Seductive Studs ~ Gryffon Hall

April 1, 2016 by Alexis Duran

Welcome to my blog and another steamy round of Seductive Studs. This week I’m succumbing to WIP love and sharing from the story that is currently my everything. Still shiny and new, I’m having a lot of fun with this twisted fairy tale, working title Gryffon Hall.

After watching his betrothed-to-be, Lennox Asburry, flirting with someone else, Wryler succumbs to jealousy and too much wine, and accidentally flirts a bit himself with the mysterious visitor, Lord Rouchet of Gryffon Hall. He’s about to suffer/enjoy the consequences.

***

Wyler squinted up a velvet sky recently cleared of clouds. It would be a good night for peering through his telescope, if only the stars would stop swarming about so.

“Lovely night after so much rain.”

Wryler snapped his chin down and stood up straight. The voice had come from the shadows toward the stables, along with the sloshing of boots through puddles. With a few more strides Aeric Rouchet emerged from the gloom, that damnable grin on his face.

“Yes. Quite,” Wryler said, “The dining hall got so hot.”

“It did, didn’t it?” Rouchet kept walking and Wryler feared he might plow straight into him. He braced himself for impact but Rouchet stopped a few inches shy of contact. “The fresh air is bracing, but it hasn’t done much to cool the flush in your cheeks.”

“It’s a curse. The blushing,” Wryler said, and damn if his blood didn’t flame even hotter.

“I find it quite becoming.” Rouchet rested his palm against the wall next to Wryler’s head and leaned in. “Is it only the quest for fresh air that keeps you from your cozy bed, Sir Wryler?”

“Yes. What else would it…would I…?”

“Oh, I don’t know. I noticed the young Mr. Arsburry giving you the eye all night.”

“Him?” Wryler snorted. “There’s nothing going on between us, I assure you.”

“Glad to hear it. I thought perhaps you were looking for company.”

“I weren’t. I wasn’t.” Accursed wine!

“But now?” Rouchet placed a finger under Wryler’s chin and lifted it slightly. His looming presence enveloped Wryler in warmth and the musky smell of leather. Rouchet blocked out the sky, the stars replaced by his gleaming eyes. Wryler shrank back against the wall. He wasn’t being held in place, but he might as well have been. He couldn’t move, and didn’t much want to.

***

For more juicy M/M goodness, don’t forget to check out the rest of the hop at www.seductivestuds.blogspot.com

Weekend Writing Warriors ~ Stand Your Ground

March 27, 2016 by Alexis Duran

Hi! Good to be back at Weekend Writing Warriors. I’ve been in bunker mode, writing like a demon to meet a deadline. Happy to say the WIP is now in submission and I can do other things again, like bathe, look out the window, and participate in blog hops.

I’m continuing on with the scene from Blood of Salar that I was sharing before I fell into the abyss. M’lan is confronting rebel soldiers who are plundering the chapel at Ka’alar’s temple. They’ve been warned, but naturally they scoff at the slight young monk and his “empty” threats.

***

M’lan took a deep breath and closed his eyes. “Ka’alar, I call upon you to help me protect your house.” He focused on pulling the magical energy of the sacred space from its stones, but he needn’t have bothered. As if coiled in his blood waiting to strike, a dark, fluid power surged through his veins and poured into the statue.

Ka’alar’s stone eyes opened, lifeless white replaced by fiery red. The man on the fountain screamed and fell backward.

Raffe shouted, “Sorcery! Stand your ground, men. It’s only an illusion.”

The marble statue began to twist beneath M’lan’s hands. The smooth, cool scales of the mighty serpent caressed his skin as they slid past.

***

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, for he knows that only his love can master the mage.

***

Blood of Salar on Amazon Loose Id

All Romance eBooks Barnes & Noble

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This post is part of an ongoing blog hop hosted by Weekend Writing Warriors. Every Sunday, participating authors post eight to ten sentences from a published work or perhaps their current work in progress. Then we hop to our fellow warriors’ blogs and check out all the fabulous fiction that’s happening! I heartily invite you to participate as a reader, writer, or both. It’s a great way to discover your next favorite book. Click here or use the address: http://www.wewriwa.com

My Sexy Saturday ~ My Next Move

March 26, 2016 by Alexis Duran

Welcome to My Sexy Saturday. This week’s theme is Some Sexy Action, which can be interpreted in a variety of ways! This excerpt from Curse of Salar is actually a bit of a break between the action. Prince Dezra has been excited to spar with a visiting soldier who isn’t afraid to engage the prince in a real fight, but Dezra soon finds that getting trounced repeatedly, even by the sexy Nevar, wears thin after a while.

***

Dezra had never spent so much time on his back unintentionally.

Captain Nevar loomed over him, the tip of his shibar hovering close enough to Dezra’s neck to signal victory but not so close as to be disrespectful. If the bout had ended with Nevar on the ground, Dezra wouldn’t have hesitated to drive the tip into the skin hard enough to leave a lasting bruise.

“Game to Captain Nevar,” Lanz said wearily. Their audience was becoming accustomed to seeing Dezra defeated. The spectacle had lost its initial charm, even for Dezra. The only one still enjoying himself was Nevar, who grinned as he held out his hand to jerk Dezra to his feet.

“You’re getting slower, not faster,” the captain commented and dared to brush some of the dirt from Dezra’s shoulder. Dezra’s reaction to the captain’s touch hadn’t dimmed over the past three days, no matter how much his enthusiasm for a real fight waned. His bruised skin tingled, and his already pounding heart clenched.

“Everything hurts,” he said. Even his hands ached from gripping the shibar too tightly. At least he hadn’t been disarmed.

