Happy New Year! Welcome to another year of tantalizing snippets from the writers of Seductive Studs, the blog hop dedicated to m/m romance.  I’m excited to start out 2016 with the release of the third book in the Masters and Mages series: Curse of Salar.  Release date is January 5, but it’s available for pre-order now on Loose Id. (And it’s on sale!)

Okay, enough of the sales pitch.  This week I’m sharing a snippet in Captain Rayn Nevar’s POV. He’s having a discussion with his boss Minister Havran, and fellow soldier Arn Gilder, about just how dangerous Prince Dezra really is.  Minster Havran speaks first:

“Prince Dezra is heir to the throne of Armazin. Therefore he is our enemy. Yours in particular, Captain Nevar.”

“The throne no longer exists. The royalist rebellion is defeated.”

“Doesn’t it bother you that the great-grandson of Reva Luzan, the mage who destroyed your family, sits beside Grand Premier Skala, sipping wine and plotting his return to Armazin?”

Gilder snorted. “The prince isn’t plotting anything except which serving boy to take to bed next.”

“Reva Luzan was mad,” Rayn said. “Until I learn of some reason to fear the royals, I won’t let ancient history cloud my judgment of what’s happening today.”

“How very cultured of you.” Havran sniffed and lifted her cup but didn’t drink. “As a member of the council of Armazin, I can’t afford to be so forgiving.”

Rayn shifted uncomfortably. The furniture didn’t suit him any better than it did Gilder, nor did the conversation. The delicate trappings of the palace made Rayn feel like an ox in a pottery shop, and discussions of political intrigue reminded him he was a soldier first, a diplomat far second.

***

Blurb for 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.

***

Don’t forget to continue the hop at the Seductive Studs home page.  Lots of steamy m/m goodness goin’ on.