Got hot chocolate, a snuggly afghan, a cat or two, and a hot romance novel? Bring it on, Winter, we are ready here at Cold Nights…Hot Reads.
I’m taking the opportunity to introduce my new m/m fantasy, Blood of Salar, which will be released on March 3. Blood of Salar is the second in the Masters and Mages series, but it can be read as a stand alone. Naturally, I recommend you read Touch of Salar, Book 1 first, to enrich the experience, so I’m giving away a copy of Touch of Salar to one lucky visitor. Just leave a comment at the end of this post to enter. And don’t forget to continue the hop for chances to win at every stop, plus a grand prize giveaway!
And now for a steamy excerpt to fog up those cute reading glasses. I thought a dip in the thermal pools of Ka’alar Temple might give us a nice break from the sleet and snow. Warning: contains a naughty word or two.
***
Alone in Ka’alar’s element of water, M’lan sensed the serpent energy creeping along his skin, seeping into his core, invigorating him in a way entirely different from Salar’s soothing light. This transfer of energy felt exquisitely selfish. His thoughts of Jamil returned, and his hands traveled unbidden down his belly. His breathing became shallow. Although the feel of his hand on his cock released a tremor of excitement, he stopped shy of pleasuring himself. Immersing himself completely in Ka’alar’s embrace seemed risky. The serpent god’s powers came with a price, or so he’d been warned.
The last sliver of moon had dipped behind the jagged horizon. Shadows and light melded into a dim gray. A bell chimed in the temple. Time to go.
He emerged dripping and retrieved his clothes from the burn bush he’d draped them over. When he pressed the cloth to his face to wipe the water from his eyes, all the fine hair on his bare skin stood on end. He sensed a presence, and it was not Amara. He took a step forward to flee via the pool, but iron fingers gripped both his arms and pulled him back.
“Your senses are improving,” Jamil whispered in his ear. “You actually detected me before I touched you.”
M’lan shuddered as relief and anger rolled through him in alternating waves. He gritted his teeth against an onslaught of curses that leaped to his tongue. When his heartbeat softened, he said as calmly as possible, “You…startled me.”
“Good. Maybe you’ll act more sensibly.” Jamil enfolded M’lan in his arms, and his warm, rich voice tickled M’lan’s ear. “Lolling about nude, alone, while rebel troops swarm around the mountain in droves. My god, M’lan, even someone more honorable and upright than myself would be tempted by the sight of you.” Jamil continued to crush him against his broad chest, and M’lan struggled halfheartedly to escape, still angry at being taken by surprise. He knew he was angrier with himself than Jamil.
“You’re exaggerating about the troops,” he said, finally allowing himself to relax into the embrace. The heat and tantalizing scent of Jamil enveloped him.
“I’m not. That’s why I’m here. To take you away.”
“Really?” The last of M’lan’s resistance faded at the thought of beginning his life with Jamil, even as his responsibilities whispered to him he could not. He leaned back, and Jamil kissed his neck and shoulder. The man’s strong, calloused hands slid down and jerked the shirt out of M’lan’s grasp, flinging it aside. Jamil rested his palm on M’lan’s belly, fingertips teasingly close to M’lan’s cock, taking over where M’lan had left off only moments before.
“Really.” Conversation stopped as Jamil held and stroked him. M’lan arched, immediately hard and breathless. Soon he’d lose all control and follow Jamil anywhere. He grabbed Jamil’s wrist, stopping the motion, and took a deep breath.
“Let me go.”
***
Here’s the blurb:
M’lan, headmaster of the order of Ka’alar and Jamil Jarka, king’s assassin, find their impossible love challenged to the utmost as a rebellion sweeps them apart, sending Jamil on a dangerous mission to assassinate the rebel leader, General Charvat. Unknown to anyone, Charvat is on his way to the temple to exploit the headmaster’s magical abilities.
When the rebel army arrives, M’lan is thrust into a struggle against political and sexual dominance as Charvat attempts to break his resistance. Violence and death mount, awakening within M’lan both the powers of destruction and the desire for revenge.
On the trail of his prey, Jamil begins to question his devotion to M’lan as his once innocent lover transforms into a mage and invades the assassin’s thoughts and dreams. The closer Jamil draws to M’lan, the more he puts his life and his very soul at risk. Jamil soon realizes that his lover might prove to be more deadly than the man he was sent to kill.
A final confrontation between assassin and monk might destroy them both, but Jamil is relentless in his determination to rescue M’lan, knowing that only his love can master the mage.
Info:
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• 1st Prize: $125 Paypal Cash or Gift Card
• 2nd Prize: $50 Paypal Cash or Gift Card
• 3rd Prize: $35 Paypal Cash or Gift Card
• 4th Prize $20 Gift Certificate for Phaze Books
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So, do you love fantasy as much as I do? If not fantasy, what is your favorite genre? Leave a comment and your email address for a chance to win a copy of Touch of Salar, first in the Masters and Mages series.
Alexis Duran 