Chapter Eleven

Chapter 11

G ryph drove away from Selene's sisters, the moon shining bright in the sky. So many thoughts churned in his head with one rising to the top. "Let me get this straight. You can read minds?"

Selene sighed. "Sometimes. If the thought is prominent in the person's mind, sometimes I can hear their thoughts word-for-word. More often, it's a feeling, emotion or sense."

"Can you read my thoughts right now?"

"I can sense you're angry and that you have a lot on your mind. Images are flashing through of the wolves, the truck and the interior of the pool hall."

"And what do you see about you?"

Her cheeks reddened and she glanced at her hands, twisting in her lap. "I sense confusion."

"Anything else?"

"Anger...and...lust." She stared out the window, her chest rising and falling with shorter, ragged breaths. Her reflection was one of a woman torn by honesty and longing.

Gryph almost pulled to the side of the road and took her into his arms. Instead, he shifted his gaze back to the road in front of him. "I'm not sure I like having someone in my head." His fingers tightened on the wheel. "Granted, if you hadn't sensed my distress the night I went for a swim in the river, I'd most likely be dead. But this mind reading and maneuvering is another thing entirely. Is that how you manipulated the wolves attacking me?"

"Something like that. I didn't even know I could stop those wolves. It just...happened."

"Nothing just happens like that. What were you feeling at the time? Was it like a buildup of emotions that manifests itself in a type of force field?"

"I don't know." She pinched the bridge of her nose. "Could we not talk about this?"

He bit back the questions spilling into his head and nodded. For the next few minutes he sat in silence, going over everything that had happened over the past forty-eight hours.

The attack on Amanda, Selene showing up to save him, the intense thought he'd had right before the leader of the wolf pack had transformed from human to animal. In his head, he'd felt the urge to change. As though someone told him to change.

When he pulled up in front of Selene's building, Gryph shifted into Park and stared at the storefront with the pretty sign and dainty vintage and designer clothing display in the window.

Selene reached for the door handle.

He grabbed her hand before she could get out and held on with a firm grip. "Why didn't you tell me?"

She twisted her wrist, trying to slip out of his grasp. "It's not something you announce to strangers."

"Okay, I get why you didn't tell me, at first. Same reason I keep my inner beast secret. But later, you might have given me a hint."

She quit struggling and stared at where his hand held her wrist. After a long pause she said, "I was afraid."

"That I'd be angry?"

She glanced up. "Well, you are, aren't you?"

"Only because you didn't bother to tell me you could be reading my mind and pushing thoughts into my head." He released her hand.

Selene didn't get out right away. "I know. I should have told you. But I didn't expect things to go as fast or as far as they did. I expected to walk away from you before then."

"Instead, we made love in my office." His jaw tightened, a muscle twitching in the hardness. "Did we because you wanted to, or because I wanted to?"

She flipped her hair back. "That's why I didn't tell you. I wanted to and I was afraid you might not want to as much as I did. For all I know, I could have pushed the thought into your mind. I'm sorry. It's just that I wanted you, so very badly." Her head dipped again, her gaze shifting away from his. She turned and scrambled for the door handle, missing several times before she found it and jerked it hard to open.

Gryph was out of the SUV and around the front to her side before she could drop to the ground and run. He reached for her waist and slid her down the front of his body, sure to let her know the effect she was having on him. Slowly, he settled her on her feet, his hands resting on her waist. "Are you pushing thoughts into my head now?"

"I don't know," she whispered.

With his thumb, he brushed a stray hair across her cheek. He was so close he could smell her fragrance, a mix of herbal shampoo and shay-butter body lotion. He wanted to taste her, to feel her skin against his. "What are you thinking?"

She chewed her bottom lip before answering. "That I should go inside, and you should go home."

He bent his head, his lips hovering over hers, so close he could feel her breath. "Is that all?"

Her gaze shifted to his lips. "No," she whispered.

The brush of air across his mouth was almost his undoing. His fingers tightened on her hips. "I have the sudden urge to kiss you."

Her brow furrowed. "You see? That's exactly why you should leave and never come back." She pressed her hands against his chest in a weak attempt to push him away.

He caught her fingers in his, bent and pressed his lips to her fingertips. "No, I want that kiss." His mouth slipped across hers, a feathery brush at first, then he was crushing her in his arms, holding her so close, their bodies melded together.

