The Mating Project (14 page)

"
Bleugh
, lukewarm.
Let's get
another one."

"Oh,
no," Emmi said. "You're not getting out of this so easily.
Spill, Maria, what in hell is going on?
You made it sound
like some sort of dire emergency on the phone, so I drag myself here on my day
off, and then
you
turn up half an hour late, and looking as though
you've been dragged through a hedge backwards." Emmi stopped and gave her
the once over. "And you were wearing those clothes yesterday. I knew it,
you're seeing someone! Who is he?"

Emmi
crossed her arms and glared at her, and Maria squirmed in her seat. Dammit, for
a human the woman was far too perceptive.

"Them,
actually, but you can't tell anyone, promise me, please."

"Two?"
Emmi laughed, and Maria relaxed slightly. There was no censure in that laugh,
slightly annoyed though it was. "What is it with your family and
threesomes?"

Good question
. However, her
situation was miles removed from her brothers’. Anastasia had been welcomed
with open arms. Maria wouldn’t be so lucky, she knew that, and she ground her
teeth together to stop herself from letting her agitation show.

"Promise
me, Emmi, you mustn't tell a soul. Not Anastasia or my brothers and certainly
not Cole.
Promise!"

"Okay,
okay, I promise, but why is
this such
a big deal? It's
not as though your brothers could hold it against you. They're sharing
Anastasia after all, and I'm sure Cole—"

"He
mustn't know, Emmi, you promised. He'd feel honor bound to tell my mum and dad,
and then the proverbial shit would really hit the fan."

Emmi
looked more confused by the minute, and Maria couldn't really blame her. She
was itching to confide in her, but she really couldn't.

"Maria,
you're giving me a headache here. Why would Cole feel the need to tell your
parents anything? He doesn't know them, and besides, you're a grown woman. Who
you choose to fuck is nobody else's business."

Oh,
if only it was that easy. Maria flinched when she realized she was shredding
the paper napkin in front of her into smithereens, and she knew her cougar was
showing in her eyes when she looked at Emmi.

"If
only it was that simple, Emmi. I'm a pure blood cougar. There are rules. Cole
enforces those rules. Trust me, he can't know. No one must know."

Maria
jumped when Emmi grasped her hand and squeezed.

"Okay,
I won't mention a word to him, but I'm utterly confused here. If no one must
know then why are you telling me now?"

"Because
I need your help, Emmi.
Mum has organized this big shifter get-together to
celebrate the safe arrivals of the triplets. Everyone and anyone will be there,
and I know she'll have some cougar shifter lined up for me. As far as Mum is
concerned my finding a mate is long overdue. I'd hoped Jake and Carter finding
their mate and giving her grandbabies would have given me some leeway, but alas
it's just made her worse. Even Dad has started to make noises that I should
settle down, and he's always been on my side, dammit. Jake and Carter are no
help at all, ‘
cause
they'll only have eyes for
Anastasia and the babies, and I need a distraction."

Emmi
put her hand up in a seeming effort to slow Maria down. Sure enough the words
had tumbled out so fast that Maria was out of breath, and she flinched at her
thought processes. At least she thought her dad was still on her side. He loved
her, she knew that, and he was doing what he thought
best
.

"Whoa,
slow down there. Why tell me all this? Surely you don't want me to be the
distraction? Is a human pregnant with a shifter such a novelty?"

Emmi
looked doubtful, and Maria shook her head and sighed.

"No,
not you, but Cole Jackson will be. He's like shifter royalty, Emmi, and if you
were to bring him, no one would care about
lil
’ old
me. Please, Emmi, he'll come if you ask him."

Emmi
shook her head and massaged her temples, as though she was getting a headache.
Maria knew just how she felt. Her own head was thumping, and she had a whole
day of work to get through yet.

"Okay,
back up here, Maria. Cole is what? And do I have to remind you we're not
actually together?"

"Oh,
bullshit," Maria screeched, causing the elderly couple at the next table
to look across at them with a disapproving frown, and Emmi offered them a smile
in apology.

"Keep
your voice down, Maria."

"Well,
it is. You're mated, whether you accept that or not, Emmi, and you're carrying
his baby. His ownership is stamped all over you, for fuck's sake. There is no
way in hell he'd let you attend a party full of shifters without him, so all
you have to say, is that you've been invited by me, and he'll come with you.
It's easy, please, Emmi, and you'd really help a girl out."

Maria
willed Emmi to see her point of view, and when the other woman gave a reluctant
nod she could have kissed her in relief.

"Excellent,
babe, and look at it this way. You'll get an education in the process. These
shifter gatherings can get interesting, and it might just force Cole to tell
you the truth about him."

Emmi
paled, and Maria could have kicked herself for her runaway mouth.

"What
do you
mean,
the truth? Maria, what the fuck? Is he
lying to me?"

Maria
smiled and patted her hand in an effort to reassure her friend.

"No,
Cole Jackson wouldn't lie, especially not to you, but it's clear from your
reactions that he hasn't told you who he really is. It's not for me to tell
you. Ask him, and for goodness’ sakes, make sure he comes to the party. Now, I
don't know about you, but I
need
another coffee and one of those
pastries. You stay right there, sweets, it's my treat. I'll get this
round."

She
didn't wait for Emmi's reply, just jumped up and joined the queue for the
counter. Hopefully this crazy plan would buy her some time until the three of
them could figure out this strange mating they found themselves in.

