“I am tired.” She settled against him, trying to read into his mind. She couldn’t hear his thoughts, could only feel his emotions or see flashes of images. They weren’t malevolent so much as hot and lusty, sparking an answering heat deep in her core. “I shouldn’t.” Her hand rested on his chest.

His muscles hardened, his skin stretching tight. “You should sleep,” he whispered.

Ha! Sleep was the furthest from her mind as she lay almost naked against this ruggedly powerful and mysterious man. The longer she lay there, the more she wondered what it would feel like to press her lips to his skin.

An image of lips brushing the top of her head was followed by a featherlight stirring at her temple. Selene’s breath caught in her chest.

Her heart tripped over itself then thundered against her ribs. She shifted until she faced him, staring up into his eyes. “Did you kiss me?” she asked, her voice little more than air.

His mouth quirked upward. “Had I really kissed you, you would know.”

Every logical thought in her head screamed for her to get up, get dressed and throw this man out of her apartment. But logic didn’t rule when it came to Gryph. Her heart had firm control and was moving forward, the momentum sweeping her with it.

Bolder than she’d ever been in her life, she leaned up until her mouth hovered over his. “Then kiss me so that I’ll know.”

He chuckled, the mirth dying as his gaze claimed hers and his head rose to close the distance between them. His hand wrapped around her hair and pressed her into him and he claimed her lips, his mouth slanting against hers, his tongue snaking out to dart between her teeth, sliding the length of hers, the surface coarse, sensual, enticing.

Selene slipped her hand behind his head, her fingers threading through the longish, thick, golden mane, tangling and tugging, to get closer still. Half lying on his good side, she inhaled the musky scent of male and something more primal. Her body ignited, her skin on fire from breast to thigh where it met his. Her center tightened, her channel growing slick.

A low purr rumbled in his chest and his hand flexed and skimmed across the small of her back to cup the curve of her buttocks. His fingers massaged the flesh, sliding into her panties and between the seam of her thighs, finding her entrance.

Her insides clenched, a wash of liquid dampening the path as he pressed his finger inside her.

Her mouth consumed his, she sucked his bottom lip between her teeth and moaned as he swirled the digit inside her.

Selene let go of his lip and arched her back, her head tipping back as she basked in the rush of sensations shooting fire through her veins.

Gryph raised his injured shoulder and cried out. “Damn!”

Yanked back to reality, Selene slid off him and stood in her bra, then adjusted her panties, her eyes wide. “That shouldn’t have happened.”

The man in her bed nodded, his hand pressing gently against the bandage over his shoulder. “You’re right. I’d be taking advantage of the situation.”

“You? You’re the injured party.” Selene grabbed a short champagne-colored silk robe and jammed her arms into the sleeves, pulling the edges closed around her. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me.” She grabbed the washbasin and rag and rushed from the bedroom into her little kitchen, where she stood with her back to the open door, her body trembling. Not from fear, but from coming so close to making love with a stranger, and then pulling back. She still wanted him and—damn it—he was injured, practically a prisoner in her bed until he could get around on his own.

Selene sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly. She had to get a grip, go back in there and dress his wound. The sooner he was well, the sooner he’d be out of her bed, her apartment and her life.

As she filled the basin with fresh, clean water, mixed more of the magical poultice and grabbed another clean cloth, she squared her shoulders and called herself a fool for falling into bed with a stranger.

With her mental pep talk fresh on her mind, she entered her bedroom.

Gryph lay on the bed, the sheet covering all the right places but it was tented.

By the goddess.

Selene nearly dropped the basin. Her hands shook so badly and her body burned, craving to be beneath the sheet sporting the evidence of his desire.

“You don’t have to do this,” he said.

“If I don’t, your wound will get infected and you could die.”

“So?” he said. “You don’t owe me anything.”

“I owe you human kindness. I’d take care of anyone injured as badly as you.”

“Anyone,” he said softly. “Selene, what happened a moment ago—”

“Don’t.” She set the basin on the nightstand. “Let’s forget it ever did.”

“Problem is...I can’t.” He nodded toward the tented sheet.

“You can and will.” She refused to glance at his groin, focusing on the injured shoulder. “It should never have happened.”

“Because I’m different?”

“No, because I am.”