She opened to him, her mouth parting.

His tongue thrust against her, darting and tangling in a warm wet dance, making his blood turn to molten lava, pushing hard through his veins, flowing south to the hard evidence of his lust.

Selene moaned into his mouth, her fingers digging into his shirt, dragging him impossibly closer, her leg circling behind his, her crotch riding his thigh.

Gryph broke off the kiss long enough to say, "Your key."

Selene fumbled in her jeans pocket, and then handed him the key to her apartment. He scooped her into his arms and carried her down the short flight of stairs to her basement home, dropping her to her feet in order to unlock the door.

As Gryph reached for the doorknob, Selene grabbed his wrist. "Wait." Her tone was soft, but intense.

That concentrated nudge of danger rippled through him. He recognized it as the same feeling he'd had just before the wolf leader transformed. He stared down at Selene.

Her brow furrowed and her eyes narrowed as she nudged the door with her fingertips, jerking them back as if they'd been burned. The door swung open without resistance, the doorjamb splintered, the lock broken. "He was here."

Gryph shoved her behind him. "Stay here."

Her hand touched his back. "He's not inside. I can't sense him."

"Fair enough." He turned to face her. "Humor me, and let me check things out before you go inside."

She nodded, shrinking against the walls of the alcove, hidden in the shadows from the streetlights above.

Gryph allowed his inner beast to rise to the surface, just enough to give him good night vision and increase his auditory and olfactory senses. If Selene was wrong, and the intruder was still there, he needed to be ready to defend himself.

Once inside the apartment, he slipped from one room to the next, checking beneath the bed, in the closets and behind the shower curtain. As small as the apartment was, it didn't take long. When he returned to the living room, Selene stood in the doorway and flicked on the light switch.

A soft glow filled the room, chasing away the shadows, revealing a room that appeared to be untouched, other than the shattered doorjamb.

"Is anything missing or out of place?" Gryph asked.

Selene walked silently around the room, touching picture frames, lifting items from tabletops. She entered her bedroom, her frown deepening. "He was in here the longest." Opening the closet, she ran her hands across the clothes, pausing as her fingers touched a gown she'd designed and sewn herself for the upcoming charity ball.

"Are you sure it was Amanda's killer?"

She nodded, a shiver shaking her from her shoulders all the way down her spine.

Gryph sensed her unease, the fear and anger over having had her personal space violated. His heart aching for her, he hooked her arm and turned her to face him, brushing a strand of hair from her face. "Your sisters were right. You're not staying here tonight."

"It's my home." Her gaze skimmed across the furnishings, the artwork on the wall, the candles lining the tabletops.

"Yeah, but it's just a place. And if he's been here once, he knows where you live, and there's a chance he'll return. You can't stay here."

Her body stiffened. "I won't be frightened away."

"Think through this. Your doorjamb is busted, you don't have a way to lock him out, or anyone else for that matter. Not that locks stopped him this time. If you stay here, you're setting yourself up for attack."

She stared at the door, another shiver rattling across her body, vibrating against his grip on her arm. "I can stay with Deme."

"You'll stay with me."

"No!" She jerked free of his hand. "I'll be fine at Deme's place."

"She might not be there yet."

She glanced around as if in a daze. "I'll call. And if she's not home, I'll go to Brigid's."

Gryph's jaw tightened. "Are you afraid to stay with me?"

"Yes." She gazed into his eyes. "Aren't you afraid I'll manipulate your mind—make you do things you had no intention of doing?"

His lips twitched upward. "Like making love to you? I can see where that would be a hardship. Look, if it bothers you that much, I'll sleep on the couch, you can have my bed and I'll resist any urges, yours or mine, to make love to you."

"What if I can't?"

"I guess that's the chance we'll have to take." He spun her around and gave her a gentle shove toward the bedroom. "Get whatever you need for tonight and tomorrow. And hurry, I want to make a stop before we settle in for the night."

"All the more reason for me to stay with my sisters. I don't want to be a burden."

"Says the woman who rescued me. Seems to me, I owe you one for saving my life."

She shrugged. "I'd have done it for anyone hurt."

"You're stalling. I want to get there before everyone is asleep."

"Where are you taking me?"

"My place first, and then to where I grew up."

