Book Description:
When monsters stalk the darkness of Prohibition era Chicago, it takes a special kind of hero to kill them.
Private detective Mark Van Ryn’s supernatural power over shadow has
made him an outcast his whole life. When a mutated creature starts
eating Chicago’s gangsters from the inside out, Mark is the only man in
the city who can hunt it down and destroy it. But a dangerous lady has a
job for Mark too, one that might cost him more than his life.
Gifted perfumer Eliza Karlova needs a man. The most evil man Chicago’s got. And she needs Mark to find him for her. Because Eliza has a deadly power of her own and a family legacy she’s doomed to keep. But when forbidden passion flames up between Eliza and the angelically handsome detective, she has to decide between her destiny, and the man she loves.
War brews in the city as the Century of Progress World’s Fair draws near, and Mark and Eliza must find a way to trust each other if their love, and Chicago, are to survive.
Gritty and gripping, powerful and sexy, Shadow and Poison will have your heart racing with each kill and every searing kiss. ~ Max Watson, author of Chains of Nurture
Shadow and Poison Excerpt 2
Eliza was trapped between Mark’s body and the wall, but strangely, there
was none of the panic she might have expected from being so vulnerable.
Instead, she felt . . . anticipation. She settled into the warmth of his
coat and waited to see what he would do next.
His eyes on hers, he reached up to his throat. Slowly, he loosened the
knot of his tie, and pulled it off in a whisper of silk. He shoved the tie
in his pocket and raised his hands to his collar. He undid his top button,
revealing the strong, smooth column of his throat. He slipped another
button free, and another. The hollow between the graceful wings of his
collarbones appeared, and the beginning swell of his chest muscles.
Her breath stuttered in her throat.
Slowly, gently, he curved his big, callused hand around hers, the one
that was holding the jacket closed. He lifted it to the opening of his
shirt and placed it against the firm flesh there, pressing her palm
against him.
She stopped breathing altogether. It was incredible to touch another
person with her bare hand like this, not to influence him with her poison,
but simply to feel his skin. Warm, and smooth as silk over muscle as hard
as steel. Beneath her palm, his heart beat a fast, hard rhythm.
“You see? You can touch me.”
“I’m not using my power,” she whispered.
The muscles of his chest moved as he shrugged. “Doesn’t matter.”
She ought to pull away. This wasn’t right, no matter how delicious it
felt.
But his eyes held her captive, his white lashes half-veiling irises the
color of melting ice. She stroked her fingertips over him. His chest
heaved in an unsteady breath. “You like touching me, don’t you?” His voice
was a velvety rasp.
“I . . .”
Slowly, he moved their clasped hands down, away from his throat, over his
chest. The buttons of his shirt pressed against her palm. His flesh was
like a furnace beneath the thin cloth. Slabs of muscle over heavy bone,
and under that, the quiet storm of his breath and the thunder of his
heart.
He pushed her hand lower, down the iron ridges of his stomach. She
marveled at how strong he was. But he wasn’t using his strength against
her as he gently pressed her hand against his body. She knew he would let
her break away at any time.
She should. She should stop this right now. But she didn’t want to. She
wanted . . . wanted . . .
Good God, what was she doing? She tore her hand away from his grip. He
let her, but then he placed his palms on the wall above her shoulders and
bowed his head down until his lips were only a breath away from hers.
“You’re so beautiful, you drive me crazy. After you left me today, I
couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t eat. All I could think of was kissing you
again, Eliza . . .”
“N-not here. Someone will see.”
He shook his head. “No one can see us.” The surrounding darkness rippled
with his power. He was drawing the shadows around them, she realized,
hiding them from prying eyes. “Kiss me,” he said, his voice low and
rough.
“Not here,” she said again, trying to regain her scattered wits. Not on a
filthy street in the middle of a slum.
Without a word he scooped her up in his arms. The shadow rushed through
her, sweeping her up into the storm of darkness. An instant later the real
world closed around her again. She blinked hard, trying to orient herself.
She was high in the air on top of a building, perched on the roof. She
looked down into the deep shadows below and realized that five stories
down was the street she had been standing on mere seconds ago. Mark had
brought them straight up the wall she had been leaning against.
His arms were still around her, steadying her. She looked up into his
face. “Goodness,” she managed to say.
He grinned. “Is this more like it, angel?”
She looked out over the rooftops marching off into the night, the canyons
of the streets dimly glowing. A cool wind swirled over the roof, washing
away the stink of smoke and concrete with the scent of the lake. She
tipped her face up to breathe it in. Through half-closed eyes she saw the
crescent moon sailing high overhead, and even a few brave stars pierced
the city night.
She looked back at Mark. He was as wild and beautiful as a white tiger,
hair ruffled in the wind, clothes half-undone, eyes full of hunger. His
hands were still wrapped around her waist, holding her safe. “Amazing,”
she said. And she didn’t know if she meant the city below them, or
him.
“Yeah. I like to come up on the roofs sometimes and look out over it
all.”
“Master of all you survey?”
He grinned. “Something like that.” He flexed his fingers over her hips.
“Is this a better place for a kiss?”
“What if I say no? What if I ask you to take me home instead?”
His smile dimmed, but his eyes stayed keen on hers. “I’ll do whatever you
say.”
“Because I’m the boss?”
“You’re the boss.”
She smiled. Her hands stole up to his shoulders, his flesh fever hot
against her palms. “What if I say I don’t want to kiss you here? Will you
take me somewhere else?”
“Where do you want to go?”
“Surprise me.”
His eyes sparked at her challenge. He wrapped his arms around her again
and the world shifted into a chaos of shadows.
Come visit her at https://www.jbcurry.com/
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Amazon https://www.amazon.com/J.B.-Curry/e/B07KVJ43V8
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27 Comments
Thanks for having me!
ReplyDeleteYou're very welcome! :)
DeleteSounds like a scary book something I would enjoy reading.
ReplyDeleteI hope so!
Deletethis looks like agreat read
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteI love the cover & it sounds like my kind of read.Thanks for sharing it.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteThis is an interesting time period. Eliza and Mark add to the intrigue.
ReplyDeleteIf you like the period, you might like Amanda Quick's latest series.
DeleteThis book sounds different from the usual fare! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteBest of luck with the book.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteSounds like an excellent period read!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a book that could really pull me in!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a unique read!
ReplyDeleteI could use a great and suspenseful read, and this could probably be it!
ReplyDeleteWhat was your inspiration for this book?
ReplyDeleteHow did you get your start in writing books?
ReplyDeleteHow long did it take to write your first published book?
ReplyDeleteTHis is great!
ReplyDeleteThe cover is gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteSounds interesting
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like a great read.v
ReplyDeleteJ.B. Curry is a new author to me, but I look forward to reading this. I always love meeting new authors. Thanks to this blog for the introduction.
ReplyDeleteI would like to know what your advice would be to novice authors.
ReplyDeletePlease try not to spam posts with the same comments over and over again. Authors like seeing thoughtful comments about their books, not the same old, "I like the cover" or "sounds good" comments. While that is nice, putting some real thought and effort in is appreciated. Thank you.