A Deep Dark Call Page 15
She looked at him in puzzlement. “No. You smell like love. I can smell your love for me.”
He burst into laughter. “Fine. Probably,” he said.
“Not probably. For certain,” she told him, since her nose had gotten better and better ever since she had found her wolf self. She had begun to think that, both as wolf and as human, her nose was actually better than his.
He sighed. “So it is plain I love you then,” he conceded. “But it is also plain that you love me.”
“Can wolves smell love?”
He shrugged. “I assume they can.”
“Can wolves love?” she asked him, puzzled by the entire situation.
“I do not think they can. Not as humans do. But, after all, we are not fully wolf, are we?”
She nodded and cast him an assessing look. “Until a week ago, I was not sure I even liked you.”
“You seem to have improved your opinion of me somewhat,” he told her, rather too confidently.
She cocked an eyebrow at this. “Somewhat. I still have to learn more about you to decide if I really like you.”
“Fair enough,” he sighed.
The discussion seemed to have reached its end. However, a moment later he spoke again. “Would you like me more if I asked to share your bedroom?”
“Since we already make much use of the bed, I see no reason you should sleep elsewhere,” she told him loftily.
* * *
Lucy took the stairs, and it seemed to Ioan that she was swaying her hips rather provocatively. He narrowed his eyes—she was getting too arrogant. Maybe she would benefit from a little lesson in humility, he thought, smiling wickedly. There were, after all, many things that he could still teach her.
Nevertheless, at this moment he couldn’t take his eyes off the naughty sway of her hips, and he held his breath, knowing that she had already won this round. This round, he told himself. But of course, there would be others. Many others.
He hurried to follow her, skipping some steps as he did so. He wanted her with the same wolfish intensity as always. But he not only wanted her, he thought with a smile, catching the half-shy, half-teasing glance she cast him over her shoulder.
It was more than that. It was the bond that they shared and that made them complete when they were together. A wolf bond, but more than that.
Was it love? Probably. No—certainly. Because, after all, love was just another name for the tree of life.
* * * * *
Acknowledgments
To Julie Tetel Andresen—writer, linguist, teacher, friend, role model and, last but not least, honorary Romanian citizen...this book wouldn’t have been possible without you.
To Mackenzie Walton, who saw the story’s raw potential, gave insightful comments and patiently polished my prose. It has been a privilege to work with you.
To the whole amazing team at Carina Press, who really made me feel like a romance writer and not like a mere beginner.
To my sister, who read me my first romance. I hope you’ll like my hero. I wrote him especially for you!
About the Author
Rose Vane has spent most of her life debating whether she likes Mr. Darcy better than Mr. Rochester, but would definitely choose Tarzan over Conan the Barbarian. In the meantime, she’s earned a double degree in English and French and has settled on teaching linguistics.
A compulsive writer, she’s published several academic books and articles, poetry, essays, and now romance. While she loves reading and writing genre-blending paranormal/historical romance, as well as high fantasy romance, she hasn’t given up the thought that one day she’ll also publish medieval and Regency fiction.
She lives in Bucharest, with her Transylvanian husband and (impish) son. When she’s not watching Game of Thrones, Vikings or Outlander, she fantasizes about winning an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.
You can find Rose Vane on Twitter, on Facebook, or you can check out her author page.
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ISBN-13: 9781488089282
A Deep Dark Call
Copyright © 2017 by Ruxandra Visan
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