In case you didn't notice, this story has officially moved to an 'M' rating. My muse was feeling feisty and I'm both proud and scared to share with you my first publicly posted lemon.

I have never been in love before. I love a lot of people, my family, my tight group of girlfriends. But, I've never met someone who rocked my world in unexpected ways or who took my breath away. Maybe someday I'll find them. Who knows? For now, I just write stories where other people get their happily-ever-after.

*My translator is still down so for now anything in (brackets) was still said in Celtic. I'll probably just keep it this way until the end of the story and go back afterwards at this point.

"Te Amo"

Chapter Seven

Pov- Shilo

I was jerked from my sleep by a droning buzz. It took me a moment to orient myself. I'd fallen asleep in Julie's room again. We'd come here to watch a movie after Bobby looked us over and wound up back in her bed talking.

"It's your phone." Julie mumbled into her pillow and she scooted closer to me.

Our cell phones were on the counter in the kitchen. "It could be yours." I pointed out, keeping my eye shut tight and trying to drown out the buzzing sound. I really didn't want to get out of bed yet.

"Anyone trying to reach me at this hour would have called the room." She shot back. "They're probably calling your cell phone because you didn't answer your room phone."

I moved quickly from the bed, shivering at the cool air and padded into the kitchen. I grabbed my phone and flipped it open. "Morning," I said.

"She lives." Lester joked from the other end. "I was just about to send someone down to four, to pull your ass out of bed."

I rolled my eyes and stifled a yawn. "What's with the wakeup call?" I asked. "I specifically requested I not be woken up before-" I glanced at the clock. "Holy shit it's only 5:20am."

He chuckle. "Yep, rise and shine Whisky. PD just called the control room asking for you. They brought in one of the O'Donnell boys early this morning. They want you to come in and talk to him right away."

I rolled my eyes at the new name. "Whisky?" I asked.

"Yep, it's my favorite so far." he said. "I actually did some research this time. "Did you know Ireland makes all kinds of different whiskeys?" He asked. "My favorite brand, Bushmills, is Irish and I didn't even know it."

I rolled my eyes. "I had no idea, why does the name have to be a joke because I'm Irish? If you even think of calling me 'Lucky' after that damned cereal leprechaun I'll kill you slowly and enjoy every moment of it."

"I'm going to find a name for you." Lester vowed. "I always find the right one in the end. Go across the hall and get dressed fast."

I mentally groaned. Why did this stuff like this always seem to happen in the wee hours of the morning? Then I blushed realizing Lester had guessed right, that I'd been in Julie's room again.

"I'll be ready in five."

"I'll meet you in the garage." He said and then he hung up.

I went back into the bedroom and grabbed my pants off the floor. I pulled them on and exchanged the tank top Julie had given me, to sleep in, for my t-shirt.

"What's up?" She asked, looking at me sleepily from under the sheet.

I stuck my socks in my pocket and tugged my hair up into a ponytail. "That was Lester, TPD called for me. I've got to go in and talk to someone."

She sat up quickly and rubbed at her eyes. "They caught another Lynch?" She asked.

"Nope, one of the younger O'Donnell boys. One of Michael's cousins I'm guessing."

"Want me to come?" She asked.

I shook my head. "Naw, that's ok. Lester's going with me. Go back to sleep. Ranger will probably have me talk about it in the morning meeting again."

She nodded. "Ok."

I gathered my things from the kitchen and hurried across the room. I pulled on a fresh set of RangeMan clothes, brushed my teeth, made sure my gun was loaded, tucked a knife into my boot, and brushed out my hair. I popped two Advil, to take the edge off my neck, while I tied my shoes and then rushed out the door. I took the stairs to save time and slid into the garage with twenty seconds left over to spar.

Lester was waiting in the garage for me, with a muffin and a cup of coffee. "I freaking love you." I told him as I slid into the seat next to him and sipped at the warm coffee.

"Glad to hear it, but Julie might not like the competition."

I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Oh come on." He said, pulling out. "You care about her. I can tell you do."

I nodded along, but said nothing. I did care about Julie. Probably more then I should after only having known her for a few days. She was very different from anyone else I'd ever met.

When we got to TPD, Detective Morelli was waiting for us, slumped in a chair near the door. He needed a shave and looked like he'd been up all night. His eyes were closed, but he cracked one open when we stopped near him.

"You look beat." Lester said, offering him a hand up.

Morelli took his hand and let Lester help pull him to his feet. "Long day, this crap took off right at the end of my shift so I haven't slept yet."

"It always works out that way." Lester sympathized.

He waved us to follow him down the hall and stopped in his office. Lester stayed out in the hall. Morelli, shut the door behind himself and nodded to a chair near his desk. He dropped into his own chair, flipped open the file lying on the desk, and pushed a photo across the table to me.

"His name is Flynn O'Donnell. We caught him on Stark with one of our local dealers. When we brought him in he was found with a gun similar to the one's Michael had. We're checking now to see if it connects to the ones found in New York."