He frowned and opened his mouth to say something else, but the cell phone in the kitchen rang, saving Selene from further argument. She didn’t want to explain why she was different. How would any man like to know she could read his thoughts? What if she could project her thoughts? What if all of Gryph’s desire could be a manifestation of what Selene was feeling? Her gift was being able to connect to other’s minds. A telepathy of emotions and images.

She ran from the room and grabbed her cell phone.

“We need you at the hospital,” Deme said without preamble.

“Why?”

“The victim is awake and we don’t know for how long. Hurry.”

“I can’t leave right now.”

“Brigid is already on her way. She should be there to pick you up in less than two minutes.” Her sister sighed. “I don’t like you being alone in that apartment with that man.”

“I’m fine.” Selene’s gaze shifted to Gryph. “He’s not going to hurt me.”

“We’ll know more as soon as the woman can tell us. We need you here for that, in case she can’t speak.”

“But—”

“Come, or I’ll tell Brigid about your guest.”

Her hand clenched around the phone. Her sister wouldn’t understand Selene’s trust in a stranger. And for that matter, Brigid was more likely to throw a fireball first, ask questions later. With the threat of letting Brigid in on her rescue, Selene had no choice. “Fine. I’ll come.”

Selene clicked the phone off and scooted back to her bedroom, grabbing her jeans from the floor. “I have to go.”

“When will you be back?”

“I don’t know.” She jammed her legs into her jeans and pulled them up over her hips. Her hands hesitated on the robe. “You won’t go anywhere, will you? You’re not healed enough.”

His gaze met hers, the heat of those golden eyes warming her body all over again. He gave a brief nod. “I’ll stay until I’m better.”

Selene dropped the robe, without breaking visual contact.

His golden eyes flared, his lips tightened and a low, rumbling purr rose from his chest.

Then she pulled a T-shirt over her head. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

Chapter 4

“I don’t know why I had to come.” Selene couldn’t help worrying about the stranger she was forced to leave behind in the bed, back in her apartment. Alone, injured and sexy as hell.

“I’m sure Deme had good reason. Probably because you can read minds better than any of us.” Brigid parked her Harley in the visitors parking area outside the emergency room and kicked the stand down to hold up the big machine.

Selene climbed off, pulling the helmet over her head.

In her biker leathers and with her badass attitude, Brigid was hard enough to stand up against. To keep Brigid from asking questions or entering her apartment, Selene left without inviting her sister in, claiming they’d better hurry. Her Chicago police special detective sister didn’t need to know about the man. She’d go ballistic, possibly even fling a fireball or two, if she even knew Selene had him in her apartment.

In the dark hours just before dawn, Selene and Brigid slipped in through the emergency entrance to the hospital. They headed straight for the elevators and the ICU floor where the injured woman was being cared for.

As they rode up in the elevator, Selene let her guard down and stretched her thoughts out, gathering in emotions, thoughts and fears of the people in the hospital. Most were asleep, some dreaming, some having nightmares. Those who lay awake in their beds worried about their loved ones or whether they would live to see another day.

The overall feeling was one of worry and sadness, with one exception. A dark malevolence slithered through Selene’s thoughts, skimming at the edges, slipping in and out like a thief. One moment the darkness took shape, the next it pushed her away, making her head hurt with the pressure.

A hand on her elbow made her open her eyes.

Brigid stared at her, her brows furrowed. “Are you all right?”

Selene hadn’t realized she’d closed her eyes. Nor had she realized the elevator door had opened onto the ICU floor. She blinked and forced a smile. “Yeah.” Then she stepped out onto the highly polished tiles, rolling the strain from her shoulders. Surely she’d imagined the darkness. “Let’s get this over with.” That way she could get out of this hospital and back to the man called Gryph, lying semiconscious in her bed.

As she rounded the corner of the elevator bank, Selene saw Deme and Cal, Deme’s fiancé, standing at the nurses’ station, consulting with a doctor.

Deme looked up, the strain in her face easing slightly when she recognized Selene and Brigid. “I’m glad you came.” She introduced them to the doctor, who immediately excused himself, leaving the four of them standing beside the nurses’ station. Deme tipped her head to the right. “Let’s go somewhere we can talk. I could use some coffee.” She led them back to the elevator and down to the cafeteria that remained open 24/7.