****

Time
had run out a mere three days later it seemed. Maria had been dismayed to find
Anton de Souza very much in residence at the
family only
meal she'd been roped into. Having to make polite
conversation to a man that made her skin crawl was getting harder by the
minute. She already had to endure raised eyebrows at the amount of body spray
and perfume she had doused herself in. It was overkill for sure, but Maria
hadn't wanted to take any chances on either Silas's or Malachi's scent remaining
on her skin.

As
a result she smelled like a walking perfume factory, and even ever supportive
Anastasia had held a handkerchief to her nose and coughed when Maria had come
too close. Still, it served its purpose in so far that De Souza had kept a
polite distance, even if his silver grey eyes were constantly undressing her.

As
a result Maria had lost her appetite and had drunk far too much. She even
picked at the strawberry gateau, which was her favorite, and jumped when her
mobile rang again.

Dammit,
she'd turned that to silent, hadn't she? Sure enough a quick glance down showed
the caller to be Silas again. Maria had lost count how many messages he'd left
her. The last one had been made by Malachi, using Silas's phone.

You can run, but you can’t hide,
princess. Don’t make me come and chase you. You're making Silas miserable, and
we need to sort this.
One way or the other.

Malachi
was right of course, and she hated the thought of being the cause of trouble
between the men, but, dammit, they couldn’t just expect her to roll over and
let them have their way with her, even if her cat panted her agreement with
this plan. Too much was at stake here, and the female part of her was downright
pissed that neither man had actually sought her out.

Then
again she had told them to leave her alone, but, surely, if they cared about
her, they would just come and get her, right?

In
a fit, she turned her damn phone off and threw it back into her bag with a
frown.

"Really,
Maria, what is the matter with you tonight? Are you feeling quite well, and who
keeps ringing you?"

Maria
flinched at the genuine concern behind her mother's words and wanted the ground
to swallow her up when Anton, of all people, came to her rescue.

"Perhaps
Maria just needs some fresh air. I know I could do with stretching my legs
after all this excellent food you prepared, Judith." Anton could be
charming when he wanted to be, and her mum lapped up the praise.

"What
an excellent idea. Maria you can show Anton the new rose garden we've been
working on. Maria has the most excellent green fingers, hasn't she,
Gunnar?"

Her
father nodded, and while Jake and Carter grimaced at the barely veiled attempt
at throwing Maria and Anton together, the traitors did not intervene. Anastasia
at least threw her a sympathetic glance.

"Yes,
do go with Anton and show him the garden. I know he has plans to install one of
his own, and your mother is right. You look peaky, and the fresh air will do
you good."

Maria
glared at him and bit back the sarcastic comeback bubbling on her tongue. It
wouldn't get her anywhere, and she needed her dad on her side, if she was to
have any chance of having Silas and Malachi accepted as her mates.

Unbidden
Silas's worried voice invaded her mind, and she closed her eyes and shook her
head.

Maria, baby, are you okay? You're
sending some pretty hefty distress signals right now.

I'm fine. Get the fuck out of my head,
Silas.

Then pick up your phone and talk to me,
little cat.

Not
now,
Silas.

"Are
you all right, Maria?"

She
jumped at Anton's voice right next to her ear and forced herself to not snatch
her elbow out his grasp. This close to him her cougar curled in on itself and
hid.
Something that always confused Maria.
The only
other time her animal had done that had been in that god-awful cell. She
suppressed the involuntary shudder that always went through her when those dark
memories invaded her mind, and forced a smile on her face for the benefit of
her family. She could sense the worry coming off them all.

Her
dad in particular seemed most uncomfortable. He might have given his blessing
to Anton to persuade her into mating with him, but he wanted what was best for
her, she knew that. In his eyes, having his only daughter mated to an original
would protect her and give her the status he wanted for her. Too bad Maria had
never cared much for the status quo.

"I'm
fine, thank you." Her reply came out far too
forced
,
and the pressure on her elbow increased enough to leave bruises on her
sensitive skin.

In
her head Silas's worry increased tenfold. She should be annoyed that he was
still probing, and Lord only knew how he did it, considering the man himself
was miles away, but having them here calmed Maria's agitated beast. All she had
to do was get through this walk, keep De Souza at arm's length, and then she
could get out of here.

Sounded
easy enough, but an army of butterflies started a merry dance in her tummy the
minute Anton let go of her arm and helped to pull her chair back. Oh yes, the
perfect gentleman, but her skin still stung where his fingertips had dug into
her arm. However, two could play this game, and Maria was neither a coward nor
a pushover, so she smiled up at him, downed the contents of her wine glass with
a mutinous glare toward her father, and stalked off to the outside.

Anton
followed with the quiet stealth of his animal, and Maria shook her head to
clear it off the alcohol induced fogginess, when the fresh air hit her straight
in the gut. The world swayed slightly, and Anton was right there, a solid wall
behind her.

They
were still in view of the dining room, and as far as their onlookers could
tell, Anton was merely making sure she didn't fall, but the heavy erection
digging into her ass told of other intents. As did the hand he wrapped around
her hair and tugged her along with, down the path, and out of sight.

It
took a few moments for Maria to get her bearings, but by the time he spun her
up and into the sheltered gazebo her mind was clear again. Her scalp stung with
the sheer force of his hold on her, and the breath left her lungs with a whoosh
when he slammed her against the side of the wooden structure. The slats dug
into her bare back, and she flinched as the rough texture took the first few
layers of epidermis with her. The pressure on her scalp seized, and he yanked
her arms up instead and kicked her legs apart. Every fiber of her being tensed
when he inhaled against her neck and then licked along her jaw line. His eyes
glowed in the dim light of the setting sun, and Maria swallowed down the bile
clogging her throat.