Unmasking the Wolf (3 page)

Gina wished she’d dressed for the occasion. Wearing old ratty sneakers, a worn pair of jeans, and a Nirvana T-shirt wasn’t exactly the epitome of fashion. Mentally girding her loins, she stuck out her hand. “Nice to meet you. I’m Gina Moretti.”

Lifting a brow, Luke looked at her hand like it was a snake about to bite him. Finally, he lifted his own hand and touched hers. “Luke Mason.”

Another jolt rocked her system. Seriously, what was up with this guy? One moment he was eating her alive with his eyes, the next he seemed like he didn’t want to lay a hand on her. She chalked it up to the eccentricity of the very wealthy. Oh, but what she wouldn’t give for him to truly touch her.

•●•

Holy shit.

Luke stood rooted to the floor. He’d come up the hall, intent on seeking out Dominic to ask him something about L-12, when he’d run, quite literally, into Gina Moretti. She was all lush curves, big blue eyes, and incredible red hair. She was a complete knockout, even in a T-shirt and sneakers. Physical appearance aside, it was the scent that did him in. Beneath the vanilla musk of her perfume, lay the seductive dark twang of a female wolf.

He knew the scent in an instant, would recognize it even though he’d never smelled it before. She was
his.
Fighting primal urges, he touched her. Immediately, he wished he hadn’t. It was too powerful, this need to possess her, to brand her, to mark her somehow as his mate.

His
mate
. What were the fucking odds Dominic’s country cousin was the woman meant for him? They didn’t even belong to the same pack. Although truth be told, he belonged to no pack. He’d left everything behind in Mississippi, completely cutting himself off from those who’d wanted to bring him and Laura down. Their backwoods relatives hadn’t understood there was more to life than working at the local sawmill.

Dominic and his Italian wolf relatives were a completely different strain from Luke’s family. The Morettis were direct descendants of Marius, an ancient werewolf who’d been gifted powers from the moon goddess Selene in exchange for his loyalty.

Luke’s own heritage was a little less glamorous. Several generations back, a werewolf had bitten his great-great-grandfather. He’d turned his entire family and a line of shifters came about, passing the blood of the wolf to each new addition. The blood had weakened over the years, most of the children being born now as lunar wolves. Wolves, like his sister, who could only change during the full moon. Luke was one of the lucky few who could shift at will, a true wolves like the Morettis, who could harness the strength of animal inside whenever the need arose.

Luke’s hands fisted at his side. His fingertips tingled with anger, but he resolutely kept his claws hidden beneath the surface of his skin. Laura had died because she couldn’t protect herself. A wolf had taken advantage of her weakness and killed her.

The wolf nature was both a blessing and a curse. Lunar wolves were the target of more powerful shifters. It was one of the reasons Laura had worked so hard to create L-1. She’d wanted to give weaker shifters a chance to escape notice.

As Luke fought to suppress his reactions, Gina Moretti lifted her bluer-than-blue gaze to his. Long, dark lashes framed eyes that seemed too beautiful to be real. Elegantly rounded cheekbones and a slim nose gave her an ethereal sort of beauty. If not for her vivid red hair and the flush of good health on her cheeks, she could be mistaken for an angel. A fallen angel with a body made for sin, of course. Generous lips, tinted a coral pink, gleamed with dampness, as though she’d just licked them.

She didn’t know what he was to her. She couldn’t. L-12 masked the scent of his wolf. Did it mask her ability to recognize him as her mate? He watched carefully for her reaction. She was attracted to him, that much was obvious. Yet fear flickered across her face. What did she have to be frightened about? He was consumed by the need to know anything, and everything, about the woman before him.

But he couldn’t deny the desire. White-hot need clawed at his belly. The beast inside him howled and beat his chest, wanting nothing more than to rip the clothes from her body and take her until they were both sated.

Dominic was no fool. He stepped between them, casually yet pointedly guarding his little cousin from Luke’s gaze. “We should let you get back to work.” The young scientist’s expression clearly stated
Back. Off
.