The man in the photo was probably early twenties, dark hair and green eyes. There was an old knife scar on his chin. The family resemblance to Michael was strong. I knew him. "I've seen him before."

"Where?" Morelli asked, sitting up a little straighter.

"The fight near the diner." I told him. "I told you there was a man walking with Michael before we lost sight of them. It was him."

"Was he part of the attack? Did he hurt you or Julie Manoso?"

I shook my head. "No, he must have been in the van with Michael. I don't remember seeing either of them once the fight started."

"Too bad," He said with a sigh. "We're holding him for the drug charge. We might get to add the gun charge, if his weapon matches the ones found in New York, but if we could add assault to the list it would help us prevent him from making bail."

"What about the flight risk, since he's related to Michael and he vanished." I asked. "That's got to count for something, no judge would give him the chance at bail. He's not even a citizen."

He nodded. "That's the argument were using right now, but every charge was can add will help our case."

I followed Detective Morelli down to the same interrogation room we'd used before. There was only one other officer in the observation room. Through the double-sided glass, I could see Flynn cuffed to the same table Gavin had been at yesterday.

"Has he seen the other man yet?" I asked.

"Nope," Morelli said, passing me an earpiece. "We were forced to release him last night due to a lack of evidence. I'll be on this end of the mic." He said tapping his own mic. "Sullen's busy so you're stuck with me. I'll feed you questions, but try to get anything you can on the gun ring. Ask him about Michael. See if he speaks English."

"What about the possibility of a kidnapping?" I asked.

He nodded. "If you can get more info on that, go for it. So far, we have nothing to support a kidnapping other then what you got out of that other guy yesterday."

Once I was wired, and my earpiece was safely in place, I walked over to the interrogation room. Another officer appeared and walked in with me, standing near the door. Flynn didn't look up as we came in, but he looked at me once I sat down in the chair across from him.

"Do you speak English?" I asked, not really expecting him to answer me even if he did.

He smirked. (I was wondering how long it would be before I got to meet you) He said. (Gavin told us, the local police had found an Irish traitor to speak for them.)

I ignored his traitor jab. (Where can we find Michael?)

He tisked at me a couple of times. (You should know better than that. Why would I tell you anything about my harebrained cousin?)

(Because the police are looking for him and now you're in trouble. Work with them and maybe they'll lighten your sentence.)

He shook his head. (I won't get much for a drug charge.) He said confidently. (Why don't you answer a few of my questions?)

I raised an eyebrow that he should continue. If he wasn't going to answer any of mine, maybe I could learn something from his questions. When he didn't say anything right away I said. "Go on."

"How do you get these people to talk to you?" Morelli asked in my ear. "I've never seen someone just walk into an interrogation room and start chatting up suspects like you do."

I smirked to myself and leaned back in my seat, waiting for Flynn to talk.

(You were in the alley) He said confidently. (You followed Mich and me.)

I nodded. (Your cousin is FTA. We were attempting to capture him.)

(Yes, you and the little girl with the bounty hunter father. You're lucky she's a good shot. Amos is known for strangling his victims.) He said, nodding to my neck. (You got off lucky.)

(Amos let go of me because I stabbed him.) I would have to ask Hector if he'd found an Amos Lynch in our searching last night.

He smirked. (He's not going to forgive you for that. You left a nasty scar on his face.)

(He disserved it.)

We were silent for a moment, each of us sizing up the other. Finally, Flynn leaned back in his seat, as much as he could and broke the silence. (Tell me about the pendant we took off you. Is it really yours? Do you know what it means?)

I felt my eye's narrow. This punk knew where my necklace was. I could feel my temper slip a notch and fought to keep my face blank of emotion. This man was a member of the same family who'd slaughtered mine. He was easily as old as I was, he'd been alive during the attack on my home. Did he know his father and grandfathers were mass murdering butchers? Would I be able to leap the table and slit his throat before the guard at the door could stopped me?

I shook my head slightly and forced the image away. I'd killed before, but I wasn't a murderer. besides, there were cameras in the room so I couldn't kill him without getting caught. A small part of my brain was also trying to remind me that this man could only have been ten or eleven at the time of the attack anyway. Personally, he'd done nothing to me. A child couldn't control who there family was.

He smirked at my inner struggle and my finger's twitched to hit him. He chuckled aloud at me then. (You had better pray my father never gets his hands on you if it is yours.) He said darkly. (He and my uncles drag us halfway around the world on a rumor that they would find, one lost little Connalay here, and they stumble across two in a matter of days. You can't imagine the look on his face when we gave him that blood stained crest you were wearing. It was like he'd seen a ghost.)

I was shell-shocked. I couldn't think of anything to say, and was sure I couldn't have used my mouth to speak even if I had. They'd come here looking for someone with the name Connalay. It wasn't possible. I was the only one left. I'd been tracking the ancestry of my family for years, every path came to a dead end, every path except for me.

