She hid it well; he had to give her that. There were no external signs of arousal. Her nipples weren't hard, she wasn't flushed, her breathing wasn't in the least labored. The arousal was shielded, pushed back, but definitely there and waiting to break free.
As he kept his senses focused on her, she slid the electronic planner she used free of her leather briefcase and flipped it on with a smooth motion of her slender fingers.
The screen lit up as she pulled the stylus out of its holder and began to work on whatever she had brought with her.
"Senator Racert has sent you several emails," she murmured as she glanced up at him, her green eyes barely hiding the mischievous glimmer that he could sense pushing at her control. She was dying to test his limits, he could feel it.
He'd had no idea the playful little thing she could be.
"Racert is always sending emails." He shrugged. "It's one of his failings."
A quick little frown pulled at her brow. "Did you know this afternoon's meeting is going to involve several other senators who aren't part of the Breed Appropriations Committee?"
"That's normal." Jonas shrugged again at the question. "Racert likes to show us lowly Breeds how undeserving we are and make his attempt to convince us to turn over portions of the Breed funds to their little pork barrel projects."
They sickened him. Racert was one of the worst. He was convinced Breed intelligence was so far beneath humans' that taking the funds awarded to the Breeds would be simple. Ten years, and still the man was certain he could convince the Breed portion of the committee that they were receiving funds they didn't deserve.
Money they used to build Sanctuary and the Wolf base, Haven. Funds used to defend and protect the communities they were building to ensure the safety of their own species.
Most of the countries of the world paid into those funds. Predetermined amounts were set aside and deposited on a yearly basis into a multinational fund in Switzerland, which the Breeds had access to.
There were limits to the money, though. One was the appropriations committee, which had been created to oversee the larger amounts that were paid out. The committee had been created as a protective measure to ensure that future Breeds never used those funds to build arms against the countries that paid into it.
"The senators meeting with you today are there to attempt to convince you to use the funds for something other than Breed-designated projects, then?"
"Of course." His brows lifted at her surprise. "Surely you didn't think we haven't had to fight to keep that money, Rachel. You know your government better than that."
"True." She inclined her head in acknowledgment before turning her attention back to the electronic planner.
"Which toy did you use?" Jonas allowed the question to slip free, his curiosity getting the better of him.
She froze. He sensed her forcing her emotions as well as her response to him deeper inside that shielded parted of her psyche. She had no intentions of giving in to him any more than she had to.
"Excuse me?" She lifted her gaze back to him.
"Which toy did you use to achieve release?" His body was tight, his control was shaky. Jonas could feel the need to touch her tearing through his system now.
Evidently, she sensed the danger inherent in answering him. He watched as her tongue swiped over her lips nervously. She inhaled slowly, deeply, fighting back the need to tease him, perhaps? He wished she would tease him. For a moment, he would have given anything if she would have pushed at the fragile thread of control that held back the beast determined to mark her.
"Jonas, this is not a conversation I want to have."
He watched as her face flushed a delicate, rosy hue. Her green eyes flashed with undisguised desire, and slowly, temptingly, his senses filled with the sweet, spicy scent of feminine need.
She was losing control--over her body, at least. He could sense the sensual weakening, feel it rushing through him as it simultaneously pulsed through her body.
He had to clench his teeth, force back the claws determined to push free and hold back a growl of hunger that he feared could terrify them both.
"It's a conversation I want to have though," he assured her. "I want to know what you thought about, Rachel. Who was in your imagination when you came? Who was taking you as your body arched and your breath caught in pleasure?"
A fine shudder raced through her. Any other man would have missed it. Most Breeds would have missed it. But Jonas felt it. He swore he could feel the vibrations as the sensation tore through her body.
His cock was so damned hard he swore it was in danger of bursting. His balls drew up tight to the base, blood pulsed and shuddered through the heavy shaft.
In his entire life he had never wanted, never ached for anything as he did this woman, his mate.
His woman.
Nature had created her for him alone. God had gifted him, and holding himself back from her was the hardest thing he had ever done in his entire life.
"Please don't." The plea in her voice was heavy with her own battle to deny him.
" 'Please don't,' " he murmured. "Such a delicate little plea for something we both want so desperately. Tell me, Rachel, how much longer do you think we can continue to deny it?"
He wasn't going to make it long. The taste of the hormone filled his senses, dug sharpened claws into his control and shredded it further.
"As long as we have to." She breathed in hard, deep. "I don't need a mate, Jonas. I don't need a man, period. I want my life back, and I'm certain you do as well. Giving in to this is only going to complicate both our lives."
"You think you can walk away then?" The animal instincts that were so much a part of him roared out in denial. He would never, ever allow her to walk away from him.
"I know I can." In her eyes he saw her belief in that statement. "I have no choice, Jonas. Neither do you. When this is over, Amber and I will leave. So I would suggest looking for a new assistant while you can."
He was in her face. Even before he realized it, he leaned forward, his palms flat at the sides of her seat, his nose almost touching hers, his eyes locked with hers.
"Never." The rumble of sound that tore from his throat bore little resemblance to the voice of a man. "I'll never let you go."
"And I won't allow you to hold me. Tell me, do you truly want a mate who wants nothing more than to escape?"
"If that's the only way I can have you, then I'll take it and be content," he promised her with a snarl. "Think about that, Rachel. Believe it. Keep pushing this, keep pushing me, and I'll show exactly how easy it will be to hold you."
Before he lost all semblance of the man he was, Jonas jerked back in his own seat and fought the need. God, he fought. He wanted to feel her against him. He was dying for her touch. Anything to ease the tightness in his flesh, the ache for the warmth of her touching him rather than reaching out for him.
He had lived through hell. He had been created to kill and to breed. Now, nature was pushing, demanding, overriding his control and creating a path he hadn't meant to take.
The plans he had made over the years were now falling by the wayside in favor of a life he had promised himself he wouldn't attempt to live.
Fate had stepped in, and Jonas could now only pray that she had some idea what the hell she was doing. Because he was damned if he knew.
CHAPTER 6
Her sister, Diana, had once told her that there was nothing worse than a determined man. Rachel hadn't clearly understood what she was talking about until she had seen the pure, undiluted determination in Jonas's gaze.
Seeing it wouldn't have been near so terrifying if the instant response that whipped through her body hadn't been so impossible to control.