“Aaron Sheftall.” Zack reached for Aaron’s other hand, pressing both of them together so they were clasped between his own. “Can I marry you?”
Aaron could feel the smile broadening across his face, his skin heating with a flush of joy. He hadn’t known there would be a way to make this evening more perfect, and yet, here it was.
But still. Priorities. Zack, he was sure, would wait a moment. The seals might not.
Still smiling so widely his face hurt, he gently withdrew his hands from Zack’s and pulled his t-shirt over his head. Then he kicked off his sandals, delighting in the moment of pure confusion on Zack’s face as he dove in the water.
When Aaron resurfaced a moment later pushing his wet hair back out of his face, the bobbing shapes in the water were closer. Yes.
Zack, still on the dock, was now also shirtless and poised to jump. But his eyes were fixed on Aaron’s face, and Aaron knew Zack wouldn’t move until he had his answer.
“Yes, of course!” he called, slapping the water to send a splash up at Zack. “Now come on,” he hollered as he turned and kicked off towards the open lake.
For a split second, he was terrified that Zack wouldn’t follow, but then he heard a splash, far clumsier than his own.
Aaron laughed as he pulled himself through the water, the gentle waves cool and flowing over his skin. He didn’t know what the future held—not in the next four minutes or in the next four years, but for the first time in his life he knew he was real and loved and tethered, truly and joyfully, to a world so much bigger than himself.
Whatever happened next was going to be amazing.
Thank you for reading Ink and Ice! For more information about Racheline Maltese & Erin McRae’s work, visit their website at www.Avian30.com. You can sign up for their newsletter to be the first to hear about sales and new releases, or support their Patreon for deleted scenes, trunked manuscripts, process updates, craft posts, opportunities to name characters and more.
If you want more adventures on the ice, try After the Gold, the first book in the Twin Cities Ice series.
LIBRARY JOURNAL'S BEST INDIE EBOOK 2017
Olympic gold-medalist Katie Nowacki has always been determined to get exactly what she wants. There's just one problem. When it comes to her skating partner Brendan Reid, she has absolutely no idea what she wants ... despite their incendiary chemistry and long-standing collaboration.As they retire from competition and cross America on an exhibition tour with their fellow athletes, Katie and Brendan are forced to confront their fears -- and each other -- in a quest to build a new future together.
If you want more romance, magical realism, and mythology in a contemporary setting, try A Queen from the North.
LIBRARY JOURNAL'S BEST INDIE EBOOK 2017
Lady Amelia Brockett, known to her family as Meels, is having the Worst. Christmas. Ever. Dumped by her boyfriend and rejected from graduate school, her parents deem her the failure of the family.
But when her older brother tries to cheer her with a trip to the races, a chance meeting with Arthur, the widowed, playboy Prince of Wales, offers Amelia the opportunity to change her life — and Britain's fortunes — forever.
If you're looking for more humor, a smidge of magical realism, and the massive inconvenience of workplace romances, try The Opposite of Drowning.
Sometimes, love is a natural disaster.
Harry Sargent hates his job in publishing, his life in New York City, and his motley collection of disreputable best friends. Making everything worse? He's about to turn 50 and has a crush on the much-younger woman his company just hired to move them into the digital age.
At 27, Elizabeth Anne Abgral loves her job, her life, and maybe even her fiancé. But no one can have it all, and as long as she does everything her old-fashioned, high-society New England family expects of her, she'll probably be happy. Right?!
But when she meets a handsome – and mischievous – older man at her new job, that illusion shatters.
As she and Harry bicker their way through industry events around the world, Elizabeth finds herself tossing rationality – and her plans – to the wind.
But just because Harry has long wished his life were different, doesn’t mean he’s ready to risk his heart on a passion that frightens him... or a peculiar young woman with the uncanny ability to make cities flood every time they kiss.
If you're looking for more high-heat romance, complicated relationships, and love in the public eye, try Starling, Love in Los Angeles Book 1.
Hollywood's newest star, 21-year-old J. Alex Cook never wanted to be famous, he just wanted to get out of Indiana. When he hooks up with Paul, a writer on a hit TV show, Alex is thrown into a web of relationships involving friends, lovers, and everything in between.
Forced to figure out what it means to live — and love — In the public eye, Alex's quest to find his own happily ever after will make you believe love is possible... even in Los Angeles.
Please be aware, this is a high-heat, high-angst romance and includes characters with a past history of self-harm.
This title was previously published by Torquere Press. This is a newly updated and revised edition.
If you're looking for lushness, longing and bisexual characters, pick up the award-winning The Art of Three!
24-year-old Jamie Conway has just moved to London, is starring in his first feature film, and hasn't yet figured out how to navigate fame, adulthood, or being bisexual in public.
When Jamie hooks up with his much older polyamorous costar Callum Griffith-Davies, he sets off a chain of delightful complications, including an unexpected affair with Callum's no-nonsense wife, Nerea.
This Rainbow Awards-winning romance features three countries, two men, one woman, and absolutely no love triangles.
