The Mating Project (6 page)

"Maelstrom
Enterprises are not a whaling corporation, not anymore anyway—"

"And
the fact that half your personal money is tied up in your share of the company
has nothing at all to do with your insistence that we let them advertise on
University premises, of course, has it, Dean?"

Maria
bit back a smile as the Dean turned purple and shook his head so vehemently
that his double chins wobbled precariously. Silas wasn't finished yet, however.
The passion he showed for his subject gave her a warm glow of happiness inside.
Here was a man with conviction and a moral code not often seen in this day and
age.

"As
you've pointed out to me often enough, I can't stop you, if you really want to
go ahead with this. Sadly the faculty is still made up of far too many money
grabbing individuals, but I can do
this.
The day you take on their
sponsorship is the day you'll find my resignation on your desk."

"You
can't do that. You're under contract." A smug grin appeared on the Dean's
face, but there was the hint of worry in his eyes, when Maria's beast growled
low in her throat. Both men turned to look at her, and the Dean took a step
back.

Silas
shook his head at her, and Maria reined her animal back in with some
difficulty. They so needed to get out of here, and she needed to run or fuck.
Preferably the latter to keep her volatile cat under control.
Having sensed her mate, the animal was ready to tear the Dean limb from limb
for daring to threaten Silas.

The
stupid human had no clue as he carried warbling on.

"You
won't get very far without a reference, Deacon. So, before you try and throw
your weight around, remember who gave you a chance in the first place. I made
you, and I can break you just as easily."

Silas
balled his hands into fists, and it was Maria's turn to stand in front of him.

She
faced the obese head of Silas's department and allowed her cat to show through
her eyes. The Dean blinked twice and paled under his ruddy complexion.

"I
shall pretend I didn't hear you just threatening Silas,
Max."
 
He blanched further at the use of his given
name, and Maria smiled. "I see you don't remember me, but I sure haven't
forgotten
you,
or your little antics when I was a
fresher here. I wonder what the board would think about you being slapped with
a sexual harassment case,
Maxie.
Besides, the Professor's reputation
precedes him. You should count yourself lucky he has chosen to remain here for
as long as he has. I know for a fact that Silas has turned down several more
lucrative offers for his expertise, so you may want to keep your mouth shut,
Dean."

She
poked the man in the chest with her index finger and then ran that digit slowly
up his shirt buttons, until she reached his chins. Behind her Silas swore, and
the blast of his anger hid her back like a cold shower. Yeah, he might be
human, but he didn’t appreciate her stepping in front of him any more than a
male shifter would.
Men and their egos.
She smiled and
stepped round the Dean, who was now doing goldfish impressions, and glanced up
at Silas.

"We
have a meeting to go to, I believe?"

****

Silas
groaned under his breath.
 
He nodded at
the Dean, who regarded him through narrowed eyes. If the man didn't calm down
soon he would blow an artery or something. If he was a kettle he would be
whistling at full pelt. He balled his hand into a fist to stop
himself
from punching the man and instead turned his back on
him and kept walking.

"This
is not over, Deacon."

Silas
ignored the words thrown at his retreating back and concentrated on following
Maria instead. That woman would be the death of him. It had been a while since
anyone else had defended him with such passion, and he'd almost felt sorry for
the Dean.
Almost
.
Mostly he'd wanted to throttle the man for that tidbit of information Maria had
revealed. The thought that she might have been at the receiving end of the
other man's unwanted attention when she was a young student turned Silas's
stomach. Why he should feel that strongly was beyond him right now. She
represented the council and everything he despised, yet he couldn't tear his
eyes away from the sway of her hips as she walked in front of him.

Yes,
he wanted to fuck her, but he also wanted to protect her, and he had to grin at
that absurd thought. The woman was a shifter, far stronger than he was, in her
shifted form at least, and deadly. He knew from firsthand experience that the
council could not be trusted, so why did he even follow her? Why did he not
just say his goodbyes now and tell her to never darken his door again?
 

She
stopped when they reached the outside and grinned up at him.

"That
was fun. I always wanted to take that weasel down a notch or two. How can you
stand working for him?"

The
question brought him up short, and against his will his lips curved up into a
smile at her impish expression. Out here in the sunlight, her classic beauty
took his breath away. Apart from some lip gloss and a little mascara she didn't
seem to wear any make-up at all, and even in the fresh air, her scent wrapped
itself around him. If he never saw her again, he would never forget the way she
looked right now, or how every cell in his body screamed
mine
at him.

Silas
knew all about the mating bond. He'd witnessed the havoc it could cause with a
man's life, but he never thought it would happen to him. He was human for
fuck's sake. He should be immune to this crap, yet he couldn't deny the bone
deep knowledge that Maria was his mate, and he had no fucking clue what he was
going to do about that. The one man he could have asked was out of the country
on one of his revenge missions. You only had to look at how fucked up his life
was to know that running away from your destined mate wouldn't be the smart
move to make.

"Silas?"
Maria's smile
faltered, and she took a step away from him as though she was worried about
whatever she read in his expression, and he rolled his shoulders and unclenched
his fists. He hadn't even been aware of clenching them.

"It's
a job, and it suits me. He mostly leaves me alone to get on with it, and I love
teaching," he finally said, and Maria relaxed.

"Just
not for the council," she said, and he shook his head.

"I
told you back in my office that I have no intention of getting involved in your
council—ever."

