Mila snorted. “Sorry, GQ, you’re not my type.”
“GQ?” he echoed. “Why am I not your type?” Dominic was pretty sure no one had ever said that to him before.
“Because I like men. You’re just a little boy.” Mila patted him on the head. “A little boy who comes across as a deceptively harmless flirt so that people label you a player, which makes them think they have you all figured out. But I’ll bet very few people really know you, and I’m sure that suits you just fine.”
A wide smile curved his mouth. “Damn, Mila, where have you been all my life?”
“Exactly where I’ll be during the rest of your days on this earth, sweetie—in your most imaginative dreams.” With that, she turned and walked away.
Trey sidled up to him, oozing amusement. “Crashed and burned.”
“Oh, I like her.” Dante chuckled. “I really, really like her.”
“I think I love her,” said Dominic.
Madisyn snickered. “Give it up, Dom. She’s not a female you’ll be able to charm into bed.”
He frowned. “Why not?”
“Because she’ll want a person with a little more substance. You have substance. You just prefer to keep it hidden.” Madisyn gestured at the rest of the club. “Turn your attention elsewhere. God knows, there are plenty of welcoming smiles being directed your way. That group of girls is still waiting at your table.”
But Dominic didn’t want any of those females. He wanted the little cat who’d done what no other female had ever done—called him on his shit.
CHAPTER TWO
As Emmet Pierson sat hemming and hawing at the menu the next afternoon, Dominic exchanged an impatient look with Trey. The human had chosen the restaurant as a meeting place, and it was fairly busy. Servers walked back and forth carrying steaming trays of food to the many booths and tables. It served everything from simple burgers to ethnic-inspired dishes. Music played softly in the background, combining with the sounds of voices murmuring, food sizzling, and silverware clinking. The cool air wafting from the vents eased the warmth coming from the low-hanging lights.
Going by the brittle smile the waitress shot him, Emmet was a regular there and not well liked. Dominic wondered if he was someone who complained a lot or who skimped on the tip.
Dominic sipped his coffee and then set it on the coaster. The human was the only one at the table ordering food. Any other time, the scents of grilled meat, spices, and fragrant steam would have made Dominic’s stomach rumble. But he, Trey, Taryn, and Dante had eaten well before they came.
After finally placing his order, Emmet raised a brow at them. “Are you sure you don’t wish to order anything?”
“No, thanks,” said Taryn while the others shook their heads.
Emmet snapped the menu shut and handed it to the waitress, who then walked off. He adjusted his tie, his eyes on Dominic. “I believe you know my daughter, Rosemary.”
“Vaguely,” Dominic allowed.
“Vaguely,” Emmet echoed, his lips thinning. “She may have mentioned to you that she was married until last year. Her husband of nine years divorced her when she was unable to conceive a child. Bastard,” he added under his breath.
Rosemary had briefly mentioned the divorce, but she hadn’t gone into any detail. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
“We have shifter blood in the family. My great-great-grandmother was half shifter. None of her children had an inner animal, nor did any descendants from the following generations. We don’t have enhanced strength or accelerated healing either. Rosemary, however, has always believed that she possesses an inner wolf. As a child, she would say that it was ‘sleeping.’ I thought it was a child’s imagination. But she still swears she can feel it inside her. Swears that she feels its presence, though it remains asleep.”
Trey’s brow furrowed. “And it’s never once woken?”
“No.” Emmet unrolled his pristine white napkin, took out the silverware, and examined it. Apparently unsatisfied, he began to wipe his fork with the napkin. “From what I understand of shifters, they are only able to produce children with whomever they form a mating bond.”
“That’s true,” Trey granted.
“Which means it could very well explain why she wasn’t able to have children with her husband,” said Emmet. “As a shifter, she requires a mate.”
Lips pursed, Trey shook his head. “I doubt that’s the issue here. Her shifter blood is simply far too diluted for that to be a factor.”
“But she has an inner wolf.” Emmet shifted his gaze to Dominic, and his perceptive eyes narrowed. “You don’t believe that, do you?”
No, Dominic didn’t. “If she had a wolf, I would have sensed her. My wolf would have sensed her.” Plus, the woman smelled purely human.
Emmet’s jaw hardened. “As Rosemary said, the animal is sleeping. ‘Latent,’ I believe you call such a thing.”
“‘Latent’ is when the animal hasn’t surfaced,” said Taryn. “It isn’t asleep, though. It’s very much alert; it’s a big presence within the person.”
Impatience flitted across Emmet’s expression as he looked at the Alpha female. “Perhaps that’s the case in some situations, like with yours, but not in this one.”
Trey stiffened. “And what is it exactly that you know about my mate?”
“It’s not uncommon knowledge that she was a latent shifter until you mated with her. That brought out the wolf.” Emmet looked at Dominic. “I want you to do the same for Rosemary.”
Dominic did a slow blink. “Say again?” He had to have misheard the guy.
“If you mate with her, you can bring out her wolf. Allow her to have children.” Like it was really that simple. “You had a relationship with her until recently, so I’m sure it wouldn’t be a chore for you to simply bite her.”
Relationship? Dominic straightened in his chair, unable to believe he was truly fucking hearing this. “I don’t know what your daughter told you—”
“She told me everything. How you met at a supermarket, how you swept her off her feet, how loving and attentive you were, how you spent most nights at her apartment and spoke of moving her onto your territory. I don’t know what led to the argument you had, she wouldn’t speak of it. But these things can be worked out.”
What the fuck? Dominic’s wolf growled, enraged that the female had falsely alleged that she had some sort of claim to him. “You’re far off base here, Pierson,” Dominic told him, keeping his tone carefully controlled. Still, his voice deepened in anger. “I was not in a relationship with your daughter. Far from it, in fact. Regardless, mating with someone isn’t simply a case of biting them.”
Emmet waved that away. “I’ve read up on shifters, I know how it works. You bite the female to make your claim on her. That mark makes her your mate. A bond then forms between you. A bond that gives the human added strength, accelerated healing, and enables her to have children. And you were, in fact, in a relationship with her; she told me all about it.
“If you don’t think the mating will work in the long run, fine, end it at some point. But at least keep her as your mate until she becomes pregnant and her wolf has surfaced. She’ll have no issue with you having contact with the child.”