(You didn't know?) Flynn asked, with another small chuckle. (Well then, this is even more interesting. Maybe you'll want to let my father catch you after all. He's crazy, but he might give you a small family reunion before he kills you.)

(Who?) I asked, my voice shaky.

"What is going on in there?" Morelli asked in my ear. "You look like you're going to be sick."

Flynn shrugged. (How should I know?) He asked with an eye-roll. (I don't give a rat's ass who you are. My father is the one who's obsessed with you. For all I care you and these police can go to hell.)

It had to be some kind of a mistake. They'd gotten some bad information and come over here hunting for riddles, then I'd given myself to them. They already had my necklace. They would find out my name from it that same way I'd found out Gavin's name. Michael and Flynn would have told them what I looked like. They would probably get more information out of Gavin, unless they'd already killed him.

But, that stupid little voice said again, what if they're not wrong? What if there was someone else? Maybe I'd missed someone in my research. Maybe I had a long lost cousin or something out there who was in danger?

I stood, embarrassed that my leg's shook, and let myself out of the room. Detective Morelli was there waiting a confused look on his face. I took a deep breath and forced myself to keep my face blank. I couldn't freak out until I knew more information.

"What happened?" He asked.

I followed him into the observation room and pulled off my ear piece and the wire. "He's a sick man." I said. "He wouldn't say anything about the guns." Which was sort of a lie since I hadn't really asked. "He refused to tell me where Michael is." That was the truth.

"What's got you so shaken?" He asked, pushing a chair in my direction. I sat, grateful for the chance to look away. I sat down and let out a shaky breath, forcing myself to calm down. Losing it here would be a bad idea.

"He was just talking about his father. They're planning on killing whoever this boy is they're after. He seemed almost excited at the prospect."

"Did he say anything else about whom they're after? We don't have anything to go on to try and stop the kidnapping from happening. We need a lead."

I shook my head. "No, and I don't think I'll get anything more from him. He doesn't want to deal, he didn't seem worried about the gun you'd taken from him and he wasn't afraid of going to jail for the drugs."

"Great." Morelli sat down hard. "So we've still got next to nothing."

I nodded. "Yep."

I stood then and let myself out. I took a few more moments in the hallway to clear my head before I went back out and found Lester. He was sitting in the lobby with a newspaper, and smiled when I neared him. "That was fast." He said.

I nodded. "Let's role."

Lester was quiet in the car and for that, I was grateful. It was only 6:50 when we pulled up so I'd have time to get my head on straight before I would have to speak in the morning meeting. I thanked Lester for going with me when we got to five and then nearly ran to my computer.

I pulled up all of the photo's we'd collected yesterday of the older O'Donnell men out in public. We had shots going back over the last week, both from surveillance cameras in restaurants and bar's to shots that different RangeMan had taken of them walking around town.

I started pulling up lists of employs and workers. I was running checks for anyone who'd been born in Ireland, anyone with Irish citizenship in their background. I was so involved in my work I nearly jumped out of my seat when someone tapped me on the shoulder.

"Oops, sorry Shilo."

It was Julie, her hair was wet and up in a ponytail. She was dressed in a fresh RangeMan outfit and had a muffin in her hand. "Meeting time." She said. "You ok?"

I quick cleared my screen and closed my laptop. "Yeah, I'm good. Long morning." I stood up, stole a bite of her muffin and followed her into the conference room. The usual gang was already there in the usually seats around the table. Blaze passed me some coffee, when I sat down, and then Ranger was speaking.

He'd had people searching all night, so far no connection had been made between any of the places the O'Donnell's had been seen. On top of it, it had been almost twelve hours since the O'Donnell's had been seen at all.

"We believe they are holding up in a house out at Point Pleasant." He said, stopping briefly to tell me that Point Pleasant was a beach nearby, rich community, lots of old houses. I knew the house he was talking about. We had pictures of it. It was an old brown three story, colonial with a privacy fence all the way around and a super security gate on the driveway. The only reason we couldn't get a warrant to search it was because we'd never actually seen Michael go inside of it.

"What did TPD want?" He asked, turning to me.

I nodded once, set my coffee aside and started talking. "As you all know by now TPD called me in this morning. They have a man in custody named Flynn O'Donnell. He's one of Michaels cousins. He didn't have as much to say as Gavin did. On a side note, they released Gavin last night."

I proceeded to tell them that Flynn had confirmed that the O'Donnell's had come to America with the intent to take someone. I told them they were after someone of Irish decent. I kept my possible relation to this person a secret.

I knew I should tell them. If they knew, more about what had happened between my family and the O'Donnell's they might be able to help me find this person before he got hurt. Maybe I had missed something. Years of keeping my identity a secret had me second-guessing myself and wondering just how far I could trust these people. After all, I had only known them for a short time.

Then there was the danger to myself. If the O'Donnell's truly did know my identity, and I was sure by now they did, how far would they go to get me? Would they come here? Was I putting my new friends in danger by staying here?