* * *

Selene hurried through her bedroom and bathroom, throwing clothing, panties and toiletries into a small duffel bag, her heart skipping beats every time she thought about where they were going. Gryph wanted to take her where he grew up. Curiosity pushed her to move faster.

"Do you happen to have a hammer and nails?" he called out.

"In the kitchen pantry." Within five minutes, she had everything she needed for a night in Gryph's apartment, including a condom. She dug in her stash for another, and another. Her body flushed with warmth. Not that she intended to use them. But a woman never knew when desire would outweigh caution.

Her lower abdomen clenched and lust washed over her like butter melting over a hot potato, sliding into every crevice.

Finally, she emerged from the bedroom, her cheeks flushed, her insides trembling in anticipation of the night to come. She sensed that Gryph didn't share his life easily, and that he was going to show her where he'd grown up was something big.

He'd found the hammer and nails she kept and stood waiting by her damaged front door.

As she passed him, she could sense his body tightening. She prayed to the goddess it wasn't her thoughts creating his automatic response.

Gryph checked outside and then caught her arm before he let her exit. "You don't sense him?"

She shook her head. "No."

Once outside, the night air feathered across her skin, raising gooseflesh and cooling her rising passion. Selene wrapped her arms around herself, as the city that had been her home and sanctuary felt less welcoming and safe.

Gryph's warm hand on the small of her back chased away some of her hesitation and she let him guide her to his SUV.

Once settled in the passenger seat, she expected him to take her to the suburbs. Instead he drove her to GL Enterprises' corporate headquarters.

"You grew up in your headquarters building?"

He shook his head, his lips thinning. "Not hardly." But he didn't give her more than that. After parking in his secure access parking place in the underground garage, he led her into the building and into an elevator that required an access card and his thumbprint to open the door. They were whisked downward, into the basement, the air growing cooler the lower they descended.

Again, she wrapped her arms around herself to ward off the chill and Gryph didn't offer to wrap her in his warm embrace.

He stood beside her, but he might as well have been somewhere else. The lower they went the colder, more distant and unapproachable he became.

"Why are we going into the basement of your building? I don't get it."

"You will, soon enough." His tone was flat, emotionless.

Selene waited for the elevator to come to a stop and the doors to open. When they did, she expected to see the inner workings of what it took to keep a huge building operational, from pipes and electrical equipment to plumbing and air ducts.

What greeted her was white marble floors, opulent decor and artwork worthy of a museum, in an open, well-lit foyer to what appeared to be a spacious apartment.

"Do you live here?" Selene asked.

He nodded. "This is my home."

She walked out of the elevator onto the smooth marble, her footsteps echoing against the walls. "And you grew up here?"

"No." He hooked her elbow and led her through the foyer, down a long hallway, past a sitting room, a library and a dining room to the back of the apartment and a room equipped with commercial-grade, exercise and weight-training equipment.

Gryph slid a hand across what appeared to be a poster of a world-famous boxer. The poster shifted to the side, revealing a panel beneath with a keypad and retinal scanner. He leaned forward, lining up his eye with the scanner. A beam of light fanned out over his eye, then a soft click sounded, motors engaged and a door slid open, revealing a spiral staircase leading even deeper into the bowels of Chicago.

When Gryph turned toward her, Selene shivered and stepped backward. He held out his hand. "Come with me."

She shook her head. "The only place I know lower than the basement of a Chicago building is the tunnels beneath the city. Been there, didn't like what I found."

"You want to see where I grew up?"

She nodded, bracing herself for what he was about to say, knowing it before the words left his lips.

"I grew up in the tunnels."

"Blessed be." Selene pressed a hand to her chest.

Gryph's hand fell to his side. "I take it you're familiar with the tunnels?"

She nodded. "My sisters and I had an...altercation with a very dangerous...opponent in the tunnels not long ago. We almost lost Aurai to it."

Raising his hand again, he gave her a half smile. "Must have been in one of the lesser-used tunnels. Let me show you mine."

His gaze begged for her trust.

Selene placed her hand in his.

Gryph grabbed a flashlight from a recharger that was plugged into the wall and switched on the beam, the light barely penetrating the inky blackness below. Then he led the way down the long, winding spiral steps. By the time they reached the bottom, Selene was disoriented and dizzy. Like the tunnels beneath Aurai's college in another part of the city, the rails were rusted and dusty, abandoned equipment lay scattered along the way.

