The Mating Project (10 page)

Silas
had to smile at Maria's wide eyed expression, and he pulled her to him and
kissed her. This right now felt so right, like coming home, and she felt it,
too. It was there in her sigh of submission, the rumble of her cat, and the way
she clung to him and kissed him back with all the passion she was capable of.
When they broke the kiss they clung to each other, and Silas rested his
forehead on hers to get his bearings back.

"This
is all moving incredibly fast, baby, but I don't want to stop this … us."

"I
don't want that either," Maria said.

"Good,
then you'll stay the night and let me pamper you a bit."

"I'd
love that, but I need to get my work clothes from the car. I've got work in the
morning." Maria whispered the words, and Silas kissed her nose.

"You
mean you don’t wear that killer outfit to the zoo?" he asked.

"No,
that was just for your benefit. I dress rather more conservatively for the
zoo."

That
thought sent a warm glow through Silas's veins, and he kissed the top of her
nose.

"Good,
well,
then
let me get those conservative clothes. You
soak in the bath, while I do that. We'll need to move your car anyway. Give me
your keys, and I'll park it in our private car park."

Silas's
smile deepened as she pulled away and frowned at him, before the most impish
smile appeared on her face.

"I
couldn’t do that. Surely that's going against all of your principles, driving a
car?"

"So
is getting involved with a shifter and actually caring about your whole sorry
council business, so sue me."

Maria
laughed and didn’t stop him when he grabbed the keys off the side board she'd
put them on when she came in.

"Bath
is at the end of the hall. Make yourself at home. I'll be back soon."

Silas
got her sigh of happiness loud and clear in his head, and it started an echoing
bubble of happy in his heart. He grabbed a jumper off the coat rack, pulled it
over his head, stepped into his shoes, and slammed the front door shut behind
him. The sooner he got her car back here, the sooner he could join her in the
bath. That thought made him even harder, and he smirked at his predicament as
he fell into a jog. It was damned hard to run with a boner the size of the
Eiffel Tower.

****

The
slam of the front door echoed in Maria's ears, and she hugged his shirt to her
body. He'd barely left, and she missed him already. This was insane. A blast of
his scent wafted in through the open window, and Maria stepped up to it just in
time to appreciate the view of his denim clad ass jogging away at high speed.

Mine.

Her
cougar's possessive growl matched her own thought processes, and she grinned.
Despite the shit-load of trouble this mating would land her in, she was
deliriously happy. The faint buzzing coming from her handbag made her frown.
She'd forgotten she'd turned her phone to silent. The message from her sister-in-law,
attaching the most adorable picture of the triplets made her grin.
A smile that evaporated fast, when she listened to her voice mail
messages.

There
was one from Cole Jackson himself, asking her to get in touch with him, once
she'd spoken to Professor Deacon, and even over the phone the bear shifter's
deep growl sent a shiver down her spine. There was no mistaking the aura of
authority the man exuded.

You
simply did not argue with Jackson. As one of the rare originals sitting on the
council he was akin to royalty in their circles. The fact that he, too, had
chosen to mate with a human, gave Maria hope that things would work out okay
for her. Mind you, she was a mere pure blood and a female to boot.

She
pushed the disturbing thoughts away, only for the message from her mother to
turn those thoughts into a vise sitting on her chest.

Maria,
where are you? I've been trying to ring you for ages. I've come up with the
perfect plan to celebrate the birth of the triplets. We'll have a shifter
gathering. Your dad is all for the idea, and Anton has given it the council's
blessings. You'll be there, of course, and I expect Anton has something to say
to you. It really is time this mating thing was settled.

Maria's
beast growled, and she fought the shivers taking over her body and switched the
phone off. She really didn’t want to speak to anyone. For the first time in a
long time she was happy, damn it, truly happy, and no one was going to take
that away from her.

Silas
would be back soon and he'd told her to run a bath, so that was exactly what
she was going to do. The bathroom was easy enough to find at the bottom of the
long hallway, just like Silas had said. There were two more doors leading off
the passage way, and she smiled when she stuck her head round one and saw his
bedroom. His scent was everywhere, calming her agitated beast, and she had to
giggle at the organized chaos that was her Professor's private domain.

Just
like in his office, and the living room, books were everywhere. The bookcases
in the living room were crammed full, and even here there was a large bookcase
taking up one entire wall. More piles of books and magazines were stacked in
neat order in front of it, together with tons of hand written notes in Silas's
big, bold writing.

The
large bed held satin sheets, which made her
grin
deepen. Silas liked his creature comforts, it seemed, and the little luxuries
in life.

A
stack of weights in one corner next to the window completed the bachelor pad
look.

The
door opposite to his called her. Unlike the other doors this was one was shut,
and she got the oddest sensation when she put her hand on the handle. Her
cougar's fur rose, and Maria hastily pulled her hand away. Really, what was she
doing?

He
might be her mate, but that didn't give her the right to snoop around behind
shut doors. Still, that room called her, and she rubbed the gooseflesh off her
bare arms. What she needed was a hot bath, and the old fashioned claw footed
bath tub she spotted in Silas's bathroom called to her, too.

His
bathroom was simply delightful. The bath took center place with its big chrome
taps and an equally big shower attachment. A dolphin shower curtain surrounded
the bathtub, and Maria had to smile at the mental image of Silas cocooned
behind that blue concoction. A collection of seashells sat on the window ledge,
and big fluffy towels warmed on the towel rail.