“If I had six months, I might be able to make a passable foot soldier out of you.”

Dezra glared at Nevar, aware he’d been insulted but surprised that he didn’t much care. He welcomed the captain’s dominance in a way that was as enticing as it was alarming. “How is it you always know what my next move will be?”

***

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.

Buy on Amazon All Romance Ebooks (ARe) Loose Id

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Don’t forget to continue the hop to discover a wonderful array of sweet and steamy romance at My Sexy Saturday.

Weekend Writing Warriors ~ Without Fear

March 6, 2016 by Alexis Duran

Has anyone seen Winter? It seems to have forgotten to visit the Pacific Northwest this year, or at least my corner of it. And now March is here, everything is in bloom and I’m wondering if I should be happy or worrying about the end of the world. *Sigh*. But as Jacquelyn Mitchard said in a great talk last night at Wordcrafters in Eugene, no matter what’s going on around us, we’ll always have stories.

For Weekend Writing Warriors this week, I decided I’d be nice and continue on with the scene I’ve been posting from Masters and Mages 2: Blood of Salar. While escaping the wrath of General Charvat, leader of the rebel army, M’lan has stumbled across a band of soldiers looting the chapel and attacking a fellow monk. Naturally, he couldn’t stand by and do nothing. Previous snippets are here and here.

***

With obvious irritation, Raffe tore his attention away from his victim. His eyes flashed with torrid passion when he spotted M’lan. He stood and strode across the nave.

“Charvat will be happy to see you,” he said, voice husky.

M’lan stared at him without fear. More of the looters grew interested in what was occurring and gathered around.

“And I am glad to see you,” M’lan said.

Raffe’s left eyelid twitched. “Why’s that?”

“Ka’alar hungers for souls.”

***

A final confrontation between assassin and monk might destroy them both, but Jamil is relentless in his determination to rescue M’lan, for he knows that only his love can master the mage.

***

Blood of Salar on Amazon Loose Id

All Romance eBooks Barnes & Noble

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Weekend Writing Warriors ~ Look Who’s Come Out To Play

February 28, 2016 by Alexis Duran

Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors and another Sunday of fun and exciting snippets. This week I’m celebrating winning Runner Up in Love Romances Cafe’s Best Fantasy 2015 Category for Blood of Salar, Book 2 in my Masters and Mages series. It’s nice that the middle book is getting some attention for a change, and I’ve had fun revisiting the story. This scene continues from the last snippet I shared . M’lan, headmaster of the temple of Ka’alar, is facing off with rebel soldiers who are looting the chapel.

***

M’lan walked toward the great stone fountain carved in the shape of the serpent god. One of the men stood on the lip of the pool, trying to reach the line of small emeralds embedded in Ka’alar’s throat.

What utter stupidity, M’lan thought. He recalled the simple magic trick he’d used to expose Abbess Renee, when he’d made it appear as if the statue had come to life. He had both hands on Ka’alar’s smooth side before anyone noticed him.

“Hey there!” shouted the man picking away at the statue with a blunt knife. “Come to join the fun?” He leaned jauntily against the neck of the statue with one palm, the other hand on his hip. “Hey, Raffe, look who’s come out to play!”

***

A final confrontation between assassin and monk might destroy them both, but Jamil is relentless in his determination to rescue M’lan, for he knows that only his love can master the mage.

***

Blood of Salar on Amazon Loose Id

All Romance eBooks Barnes & Noble

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My Sexy Saturday ~ Blame the Equinox

February 27, 2016 by Alexis Duran

Hello and welcome to another round of My Sexy Saturday. This week’s theme is A Sexy Paranormal Romance. I didn’t have to look far for inspiration, as fantasy is my favorite genre to write and contemporary fantasy, or paranormal, adds the extra spice of weaving magic into everyday life.

My seven paragraphs are from a work in progress which I hope I’ll have finished by this summer. The title is A Familiar Fury. Ezra is a magical creature who’s taken human form in order to hide from those of his kind who hunt him.

***

The heat of hundreds of bodies pressed together in the crowded bar irritated Ezra. Usually he took comfort in a warm flock of rutting humans, knowing he was well insulated by their radiating passions, often getting swept up in the mating and connecting with a pleasing companion for an hour or two.

Ezra enjoyed sex, but it was never fulfilling and he never experienced an orgasm, merely a welcome release. This was the price he paid for being free. Only his bonded human could bring him to ecstasy. That was how humans had captured his kind in the first place and Ezra often wondered at the sheer stupidity of it.

Yes, he enjoyed physical sensation as much as the next creature, but to give up not only your own freedom, but the freedom of your kind, for all eternity? No physical experience was worth that, although any of these humans would sell their kind down the river for it, Ezra suspected, the way they pawed and ground into him and licked his neck and fondled him through his clothes.

Tonight, he didn’t appreciate the attention. Stimulation would only lead to frustration and weakening thoughts of how it would be with his master.

Master. The very word made him cringe.

Another fruity drink appeared magically before him. A tall muscular Hawaiian offered it to him, a bribe for a friendly fuck. Ezra appreciated the cut of the man’s jib, but even this brawny, tanned human seemed to pale to insignificance before the image of Ezra’s . . . person. Lately, he’d seen Quinn Nerada in his dreams. The equinox was to blame. Ezra’s stars were unsettled due to his about-face on destiny. They wanted to bring him into alignment, make him bow down before fate. The whole universe conspired against him.

“Drink up,” the tall man said, “You look sad.”

***

My assignment for next weekend will be to write the blog for this WIP! Hope you enjoyed it. Don’t forget to continue the hop to discover a wonderful array of sweet and steamy romance at My Sexy Saturday.