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Authors: Cheyenne McCray

BOOK: Shadow Magic
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Other Novels by
CHEYENNE McCRAY
PARANORMAL ROMANCE
Wicked Magic
Seduced by Magic
Forbidden Magic
ROMANTIC SUSPENSE
Moving Target
Chosen Prey
ANTHOLOGY
No Rest for the Witches
Available from St. Martin's Paperbacks
WICKED MAGIC
“Blistering sex and riveting battles are plentiful as this series continues building toward its climax.”
—Romantic Times BOOKreviews
(4 stars)
“Has an even blend of action and romance, and most of the characters from earlier novels make an appearance. There are quite a few twists to the story, and some things are left unfinished, paving the way for the next novel. An exciting paranormal tale, don't miss it.”
—Romance Reviews Today
“Cheyenne McCray shows the best work between good and evil in
Wicked Magic
. The characters are molded perfectly … sure to delight and captivate with each turn of the page.”
—Night Owl Romance
“A sinfully engaging read.”
—A Romance Review
SEDUCED BY MAGIC
“Blistering passion and erotic sensuality are major McCray hallmarks, in addition to a deft and exciting storyline. This magical series continues to develop its increasing cast of characters and complex plotline; the result is erotic paranormal romance liberally laced with adventure and thrills.”
—Romantic Times BOOKreviews
(4 1/2 stars Top Pick)
“The slices of humor, the glimpses of the characters' world through fantastic descriptions, not to mention fascinating characters landed this book on … [the] keeper shelf.”
—Romance Divas
“Witches, drool-worthy warriors, and hot passion that will have readers reaching for a cool drink. Cheyenne McCray has created a fantastic and magical world where both the hero and heroine are strong and are willing to fight the darkness that threatens their worlds.”
—A Romance Review
FORBIDDEN MAGIC
“McCray will thrill and entrance you!”
—Sabrina Jeffries,
New York Times
bestselling author
“A yummy hot fudge sundae of a book!”
—MaryJanice Davidson,
New York Times
bestselling author
“
Charmed
meets Kim Harrison's witch series, but with a heavy dose of erotica on top!”
—Lyndsay Sands,
New York Times
bestselling author
“Wildly erotic and dangerously sensual, this explosive paranormal thriller sizzles. McCray erupts on the scene with one of the sexiest stories of the year. Her darkly dramatic world is one readers won't mind visiting again … McCray knows how to make a reader sweat—either from spine-tingling suspense or soul-singeing sex … McCray cleverly combines present-day reality with mythological fantasy to create a world where beings of lore exist—and visit the earthly realm.”
—Romantic Times BOOKreviews
“McCray's paranormal masterpiece is not for the fainthearted. The battle between good and evil is brought to the reader in vivid and riveting detail to the point where the reader is drawn into the pages of this bewitching and seductive fantasy that delivers plenty of action-packed sequences and arousing love scenes.”
—Rendezvous
“
Forbidden Magic
is a spellbinding, sexy, superbly written dark fantasy. I couldn't put it down, and you won't want to either … [a] fabulous plot … [Cheyenne McCray has an] incredible skill at keeping readers engaged in every moment of the action. Longtime fans and newbies alike will be enchanted and swept away by this enduring tale of courage, love, passion, and magic.”
—A Romance Review
“If one were going to make a comparison to Cheyenne McCray with another writer of the supernatural/sensuality genre, it would have to be Laurell K. Hamilton…
Forbidden Magic
definitely puts McCray in the same league as Hamilton. The book is a very sexy work …
Forbidden Magic
is dark and filled with danger at almost every turn. Magic and mystery abound in San Francisco, with a major battle between the forces of good and evil, and the outcome is always in doubt when it comes to demons.”
—Shelf Life
“This terrific romantic fantasy with police procedural elements grasps the audience from the moment that Silver meets Tuatha and Darkwolf and never slows down until the final twist of their triangle … fans will take great and immense pleasure with this strong thriller that both genres will treasure.”
—Harriet Klausner's Book Reviews
“Cheyenne McCray's
Forbidden Magic
is an intoxicating blend of luscious eroticism and spine-tingling action that will have you squirming on the edge of your seat.”