I let myself fall silent and kept my eyes trained on Ranger's nose as he asked a few more questions. I couldn't get myself to look him in the eye. I answered everything quickly and told them I'd already started cross referencing staff members with Celtic backgrounds.

"Good," He said. "We'll get a few more people on that, so it will go faster."

"We could send someone out to the locations too." Tank suggested. "Ask the staff directly."

Ranger nodded. "Good idea, take Blaze with you."

After the meeting broke up I started working with Stephanie and Hector again. Razor was sitting at our table of paper's looking over photo's, so he wouldn't have to sit in his room all day. I'd also requested that Ranger put one of his guys in charge of looking up info on the three O'Donnell brother's who were here. I wanted to figure out which one was Flynn's father so we could run a background check and look for a decline in mental health. Both Flynn and Gavin had mentioned the Older O'Donnell being a little bit crazy. I wanted to know if that was an exaggeration or a real illness.

We worked the morning away finding nothing new. I was rattled and stressed. I couldn't stop myself from wondering who this mystery man that the O'Donnell's were following was. Was it possible I still had some living family? My father had had four brothers. They were the only ones who would have passed on the family name to their children. Between them, my uncles had seven children who were older than me. Only four were boys. I ran over the names in my head, remembering all of the hunting I'd done which had proven all four of them were dead. I'd seen the death certificates.

Then again, the press that had followed the fire in my childhood home had said I was dead too. Col. Lowry had made sure all evidence of my survival had been whipped away. He'd changed my name and flown me out of the country. The hospital had only called him, in the first place, because they could find no next of kin. Maybe someone else had escaped a different attack and they didn't know I'd lived.

"Shilo?"

I jumped again and Julie placed a hand on my shoulder. "Are you ok?" She asked. "You've been really quiet all morning."

I nodded. "Just thinking."

"Is something wrong?" She asked. She peeked to make sure no one was watching before taking my hand.

I smiled at the connection. Her hand was warm and I hadn't realized until she touched me how cold I was.

"You're freezing." She said, taking my other hand and holding them between hers. "Something's bothering you I can tell." She said, her voice lowered so no one would overhear us.

I didn't say anything, just watched our hands as she rubbed mine to try and warm them up. I really didn't want to lie to her, but I really didn't want to tell her either. If my secret really was already blown, why was I fighting so hard not to tell anyone?

Pov- Julie

She sure was stubborn as hell, but I knew something was wrong. When I startled her for the second time, I knew it had to be something bad. I rubbed her cold fingers between my hands, trying to warm them up. A lot of the floor was clear, as the men all wondered off to find something to eat. Maybe this would be a good chance to try to get her to talk to me.

"Would you like to go eat lunch upstairs?" I asked.

She glanced up at me and I watched the fight in her eyes as she thought about what I'd said. After a moment, she nodded. "Yeah I would."

I sent Ella a text asking for lunch for two in my room. Shilo followed me upstairs, keeping close even after I'd let go of her hands. She watched the ground as we walked and worried her bottom lip with her teeth.

We got up to my room and she leaned against the counter to kick her shoes off. I stepped out of my own shoes and left then near the door. I wondered into the kitchen and grabbed a couple of water bottles from the fridge. When I turned around, she'd followed me into the kitchen, but she was still biting at her lip. I smirked to myself, thinking of other things she could be doing with those lips.

I moved closer to her and waited, until she looked up at me, to close the space between us. I kissed her, lightly at first; my intent was to get her to stop trying to eat her own lip. Then she pressed back, her mouth hard on mine as she pressed close. She didn't fight for control, her hands wrapped into the front of my shirt and she hung on.

I had her pined against the counter with my body, one of my hands on her hip the other had snaked around to her back. She gasped when we broke for air, the move pressed her chest into mine, and this time, I knew it wasn't the cold air that had her nipples standing out. I loved the fact that I affected her as much as she affected me.

When my lips left hers, I trailed them down the side of her neck. Her skin was warm and sweet and she shivered as I reached a particularly soft patch of skin behind her ear. I let my lips work their way to the other side and found the same spot. She arched into me a bit and one of my leg's slipped between hers. I smirked against her skin. I'd found a weak spot.

One of her hands tangled itself in my hair as I continued to nip and kiss at my newfound favorite body part. I sucked on the skin and she pulled on my hair, dragging my mouth back to hers. "Not nice," She panted against me.

I chuckled and she used the moment to flip us around. She backed me into the fridge and one of her hands curled back into my shirt as our tongues met again. I moaned against her, relishing in the sweet, unique, taste of her. She smelt even more amazing.

"What is that smell?" I asked her. Her lips were on my neck and I stuck my nose in her hair. She bit me and I jumped.

"What smell?" She asked huskily.

It took me a moment to collect my thoughts as one of her hands slipped under the edge of my shirt and trailed lightly across my stomach. "I think it's your shampoo." I said breathlessly. "You always smell amazing."

She grinned at me and pressed her lips against mine. "I could say the same about you." She said softly, sniffing at my neck. "You smell like flowers."

