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
quarterly newsletter. Love social networking? Find Sky on Facebook
and Twitter.
Pinterest:
www.pinterest.com/skypurington
Tour
giveaway
A
$25 gift card to winner’s choice of Amazon or Barnes & Noble.
Thanks so much for the feature. Happy Holidays!
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Sky Purington
You're welcome :)
Delete