Grace Duncan With a Sexy Tale and Giveaway!

Do you like sexy slave fics? Well, I do. And one of the best writers of sexy M/M slave fics is Grace Duncan. I adored her novel Choices and have her new book, Deception, heating up my Kindle. And this short free story today... lovely!

AND Grace is giving away a copy of Deception, too! Details following the post.

~~~~~~~~

Thank you so very much to Tali for hosting me! It’s been a crazy couple of weeks since Deception has been released and I’m very grateful for her willingness to help me.

My blog post for today is a tiny side story I’ve written about the main characters in my novel Deception, Cyrus and Nadir. There’s a reference in the book of Cyrus once getting drunk and proposing to a horse. Here is the story of that night.

* * *

Nadir giggled. If he had been even slightly less drunk, he’d have sworn it wasn’t a giggle. Grown men did not giggle. They chuckled or laughed. But definitely no giggles.

Fortunately, he was drunk and giggling while drunk was okay. So he did it again when Cyrus tried to stand up once more. And failed, once again. Even holding onto the wall wasn’t enough, apparently.

“I… think I’ll stay here a bit,” Cyrus mumbled, making Nadir giggle again.

“Perhaps we should not have had so much of this—” Nadir peered again at the now-empty bottle that sat on the ground between them. “What was it?”

“Mead. I think. I didn’t think mead could get you drink. I mean, drunk.” Cyrus shook his head hard then swayed even while sitting, causing another round of giggles from Nadir.

“Well, be fear… uh, fair, Cyrus. We haven’t drunken got before,” Nadir reminded him, then paused to consider what he said. “Something was wrong with that, but I don’t know what. Anyway, we have no tolerance for drunk… Uh, drink.”

“That is true,” Cyrus agreed, nodding a few more times than necessary. He tried, yet again, to stand and while he was unsteady, he managed to remain upright.

“Way to go!” Nadir cheered, earning a glare from Cyrus.

“You are not funny,” he grumbled.

Nadir only laughed harder. “Yes, I am.”

Cyrus shook his head, weaving dangerously as he did. “Why did the world move?”

Nadir’s giggles came back and he slapped a hand over his mouth. When he had control, he pulled it away. “It didn’t. You did.”

“I did not!” Cyrus said indignantly. “I would have known if I’d moved.” He shook his head again, then swayed—again. “Oh,” he muttered, cheeks turning red.

“Why do you need to stand, anyway?” Nadir asked.

“I need to go outside. I think I have had too much mead.”

Nadir stared at him a moment, then he figured out what Cyrus meant. “Oh.” He looked around the space they’d taken for the night. The abandoned shack sat at the edge of the city, very near the gates. It had once held a small family, Nadir was sure, based on the bits of broken furniture that were left. A small bed obviously made for an infant sat on its side in one corner. Another corner held a chair with three legs that should have had four and half a table lay against one wall. Something had splattered dark, rust-colored stains on one wall that Nadir didn’t want to contemplate too closely. But the fireplace worked, they would be protected from the sandstorm and that’s what mattered.

“Exactly. And there is no chamber pot in here.” Cyrus gave him a pointed look, then swayed again.

“Perhaps I should go with you?” Nadir asked, fighting the snicker that wanted to escape.

Cyrus scowled. “I don’t need your help to relieve myself.”

Nadir lost the fight and laughed. “Of course not.” He nodded, and Cyrus narrowed his eyes. “I just thought, perhaps, you might like help with the horses.”

Cyrus considered him for a moment then nodded. “Alright.”

Nadir got unsteadily to his feet and they opened the door. The sandstorm was still brewing and Nadir was sure it was now not far from them. Grains of sand whipped through the air, the wind blew, their hair lashed at their cheeks and forehead and Nadir was very grateful for the face covering that kept his nose and mouth clear. He watched as Cyrus moved around to the side of the shack.

Nadir turned to the horses to give Cyrus a bit of privacy and help keep himself sane. He could admit he’d caught himself watching Cyrus change clothes on more than one occasion, fascinated by his best friend’s body. In one of the more embarrassing moments, his own cock had gotten hard when he’d been unable to drag his eyes away.

Cyrus had started to fill out, his muscles becoming more defined. His rounded ass, strong legs and toned chest had given Nadir more than one…interesting night of dreams. In fact, the night before, he’d awakened–thankfully, before Cyrus—covered in a sticky mess after he’d been dreaming about Cyrus’s hands and mouth on him.

His first sexual experiences had been far from pleasant. He would never, in his life, forget that tavern and the things those men did to him. But there had been a few touches—even during that evening—that, when he thought of them as if Cyrus was doing them, had made him feel very different than those stinky old men did.

And he could admit, he wanted to feel them with Cyrus.

But Cyrus hadn’t displayed any such interest, save a few instances of his own cock hardening while looking at Nadir. As far as Nadir knew, his friend didn’t have the same wishes that he did.

Nadir turned his attention back to their horses, which were currently tethered to the post in front of the shack. They were going to have to bring the animals in. With the storm looking like it wouldn’t pass over as they’d hoped, the animals wouldn’t make it out in the weather. Nadir unwrapped the reins and turned to the door to lead his mare inside.

Cyrus came back around the corner as Nadir led Sukar—so named because she had a horrible sweet tooth—through the door. He left her there to see if Cyrus’s slightly more temperamental gelding was giving his friend trouble. But when he approached the door, he saw Cyrus talking to it and stopped dead at what he heard.