"Black orchids," I said, shivering as her fingers trailed to my sides. "It's my lotion. I have shampoo like it too." I admitted. I'd found the fragrance a few years ago and loved it.

She let me spin us around and I resumed my exploration of her collarbone. Her neck was long and slender, her light skin unmarked except for a small dusting of red/brown freckles. She had them along her cheekbones too. I made a promise to myself that one day I would count them. "You never answered me." I told her, letting my tongue dart out to touch the soft spot behind her ear. "What is it?" I asked again. "Your shampoo?"

She giggled against me, the vibrations running straight between my legs and warming my heart with the sound of her laughter. "Promise you won't laugh at me." She asked. I could tell from her voice that she was sincerely worried I would.

I pulled back to look at her and found her watching me. Her eyes had lightened to a soft jade color and her cheeks were flushed. She was the only person I knew whose eyes lightened with desire rather than darkened. "Promise"

She grinned again. "I import it from this shop in Ireland online." She said. "The first bottle was given to me as a joke, but I fell in love with it. I use the shampoo and the perfume. It's called Shamrocks."

I grinned and she playfully hit my side. "You promised not to laugh at me."

"Oh I'm not laughing." I told her, leaning forward to lick her neck and stick my nose in her hair. "I love it." The scent was light and clean. It did sort of reminded me of flowers, but mostly it brought up images of spring. It was perfect.

We were only a minute back into our make-out session when someone knocked on the door. We leapt apart, both breathing heavy. The door swung open and we managed to compose our faces in time for Ella to stroll in with a tray of food. She'd brought sandwiches and apples along with a pitcher of lemonade. We smiled and thanked her for the meal, neither one of us willing to look at the other until she'd left and the door clicked shut behind her.

Shilo chuckled. "That was close."

"Yeah, it was." I reached out and hook my hands around her waist; drawing her back to me. "One of these's times were going to get caught."

She leaned in and snuggled against my neck. "I don't mind." She said. "I'm out, I don't care what anyone here thinks about me. You're the one who has to live with them. I don't want you to do anything that will make things uncomfortable for you after I leave."

And there it was. The black and white truth that I'd been trying to ignore for the last three days. When this mess with the O'Donnell's was done, Shilo would leave. It was silly of me to think of her staying. She had a job, a home, a whole life back in New York. She was closer to her brother, Adam, in New York. She'd told me before how close she was to him.

A sick little ache started in my chest and I berated myself for letting her get this close to me. For letting myself ever fall for her in the first place. It wasn't like I hadn't known she would leave. My hands tightened around her waist and when she looked up, I kissed her again. Her mouth was soft against mine, gentle, she tasted sweet. I didn't regret getting this close to her, I couldn't. I never would have forgiven myself for missing out on this. Even if I only got to have her for a moment.

She pressed back, her hands explored down the sides of my body and stopped low on my hips. She kissed my neck when we broke for air and her soft lips traveled up to my ear. "I still own you that massage." She said. "Are you hungry?"

I shivered at the thought of her hands on my skin. "Not really." Not for the food Ella had brought up at least. She pulled back, weaving her fingers through mine and pulled me along behind her into the bedroom.

I let her lead, marveling in the warmth of this moment. I pushed everything else away. It didn't matter if she left next week, for right now, she was here with me. She led me over to the side of the bed and kissed me again. Her hands slipped under my shirt and gently lifted it up over my head. She tossed it aside and kissed me again, her fingers trailed down my stomach and she paused looking down where her fingers had stopped. "You are freaking ripped."

I laughed, proud of my little six-pack. "Lester and Blaze are my combat trainer's, what did you expect? They don't go easy on me."

Her eyes followed the line of my body back up, pausing on my black bra. I'd never had large breasts, and what I did have hadn't come in until my junior year of high school. With one of my wonder push-up bras, I could fake a medium sized bust. Without out it I was just a small 'B'. My moment of insecurity was chased away when she licked her lips.

When her eye's meet mine again, she grinned and spun me around. Her fingers trailed down my back, sweeping my hair out of her way. She tapped the clip of my bra. "This will be easier if you're not wearing this." She said.

"What to help me take it off?" I asked, riding the wave of confidence she'd given me.

I shivered as her lips attached themselves to the back of my neck. She nibbled the skin there and her fingers trailed up the length of my spin. "There are a lot of things I wouldn't mind helping you take off." She teased right back.

I bite my lip to keep back the images that had popped into my head. Don't move to fast, I ordered myself. You do not want to mess this up.

Her fingers unclipped my bra and she nudged the straps off my shoulders. I let the material fall away. She nudged me forward. "Lay down."

I crawled onto the bed, lying in the center. I heard material hit the ground, but forced myself not to look and see what she'd taken off. The bed dipped as she crawled up to me and then her bare legs straddled over my hips her skin warm against my sides. I groaned as she scooted up and her hands pressed into my shoulders.

