The Mating Project (7 page)

"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."

"Cole?"
Silas asked.

"Forgive
me. Cole Jackson, he sits on the council, and is the last of his line of
bear
shifters."

Again,
Silas whistled.

"Yep,
having mated with a human did not go down well, but no one is going to argue
with an original. Some of us are not that lucky."

Silas's
eyes
narrowed,
and Maria cursed herself for all sorts
of a fool. She'd already said far too much, and mate or not, Silas was human.
Her father would have kittens if he knew. Then again her father had not sent
her on this mission. It had been Cole. He wanted Silas on his team of
scientists.

"Anyway,"
she said. "You're not interested in all of this, are you? I'll never work
for your
council,
those were your words, were they
not?"

Silas
glared at her, and Maria bit back a smile. Oh yes, she’d got his scientific
curiosity piqued for sure.

"No,
I'm not, but that doesn't mean that I don't find the subject fascinating. As a
scientist the mere existence of shifters goes against everything I believe in.
You shouldn't be possible at all, yet here you are."

"Here
I am, and I'm not going anywhere in a hurry, so what are you going to do about
that?"

****

Now
that was the question of the century, and Silas had no answer to that.

He
knew what he wanted to do, what every cell in his body, not to mention his
cock, urged him to do, and that was to take Maria home and fuck her silly, until
they both couldn't walk straight.

He
resisted the urge to adjust his dick. Blue balls was not a syndrome he normally
suffered from, but he got the distinct impression if would be a permanent part
of his vocabulary from now on.

He
sought refuge in science as he always did. Being that he had a female shifter
in his car, he might as well ask the questions he'd been mulling over, ever
since he heard about the Mating Project. He knew it matched shifters up
according to genetic compatibility, to give them the best chance to reproduce,
and he also knew that there was a thriving black market that exploited this.
Shifters were a sought-after commodity, and while humans on the whole did not
know of their existence, there were plenty that did know. There were also those
on a rather corrupt council who were not afraid to sell out their own for
monetary gain. It turned his stomach every time he thought about it.

"So,
tell me. What exactly are you? And if you don't mind me asking, why are you not
mated to someone of your kind already?"

A
shadow crossed over Maria's features, and she hid her face behind the silky
mass of her blonde hair, but not before he caught the shimmer of tears in her
oceanic eyes.

"That's
a long and boring story," she finally said. "Perhaps we ought to get
you home. Is there a short cut through here somewhere we can take?"

Silas
smiled at her diversionary tactics, which only made him more determined to find
out her story. He realized with a start that he really wanted to know about
more her.
Another novel experience for him.

"As
it happens my flat is only a ten minute walk away from here."

She
started at that, and he grinned at her.

"Well,
at my walking speed it is. In those heels…." He glanced at her fuck-me stilettos
and suppressed a groan as his dick hardened further. "Well, in those it
might take us longer."

She
surprised him again when she laughed and jumped out of the car. Seconds later
the boot was open, and then she treated him to the perfect view of her shapely
ass, when she bent down to take off her heels and slipped into a pair of pink
trainers.

She
knocked on his window and pointed to an imaginary watch on her arm.

"Chop,
chop,
come
on then. I reckon we can do it in less than
ten. Shifters are faster than humans, after all. In fact, let's make it a
race."

"Is
that so?" he asked and climbed out of her car. "Haven't you forgotten
something? You don't know the way."

Maria
waved her hands in a dismissive gesture, and then stepped up right to him and
inhaled. It took all of his willpower to not crush her to him as her sultry
scent enveloped him, and she too seemed to linger. He could have sworn he could
hear her big cat purr, and that sound made him rock hard.

By
the time she pulled away he was breathing heavily, and he watched in
fascination as she lifted her nose in the air and sniffed. The most delightful
grin appeared on her face.

"You
normally cycle this route, right?" she asked.

"As
a matter of fact, I do. Why?"

Her
grin deepened, and she clicked the lock for her car.

"Thought
so.
I can simply follow your scent, so we can race."

Silas
shook his head at her, and she smirked and put her hands on her hips.

"Afraid
of a little healthy competition, Professor?" she asked. "Or do you
think I can't beat you?"

It
was Silas's turn to laugh, and acting entirely on impulse he reached across and
kissed her. It was meant to distract her, but it had the opposite effect, as
she molded herself to his body with a little whimper of feminine need. His cock
jerked against the flies of his jeans, and Silas groaned as he took the kiss
deeper.