"Not
even if you had the chance to teach there? Look, I made a hash of this. I'll be
honest with you. I was sent here to persuade you to join us."

He'd
known that of course, but it still hurt, and the fact that it did, pissed him
off even more than the fact that this beautiful woman—his mate, dammit—was sent
by the high council to seduce him into accepting a position.

"So
am I supposed to be happy that you've come clean? I'm not so deprived of female
company that a good fuck would make me forget what De Souza stands for. He can
stuff his Mating Project, and his rules, and shifter fucking racism up his
original ass.
 
So, thanks, but, no
thanks. I will not be working for your precious council in any capacity."

He
expected her to bite at his harsh words, but she just grew still and bit her
bottom lip in a way that he found far too fascinating. It made him want to sink
his own teeth into the plump flesh and kiss her senseless, until she gasped for
breath.

A
giggle alerted him to the fact that they were still on
Uni
premises and in full view of anyone who passed by.

"Evening,
Professor."

One
of the students in his animal behavior class grinned at him and nudged her
friend into the side.

"Evening,
Jolene." He smiled at the fresher and took a step away from Maria. He
hadn't even realized how closely they were standing to each other. They were
practically breathing each other's air. He grasped Maria by the elbow again and
guided her out of the courtyard.

"This
is not the place to discuss this. I presume you have a car, so let's take this
somewhere more private. I cycle, so I'm afraid I'll have to ask you for a
lift."

Maria
smiled and nodded.

"Yes,
I heard you don't believe in cars. Living by your convictions again, I
see." She winked at him, and Silas bit back his sharp retort.

"As
noble as that makes me sound, I have nothing against cars. I just don't need
one, not when I live close enough to the campus to cycle, and, besides, they're
just a drain on finances, I don't need right now."

"Of
course, your special research project.
Are you still funding it mostly
out of your own pocket?"

Her
grin deepened when he stopped dead and stared at her.

"How
do you know about that? Natasha doesn't even know those details. As far as
everyone is concerned, the only research I partake in is that sanctioned by the
University."

More
people walked past, and instead of answering, Maria simply shrugged her
shoulders and gestured for him to follow her.

"My
car is in the south car park. You're right. We shouldn't be discussing this in
public. Tell me. Is that fish and chip shop still in Regent's street? I don't
know about you, but I'm hungry, and they make the best pies."

She
didn't wait for his reply, just sauntered off, hips swinging from side to side.
Every long legged step exposed the back of her stockings, and Silas groaned.

He
was hungry all right, but not for pies.

Chapter Five

Maria
crept forward another car length and groaned under her breath when the long
line of snaking traffic ground to a halt again.

"Jesus,
what's the hold up? I thought London traffic was bad, but this is ridiculous.
Maybe I should have hitched a ride on your cycle instead."

"In
that skirt?"
Silas's amused reply soothed her irritation somewhat, and she glanced across to
see him smile at her. The male appreciation in his amber eyes made her beast
purr, and she pulled the hemline of her skirt a little higher, until it exposed
the creamy flesh of her upper thighs.

Silas
swallowed, and he closed his eyes and thumped his head against the headrest of
the passenger seat.

"See,
it's very versatile, and I'd have managed." She grinned at the way Silas
shook his head and groaned.

"And
we'd have caused an accident I'm sure. I can see the headlines now. 'Traffic in
Hatfield ground to a standstill when beautiful woman exposed herself on
lecturer's bicycle. Tail backs a mile long caused chaos for evening
commuters.'"

Maria
laughed out loud, and Silas cracked one eye open and grinned back at her.

"So,
you think I'm beautiful then?" she asked, and crept forward another inch.

He
didn't answer her, but the heat of his gaze scorched her skin, and Maria's
stomach tightened in delicious anticipation. She busied herself with taking the
car out of gear, and pulling up the hand brake, and flinched when her stomach
chose that moment to grumble loudly.

"Pull
over into the next side street coming up. If we’re stuck we might as well stop
and eat, before we both die of hunger. Those pies smell delicious, and I know
they make me hungry, let alone someone with your sensitive sense of
smell," Silas said.

Maria
glanced at him again, and he held her gaze with his. Time stood still as they
sat staring at each other, and it was only the loud honk from the car behind
them, that alerted Maria to the fact that the traffic was moving again.

She
had to mount the curb and drive across the pavement to make the turning into
the side street Silas had indicated, and he swore under his breath.

"Jesus,
woman, how many rules of the Highway Code did you just break there?" Silas
asked, but laughter tinged his words, and Maria pulled up in the forecourt of a
garage and switched off the engine.

"You
said you were hungry, and I'm fucking starving, so stop moaning at me and let's
eat." She reached behind them to grab the carrier bag containing their
dinner and handed Silas's portion to him with a grin.

Their
fingers touched when he took the package off her, and heat traveled up her arm.
She balled her fingers into fists, and Silas inhaled sharply.

"Yes,
I do think you're beautiful." His voice had dropped an octave, and Maria
held her breath, when he uncurled her tight fingers one by one. "Let's
eat."

Maria's
befuddled brain couldn't think of one sensible response, so she unwrapped her
food and started eating. Her beast grumbled her approval, and out of the corner
of her eye she could see Silas, too, tucking in.

The
pie and chips were even better than she remembered them being, and in no time
at all, she licked her fingers clean, and gave a content purr.