She started with my shoulders and then let her finger's work their way down my back. Every now and then, I could tell she was following the lines of my tattoo. By the time she hit the bottom of my back I was a puddle of goo. I felt her scoot back and at first, I thought she was going to get off, now that she was done. Then her lips touched my back and I jumped, my gasp of shock quickly turning into a soft moan as her tongue flicked out.

She chuckled and I felt her lip's ghost over my back again. "You're not the only one with an ink fetish." She said her voice low and sweet. "I can see why you wanted to lick my stars. This tiger is driving me crazy. He's perfect." Her lips touched my back again and she trailed them all the way up my spine. I wiggled under her; the heat between my legs urging to be itched.

"Why do you think that?" I asked, turning my head as far as I could to try and see her face.

She trailed a finger lightly down my back, all the way to the band of my cargo's low on my hips. "He's beautiful for a start." She said. "You're very beautiful Julie."

I blushed, thinking I should probably say something back.

"The tiger is a very powerful symbol." She continued before I found my voice. "In several different cultures the tiger represents the combination of grace and strength. He is fiercely loyal without having to be overly aggressive. He is wild, exotic, and un-tamed."

I nodded along, that was why I had picked a tiger in the first place. I'd hoped that by getting the tattoo on my body I might someday have those same traits myself. It was kind of a silly idea, but maybe it had worked after all.

I was touched by her honest words, and at a loss of how to tell her what they meant to me. Her hands were at my sides and I grabbed one of her wrists, deciding to show her rather then tell her. I'd always been better with actions then words, another trait I'd picked up from my Ranger genes I guess. I pulled her forward and she fell onto the bed next to me with a soft thump and a giggle. I rolled her onto her back and kissed her senseless.

She responded quickly. Her arms wrapped around my back, her fingers trailing along my spine as we kissed. Our tongues battled for control and she let me have it again. I trailed kisses down her neck and hit that sweet spot behind her ear again. She moaned, her back arching up into me a bit. "Thank you." I said honestly, letting my breath blow over her neck. "No one's ever said something like that to me before."

She tugged on my hair until I backed up far enough that she could look me in the eye. "It's all true." She said. "Every word, always know how special you are Julie."

I blushed and she leaned forward to kiss my cheek. "I love when you do that." She said. "Your skin turns a really beautiful color." She shifted then, nudging me so I rolled over onto my back. She straddled my hips; her fingers running down the sides of my body as for the first time I remembered she could see my bare chest.

She leaned forward and kissed me. The kiss was light and questioning. She shifted and I groaned as her bare legs brushed over my hips, catching sight of the lime-green panties she was wearing. She kissed a light trail down my neck and stopped at the swell of my breast. I whimpered at the loss of contact as she pulled back just a hair. "This is your chance to tell me to stop." She said her breath warm on my already heated skin. "We don't have to go any farther if you don't want to."

I hesitated, just for a moment. I wanted her, I'd known from the moment I saw her picture that I'd wanted her. How badly would it hurt after she left? Her soft nose ran up my neck and I felt her shy away from me a bit. "Julie?" She asked.

To hell with it! I wrapped one hand in her thick hair and tugged her up to me for our most searing kiss yet. I'd deal with any amount of pain later, if it meant that for this one moment I got to have her all to myself.

Pov- Shilo

I knew I shouldn't do it, knew I should stop now while I still had the chance to protect myself. Her hand in my hair tightened its hold on me, like she'd sensed my hesitation. I kissed her hard, hoping she would get everything I was feeling out of the kiss. Hoped she would be able to tell that I'd fallen for her without meaning to. She kissed me back just as desperately, so I had high hope.

I knew that my earlier mention of leaving had hurt her, whether or not she knew it yet herself, I didn't know. I almost hoped she hadn't realized her feelings for me. The separation would only be more painful if she had and there was no longer any doubt of my leaving. I had no choice. The brief thoughts I'd had earlier in the week about asking for a transfer had flown out the window with my identity being compromised.

Julie shifted so I was nestled between her legs, her lips still on mine as my hands wondered over her torso. She nudged me with a knee and rolled us over. Once I was on my back, her hands moved under my shirt and I lifted my shoulders to help her get it off. She tossed the material away and her eyes locked on my bright green bra.

"You know for someone who was so worried I'd laugh at your cliché choice of perfume, you really don't seem to mind dressing in green, my little Irish fire."

I grinned at her. "I'm not a leprechaun but, it's always been my favorite color."

"It looks great on you." She said. "It matches your eyes."

Her hands slipped under my back and then the bra was gone followed shortly by her cargos and the rest of our clothes. I writhed under her mouth as she latched onto one of my breast her teeth grazing the sensitive skin. Her mouth continued its torture as she moved to the other one, her fingers replacing her mouth as she teased and pulled on the hardened peaks.

I sighed under her lips as she explored every part of my body. The heat felt so good it almost hurt as wetness pooled between my legs. She stopped when she reached the curls between my legs and I groaned, frustrated, missing the feel of her.