"You lived down here?" Appalled at the desolation, darkness and creepy atmosphere, her heart went out to the young Gryph.

"Not right here, but close." With his fingers wrapped around hers, he stepped over the rails and led her through the maze of tunnels, turning left, then right and back to the left. Just when she thought she couldn't get more confused, soft lights appeared high on the walls, sending a golden glow down over the tracks.

Ahead, beneath one of the bulbs lay a stack of cardboard boxes and a bundle of rags, leaning against a wall.

Gryph stopped in front of the rags. "Good evening, Joe."

The rags shifted and a face, tortured by burns, peered up out of them—one eye seemed almost fused shut by scar tissue.

Selene pressed a hand to her mouth to keep from crying out.

"Gryph, what brings you back to the Lair so soon?" Joe said, his voice coarse and scratchy.

"I came to speak with Balthazar," Gryph said.

The old man nodded, his gaze shifting to Selene, who'd been standing in Gryph's shadow. When the man saw her, he ducked his head and pulled the ragged blanket up around his mutilated face.

Gryph ignored his withdrawal and pulled Selene into the light. "This is Selene."

"A surface dweller." The man spat at the floor by Selene's feet. "What's she doing down here? You know the danger."

"I know," Gryph said quietly. "Let's just say she's special. Not like the rest."

The man's head came halfway up, his brows rising. "Like us?"

Gryph nodded. "Like us."

Joe stared at Selene.

Selene wanted him to feel safe with her and projected that thought toward the man.

Joe's eyes narrowed and his brow furrowed toward the bridge of his nose. Slowly, his head dipped in a nod. "Yup. She's special all right. But watch her. We don't want folks followin' her down here."

"I promise to keep your home a secret, Mr....Joe." Selene held out her hand.

Joe thrust out his right arm. Where his right hand should have been was now a scarred stump. Immediately, he yanked it back and held out his normal, left hand.

Selene took it and squeezed his fingers. "Nice to meet you."

He grunted, but squeezed her fingers.

Gryph urged her to continue down the tunnel toward a light at the end.

A soft tapping sounded behind her, and Selene turned.

Joe used a stick to tap against a metal pipe. He seemed to be tapping a pattern.

Selene wondered if it was Morse code and, if so, who would he be sending it to down here? She shrugged and pushed to stay up with Gryph's longer strides.

As they reached the end of the tunnel, the underground opened into a cavern-like room, where rails crossed, switched and multiplied, disappearing into other dark tunnels. Bulbs cast a soft, warm light from the ceiling down onto the tracks and box-like structures against the walls. Some walls had doors built into them that were painted in bright, cheerful colors.

The box structures were made of plywood, also painted, but with flowers lining the bases like so many gardens with daisies and roses in bloom.

"What is this place?" Selene asked in a hushed whisper. "It's beautiful."

Giggles erupted from a shadowy corner.

Selene spun to face a battered, small railcar, standing against one wall, abandoned decades ago. "Did you hear that?" she whispered.

Gryph chuckled. "It's just the fairies who inhabit the underworld. Pay them no mind." He winked at Selene, let go of her hand and walked lightly toward the railcar. When he got close enough, he dove behind the heavy metal cars and came up with his hands clutching the scruffs of two children's necks. "It's not nice to spy on people," he admonished the two. "And why are you two up so late?"

"Mrs. Martin said we could stay up, since we did so well at our studies this week."

"Well, then come say hello." He turned the children toward Selene.

"What..." Selene clamped down on her tongue to keep from blurting out inane questions of the two catlike creatures who giggled like normal children and struggled half-heartedly to get loose of his grip.

"Let us down, Gryph," the little girl pleaded.

Gryph frowned mightily. "Not unless you promise to greet our guest politely."

"I promise," the girl agreed.

"Being polite is for sissies," the little boy grumbled.

"Nevertheless, you will greet her, and make it nice." Gryph's voice was stern, but gentle. Not until he set the two kids on their feet in front of Selene did she get a good look at the pair.

Both looked almost normal. The girl wore a worn pink dress and had long golden blond hair flowing in wavy locks down her back. The boy's hair was shaggy, hanging in his golden eyes. Each had two arms, two legs and two ears. But that's where normal ended. The children were uniformly covered in short, fine hairs, like the sleek pelt of a cat. Two beautiful, tawny cats.