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  “But…how…where did you get the money for this? I know we both make…we…but…”

  “Our big client was very happy with the work I did for them and rewarded me with a generous bonus at the end of the project. It was hard not to tell you, but I wanted to do this, and—”

  Rachel propelled herself into Michelle’s arms and began to plant kisses on every available inch of her face. “Oh God, Michelle, I can’t believe you did this. I love you so much. This is the sweetest thing you’ve ever done. It’s the sweetest thing anyone’s ever done!” Her kisses gave way to relieved wet sniffles. She was so grateful that there was an explanation for every doubt she had been having.

  “So, that’s a yes? You’ll marry me?” Michelle held Rachel close.

  Rachel nodded, even as she continued to cry against Michelle’s shoulder.

  Michelle leaned back so she could see Rachel’s face. “Baby, what brought this on? You have to tell me why you thought I was cheating on you. You must know that I would never do that in a million years!”

  Rachel felt like a complete fool but knew that she owed her future wife an explanation. “I was listening to Mikey and Margie, and they said that cheating spouses want more sex and lie about having to work more hours and smell better and don’t answer their phones and…”

  Michelle laughed then and hugged Rachel close again. “And I haven’t helped matters by sneaking around, even if it was because I was planning all of this. I’m so sorry. But please know that there will never be anyone else for me. Ever.” She removed the ring from the satin-lined box, took Rachel’s hand, and slid the ring onto her finger. “There we go, right where it belongs. It’s been burning a hole in my desk drawer at work for the last month.” She brushed her thumb across Rachel’s cheek, erasing the trail of tears. “Now, let me give you the official tour of our new house.” Michelle took her by the hand and attempted to pull her from the room, but Rachel refused to budge.

  “Unhuh. I need a tour of the bed first.” Rachel grinned.

  “Oh you do, do you?” Michelle played along. “Well, in that case,” she threw back the covers on the bed, making room for them both, “you most definitely have my full attention, as a tour guide, of course.”

  Rachel scooted toward the pillows, unbuttoning her blouse in the process and then tossing it to the floor. She gazed at the ring on her finger. “I can’t believe you did this. You don’t know how happy you’ve made me.”

  Michelle removed her ribbed, long-sleeved shirt and tossed it onto a bedside chair. She took off her shoes and socks, then her jeans, before crawling toward Rachel. She stretched her body across Rachel’s. “You’re the one who’s made me happy,” she said between kisses to Rachel’s cheek, chin, nose, and lips.

  Rachel moaned as she molded her body tightly against Michelle’s, her mind and body wanting nothing more than to melt right into her fiancée. She tore her mouth away, her breath coming in loud gasps. “Roll over,” Rachel said, rising from the bed to remove the remainder of her clothing.

  Michelle began to slide her bra strap from one shoulder, but Rachel quickly stopped her. “No. Let me,” she said softly.

  Michelle dropped her hand, and Rachel swiftly removed the bra. The cool air of the room hardened Michelle’s nipples and raised goose bumps across her arms and shoulders.

  “Baby…”

  It was just a whisper, but it was enough to draw Rachel to her, their mouths meeting in hungry kisses. Their lips and tongues explored and tasted and teased against sensitive skin. Eager hands removed the last remnants of clothing and then trailed through hair, along cheekbones, and over breasts. Bodies melded and became one while kisses continued to deepen, interrupted only by needy pleas and throaty moans of pleasure.

  Rachel moved above her lover and held herself upright on one forearm while the other hand explored Michelle’s body. She moved her hand from breast to stomach and then farther still to part Michelle’s legs. She moaned when she felt the evidence of the excitement she’d helped create. Rachel loved how Michelle watched her as Rachel entered her.

  Michelle groaned and reached down, entering Rachel as well.

  Rachel watched through heavy lids as Michelle’s back arched and her head pressed deeply into the pillow beneath her. Watching Michelle in this way intensified Rachel’s pleasure and her orgasm quickly followed Michelle’s.

  They lay in each other’s arms, breathing each other in, motionless except for the occasional gentle caress on an arm or a shoulder.

  Michelle lifted her head and nibbled playfully at Rachel’s lip. “So, tell me where you want to marry me. I think you have eight or nine places that could be legal options at this point.”

  Rachel studied her, a smile beginning in her eyes. “Well, I think it should be in a state that begins with the letter M, since those seem to be the most prevalent among our options. Plus, well, your name starts with an M, so…”

  Michelle’s lips covered hers in a tender kiss. “I’d marry you in every state from A through Z. You know that, don’t you?”

  Rachel wrapped her arms around her beloved’s neck and pulled her into a tender embrace. “I do.”

  ###

  About Diane Marina

  Diane Marina lives in the Mid-Atlantic US with her partner of 18 years. She is the author of several short stories published in the US, as well as a full-length novel, How Still My Love, which was published as a third of a trilogy titled Triple Delight. She plans to expand on the original story and re-publish the novel in 2013.

  When not writing, she spends her time reading, hiking, running, and traveling. When she’s not traveling, she’s dreaming of all of the places she’d like to visit.

