Off Kilter: A Buffalo Steampunk Adventure …Definitely …an author to watch.ĭead Handsome: A Buffalo Steampunk Adventure …the kind of book that keeps you awake well into the wee hours, and sighing with satisfaction when you’ve finished the very last page.Īs I read I became so involved with the story, I found it difficult to put down the book. Laura Strickland creates a world that not only draws you in, but she incorporates it…seamlessly. This here is my son Michael, his wife Eunice, and their child Hetty. That night-well, I never did get your names.ĭaniel Freeman, sir. The fellow’s gaze stole back to Josie, and she promptly went breathless. Daniel shook the man’s hand with the innate courtesy that always marked him. But what sort of happenstance has brought you here where we might cross paths again?Ī long story, sir, and one with a full measure of sorrow. The man focused on Daniel at last and extended a hand to him without hesitation. Of course, of course we remember you, sir. Not remember him? Had there been a moment since that night he hadn’t been, somehow, with her? No, for the pull she’d felt from the first they sighted this place heightened almost unbearably, every one of her inner instincts sitting up and howling. Not remember him? From the instant he stepped on the wharf, Josie’s attention had been snagged-and not just because he was a good-looking man. Though he spoke to Daniel, his brown eyes sought hers and held them, his wonder evident to see. Tall and with bare shoulders that gleamed in the sun, he had a crop of wavy black hair and skin almost as dark as her own. All these things did she feel from him, combined with a flare of attraction, so fierce and lustful, it stole her breath away, and knocked her back on her heels.Josie stared at the man who spoke, afraid to believe her eyes.

Beautiful, harmonious, powerful yet oddly still. He felt the way music sounded-the way the notes vibrated from Modir’s harp when she played, or when the women sang all together while at work on the shore. The emotions connected to those images continued to assault her, making it difficult to think clearly. Gyda narrowed her eyes against the glare and regarded him. He came with her, his fingers still wrapped around her arms, and the clear light washed over them. She stumbled back through the doorway into the sunlight, away from the images-away from him. The glowing coals of a near-dead fire, a heap of furs upon which two bodies lay, locked in passion. Warmth came first, stealing through his fingers, quickly followed by a tumble of images. She felt-Ī hard rush of emotions, like a punch to the gut. His hands caught at her, closing on her arms in a steadying grip, and keeping her from falling down.įor an instant they stood so, tightly linked, Gyda half blinded by the dark of the hut.

A curse escaped her lips and the person with whom she’d collided gave a grunt.

Devil Black by Laura Strickland