—Angela Knight,
USA Today
bestselling author
“Cheyenne McCray has written a sexy adventure spiced with adventurous sex.”
—Charlaine Harris,
New York Times
bestselling author
“Erotic with a great big capital E. Cheyenne McCray is my new favorite author!”
—Bertrice Small,
New York Times
bestselling author
“
Forbidden Magic
is a fabulous faery tale. The writing is sharp; the story hot!”
—Virginia Henley,
New York Times
bestselling author
“Cheyenne McCray has crafted a novel that takes the imagination on an exciting flight. Full of fantasy, with a touch of darkness, a great read for anyone who loves to get lost in a book that stretches the boundaries!”
—Heather Graham,
New York Times
bestselling author
“Explosive, erotic, and un-put-downable. Cheyenne McCray more than delivers!”
—L.A. Banks, bestselling author of
The Vampire Huntress Legend series
“Magical mayhem, sexy shapeshifters, wondrous witches and warlocks…in
Forbidden Magic
, Cheyenne McCray has created a fabulous new world. You won't be able to get enough!”
—Lori Handeland,
New York Times
bestselling author
“Fans of dark paranormal fantasy will enjoy the fast-paced, spine-tingling twists and turns of Cheyenne McCray's
Forbidden Magic
.”
—Toni Blake,
author of
In Your Wildest Dreams
“Cheyenne McCray's
Forbidden Magic
is a rich mix of witches, demons, and fae in an epic tapestry full of conflict and desire.”
—Robin Owens, author of
Heart Choice
“Chock-full of emotion and action, Cheyenne McCray's
Forbidden Magic
will find a spot on the keeper shelf of every reader who enjoys a touch of the paranormal along with her erotic romance. I highly recommend it!”
—Ann Jacobs, author of
A Mutual Favor
“Cheyenne McCray has written a tempting, exciting novel rich in magic and pleasure.”
—Lora Leigh,
New York Times
bestselling author
“McCray's knowledge of Fae, Fomorii, elves and ancient Irish magics shines in this book of witches, warriors and dangerous desires.”
—Linnea Sinclair,
author of
Gabriel's Ghost
“Cheyenne McCray delivers a scorching tale of modern witches and ancient Fae, a winner rich with lore, fantasy, gritty action, and heart-gripping romance.”
—Anna Windsor, award-winning author
of the Dark Crescent Sisterhood novels
“This modern-day tale meets ancient-world paranormal isn't just a book, it's an event. The elements all come together in this paranormal romance. You start reading for the story and end up reading for the characters. You're left at the edge of your seat needing more until the very last satisfying word. You won't be able to put it down once you start reading!”
—Sheila English, CEO of Circle of Seven Productions
BE SURE TO GO to
http://cheyennemccray.com
to sign up for her PRIVATE book announcement list and get FREE EXCLUSIVE Cheyenne McCray goodies. Please feel free to e-mail her at [email protected]. She would love to hear from you.
Turn the page for a sneak peek at the explosive final
book in Cheyenne McCray's Magic series!
Coming November 2008 from St. Martin's Paperbacks
HE HAD THE MOTHER of all headaches. Something pulled at the back of his mind, faint images and sounds, but he couldn't focus on it long enough to grasp whatever it was.
Jake brought his fingertips to his forehead and rubbed his temples before dropping his hand to his side and opening his eyes.
His gaze wavered in and out as he tried to focus.
A blond woman. A smile. Fingers lightly brushing hair from his forehead.
“You're finally awake.” Cassia's voice, soft, lilting. “I was beginning to wonder if you would sleep the week through.”
Jake squinted and Cassia's face came more clearly into focus. She looked like an angel, sunlight shining through the strands of her golden hair so that she almost seemed to glow. Her turquoise-colored eyes studied him intently.
He glanced from her to see that he was in some kind of room with ivy crawling on the walls and through arches. The walls were a shade that wasn't white. Wasn't blue, wasn't green. Something different. Simple wooden furniture was tucked against walls and in corners. The bed had such a soft mattress he could happily close his eyes and go back to sleep.