  E-mail: [email protected]

  Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/diane.marina.96

  Other books from Ylva Publishing

  http://www.ylva-publishing.com

  Something in the Wine

  Jae

  All her life, Annie Prideaux has suffered through her brother’s constant practical jokes only he thinks are funny. But Jake’s last joke is one too many, she decides when he sets her up on a blind date with his friend Drew Corbin—neglecting to tell his straight sister one tiny detail: her date is not a man, but a lesbian.

  Annie and Drew decide it’s time to turn the tables on Jake by pretending to fall in love with each other.

  At first glance, they have nothing in common. Disillusioned with love, Annie focuses on books, her cat, and her work as an accountant while Drew, more confident and outgoing, owns a dog and spends most of her time working in her beloved vineyard.

  Only their common goal to take revenge on Jake unites them. But what starts as a table-turning game soon turns Annie’s and Drew’s lives upside down as the lines between pretending and reality begin to blur.

  Something in the Wine is a story about love, friendship, and coming to terms with what it means to be yourself.

  Hot Line

  Alison Grey

  Two women from different worlds.

  Linda, a successful psychologist, uses her work to distance herself from her own loneliness.

  Christina works for a sex hotline to make ends meet.

  Their worlds collide when Linda calls Christina’s sex line. Christina quickly realizes Linda is not her usual customer. Instead of wanting phone sex, Linda makes an unexpected proposition. Does Christina dare accept the offer that will change both their lives?

  L.A. Metro

  (second edition)

  RJ Nolan

  Dr. Kimberly Donovan’s life is in shambles. After her medical ethics are questioned, first her family, then her closeted lover, the Chief of the ER, betray her. Determined to make a fresh start, she flees to California and L.A. Metropolitan Hospital.

  Dr. Jess McKenna, L.A. Metro’s Chief of the ER, gives new meaning to the phrase emotionally guarded, but she has her reasons.

  When Kim and Jess meet, the attraction is immediate. Emotions Jess has tried to repress for years surface. But her i
nterest in Kim also stirs dark memories. They settle for friendship, determined not to repeat past mistakes, but secretly they both wish things could be different.

  Will the demons from Jess’s past destroy their future before it can even get started? Or will L.A. Metro be a place to not only heal the sick, but to mend wounded hearts?

  Walking the Labyrinth

  Lois Cloarec Hart

  Is there life after loss? Lee Glenn, co-owner of a private security company, didn’t think so. Crushed by grief after the death of her wife, she uncharacteristically retreats from life.

  But love doesn’t give up easily. After her friends and family stage a dramatic intervention, Lee rejoins the world of the living, resolved to regain some sense of normalcy but only half-believing that it’s possible. Her old friend and business partner convinces her to take on what appears on the surface to be a minor personal protection detail.

  The assignment takes her far from home, from the darkness of her loss to the dawning of a life reborn. Along the way, Lee encounters people unlike any she’s ever met before: Wrong-Way Wally, a small-town oracle shunned by the locals for his off-putting speech and mannerisms; and Wally’s best friend, Gaëlle, a woman who not only translates the oracle’s uncanny predictions, but who also appears to have a deep personal connection to life beyond life. Lee is shocked to find herself fascinated by Gaëlle, despite dismissing the woman’s exotic beliefs as “hooey.”

  But opening yourself to love also means opening yourself to the possibility of pain. Will Lee have the courage to follow that path, a path that once led to the greatest agony she’d ever experienced? Or will she run back to the cold comfort of a safer solitary life?

  Coming from Ylva Publishing in summer and fall 2013

  http://www.ylva-publishing.com

  Second Nature

  (revised edition)

  Jae

  Novelist Jorie Rice doesn’t believe in the existence of shape-shifting creatures or true love. She leads a solitary life, and the paranormal romances she writes are pure fiction for her.

  Griffin Westmore knows better—at least about one of these two things. She doesn’t believe in love either, but she’s one of the not-so-fictional shape-shifters. She’s also a Saru, an elite soldier with the mission to protect the shape-shifters’ secret existence at any cost.

  When Jorie gets too close to the truth in her latest shape-shifter romance, Griffin is sent to investigate—and if necessary to destroy the manuscript before it’s published and to kill the writer.

  See Right Through Me

  L.T. Smith

  Trust, respect, and love. Three little words—that’s all. But these words are powerful, and if we ignore any one of them, then three other little words take their place: jealousy, insecurity, and heartbreak.

  Schoolteacher Gemma Hughes is an ordinary woman living an ordinary life. Disorganized and clumsy, she soon finds herself in the capable hands of the beautiful Dr. Maria Moran. Everything goes wonderfully until Gemma starts doubting Maria's intentions and begins listening to the wrong people.

  But has Maria something to hide, or is it a case of swapping trust for insecurity, respect for jealousy and finishing with a world of heartbreak and deceit? Can Gemma stop her actions before it’s too late? Or will she ruin the best thing to happen in her life?

  Given her track record, anything is possible.