“Was the woman able to identify her attacker?” Brigid asked.

“The victim’s name is Amanda Grant,” Cal said.

Selene leaned forward, her breath lodged in her chest. “What did she say?”

Deme’s gaze connected with hers and she continued without looking away. “We had a sketch artist draw from her description. Show her what we got, Cal.”

Cal Black, the tall, handsome Chicago police officer, pulled a white page from the folder he held and handed it to Brigid. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“Me, either,” Deme said, her gaze fixed firmly on Selene.

Brigid whistled. “What is it?”

Selene leaned over, her heart beating so fast, it pounded against her eardrums. When the page came into view, she gasped.

Lion eyes stared out at her, and a full mane of hair encircled a half human, half lion face. The same face she’d seen when Gryph had suffered severe pain and changed into something she’d never encountered before. Selene swallowed the lump in her throat. “Miss Grant said this was her attacker?”

Deme nodded. “About that time she passed out. She’s been unconscious since. The police chief has a copy of this and will be circulating it to the press.”

That dark spirit flitted through Selene’s thoughts again and she winced, pressing her fingers to her temples.

“Are you okay?” Deme leaned forward and grabbed Selene’s wrist. “What the hell?” She stared down at where her fingers touched Selene’s skin. “Where did you get these bruises?”

Selene pulled her hand free. “Must have hit my arm against my stair rail.”

“Like hell you did.” Deme reached out and pulled her close to study the marks. “He did it, didn’t he?”

“He who?” Brigid closed the gap between them and took Selene’s hand from Deme. “Who did this?”

“No one.” Selene glared at Deme, wishing she’d shut up and left Brigid out of it.

“Selene and I found a man down by the river and took him to her apartment,” Deme announced. “Against my better judgment.”

“He was injured.” Selene tried to pull her hand free form Brigid’s grip. “I only wanted to help.”

“And a hospital wasn’t good enough for him?” Brigid snorted and let Selene have her hand back. She stood with her arms crossed over her chest. “What am I missing here?”

“Yeah. What are we missing?” Gina, followed by Aurai, stepped into the cafeteria. Now all of her sisters were here. “The nurses’ station said we could find you here.”

Selene stared across at Deme. “You called everyone?”

“I got the feeling this was something that could potentially involve all of us.”

“It doesn’t. It only involves me.” She spun around and paced away from her sisters, turned and marched back. “I only needed assistance getting him into my apartment, or I wouldn’t have asked for your help.”

“Thanks.” Deme’s lips twisted. “I thought we were sisters. Aren’t you the one always preaching that we shouldn’t keep secrets from each other?” she demanded. “What is it about this man that has you ready to lie by omission to your family?”

With her four sisters staring at her accusingly, Selene had no other choice but to tell the truth. “He’s different.”

Brigid shook the paper with the sketch at Selene. “Just how different?”

“He...” She shook her head, the dark, painful consciousness stabbed through her mind, closer this time. Selene gasped, clutched her head in her hands and doubled over.

“Selene?” Deme grabbed her arms and helped her straighten. “What’s wrong?”

“Something dark...” She pressed fingers to her temple to stop the pain. “Evil.”

“Where? At your apartment?”

“No.” She looked up, her gaze turning toward the hallway outside the cafeteria. “Here.”

“Here? Something evil in the hospital?”

Selene staggered toward the door. “Amanda...must get to her.” Without waiting for an answer, she ran to the elevator, stabbed at the button and then waited, her hands twisting together as the elevator made its slow descent to the cafeteria, every second stretching excruciatingly. When the doors finally opened, Selene fell in and jabbed the button for the floor where the ICU was located. Cal jumped in with Deme, Brigid, Aurai and Gina close behind before the doors closed.

“Hurry,” Selene whispered as the elevator whisked upward.

“What is it? What do you sense?” Deme asked.

“Amanda’s in trouble.” The elevator door opened and Selene darted out.

“Selene!” Cal called out. “Wait. Let me go first. It might be dangerous.”

Selene couldn’t hear him for the roaring in her ears, the pounding of her heart nearly beat out of her chest. The pain throbbed with so much intensity that her breathing grew shallow and she couldn’t get enough air into her lungs. She dropped to her knees, clutching at her throat.