The scent of magic surrounded him.
Jake mentally shook his head.
What the hell?
“Where am I?” His voice came out even, his tone controlled. “What's going on?”
Cassia continued to look at him in that same calm, mysterious way that had always driven him crazy with the desire to shake her. Or kiss her.
She gestured toward the windows where he could see tree leaves glittering in the sunlight. “You are in the city of the Light Elves, in Otherworld.”
He blinked. No way had he heard that. “I'm
where?
”
“Otherworld.” She rested her hands in her lap. “You don't remember anything?”
Jake squinted and didn't have to reach far for memories of the attack in the park. He winced at the images and flinched as he remembered sensations of daggers stabbing him in his gut and chest. Another man had been driving a dagger toward his heart—
A female voice cut through the mayhem. Fire. Fire surrounding them. Crackling. Smells of burnt hair and flesh, and that horrible musty, sour smell.
He brought his hand to his chest to find he was naked beneath the covers. He felt rough skin, like scars. Scars where the wounds would have been. “I should be dead.”
“You weren't meant to die.” For the first time Cassia looked a little rattled. “I couldn't let you.”
Jake scooted up in bed, the sheet falling to his lap and baring his chest. He looked down at the thick pink scars and brought his hand up to touch them. He felt no pain except for the memory of the agony of the daggers driving into his flesh, piercing deep inside his body.
An odd sensation stirred in his gut as he returned his gaze to hers. “You saved me?”
“The Great Guardian and I, yes.” Cassia maintained that calm expression that still made him want to grab her and rattle her. Maybe kissing her would do just that.
Instead, he squeezed his eyes shut and pinched the bridge of his nose before looking at her again. More memories, these more vague, came to him—rain, thunder, pain, and Cassia cradling him in her lap before he was thrown into a spiraling sensation followed by complete blackness.
“But you came for me,” he said with no doubt in his mind. “Not the Great Guardian.”
Cassia didn't say anything.
Why
did she come for him?
“What happened to the rest of those Stormcutters?” Jake asked as he thought about the fire circling them and the smells.
“Those funnel-beings?” She cleared her throat. “I eliminated them.”
“You killed the bastards?” Jake stared at her. “Gray witches
never
kill.”
“I am not a gray witch,” she said, her voice quieting.
“What—” Jake began, but she cut him off by holding up one graceful, long-fingered hand.
“You need to sleep now, Jake.”
She started to stand but he stopped her when he reached for one of her hands and squeezed. Currents of electricity shot through him. The same currents he'd felt every time Cassia had touched him in the past.
“‘Thank you' doesn't seem like enough,” he said as she squeezed his hand back.
“I'm just happy you're going to be okay.” She smiled such a radiant smile that his heart beat faster.
Shit
. Why did he want to draw her onto his lap and hold her? Hell, he didn't even trust her. She'd deceived the D'Anu witches in the past—she could still be deceiving them with everything she did or said. She'd just admitted to not being a gray witch.
So what
was
she?
There'd be time to sort all of that out later. Right now other questions had to be asked and answered.
Jake cleared his throat and released her hand. “How long have I been out?”
“Three days.”
“No fu—friggin' way.” Jake started to climb out of bed, but Cassia put her palm against his chest and frowned.
Tingles radiated from her hand, straight to his cock,
which decided to harden so much his balls ached. Jake gave another mental curse. He glanced down to make sure the blankets hid that little fact.
Cassia was surprisingly strong as she braced her palm on his skin and kept him from getting up. “We repaired your internal organs, but they have needed the time to heal completely. Nothing can do that but rest.”
His whole body jumped like a live wire, and not just from her touch, but from the need to get back to work. He had a lot to do to make his city safe again. Too much to do. He couldn't stay in bed. God only knew what was going on back in San Francisco.
As Cassia removed her hand from his chest, Jake clenched his fists. “How is the man who was with me at the park? How is everyone else in the Alliance? Have there been any more battles with Darkwolf and those Stormcutters?”
“Rhiannon sent word that David Bourne is fine. His wounds were nothing the D'Anu couldn't heal.” She leaned away from Jake and straightened in her chair. “I've let them know you are all right, too.”
