Welcome to Seductive Studs, the blog hop dedicated to m/m romance by the people who read, write and review it.

This week I’m sharing an excerpt from Curse of Salar, Book 3 in the Masters and Mages series, due to be released in January 2016.  This scene is in the POV of Captain Rayn Nevar, a soldier who’s just attended a formal ceremony in the palace as head of the escort for Minister Havran.  He can’t stop thinking about Prince Dezra.

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From a distance across the hall, the prince had met Rayn’s expectations of a beautiful but pampered royal. Observing the prince provided more entertainment than listening to the speeches, but a persistent erection wasn’t enough to overcome Rayn’s natural aversion to undeserving elites and sorcery, both of which were wrapped up in the person of Prince Dezra.

Despite this, Rayn hadn’t been able stop staring at the prince. Prince Dezra sat motionless most of the evening and appeared to drift in a dreamlike state. Rayn had heard he was addicted to harrar and spent his life in a luxurious fog. In his trance, Dezra’s long black lashes brushed his high cheekbones, and his wide lips curled into an amused half smile. Rayn had seen the expression on the face of many an idle courtier.

Then Rayn’s training as a scout took over, and he soon decided the prince wasn’t dozing at all but intently listening to every word. His body had the tautness of a grazing deer aware of panthers lurking at the edges of his idyll meadow.

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Masters and Mages 3: Curse of Salar ~

In the desert kingdom of Jahar, the rule of mages has been overthrown and the ancient lineage of sorcerer kings wiped out. Prince Dezra and his sister are the last living members of the royal family and are held prisoners in their ancestral palace.

Prince Dezra lives a life of lies and deceit. In order to stay alive, he must pretend to be a drug-addicted wastrel, trusting no one, isolated from even his sister who has chosen to cooperate with the government that executed their parents.

Into his lonely existence comes a man who should be his sworn enemy; Captain Rayn Nevar. Dezra is irresistibly drawn to the rough soldier and his longing for a simple sexual encounter quickly morphs into a dangerous obsession.

Captain Rayn Nevar knows he should stay far away from Prince Dezra, but his desire for the beautiful young man overrides all common sense. Despite the fact that Dezra’s ancestors destroyed Rayn’s family, the captain finds himself in a position of protecting the prince from the many schemers who believe the last of the mages should be annihilated.

When treachery leads to Dezra’s escape, he is at last free to bond with the serpent god Ka’alar and develop his long repressed powers. Only the arrival of a mysterious monk with powers greater than Dezra’s stops the prince from using black sorcery to destroy all who stand in his way, including Rayn.

As Jahar edges toward another war between masters and mages, Rayn must question his devotion to his increasingly deadly lover while Dezra must decide if ultimate power is worth the ultimate sacrifice.

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