Cure
He speaks in flavors and she lives in blueprints, but when the walls come down, pleasure is the only cure.
Marcus 'Bear' Dubois is the silent heart of Le Veau d'Or, a giant of a man who communicates through the perfect balance of salt and acid. Content to stay in the shadows of the Valerius brothers, his world is upended when the family expands to a crumbling historic sugar mill in the Bywater. Assigned to manage the site’s field kitchen, Bear finds himself face-to-face with the architect in charge: a woman as cold and rigid as the structures she designs.
Kira Vance is a machine of efficiency, surviving on caffeine and protein bars while hiding a devastating secret. Blackmailed by the Valerius family’s greatest nemesis, her mission is to ensure the new restaurant never opens. She views food as a distraction and Bear as a chaotic variable she can't afford to let close. But when a tropical storm traps them on the job site, the professional distance collapses, and Bear begins a campaign of 'guerrilla feeding' that threatens to dismantle Kira's carefully constructed defenses.
As Bear uses his culinary mastery to teach Kira that pleasure isn't a structural weakness, she finds herself caught between her growing love for the gentle giant and the sabotage she’s been forced to commit. When a rigged collapse threatens to destroy everything, Kira must choose between her career and the man who taught her how to truly taste life. In the wreckage of a betrayal, she'll have to prove that some foundations are worth fighting for.
The Blurb
Marcus 'Bear' Dubois is the silent heart of Le Veau d'Or, a giant of a man who communicates through the perfect balance of salt and acid. Content to stay in the shadows of the Valerius brothers, his world is upended when the family expands to a crumbling historic sugar mill in the Bywater. Assigned to manage the site’s field kitchen, Bear finds himself face-to-face with the architect in charge: a woman as cold and rigid as the structures she designs.
Kira Vance is a machine of efficiency, surviving on caffeine and protein bars while hiding a devastating secret. Blackmailed by the Valerius family’s greatest nemesis, her mission is to ensure the new restaurant never opens. She views food as a distraction and Bear as a chaotic variable she can't afford to let close. But when a tropical storm traps them on the job site, the professional distance collapses, and Bear begins a campaign of 'guerrilla feeding' that threatens to dismantle Kira's carefully constructed defenses.
As Bear uses his culinary mastery to teach Kira that pleasure isn't a structural weakness, she finds herself caught between her growing love for the gentle giant and the sabotage she’s been forced to commit. When a rigged collapse threatens to destroy everything, Kira must choose between her career and the man who taught her how to truly taste life. In the wreckage of a betrayal, she'll have to prove that some foundations are worth fighting for.
"An absolute masterclass in the 'Ice Queen' trope! Bear is the ultimate book boyfriend—nurturing, strong, and incredibly patient. The way Camille Laurent builds the sensory tension between the cold blueprints and the warm kitchen had me hooked until the very last page."— Sloane R.