A
Viking Holiday
The
MacLomain Series
Viking
Ancestors’ Kin
Sky
Purington
Genre:
Time-travel Fantasy Romance
Date
of Publication: November 29, 2016
ASIN:
B01MAVTKH4
Number
of pages: 120
Word
Count: 35,000
Cover
Artist: Tamra Westberry
Book
Description:
Having
time travelers in your life isn’t always easy. Given that he’s
said goodbye to several of them over the past few years, Sean
O’Conner knows that better than most. Now his best friend Megan has
returned from tenth-century Scandinavia to modern day Maine. Not only
has she aged over twenty-five years, she hasn’t traveled through
time alone. Her troublesome daughter Svala is with her.
Of
dragon blood and proud to be Viking, Svala Sigdir has no use for the
twenty-first century and makes it evident to all around her. Even so,
she will protect her mother at all cost. Meanwhile, she needs a man.
Sean to be exact. Despite his aversion, she is determined to make him
hers.
Svala
might be after him, but Sean wants nothing to do with her. At least
that’s what he tells himself as the holidays arrive and he
struggles to keep peace in what’s become a battleground instead of
a festive Winter Harbor home. At his wit’s end, he finally calls on
an old friend’s help. Or so he had hoped. Cast beneath the spell of
a powerful Scottish wizard determined to protect his Viking
Ancestors, Sean and Svala go on an unexpected yuletide journey. As it
turns out, there’s only one way to break free from the spell. A
life-altering choice that might very well cost Sean both his sanity
and his heart.
Excerpt:
Svala
wrapped her fur cloak around her shoulders and started to breeze past
them as she eyed his crew mate. “So you’re New England’s
finest, are you?”
“Naw.”
Nick chuckled and nodded at Sean. “Most ladies think he is.”
“Hmm,
I’m not sure about that,” she said before she started down the
hallway.
“I
don’t think so.” Sean grabbed her wrist and stopped her. “Nick,
go make sure none of the guys head this way. Tell them I’m catching
a rat or something.”
Svala
winked. “Or a dragon.”
“Where
you gonna hide her, Cap?” Nick kept grinning. “She don’t look
like the type of woman who’ll keep hidden if she’s decided
otherwise.”
Svala
cocked a grin at Nick. “I think I like you.”
“I
know I like you, beautiful,” he returned.
“Just
make sure no one heads this way, Nick,” Sean reiterated. “And
I’ll make sure Svala stays hidden.”
“I
betcha will.” Nick chuckled as Sean pulled her toward the meager
sleeping quarters.
“I
am not staying down here.” Svala started to fight him. “I want to
be on deck. I want to help you fish.”
“Hell,
no.” Sean grabbed her before she could bolt in the opposite
direction. “My men won’t be able to concentrate on work with you
around.”
Her
eyes met his. “Then you must not lead them well if they are so
easily distracted.”
It
felt as if the narrow hallway only grew smaller as her eyes pinned
his…as he remembered with vivid clarity how she’d felt against
him last night. “You know damn well the effect you have on men.”
“I
did not dress in modern day clothes.” She pulled the cloak off her
shoulders. “See, I am dressed like a Viking again.”
His
eyes fell to the fur-trimmed, leather tunic. To her unmistakable
curves. He swallowed and tore his eyes away. “What difference does
it make? You’re still trouble.”
“Only
when I dress like a modern-day woman, yes?” Svala cocked her head.
“That is why you fought for me last night, is it not? Because you
desired me in those clothes?” She frowned. “Now I am not wearing
them. You will not desire me so they won’t either. There will be no
trouble. You will not be ashamed of yourself.”
Sean
had no idea what to make of her logic. “I’m not ashamed of
myself.” But he had been when he overreacted last night. “And
trust me, sweetheart, it doesn’t matter what you’re wearing.
You’re gonna distract my men.”
She
didn’t press closer, but her words made the hallway seem even
narrower as she murmured, “Am I distracting you now, Sean? Is that
why you seem so convinced?”
When
they hit a small swell, he braced his hand against the wall beside
her head and bit back desire. “Just do as I ask, Svala. I don’t
need any trouble, okay? Not with my men.” He ground his jaw. “This
is my livelihood. Please don’t screw it up.”
Shockingly
enough, Svala looked as though he’d slapped her. “That’s not
why I’m here, Sean…” She trailed off, clearly upset before she
gathered herself. “I just wanted to see you fish.”
“Commercial
fishing isn’t like normal fishing.” He shook his head. “There’s
not much to see, really.”
Except
when the nets came up. That feeling of excitement and expectation
before they found out how big a load they’d caught.
He
had no idea what to make of the look on her face. She was vulnerable
in a way he’d never seen her. “I’m sorry,” he murmured, not
sure what to say, still confused about why she hadn’t already
traveled back in time. “Maybe I can take you out fishing another
time?”
“Maybe,”
she said softly, her eyes alarmingly gentle as she stepped close. “So
how are you going to keep me entertained while you hide me away?”
Ah,
there she was. The little Viking he knew so well. Except he wasn’t
doing what he always had.
He
wasn’t stepping away.
Something
about having her on one of his boats, on his turf, on the high
sea…was different. Somehow, though it was on his territory, they
had found common ground. The sway of a ship. The pulse of the ocean
beneath them.
“Sean,”
she whispered, clearly sensing a crack in the wall he’d kept
between them. Slowly, inch by inch, she unzipped his jacket. “If I
understand things correctly, you aren’t needed for hours yet. Why
don’t we fill in that time in a pleasurable way, yes?”
About
the Author:
Sky
Purington is the bestselling author of over twenty-five novels and
several novellas. A New Englander born and bred, Sky was raised
hearing stories of folklore, myth and legend. When combined with a
love for nature, romance and time-travel, elements from the stories
of her youth found release in her books.
Purington
loves to hear from readers and can be contacted at
Sky@SkyPurington.com. Interested in keeping up with Sky's latest news
and releases? Visit Sky's website, http://www.skypurington.com to
download her free App on iTunes and Android or sign up for her
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Thank you so much for hosting me again. Wishing you and yours a very happy holiday season and a wonderful New Year! :-)
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Sky Purington