She
whistled through her teeth at the myriad of bath salts and bubble baths, and
having played
e
eenie
,
miney
,
moe
eventually settled
on a mineral one that promised rejuvenation.

Minutes
later she sank into the fragrant bubbles with
a mewl
of appreciation and let her eyes drift shut. She must have fallen asleep,
because the first she knew of Silas's return was when he lifted her and slid
into the bath tub behind her.

"You
don't mind, do you, Maria?" His deep baritone next to her ear sent
delightful shivers of anticipation down her spine. He lifted her damp hair off
her neck and nuzzled into her. Puffs of his hot and minty breath teased her
senses, and Maria exhaled and let her body go limp. For the longest time they
simply sat in silence, until finally Silas ran a sponge up and down Maria's
arms, and then over her breasts. He lingered on her painfully erect nipples,
and his hard cock pressed into her lower back with renewed urgency when she
couldn't hold back her cat's purr.

"Do
you have any idea how fucking sexy you are when you do that?" he asked in
between delivering little bites along her shoulder, and Maria squirmed as her
pussy clenched in remembered pleasure. She could listen to that deep drawl of
his all day, and it got her wet in record time.

She
turned slightly to see his face, and the heavy lidded way in which he studied
her left her in no doubt that he meant what he said.

She
allowed a bigger purr to escape, and he fisted his hand in her hair and tugged
her head round to enable him to kiss her.

The
world narrowed like it always did when he touched her, and her heart turned
into a jack hammer at the possessive way he handled her. As though it was his God-given
right, and of course it was. There wasn't anything Maria would deny him, not
when the heaviness of her arousal buzzed through her veins, and she could sense
his own need as acutely as her own.

When
he released her with a nip to her bottom lip hard enough to draw spots of
blood, Maria tried to close the distance, to prolong the kiss, but he was
having none of it.

His
raw masculinity and sheer dominance spoke to her inner animal, and her cougar
bowed her head in silent submission. Maria dropped her gaze to his lips, and
she licked her own, making him groan.

"It
freaks most humans out."

"Then
they're fucking idiots, and I'm not most humans." The odd note to his
voice made her smile. It was almost as though he was jealous. Sure enough his
next words confirmed that suspicion. "And have there been many?
Humans that is?"

"Is
that
your
not so subtle way of asking me how many
lovers I've had?" she asked, and Silas tensed around her. She risked a
peep up at his face, and the intense way in which he studied her took her
breath away.

"Maybe
I am. Not that it makes an iota of difference to us, but—"

"I've
had many, Silas." Maria interrupted him, and he blinked in surprise,
resignation, she wasn't quite sure. "I almost lost my life ten years ago,
met my mate, and was promptly abandoned, so I made sure I had fun, you
know?"

His
expression darkened, but he nodded in understanding.

Forgive
me, little cat. I'm a jealous ass, that's all.

As
I am of you, so perhaps we should just draw a line under our past and just
concentrate on now?

Silas
smiled and nodded, and they sat grinning at each other like sappy fools.

"Besides
I've always had an unwanted mating hanging over my head, and I was going to
make darn sure I took my pleasure before that happened."

Chapter Eight

Silas
really didn't like the sound of that, and he grunted his disgust.

"At
the risk of sounding like a male chauvinistic asshole for saying this, no one
is going to force any mating on you now. You're mine, dammit."

The
force of his feelings and the truth behind that statement made his gut clench,
and he crunched his teeth at the rush of possessiveness. No one was going to
lay a hand on his little cat. Shifter council or not, he'd tear them limb from
fucking limb first, before he allowed that to happen.

"That
wouldn't be a wise move, Silas. You're stronger thanks to our bond, but you're
no match for a shifter." Bile rose in his throat at Maria's whispered
reply. "Besides, I would never forgive myself if something happened to
you, because of your involvement with me. I'm a big girl. I can handle this.
This isn't your problem, and I don't want you anywhere near the council."

"Well,
that will taking on the job they've offered me
kinda
hard to do, wouldn’t you say?"

Maria
looked as surprised as he felt for voicing that out loud. Now where had that
thought come from?

"You're
going to take the job?" she asked.
"Really?"
Her palpable excitement was infectious, and it burst a bubble of happiness in
his chest. "Your expertise will make such a difference, but … you were so
set against it all. Why have you changed your mind?"

Silas
had to smile at her beast's growl that came through in her voice. The animal
seemed as agitated as her human half, and that gave him a warm glow inside.

"I
haven't accepted the job yet, but I'm willing to listen to what your Cole
Jackson has to say. As long as I don't have to deal with De Souza, we'll be
good I reckon."

He
didn't miss the shiver that went through Maria at the mention of
that
name, and he pulled her back
against his chest and wrapped his legs around hers, effectively imprisoning her
in his hold. The action had the desired effect. Maria sighed and relaxed
against him.

"Besides,
being mated to this blonde bombshell cougar
kinda
means a man wants to know what the future holds. For all I know, she might turn
into a hormonal bitch at that time of the month, shift and ruin a man's
décor."

"Watch
it, human. I could eat you for breakfast."

"I
was rather hoping you would. After all, this state I'm in is
all
your
fault."

He
rubbed his throbbing dick into her ass cheeks and winced when Maria allowed her
claws to run out. She leapt out of the bath like the agile cat she was, and his
balls drew tight at the alluring vision of a wet and naked Maria standing in
front of him. The damp tendrils of her hair clung to her full breasts, and she
slowly ran her hands up and down her sides. Rivulets of water caressed her
curves and ran into her bare mound.