Simon & Rose by V.A. Dold

you really like? Perhaps a favorite flower, or a scent that brought back happy memories?”
    He jerked to full attention, his brows pulled together. “Yeah, for some reason I kept smelling my grandmother’s banana bread. I figured you liked to bake like she did.”
    Sharon tipped her head back and laughed. “I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I don’t cook. I have a chef for that.” Then she looked at him intensely. “To me, you smell like my favorite spices growing in my garden.”
    “That’s strange. Why would I smell like that?” he asked still frowning.
    “I’ll answer your question in a minute. First answer me this, when you initially saw me, did you experience a very strong attraction?”
    Mark massaged the back of his neck. He averted his eyes, embarrassed to answer. Finally, he looked up and cleared his throat. “Yes. You’re the first woman to cause a visceral reaction in my body since my injury.”
    She nodded and put her hand back on his knee, gave him a little squeeze, and smiled. “I had the same reaction to you.”
    Her answer tugged a smile from him and set his traitorous heart fluttering. “You did?”
    Her smile widened. “Oh yeah, I did. You are one smoking hot man, Mark Anderson.”
    He felt his blush deepen and his smile grow wide.
    Mark?
    She was watching him like a bug in a jar. His brows pulled low and tight. He swore he heard her say his name, but her lips hadn’t moved.
    Yes, Mark. You heard me. I’m speaking to you telepathically. You can speak to me as well. Just think what you want to say and direct it at me as if you spoke with your voice.
    He narrowed his eyes at her. “Is this for real?”
    “It’s very real. Try it.”
    He hesitated. Studied her face. After a long minute he gave it a try. Sharon?
    Yes, Mark?
    You’re scaring the crap out of me.
    “Cher, there’s no need to be afraid. What we’re experiencing is perfectly normal for my people.”
    “Well, it’s not normal for me. I’m not telepathic. And why do you keep saying ‘my people’? What the hell is going on?”
    “You may not normally be telepathic, but with me you are. Mates can communicate privately through that particular gift.”
    Mark scowled, losing patience. “First you refer to your people, like your different from me, then you mention mates. What exactly are you trying to say, Sharon?”
    “I’m one of those mythical creatures you don’t believe in. I’m a wolf shifter and you’re my destined mate. I can turn into a wolf. So can Simon and many other people you’ve met.”
    He stared at her waiting for her to say she was kidding. She didn’t.
    Slowly he moved his leg from under her hand and stood for a second time to inch toward the door. “What the hell do you mean, you’re a werewolf and I’m your mate?”
    Sharon stood and adjusted the sheet she still wore. “Mark, please don’t go. I’m not a werewolf and I’m not going to attack you. A shifter is simply a human with an extra soul. A wolf soul. I’m no less human than you are.”
    When he stopped moving toward the door, she let out a relieved breath.
    He crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes. “Sharon, I think you need to get some help. Let me call someone to stay with you until you can be evaluated.”
    She raised one eyebrow and chuckled. “Thank you, but no. As they say, seeing is believing. Would you like me to show you? You’ll be completely safe, I promise. When I change into my wolf, I’m still human, I’m just in another form. I’ll still be able to think and control my wolf form just as I control my human body.”
    He didn’t respond, just looked at her like he was waiting for a tail or ears to erupt.
    Sharon closed her eyes, feeling as if her heart were being torn from her chest. Her wolf howled in pain as she felt his determination to leave squeeze her heart in a crushing grip. If she encouraged Mark to talk to Simon there was a chance that once he left her house he may never return. This was a huge gamble on