Spindrift

When myth comes to life, love becomes legendary...

Writer Richard Dunn's managed to get himself accepted by the fishermen in the village he lives in for half the year. Just how well accepted he doesn't realize, until the night he stumbles on an argument involving a local man he hasn't met before--and finds himself asked to give a silkie a bed for the night.

Niall is a silkie. A creature of legend—a seal, able to become human by removing his skin and to become seal again by slipping it back on. That's a bit of a problem, since Niall's seal-skin has been stolen by a man in love with Niall's sister. The thief will only give it back in exchange for his sister's, which means he's trapped in human form. Unless he betrays her, or his friends find his skin.

Trapped ashore, with no official identity and no bank accounts, Niall needs a refuge. His human friends think that a wealthy writer with a known ability to respect other people's secrets might be just the ticket. All the better that both of them are gay and single...

But Richard's only too aware of the legends of silkie women abducted and forced to marry land men. It's hard to ignore the old tale, when one of the fishermen has just made a bid to re-enact it. It's not an example Richard wants to follow. He's determined to help Niall get his skin back, even if it costs him the love of a lifetime.

58,000 words