"You know," She said softly and I looked down, locking eyes with her as she stared back up at me with a sexy little grin on her face. "For some reason, I didn't think this hair would be red too."

A little chuckle fell from my lips and I bucked my hips when one of her fingers trailed along my slick folds. "What can I say," I said breathlessly, desperately wanting her to touch me again. "I've never died my hair before so the curtains definitely match the rug."

I felt her smirk as she kissed my dark red curls and an airy moan left my lips as her tongue flicked out to taste me for the first time. "Usted esta tan humeda." (You are so wet) She said softly. I didn't know what it meant, but it sounded sweet and dirty coming from her lips.

She tossed one tanned arm over my pale hips to help keep me still while a familiar heat curled in the depths of my body. I was coming off a dry period so I didn't think I'd last long. The slow burn was growing, making all of my nerves sing out as they anticipated the take off that was building. She added a couple of finger's to the mix, pumping them in and out to the beat of her tongue on my clit. She bit down gently and I lost it, flying over the edge, her name a breathless cry on my lips.

She gave me time to bask in the afterglow of my orgasm, working her way slowly back up my body, leaving sweet little kisses behind. When she reached my neck, I pulled her to me, moaning at the taste of my wetness on her lips. I felt the heat start to build again and bit down gently on her lip to prove I was ready to resume our play.

This time I took the lead. I pushed her over, hovering over her body and explored every nook and cranny on her like she'd done to me. I paid special attention to each of her perfectly round breasts savoring every moan and cry from her lips. I'd always been fairly quiet in the throes of passion, but I couldn't get over how much I loved all of the sounds she made.

"Ta tu Álainn" I told her, latching onto the skin where her neck met her shoulder and sucking hard enough to leave a mark behind. She ran a soft finger along my cheek so I would look up at her.

"What does that mean?" She asked. Her brown eyes, black with lust and her skin flushed.

I kissed her gently. "Álainn means beautiful. You are very beautiful Julie."

She smiled and I used the moment of distraction to slid one finger into her wet heat. She jumped, her gasp of shock turning into a moan as I curled my finger and added a second. I loved how wet and ready she was for me.

"Dios Shilo." She hissed as I trailed kisses down her front, while I worked my fingers, and moaned at the sight of her bare sex in front of me. I'd never been brave enough to wax there, but it was hell of sexy on her. I might have to try it some time.

When my mouth finally joined my fingers between her strong legs, I stroked her once with my tongue and bit down on the sensitive nub there. She cried my name as she came apart hard and I was rewarded with a fresh wave of wetness. I smirked at having brought her over so quickly and didn't give her a chance to come down before I started all over again. I wanted to hear her call my name again. I wanted her to scream it.

I added a third finger, curling them to hit that soft spot inside of her on each pass. It only took a moment to work her back up and send her spiraling over the edge again. Her cry was even louder the second time and I melted when she whispered my name on a breathless moan.

She was breathing heavily so I took my time climbing back up her perfectly toned body, leaving my own trail of tinny kisses behind and laving at the mark I'd left on her neck. It wouldn't last forever, but I hoped that for a few day's at least it would remind her that I loved her, and that I'd miss her.

This moment with her had been everything I had hoped for. It had also made it painfully clear that I couldn't stay any longer. I didn't know how long I had before the O'Donnell's came looking for me, but I knew they would. I couldn't be here when it happened. I wouldn't risk putting Julie or the guys in danger.

Julie pulled me up to her lips and kissed me gently. I tucked myself into her side and we basked together in the sweetness of the moment. I had my nose in her hair, enjoying her scent, while she trailed a finger lightly over my thigh, which was lying across her hips, drawing pictures on my skin.

Our peace was interrupted by the shrill tone of Julie's room phone and I think we both whimpered from the loss of contact as she stood up to get it. She grabbed a robe off the hook on her bathroom door and jogged into the living room.

I stayed on the bed and pulled the sheet up over my body so I could enjoy the last few moments of this comfort before it was ruined. I closed my eyes and inhaled her scent, praying that I might one day get to come back and make it up to her. I heard Julie answer the phone and some soft words while she spoke to whoever had called. I couldn't make them all out.

She came back into the room and gave me a sad little smile before tossing me my bra. "We have to go downstairs. Steph and the boy's think they've found something."

I grabbed my bra and we dressed quickly. I used Julie's brush to tame my hair and then pulled it back into a ponytail. We both wolfed down one of the sandwiches Ella had brought us and gulped some of her lemonade.

"You're a liar." I told her as we tucked our guns away, tied our shoes, and grabbed our phones. "Ella's lemonade was way better then that stuff at the dinner."

She chuckled. "Everything Ella makes is wonderful." She agreed. "I meant that the dinner lemonade was the best in Trenton, outside of Ella."

When we got to Five the floor was abuzz with excitement and movement as everyone worked. Blaze saw us get off the elevator and rushed over to meet us. "You were right Shilo, we found a connection between some of the different bars and restaurants the O'Donnell's have been visiting. Come on, we're setting up the photos in the conference room to show everyone."

