Thanks for dropping by my First Kiss Friday blog. I’m so happy you’re here! Today’s guest is my dear friend Mary Morgan who has an excerpt from her newest novel Steinar. We hope you enjoy this first kiss scene. Happy reading, my lovelies!

Excerpt ~ 

Steinar raised a brow in amused contempt with the beginnings of a smile tipping the corners of his lips.

“I find nae humor in this.” She pointed a warning finger at the man. “Nor should you.”

He raised the jug near his mouth. “For Inga the Ruthless who has maintained a life around men, I find your response…interesting.” He then took a long draw of mead.

Stunned into silence, Inga gaped at him. Then her eyes narrowed to shards of fury. Her fingers sought the brooch fastened at the top of her cloak and undid the clasp. Removing the cloak from her body, she tossed both brooch and cloak onto a nearby stool. 

“How wrong you were in your earlier criticism of my skills as a woman. At Rangvald’s table I was simply Inga, daughter of Olaf.” She gestured to her gown. “Can you honestly tell me I look like a woman who is a leader of men on the seas?” 

Steinar’s expression stilled. He wiped the back of his hand leisurely across his mouth. “Nae,” he rasped out.

There she witnessed the invitation in the smoldering depths of his eyes—dark with desire luring her forward. 

Her heart hammered against her chest. Inga’s mind ordered her to leave—escape the temptation to feel his arms around her. But her body betrayed and overrode all thought. Slowly, Inga removed the jug from his hand and pressed it against her lips. Tilting it back, she drank deeply of what remained. After tossing aside the jug onto the ground, she smiled fully. “Then I am correct.” 

Steinar pushed away from the wall. “You think to claim victory?”

Her breath rose heavily with each rise and fall. When did she become the prey and he the predator? “Always,” she whispered, determined to grasp any shard of control or sanity. 

In one swift move, Steinar clasped his hands around her waist and turned her around with her back against the wall. His body towered over her, trapping Inga. Escape not an option.

She gasped. Fight or surrender?

For the first time, Inga lessened the strings binding her to an oath moons ago. 

An oath to never let a man control her. 

An oath to never let a man touch her.

Oaths be damned! She craved to have this man kiss her.

Candlelight flickered around them while his hands gripped her firmly. He lowered his head near her ear. “I see nae victory here.”

Inga swallowed. Heat swelled within her body—traveling from her face down her breasts and to the place hidden between her thighs. “Do you challenge me?”

His hand traveled along the curve of her waist upward until his fingers traced a path along the neckline of her gown.

She trembled from his touch. “What are you doing?”

The smile he flashed her was as intimate as a kiss. A kiss she ached from the man. Would his lips be soft? Or firm as the muscles he hid under his clothing.

His lips brushed against hers as he spoke. “Tasting the woman.” He then licked the soft skin below her ear, and Inga let out a moan.

Steinar drew back. “I think neither of us is the victor. I taste the woman and the warrior.”

She threw caution out to the sea and wrapped her arms around the man’s neck. “Are you certain you have sampled enough, Pirate?”

His low growl surrounded Inga. “You are a siren, Inga. A danger to any man. You should leave and bolt the door on your chamber.”

“But I have surrendered to you,” she confessed, eager to explore more.

Steinar crushed her against him. The first touch of his lips ignited a hunger within her, but when his mouth descended over hers, Inga reveled in the heady sensation—soft, full, demanding. The kiss sent her body aflame, sending her into a spiral of passion unlike any she’d experienced. She opened fully to the possession, letting the man take and plunder. When his tongue caressed the inside of her mouth, Inga replied by sliding hers across in invitation. Desire burned within her veins, burned in the most intimate places of her body. Shocked at her own eager response to the touch of his lips, she moved against him, feeling his hard length.

Breaking free, Steinar’s lips trailed a path along the vein along her neck. “You dare to tempt me further?”

Inga closed her eyes, weak and confused after one kiss. The man tasted of mead and much more—the sea clung to his skin, to his mouth, to the breath sliding over her lips.

“Do you want more?” His question barely a whisper against her skin.

“Aye,” she managed between gasps of air.

---

Steinar
By Mary Morgan

To save the wolf, she must renounce her love for the man. 

Descended from the mighty Somerled, Lord of the Isles, Steinar MacDougall’s supremacy over the seas is fierce. On a quest for King William, he is captured by the enemy and presented with a favorable opportunity. Yet Steinar soon realizes his greatest threat comes from the woman who hides behind the mask of a warrior, and the quest for control might send them hurdling into the abyss of the sea.

As leader of the Serpents, Inga the Ruthless travels beyond the isles bartering for goods with her brothers. After rescuing the feared Pirate Wolf during a storm, she surrenders her trust to the man and his inner wolf in order to claim the lost treasure of Odin. Though the journey is fraught with dangers, Inga fears her heart might be the one in peril, leading her to make the ultimate sacrifice. 

Will the sea be their salvation or doom them to a watery grave?

Buy Links:

Universal Buy Link: https://books2read.com/u/bx6ZGP

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Steinar-Wolves-Clan-Sutherland-Book-ebook/dp/B0CM6SMD6L

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/steinar-mary-morgan/1144267248?ean=2940186081944

Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/book/steinar/id6470925917

About the Author:

Mary Morgan is an international best-selling author of award-winning historical fantasy and paranormal romance novels. During her research travels with her knight in shining armor to England, Ireland, and Scotland, she left a part of her soul in one of these countries and vows to return.

Her passion for books started at an early age along with an overactive imagination. Inspired by her love for history and ancient Celtic and Norse mythology, Mary’s tales are filled with powerful warriors, brave women, magic, and romance. 

If you enjoy history, tortured heroes, and a wee bit of fantasy, then journey back in time within the pages of her books. 

Connect with Mary here ~

Website/Blog:  https://www.marymorganauthor.com/

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Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MaryMorganAuthor/

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BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/mary-morgan

Audible: https://www.audible.com/author/Mary-Morgan/B00KPE3NWILinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mary-morgan-2634a77a/