The Mating Project Read online

  She wanted no barriers between them, and she whimpered her need when Silas broke the kiss and rested his head on her shoulder. His fingers dug into her hips holding her close, and his heavy breaths in to her neck sent her cat wild.

  "Fuck it. I can't do this. Not here. What bloody spell are you weaving over me, woman?"

  He dragged his teeth along her rapidly beating pulse point, and then sought her mouth again, as though he couldn't help himself, whilst tugging her blouse out of her skirt. Maria jumped when his long, elegant fingers touched her bare belly and then moved around to the top of her ass. He pushed his hand under the waistband of her skirt until he could grasp a handful of her bare skin. His fingertips dipped into the cleft, and Maria whimpered her need.

  The knock on the door broke through her befuddled brain, and Silas froze and swore under his breath. He stepped away from her, adjusted his dick, and pulled his shirt out to cover the evidence of his erection.

  Maria, too, hopped off the desk and hastily rearranged her clothes, just as the door opened to a bemused looking Natasha.

  "I thought you might want to know that the Dean is on his way over, Professor, and he looks mighty pissed. Now might be a good time to make yourselves scarce." She paused and smiled at Maria, and then simply stepped back and shut the door again.

  "Saved by the bell." Silas muttered the words under his breath, but Maria heard him anyway.

  "What's the deal with the Dean?" she asked.

  "None of your damn business." Silas’s sharp retort made her blink, and then his hand dug into the flesh above her elbow with surprising strength as he bundled her along with him. "Just move that gorgeous ass of yours, woman. I need to leave."

  They hadn’t made it half way up the corridor before a middle-aged man in a crumpled suit stood in their way, and Silas's hold on her arm grew painful.

  "There you are, Deacon. That assistant of yours seemed to think you'd already left, but your bike was still in the shed, and as you never go anywhere without that thing I knew you had to be still here." He stopped and looked Maria up and down in such a way that she wanted to gouge his eyes out. He didn't seem to recognize her, but she sure as fuck recognized him. Back in her days, he'd had a reputation. More than one of her fellow students had found herself at the receiving end of one of his gropes, or worse, but he'd never gone near her then. Clearly he had no such compunction now, and Maria's animal growled her disgust.

  Silas stiffened next to her as though he'd heard her beast, and he pulled her slightly behind him.

  "Dean, I'm late for an appointment. We'll have to do this another time."

  "And that time will never come. If I was given to flights of paranoia, I'd think you've been avoiding me, Deacon. And since when do you take your booty calls on University premises?"

  "I'm not a—"

  "Ms. Anderson is a colleague from the Zoological Society of London, who has requested my help on a conservation project." Silas interrupted her, and her cougar purred at the barely concealed anger behind the clipped words. "We're on our way there now, and we're already late, so, if you'll excuse us…"

  Silas stared the other man down, and the Dean finally stepped out of their way.

  "The zoo, you say. You do surprise me, Deacon. What happened to your ideals and your vocation? You can take the Zoo's money, but will not accept sponsorship from—"

  "Enough!"

  Maria jumped, and the Dean pursed his lips, as Silas continued in a more even tempered tone of voice.

  "Like I said we're already late. And at least the Zoo serves to protect animals, misguided as that may be. How you can equate that to a whaling corporation is beyond me."

  "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.

  "I do like to see a woman enjoy her food." Silas's deep voice wrapped itself around her senses, and Maria fought a blush. A novel experience for her, for sure. Silas must have noticed, because he brushed her hair off her face and tugged it behind her ear. "That was a compliment, in case you're
wondering."

  She glanced at him, and her beast clawed to be set free. This close to him, in the tight confines of her small car, his presence overwhelmed her. Now that only the leftover smells of the food remained, his scent sent her cougar crazy with need, and her human side, too, wanted to devour the male in front of her, or to be devoured by him.

  She closed her eyes, lest her wayward thoughts show in her expression, and fought to gain control of herself.

  "You surprised me, Maria, and that doesn't happen that often."

  The quietly delivered statement made her smile, and she shrugged her shoulders.

  "Why? Did you think I wouldn't eat all that?" She winked at him, and he laughed.

  "Well, that's not what I meant, but now that you come to mention it, yes." He grinned at her, and Maria's beast relaxed.

  "I know. My sister-in-law always moans at me that I should be the size of the house the amount of food I eat, but I guess I've just got a fast metabolism. Mum is the same. Three kids, and she's still as skinny as she ever was."

  Silas frowned at that, and she could almost see the wheels turn in his head.

  "Three? That's unusual isn't it?"

  "Yes, though we cats have the highest fertility rates. My brothers and Anastasia have triplets."

  Silas whistled through his teeth, and Maria nodded.

  "Yes, that caused quite a ruckus, especially as Anna is a panther and they're cougars. Well, we had no idea that she was a panther, until Jake and Carter bit her, and she shifted. Turns out her grandfather was a panther and the gene lay dormant until the twins claimed her. It was rather a surprise to all of us."

  Silas sat up straighter, and Maria had to smile at the sheen of interest in his eyes.

  "That's fascinating. I had no idea such a thing was possible."

  "Oh, there's more. We also have a full human carrying a bear shifter cub. Now, you tell me how that is possible. Cole is convinced that the answer lies in the mating bond, and he's determined to bring back the old ways."