“I know you don’t feel the same way, but I do hope you’ll consider what I’m about to ask,” Cyrus said, slurring about every other word, but Nadir could just make them out. He blinked at Cyrus, amused. “But I love you! And I hope you’ll think about this.” Cyrus nodded, swayed dangerously, then straightened himself again. Nadir tried to stifle the laughter that threatened, not wanting to alert Cyrus to his presence. Cyrus leaned forward and peered at the horse again. “So… will you marry me?”

Nadir lost it. He started laughing, unable to hold it in this time. Cyrus spun around, looking at him, then back at the horse, then back at him. “Uh…” He looked completely confused for a long moment until he shook his head hard, swayed with the motion then managed to steady himself.

Nadir laughed even harder, holding his stomach and doubling over.  “Cyrus…” he tried but had to stop to laugh more. “Cyrus he’s…” But again, he couldn’t stop laughing enough to speak more.

Cyrus seemed to gather himself together because he threw a glare at Nadir before he turned back to the horse. Nadir stopped laughing when he saw Cyrus’s cheeks redden as his friend unwrapped the reins from the post then moved toward the door. Nadir calmed himself enough from the last of his chuckles to make room as Cyrus and horse came in. “What… what was that all about?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Cyrus said, and Nadir snickered again.

“I do believe you’ve had enough mead,” Nadir said, approaching Sukar and starting on her saddle.

Cyrus muttered something that sounded suspiciously like, “maybe not enough,” and Nadir turned to him, eyebrows raised. Cyrus shook his head. “Nothing,” he said, refusing to meet Nadir’s eyes and turning back to unsaddle his own horse.

Nadir stared at him for a long moment, confused himself; then he pushed it off and he and Cyrus worked silently as they removed saddles, bags and blankets, movements automatic since they’d done it so often for so long. Nadir was grateful for that since they were so drunk. He wished now that he’d brought them in regardless of the storm’s path and taken care of them before they started drinking. He had quite a bit of trouble staying steady, but he managed to make it through unsaddling, brushing and feeding.

With the horses inside, the small shack felt infinitely smaller, especially with no outside light, whatsoever. They wrestled the shutters closed and anchored them to keep the sand as minimal as possible. Then they fed pieces of the chair into the fire and set out their bedrolls close to the hearth, in the only space left to them.

The cold winter desert night held a particularly hard bite that night. Even with the addition of the saddle blankets and covering himself with his cloak as well as his blanket, Nadir shivered.

“Perhaps we should consider sharing our blankets,” Cyrus whispered.

Nadir rolled over to look at him. “You would be okay with that?”

Cyrus frowned. “Why not? We’ve done it before.”

That much was true. But it had been quite a while since they’d slept that close, partially because it hadn’t been cold enough for that and partially because they’d simply not been that close physically since the horrible night they’d sold themselves at the tavern. Something unspoken had passed between them and they’d kept to themselves a lot more since then.

But Nadir was not a complete fool. He wouldn’t want to pass up an opportunity like this, though he was a little afraid he’d wake up a sticky mess again. He considered it for a long moment, but then decided that even if that happened, it’d be inside his clothes and Cyrus shouldn’t notice, anyway. He’d rather get the chance to see what it felt like to be so close to Cyrus again.

He nodded. “That’s probably the best idea.”

After a lot of shuffling, having to get up to spread the blankets out in a better way, then finally finding the most comfortable way to lay, they were able to settle down to sleep. Nadir couldn’t help but like the way they’d ended up. Cyrus curled around him, lending warmth to his back, one arm draped over his waist. Nadir knew that was only because there wasn’t another truly comfortable place for the arm, but he didn’t care what the whys of it were.

And he had his answer for what it felt like. A warmth stole over him that had nothing to do with the temperature of the room or the blankets covering them.  His heart skipped a beat or two, something funny made his stomach shake, and his cock reacted to the feel of Cyrus’s body against his.

It, in short, felt amazing.

Nadir didn’t quite understand what he was feeling, why his stomach jumped at Cyrus’s closeness, why his cock was hardening, why his heart suddenly seemed to be hammering. He just knew that no one he’d ever known made him feel like this. And that he never wanted it to end.

He hoped that, someday maybe, he’d get more of it.

He had no idea.

*  *  *

Cyrus and Nadir first met as hungry orphans on Behekam’s streets at twelve years old. They became friends, then partners in the thievery that enabled them to survive, and as they passed their days together, they fell in love. When they are both taken as pleasure slaves in the opulent palace of the Malik of Neyem, love becomes more complicated.

Rumors of an attempt on Malik Bathasar's life put Cyrus and Nadir's relationship to the test—they must pose convincingly as intimate slaves to the young malik as part of a plan to lure the assassin into the open. Teman—Malik Bathasar’s real personal pleasure slave and true lover—was once trained by Cyrus for the same duties, and the attraction and care Cyrus developed for him then still remains. The Malik of Neyem proves an easy man to love and Nadir’s feelings for him grow while they’re pretending to love each other.

Cyrus and Nadir care deeply for each other but they’ve forgotten the first rule of love: communicate in honesty. Their love remains strong enough to weather the changes—if they have the courage not only to face the coming dangers, but to put aside deception and find their truth.

GIVEAWAY!!! Be sure to leave a comment for a chance to win a paperback copy of DECEPTION! And follow the blog tour for more chances to win. Blog tour news and destinations can be found at Grace's Facebook page here: 

http://www.facebook.com/GraceRDuncan2. 

Good luck!

For more from Grace R. Duncan, visit http://www.grace-duncan.com

To purchase Deception, download the free short Coronation or start from the beginning with Bathasar and Teman in Choices, check out the Golden Collar series at Dreamspinner press here:

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/index.php?cPath=976