The Mating Project by Sam Crescent Page A

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