A devil inside him made him goad Dominic. “I was actually just coming to find you. Would you two like to accompany me to my office?”

Dominic’s eyes narrowed. “I’m sure Gina doesn’t want to deal with boring work stuff. Let me get her settled, and I’ll come right back.”

Gina, praise her, spoke up. “Are you kidding? I would love to listen in, if Mr. Mason doesn’t mind that is?”

“Call me Luke.” The words sounded corny even to him. Just being near her changed him. His voice was deeper, his tone more seductive. But he could no more stop himself than a runaway train. “I don’t mind at all. In fact, I’d love for you to join us.”

“Fine,” Dominic ground out between gritted teeth. His eyes shot daggers at Luke before he turned to lead them back to his office.

Luke listened to the running commentary between the cousins as they walked. It mostly consisted of eager questions from Gina that Dominic grudgingly answered. The entire situation would’ve been humorous had Luke not been so attuned to Gina at his side. Her scent haunted him, and he was operating in full-on arousal mode. He didn’t think it was possible any blood was left in his brain. All of it had headed south at the first whiff of her intoxicating vanilla-tinged scent.

They reached his office, and he held the door open for Gina. She passed through with a shy smile. The side of her breast brushed his arm, and he sucked in a quick breath. He supposed it had to be an accident since she turned beet red before shuffling on past. His gaze trailed after her, his skin suddenly too tight to contain him.

“Don’t even think about it,” Dominic whispered in a fierce undertone.

Luke tore his attention from his mate.
His
, by damn, and suppressed the need to growl. Instead, he gave the younger wolf a patently innocent look. “I’m just being nice.”

“Nice, my ass,” Dominic scoffed. “Stay away from her.”

Dominic moved into the room to join his cousin. He deliberately put himself in the chair closest to Luke and acted as if that was the end of it.

Luke shook his head at the foolishness of youth. It wasn’t even close to being the end.

Several hours later, Gina could no longer contain her curiosity. As soon as she and Dominic were safely ensconced in his Pathfinder and heading toward his apartment, she pounced.

“What crawled up your butt back there?” Pulling her sunglasses down to cover her eyes, she cast a glance toward her cousin.

“Excuse me?”

“Don’t play dumb. You looked like you wanted to take a swipe at Luke.”

Dominic growled under his breath. “He’s a player, Gina. You don’t need to get involved with him.”

She was pleased Dominic even imagined she had a chance with a guy like Luke. “Who says I’m planning on being involved with him?”

“Are you serious?” Dominic stopped at a red stoplight and pivoted to face her. “You two couldn’t keep your eyes off each other.”

“Really?” Her cheeks tingled with the size of the smile she gave him. “He was looking? You think he likes me?”

He sighed loudly and turned his attention back to the road as the light changed. “We’re not doing this. I’m a dude, in case you missed it. I don’t want to talk to my cousin about stuff like this.”

“Stop being a prude, Dom, and tell me if you think he likes me.”

A tic visibly pulsed above his jaw. “Yeah, he liked you. A little too much, in my opinion.”

Gina dropped back into the seat, stunned at Dominic’s answer. “Wow.”

“No.” He shook a warning finger at her. “Whatever you’re thinking, it’s not going to happen. He’s my boss. I have to work with the guy every day. I really don’t want to be around the guy who devirginizes my cousin.”

“Devirginizes?” Gina giggled. “Is that even a word?”

“Hell if I know,” Dominic snapped. “But it’s not going to happen. So you’re going to keep your pretty little redheaded self out of his way. Promise me.”

She held up her hands in surrender. “Okay, okay. I promise. It’s not like I’m going to see him again anyway. I just thought he was cute.”

Dominic groaned. “TMI.”

“Sorry.” She chewed on the gum she’d purchased from the vending machine before they left. She blew a bubble and loudly popped it. She managed to go a full three minutes before she brought the topic of Luke back up. “You really think he liked me?”