“Selene.” Cal reached her first.

She pushed him away, pointing to a hallway, unable to push any air past her vocal cords because she couldn’t get air into her lungs. When he wouldn’t go, she pushed him again.

Brigid squatted in front of her. “What is it, Selene?”

She pushed her away, too, her vision dimming, her head getting light. “Amanda—”

Brigid’s eyes widened and she sprang to her feet. “Something’s happening to Amanda.”

“I’ll stay with Selene, you guys go!” Aurai dropped to the tiled floor with Selene and slipped an arm around her sister. “Breathe, Selene. You can do it. Please. Pull yourself out of Amanda and come back to me.” Aurai turned Selene’s face to her. “Look at me.”

Selene stared into her sister’s pale blue eyes. The overhead lights glowed off her bright gold hair, almost blinding her with the intensity. A light, a bright light to follow, to drift toward.

“Selene!” Aurai shook her head. “Snap out of it.” She raised her hand and slapped Selene across the face.

The contact brought Selene back from the light, back to the cool hard tiles of the hospital floor. She stared into her sister’s eyes, seeing her for the first time, kneeling on the ground beside her.

Selene gasped in a huge breath and let it out, her breathing returning to normal, her vision clearing. Then the malevolent presence wavered in her mind, making her jaw tighten and her temple ache. “He’s getting away.” She lurched to her feet, holding on to Aurai.

“Who’s getting away?”

“The one who attacked Amanda.” Selene stumbled down a hallway toward a stairwell.

“You can’t go after him, Selene.” Aurai grabbed her arm and held her back.

Cal ran out of an ICU room shouting, “Get a crash cart in here!” Gina, Deme and Brigid joined him.

Critical-care nurses raced for the woman’s room and for the equipment necessary to save her life.

Selene and Aurai ran to join the others in the hallway, staying well out of the way. “What happened?”

Deme shook her head. “Someone smothered Amanda.”

Selene pointed to the stairwell. “He went down the stairwell.”

Cal ran for the stairwell and shouted over his shoulder, “Deme, call Security, get them to block the exits.”

“I’m coming with you,” she said.

“I’ll make that call.” Aurai ran for the nurses’ station.

“I’ll take the elevator down.” Brigid ran in the opposite direction.

Selene started to follow Cal and Deme, but Aurai yelled at her. “No, Selene. Go with Brigid. You’re not strong enough yet.” She pointed toward the elevator where Brigid waited. The bell rang, announcing the car’s arrival, and Brigid stepped in.

Selene dove for the elevator, catching it as the doors closed.

When she turned, she saw Aurai talking on the telephone, a frown denting her smooth young forehead.

The sense of evil was fading, the tightness easing in Selene’s head. “He’s getting away.”

“Not if I have anything to say about it,” Brigid said through clenched teeth.

Thankfully, the elevator went all the way down without stopping on even one floor. Whether it was because Selene was willing away anyone who dared to touch the buttons or just luck, she didn’t know or care. The main thing was to get to ground level before the killer.

The bell rang, the door opened and Brigid leaped out. Selene followed more slowly. She closed her eyes and felt for the presence. Her senses only picked up on the worry and sadness surrounding the hospital. The evil had gone away...vanished.

“Brigid!” Selene called out as her sister hit the exit door.

Brigid came to a sudden halt and looked back over her shoulder.

Selene shook her head. “He’s gone.”

Deme and Cal emerged from the stairwell, breathing hard. They stopped in the emergency room lobby, staring across at Selene.

She shook her head. “We’re too late.”

Brigid cursed. “Well, I’m going out to look anyway.”

“I don’t even feel him anywhere close. It’s as though he dropped off the face of the earth, his presence disappeared so quickly.”

Aurai emerged from the bank of elevators and ran across the lobby to join her sisters. “We missed him?”

Deme nodded.

“Damn.” Brigid punched a fist into her palm. Then she turned toward Selene, her eyes blazing. “The man you took to your apartment, did you lead him here?”

Selene shook her head, her stomach knotting. “He didn’t do this.”

“Are you sure?” Brigid crossed to stand in front of Selene, anger flowing from every pore of her body, her very presence heating the air around them all.