We followed him down the hall and into the meeting room we'd been using all week. Hector was all set up on one end. His laptop hooked into a screen hanging on the wall so everyone could see the photo's he was pulling up.

There were four different pictures all labeled with different dates and times. Julie took a seat at the table. I stood behind her against the wall, not wanting to sit down. My stomach was in knot that we might be about to figure out who the O'Donnell's were after.

Ranger raised a hand, for silence, once everyone was gathered, and waved to Stephanie, who was standing near Hector. "What did you guys find?" He asked.

Steph smiled and nodded at Hector who blew up the first image. "Hector and I have found a similarity between four of the different locations that the older O'Donnell brother's have been seen at so far."

She pointed to the first photo. The shot was clearly supposed to be focused on the men sitting there, but Stephanie pointed to the stage behind them. It was a blurry shot but I could make out five different men in the group all playing instruments.

"The band," Stephanie said. Hector changed pictures. The second shot was wider and showed most of a bar floor. In the background, the same group of men could be seen playing on another stage. "It's the same group, we're almost positive."

She showed us two more photos, in each of them, the same group of men were playing in the background.

"We think he's following a band?" Hal asked. "Why?"

"Big fan?" Lester joked.

"It's the only connection we've found so far." Stephanie said. "We should send someone out to these locations to see if we can get contact information for them. Figure out who these men are."

I studied the four shot's as Hector zoomed back out so we could see them all at once and felt my mouth go dry. In all four shot's you could see your standard band instruments. They had a guitar, a bass, a keyboard. In a couple of the shot's you could see an upright bass, some drums, and a small lap harp. That wasn't what had caught my attention. In three of the four photos, the same man was sitting on a bar stool with a flute to his lips.

"Hector," I called, moving forward so I could point to the man I wanted to see. "Can you zoom in on one of these? I want to get a good look at his face." I pointed him out in the three shots of him with the flute so Hector could pick which one would be the easiest to clear up.

"The one playing the recorder?" Lester asked. "Why him?"

I shook my head. "It's not a recorder." I told him positively. It was too thin to be a recorder. "It's a penny whistle." I should know, I used to play one.

"What's that?" He asked, while Hector worked on his computer.

"It's a type of flute." I told them, the room had gone quiet while they all waited to see why I'd asked to see this particular man. "It's also sometimes called a tin whistle." I continued. "It' very common in Celtic music. It's definitely not something you'd seen in your everyday American bar band."

"You think he might be the target?" Tank asked.

Hector pulled up one of the shots and after a few more clicks the image cleared enough that we could see his face clearly. It was a face I'd have recognized anywhere, even though it had been fifteen years since I'd last seen him. He looked just like our father.

"Shilo?"

Julie had moved to my side and I was grateful to her because I never would have made it to my seat without her. My legs had gone numb and my fingers were cold. I hadn't even realized I couldn't breathe until Bobby put his hand on the back of my neck and forced my head down between my legs. My lungs burned as I gasped for more oxygen.

"Breath Shilo," He encouraged me gently. "What is going on?"

I took several deep breathes to chase away the panic attack and once I was sure I could sit up, without throwing up, I looked back at the photo. There wasn't a single doubt in my mind. It had to be him. "Ryan?" I whispered.

"Ryan?" Ranger asked. He'd moved from his seat to stand next to us. "You know this boy?"

"Wait," Julie said, the look of confusion on her face turning to realization. She was the only one I'd told about my brother's, she must have recognized the name from my story. "Is that even possible?"

I shook my head. It shouldn't be possible, it couldn't be possible. Ranger was talking again, asking me questions. I couldn't concentrate enough to understand what he was saying. My thoughts all revolving around the brother I'd been raised to believe was dead.

He'd lied to me! I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket and dialed a number I hadn't used since I'd moved to New York. I knew the room around me had gone quiet as everyone watched me. I could feel Julie at my side, her hand on my leg as she called my name. I had to ask, had to know if it was possible. Why would he have hid this from me.

"Hello?" A voice said when the line was picked up. "Lowry residence."

My confusion turned to white hot rage as the voice I'd come to trust spoke. Col. Lowry had taken me in as a child, he'd raised me as his own. I'd trusted him with my secret, with my life! He was the one who had told me that Ryan had died in the fire. He was the one who'd helped me plan a memorial service so I could get some closure for the loss of my family. He'd been lying to me all of this time!

I took in a raspy sort of breath and spoke. "You lying son of a bitch." There was so much menace in the voice that left my mouth, I wouldn't have recognized it as my own hearing it played back. My free hand clenched so tight that my nails cut into my palm and I seethed.

"Shilo?" He asked, confusion in his voice. "Is that you?"

~Darkrose

Question 5- Have you ever posted a smut scene?

Sorry for the short length of the last chapter. I couldn't find a good place to split it from this chapter and I definitely wanted this chapter posted as a whole. I'll have more soon, let me know what you think, your reviews make me smile and brighten my day.