For the first time he got a good look at her when she eased back in her chair. White robes parted at the slender column of her throat, separating far enough down that her cleavage was exposed, showing the gentle curves of her breasts. His mouth watered, his cock ached. He adjusted the covers to better hide his erection and mentally willed it down.
A stab of guilt hit him in the chest, the same place as one of his new scars.
Christ
. Cassia turned him on big time, but he had no business having thoughts of taking her down to the mattress, sliding between her thighs, and being inside of her.
He should be thinking about Kat. He should be thinking about getting back to San Francisco and making sure she was okay—and that she wasn't getting herself killed by trying to cover news stories involving the insanity in the city.
Jake looked over Cassia's left shoulder to avoid her eyes and sucked in a deep breath. The fact that she wasn't even
human
should be enough to squelch any other erotic thoughts about him and this beautiful half-Elvin woman.
Or was she half-Elvin? She wasn't a gray witch—so was she even a witch at all? She could be half-dragon, or a friggin' shapeshifting eggplant. What did he really know about Cassia?
Nothing but the facts that he'd seen her in battle with the D'Anu witches and watched her become the person all of the witches turned to for help and guidance. She had gone from pretending to be an inept apprentice witch to their leader.
That, and she baked one hell of a mean cinnamon roll.
“Another battle was fought.” Cassia's voice jerked his attention back to her. She held her hands in her lap, her expression calm. “Casualties on both sides.”
The word
casualties
hit home, and any lustful thoughts and odd feelings he'd had vanished in a snap.
Fury rode him at the news of members of the Alliance dying. This time he did manage to sit up in bed and swung his legs over the side, but kept the blanket over his lap. Her calm expression made him grit his teeth. “Who?”
“I don't know.” Cassia sighed. “But the leaders of the Alliance are certain there's a leak. A traitor.” She shook her head, her long, blond gentle curls swaying with the movement. “Every time the Alliance goes on a mission, Darkwolf knows and attacks.”
Jake let out a string of curse words and slammed his fists against the mattress to either side of him. “I've got to get back.”
“One more day.” She held up her hand again, her palm facing him. “You need one more day to heal enough to be safe outside the protections and energies of the Light Elves.”
“Bullshit,” he growled.
Cassia stood and looked so calm that this time Jake did get up. He grabbed her by her shoulders. He didn't care that
the blankets that had been covering him fell away, leaving him naked.
He knocked that calm expression right off her face as she glanced down at his body before looking up at him when he shook her. He stared directly into her eyes. “You will take me home,
now
.
She jerked out of his grip, her cheeks flushed pink. An angry glint lit her eyes that he'd never seen before. Good. Her shell needed to be cracked.
As a matter of fact, that shell needed to be cracked a lot more.
Jake caught her delicate face in his palms, spearing her silken hair with his fingers at the same time. Without pausing to think about it, he brought his mouth to hers and kissed her so hard and fierce she gasped. He took advantage of her parted lips and forced his tongue into her mouth, exploring her, letting her know he was in control of this moment.
It felt as if sparks were igniting in his belly.
Cassia grasped him by his upper arms and clung to him, her fingers digging into his bare biceps. She remained stiff and unmoving. But he didn't stop his exploration of her mouth, tasting her, teasing her, taunting her to return his kiss.
And then she finally fell into the moment, taking everything he gave. She made soft little moans that sent zinging sensations straight to his cock as she kissed him back. Her kisses were tentative, almost like she didn't know what she was doing. Innocent, pure. As if she had never been kissed before.
God, she was sweet.
She moaned louder and leaned into him. Her hands moved from his biceps, over his shoulders, until she linked her fingers behind his neck.
As he slid his hands to her waist, he brought her tight against his naked body and his huge erection, and she gasped again.
He resisted the urge to part her robe and see exactly what she was wearing beneath it—if anything.
He kissed her hard and fierce, letting all the frustration and anger turn into passion and desire.
God, he'd wanted Cassia for so long. He didn't need his cop instincts to tell him she wasn't exactly what she'd made herself out to be. But then, who was?
Everyone had secrets. Even he did.

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