For this edition of First Kiss Friday, I am sharing the first kiss between Edie Whitecrow and Thunder Bear from Born for This, book one in the Maizemerized series, a time travel, historical romance.
She’s always been obsessed with her ancestors, and now he’s offering her a chance to live with them…forever.
Second-year university student Edie Whitecrow gobbles up each course on Indigenous studies. If only she could experience the lives of her Anishinaabe ancestors instead of reading about them. On her way to a Halloween party decked out as a historical Ojibway maiden, she spies a corn maze in a spot known to be barren.
A scarecrow figure beckons Edie to enter with the enticing offer of making her biggest wish come true. She jumps at the chance and finds herself in the past, face to face with the man who haunts her dreams—the handsome brave Thunder Bear. He claims he’s spent twelve years waiting for Gitche Manidoo to send her to him.
Life in the eighteenth century isn’t what Edie romanticized about, though. When her conscience is tested, she must choose between the modern day or the world of her descendants—where the man she was created for resides.
Genre(s): Time Travel, Historical Romance, Contemporary Romance, First Nations Romance, Paranormal Romance, Adult.
Heat Rating: Level 3
Publication Date: October 29, 2021
Publisher: eXtasy Books
“Much thinking goes on here.” Thunder Bear tapped the side of his head. “What is it, Fire Woman?”
“Part of me misses my family, and the other part wishes to never leave here,” Edie murmured.
“Understandable. I wish I could take you with me when I leave to trap the furs, for this would ease your sadness for home, but you have much to do here while I am gone,” he gently said. He moved his rush mat closer to hers.
His scent invaded her nostrils, as clean as the forest and purer than the water of Lake of the Woods with a touch of well-tanned leather, and the woodsy sweetness from the pipe he’d smoked earlier. There was nothing fake about him.
He was as natural as his namesake in the bush. No forged smells of cologne, scented shampoo, or fragranced soap. No unnatural haircut or hair color. No groomed eyebrows. No fashionable clothing. Yet he was handsomer than any male who posted his photos on social media. Nor would Thunder Bear engage in the online petty bickering that broke out between races over the latest news.
He was a doer, not a talker. Her ancestors were quiet people, who lightly laughed for a reason—because words could not be taken back once spoken. They compared menial chatter to the mindless squawking of the magpie.
“What are you thinking about?” He reached over. His fingers glided along her cheekbone.
Edie stole a peek at the back of the lodge. All was now quiet. Only the shadows of their sleeping forms of her relations could be seen. Her parents were absent from their usual spot. They, too, had retired to the back of the lodge.
Thunder Bear’s potent gaze was as mesmerizing as the dance of the flames. She could almost taste the richness of his red lips, feel the ripple of his lean muscles that weren’t over-pumped biceps bought at a gym but came from eating naturally and working and living outdoors.
He leaned in closer, stretching toward her. His fingers continued to caress her face. The breath left her lungs. When his mouth came down on hers, she claimed it with her own lips.
Maggie Blackbird 