The anger surrounded Selene, filling her senses. She staggered backward. “I’m sure. He didn’t do this.”

“What about the picture? The one Amanda had drawn before she was murdered.” Brigid’s lip curled up in a snarl. “Was your guy the one in the picture?”

Selene stared out at the faces of her sisters, all waiting for her answer, all wearing accusing expressions. She couldn’t lie to them, but if she answered, she’d damn the man in her apartment. She inhaled and let the breath out before she said, “Yes.”

“What do you want to bet when we get back to your apartment, your guest is gone?” Brigid punched out of the hospital, running toward her Harley.

Selene had to sprint to catch up to Brigid or be left behind. She prayed the man was still lying in her bed. Then at least it would prove he wasn’t the man who’d attacked Amanda Grant and returned to finish the job.

* * *

Gryph’s eyes fluttered open. It took him a few moments to comprehend that the puffs of clouds and blue skies were nothing more than a mural painted on the ceiling of the room he found himself in. Stars were tacked amongst the clouds in an odd day-night combination. The soft bed and sweet-scented air contrasted sharply to the musty dampness of the underground he’d grown up in. He sat up, wincing at the soreness in his shoulder.

He must have dozed off or passed out after Selene left. Over an hour had passed, his shoulder already felt better, and his vision had cleared. One of the benefits of being a shifter was that once the injuries had been addressed his body regenerated quickly. He rose, wrapping one of the sheets around his middle, and paced the interior of the tiny two-room apartment, his strength returning with every step, even as the walls closed in around him.

Light, colorful fabrics draped the windows. The furniture, a scattered array of mix-and-match items, most likely found at yard sales, appeared lovingly restored with new fabric and accessorized with bright throw pillows and blankets. Every color in the rainbow was represented, none appearing out of place, as if they all worked to get along in the close confines of the interior.

In the living area, a rich red overstuffed sofa took up most of the space. On a coffee table in front of the sofa stood a candleholder in the shape of a pentagram, each point holding a small tea candle whose wicks had been burned at some point in time. Facing the sofa was an old-fashioned gas fireplace set against one wall and surrounded by a bright mosaic of tiles, adding even more color to the room. Over the fireplace hung a large filigreed pentagram, encased in a circle. Fine images inscribed in the design of each point of the pentagram represented spirit, air, fire, earth and water.

On the wooden mantel stood a photograph of five women, one of whom was Selene with her rich brown hair. Another was the red-haired woman he vaguely remembered, who’d helped get him into the basement apartment. The women held hands as they faced the camera and smiled. Clearly they cared about each other. Sisters, if not biologically, then by their strong connection to each other.

Despite being at the bottom of the stairs and in the basement of an older building with only a couple of windows filtering sunlight into the room, the space breathed of warmth and comfort—what Gryph had always thought a home should be. The atmosphere filled Gryph with a sense of longing he hadn’t experienced since he’d been a small child, and was led to the surface at nightfall to experience a sunset so grand and beautiful he’d cried.

Gryph shook off the feeling of home and spied a small television settled on a corner of the breakfast bar between the kitchen and the living area. He switched it to the local news station and rolled his sore shoulder, gritting his teeth at the pain.

A newswoman stood in front of the Chicago trauma-and-critical-care hospital, the wind whipping her hair into her face as she gave her late-breaking report of an attack on the streets of Chicago.

“A young woman was brought to the hospital late last night after being brutally attacked and left to die when leaving the theater in downtown Chicago. Admitted to the trauma center, she only had minutes to speak to the police before she was taken into surgery. A forensic artist was able to compile a rough sketch of her attacker before the surgeon arrived. Just to let you know, the woman made it through surgery and is now in recovery, expected to live. Whether she’ll walk again remains in question.

“Folks, as crazy as it appears, were posting the image of her attacker. The police department isn’t quite sure what to make of it, and neither am I, but if you see anything like it, call 911 and report the location and time of the sighting. If such an animal is loose in the city, the sooner we capture or kill it, the safer we all will be.”

A drawing replaced the images of the reporter and the hospital.

Gryph’s heart thudded against his ribs as he stared at a crude drawing of a lion’s head with a man’s face. It was him.

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Possessing the Witch

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