“Gina!”

“I can’t help it. I know I shouldn’t, but I can’t keep from thinking about him. Is that crazy?”

“Completely.”

“I’m being serious. He’s a human, for goodness sakes. My father would have a conniption fit.”

He slid a strange look at her. “
I
will have a fit if you get involved with him.”

She frowned, worrying over Dominic’s words. “Is he really that much of a player?”

“Christ, I don’t know. I just said that to dissuade you from whatever silly idea is rumbling around in that thick skull of yours.”

She twirled a strand of hair around her index finger and pondered the idea of Luke. Her father really would have a stroke if she dated a human. But who said she had to date him? She’d left home to experience what life had to offer before she decided to settle down with her mate. A brief fling with the uber-sexy Luke Mason seemed the perfect solution. No one even had to know.

“He can’t hurt me really.”

Dominic slid another glance her way. “What do you mean?”

“Luke. He can’t hurt me. I’m a big girl now, Dom.” She held up her hand, allowing the tiniest bit of claw to emerge from the tips of her fingers. “I can protect myself.”

“If you really believe that, you’re even more naïve than I thought. Put your claws away. You’re not prepared to emotionally deal with a man like Luke.”

“You say that like he’s a bad guy. I thought you liked him.”

“As a boss, yes. As the guy who’s boinking my cousin? Hell no.” He shuddered as if the thought was offensive to him. He guided the Pathfinder into a parking lot and came to a halt in front of a five-story brick building. “We’re here.”

Gina climbed out of the SUV and studied the modest apartment complex. Ivy twirled around the lower level. A cheerful green and white striped awning hung over the entrance. It wasn’t as elegant as some of the building they’d passed on the way, but it seemed perfect. “Nice. It’s homey almost.”

Dominic retrieved her luggage from the backseat and came around to lead her inside. “I’ll get you a key made tomorrow before I go to work.”

“Thank you, by the way. I couldn’t have done this without you.”

Dominic appeared uncomfortable with her gratitude. “I couldn’t let you wander off into the world by yourself. God knows what sort of trouble you would get into.”

“I know it wasn’t easy to stand up to my father. He wanted you to refuse to let me stay here, didn’t he?”

Dominic’s dark eyes reflected his concern even though he refused to give voice to it. “You let me worry about Uncle Tony. Just be concerned about yourself.”

Damn the men in her family. Always seeming to think they knew what was best for her. She was the daughter of an alpha, not some weak female who couldn’t think for herself. She tried to take her suitcase away from Dominic, but he wheeled it out of her reach. Sighing, she followed him down the short sidewalk and up the stairs to the entrance.

He entered a code into the panel on the wall, and a buzzer sounded as he opened the door. “Remind me to write the code down for you.”

Gina was momentarily thrown off balance.
Wow, everything is so different from home.
Half the time, they didn’t even lock their front door. She crept close to Dominic and stood on her tiptoes to whisper
sotto
voice. “Is there a lot of crime in this neighborhood?”

He glanced over his shoulder and lifted a slim black brow. “Seriously?”

She rocked back on her heels. “What? It’s a relevant question.”

He resumed walking to a set of stairs against the right side of the wall. “You’ll be safe here. I live in a good neighborhood. What are you worried about anyway? Weren’t you the girl just saying you could take care of yourself?”

She rolled her eyes at his back. “I
can
protect myself. I’m more worried about theft and such.”

“You’re so weird.” Dominic reached the second landing and turned left. She followed him, her steps speeding up to keep pace with his longer legged stride.

“Coming from you, I’ll take that as a compliment.” She stopped and waited as he unlocked a door about halfway down the hall. Brass letters nailed to the wood indicated the number. “Room two-oh-four. Should be easy enough to remember.”

Dominic swung open the door and placed her suitcase just inside the doorway. He flung his arm out to gesture her forward. “Home sweet home.”

She stepped forward, anxious to see her temporary home.

Hello, the rest of my life.

•●•