Damn
it, he wanted her so badly.

When
he broke the kiss Maria looked as dazed as he felt, and he had to clear his
throat several times before he could project his voice with any authority.

"I
think we should up the stakes, my little cat with claws." She smiled at
that, and he could see her animal flash behind her eyes.

"To
what?" she asked.

"If
I win, you tell me the story as to why you're not mated yet."

She
frowned but nodded nonetheless.

"Okay,
what do I get if I win?" she asked.

"I'll
seriously consider your council's offer, or at the very least listen to your
arguments."

Her
eyes grew wide in surprise, and in truth he'd surprised himself at that
statement. But, fuck it, what she'd described had roused his curiosity, and he
wanted to find out more. Besides, he knew deep down that she was not one of
them.
 
He could trust her, just like she
had trusted him by sharing those tidbits of information that no human ought to
know.

An
impish grin spread across her features, and then she took off without warning.

"It's
a deal. Catch me if you can, Professor."

Silas
laughed and took off after her. Shifter she might be, but he knew short cuts
that he didn't take on when cycling, he had been on the athletics team, and
still ran every day.

He
would get his cat!

****

Maria
took off at a sprint, determined to win this race. She'd gotten a good trace on
his scent, and besides she knew the area fairly well. Aware of his heavy
footfalls behind her, she ran faster, her animal enjoying the thrill of the
chase. She slowed when his steps fell away and she saw him take off down
another side street. What was he doing? Not that it mattered much. She inhaled
to get her bearing and took off faster than before, grateful for the fact that
she'd forgotten to take her gym bag out the boot of the car. She wouldn't have
managed to run in her heels, and she wouldn’t have fancied the sprint barefoot.

Less
than five minutes later, and barely out of breath,
she
turned the corner to the block of flats that housed Silas's home and grinned.
His scent was everywhere, but he was nowhere to be seen, and she punched the
air in triumph.

Yeah,
take that, mate.

When
there was no sign of him after a further few minutes, Maria's beast grew
restless. Where was he? Had he fallen over and injured himself?

He
said he could walk this in ten minutes, and he'd been running quite fast for a
human, so where was he? The sound of a window opening above her brought with it
a blast of his mouthwatering scent. Laced with sweat, it was even more potent,
and Maria inhaled deeply as she spun around.

Silas
leant out of the first floor window and grinned down at her.

"There
you are. What took you so long, little cat? I'll buzz you in. Come on up."

He
winked at her, and it was only the wheeze behind those words that showed he
wasn't as cool and collected as he made out to be.

Maria
swore under her breath and pushed through the door. Seconds later she stood in
the hallway of Silas's flat and accepted the bottle of water he threw at her
with a grin.

She
took several large gulps and then glared at him.

"How
the fuck did you do that? You must have cheated."

Silas
shook his head and pulled his shirt over his head in one fluid move. The action
exposed his bare chest, and Maria stopped breathing as her beast went wild.
Silas was all lean muscle with a swimmer's physique and the most enticing trail
of hair narrowing into an arrow that disappeared into the waistband of his
jeans. Her mouth went dry at the sight of the huge erection he didn't even try
to hide, and she clenched her thighs together to relieve the throbbing ache in
her clit.

Silas
used the shirt to wipe away the droplets of perspiration that clung to his
pectorals and traced the ridges of his abdomen, and Maria licked her lips. Damn
it, she was jealous of a shirt, and she slid her hands behind her back to hide
the emergence of her claws. Her cougar wanted out to play with its mate, but
Silas was human and claiming him would be insane, even if he had been willing.

Sure
he wanted to fuck her, but that didn’t mean he'd look too kindly on being
claimed by her beast, and besides, her father would have a fit. This was so
against the rules, it wasn't even real.

"I
never cheat, Maria. I just knew a short cut, and you still almost beat me.
Jesus, woman, you're fast." He watched her from under hooded lids, and the
raw lust that poured off of him in waves had Maria take a step toward him
before she even realized what she was doing. She took another and another until
she was so close to him his body heat scorched her skin, and she had to look up
to see his expression.

Silas
wrapped his hands in her hair and tugged hard. The slight pain fizzed
excitement through her veins, and she filled her lungs with his intoxicating
scent. She wanted to run her hands all over his torso and lick every inch of
his skin until he carried her scent, so that every shifter around knew she was
his, but she couldn't do that.