011 by Michele Zurlo

E-book ISBN: 1-61034-509-6

First E-book Publication: June 2011

Cover design by Jinger Heaston

All cover art and logo copyright © 2011 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED:
This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

PUBLISHER

Siren Publishing, Inc.

www.SirenPublishing.com

Letter to Readers

Dear Readers,

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Riley
 
by Michele Zurlo from BookStrand.com or its official distributors, thank you. Also, thank you for not sharing your copy of this book.

Regarding E-book Piracy

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The author and the publisher work very hard to bring our paying readers high-quality reading entertainment.

This is Michele Zurlo’s livelihood.
 
It’s fair and simple. Please respect Ms. Zurlo’s right to earn a living from her work.

Amanda Hilton, Publisher

www.SirenPublishing.com

www.BookStrand.com

DEDICATION

For every woman who has been misunderstood or misrepresented.

Riley flexed the fingers of her left hand. Tendons created hills and valleys along the smooth top of her hand. Her fingers were strong, far stronger than they’d been ten years ago. Living the life of a massage therapist new to The Middle of Nowhere had toughened up the muscles in her hands, arms, shoulders, and back. Lots of days, she wished she could afford to pay someone to relax her the way she relaxed her clients.

The time had come for a change in professions. Before being exiled from her life as an administrative assistant, she had enjoyed staying with one job. Then a freaking werewolf had kidnapped her and tried to sacrifice her sister, changing everything. She had been forced to flee, to leave her life behind. Since her mother had passed away, and her father had done some heartless things that didn’t endear him to Riley, she didn’t miss anyone except her sister. At least she did get to occasionally visit Torrey.

If she wanted, she could move in with Torrey. Both her sister and her brother-in-law, Shade, would welcome her with arms wide open. However, Torrey lived deep in the forest, her home completely inaccessible by any vehicle. The idea of moving to the real “middle of nowhere” held less appeal for Riley than going home to her father. At least this small suburb of Phoenix had other people. Riley hadn’t given up hope of finding true love and settling down, but that would be impossible if she moved in with Torrey and Shade. Besides the two of them and their three kids, Desiree, a friend of Torrey’s, had moved in with her three husbands and four children.

Riley would most certainly be the odd person out there.

Still, getting a job as an assistant, even entry-level, with absolutely no references had proven difficult. Complicating the job problem, whenever she moved towns, she completely changed her identity to make sure a certain somebody couldn’t track her down. Her brother-in-law was really good about making sure her bank account never lacked for funds, but she hated relying on his guilt money.

He had done nothing for which he needed to feel guilty. His brother had been the one who committed the felonies, not him. Shade was a good man. Being a werewolf, he had a wildness about him, but he had a good heart, and he would never hurt anyone who didn’t have it coming.

She couldn’t say the same thing about Soren, Shade’s brother. The bastard had ruined her life and nearly sacrificed her sister in a bloody, ancient ritual.

Perhaps the time had come to go back to school. She’d blown off two years of college, finally getting kicked out when academic probation failed to have any effect on her behavior. Things were much different now, and not only because the age of thirty-four stared her in the eyes. She wanted a better life than this. Heck, she wanted any life that wasn’t this shadow existence. For starters, she’d take a date. He didn’t have to be particularly attractive or wealthy. Lately, her requirements had diminished to breathing and possessing the ability to speak.

She tossed the bag she’d carried over her shoulder to the trunk and slammed the lid shut. Each client needed a fresh sheet. The chiropractor under whose roof she worked handled appointments and billing. Riley had to see to the laundry. It wasn’t a bad deal, though the doctor did take a cut from her hourly rate.

Light from the setting sun peeked out from between the office buildings across the street, fingers poking blinding streaks in her direction. Riley lifted her hand to shield her eyes. She blinked rapidly, trying to banish the black dots and shadows burned into her retinas. Before she could focus well enough to open her car door, something slammed into her from behind. Her cheek smashed into the edge where the door curved into the roof, and suddenly the sun became the least of her concerns.

A hand held her flat against the door and a body pressed all its weight to keep her still. “One wrong move and I’ll slice your throat.”

The blade in his hand barely made it to her neck before the man was knocked away. Riley whirled to see the man on the ground. A large, snow-white, shaggy-haired canine stood with its paws on the man’s shoulders, its teeth bared as a menacing growl issued from its depths.

Tremors of terror ran rampant up and down Riley’s spine. That was no dog. No dog could be that impossibly large. Whenever she visited her sister, a lone wolf would greet her at the side of the highway and lead her to the house. Usually, Torrey came. Sometimes she sent Shade or Desiree or one of Desiree’s husbands to retrieve Riley. Any fear of wolves had long ago vanished. That didn’t mean she was stupid enough to think wolves in general were harmless.