The year is now 1685 and Maggie’s father has just been crowned King
of Great Britain, but that doesn’t mean trouble is over for the Duke and
Duchess of Dunwoody. Rather than cool the flames of hatred between
Papists and Protestants, the coronation of a Catholic monarch has only
added accelerant to the already raging blaze. Two-faced devils lurk in
every corner of the royal court, as do diseases with the power to kill
and maim. When Robert falls prey to the smallpox virus, it looks as
though Maggie will lose the two people most precious to her—her beloved
husband and their only child—the son she bore three months before after
five years of heartbreaking miscarriages and stillbirths. The one person
in London who can help save her son demands a steep price in exchange
her services. Will Maggie trade Robert’s hard-won fidelity to save her
only child…or offer the apothecary an even more scandalous alternative?
Note: ROYAL PAINS contains highly erotic content and is intended to be read in order.
Enter the rafflecopter giveaway for a chance to win signed copies of the first two books in the ROYAL PAINS series!
Check out the first two books in the ROYAL PAINS series:
About the author
Nina Mason is an incurable romantic who strives to write the same
kind of books she loves to read: those that entertain, edify, educate,
and enlighten.
The Devil's Masquerade is the third book in her Royal Pains series and her sixth book overall. Her seventh book, Dark and Stormy Knight, the second installment in her Knights of Avalon series, will be released by Lyrical/Kensington on Jan. 5.
Today we are revealing the new covers for Nina Mason's Royal Pains, an erotic series set in Scotland and England during the Restoration period (the latter half of the 17th century, for those who don't know). Ms. Mason decided to put new, sexier covers on the series for the launch of book three, THE DEVIL'S MASQUERADE. All three new covers, the blurbs for the books, and the buy links follow. The first two books in the series are now on sale, in case anyone wants to catch up before the release of book three on Oct. 6:
Royal Pains, Book One
DEVIL IN DUKE'S CLOTHING
Innocence lost. Paradise found.
Maggie York, a convent-raised foundling, knows the Duke of Dunwoody’s
sexual tastes are a shade or two darker than most, but marries him
anyway—partly because she has no other prospects and partly because, try
as she might, she can’t seem to stop fantasizing about her dashing rake
of a guardian.
Robert Armstrong, the duke, is a Roman Catholic whose extreme
devotions as a child warped his desires as a man. He’s also a slave to
the times in which he lives--and to his king. Everything he is,
everything he holds dear, depends on staying in Charles II’s good
graces. Unfortunately, Maggie isn't the bride the king selected for him.
Now, to make amends, the duke must either whore his wife or be reduced
to a penniless and unprotected commoner at a time when Catholics are
persona non grata in Great Britain.
The tawdry tale of the Duke and Duchess of Dunwoody continues…
Maggie Armstrong, the long-lost illegitimate daughter of the heir
presumptive to the throne, is bedeviled by her husband's limited
definition of fidelity. After observing him in a ménage à trois at the
court of King Charles II, she is determined to bring him around to her
way of thinking—
by any means necessary.
Robert doesn’t mind being punished for his transgressions. Rather,
he enjoys being whipped, especially by his beloved bride. Unfortunately,
her heart might not belong to him alone. His younger brother, who he’d
sent abroad to clear the way for himself, is coming home sooner than
expected, and Maggie’s feelings for Hugh may not be as dead as her
husband had hoped.
Both duke and duchess soon learn, to their peril, Hugh Armstrong is
not the honorable man they’d been led to believe. Insanely jealous of
his brother’s situation, Hugh will stop at nothing to strip Robert of
all he holds dear—including his life.
But the real danger for Robert and Maggie is not the villainous
Marquess, but the growing friction betwixt Catholics and Protestants in
Restoration Era Great Britain.
Can their love survive the trials that await them?
The year is now
1685 and Maggie's father has just been crowned King of Great Britain,
but that doesn't mean trouble is over for the Duke and Duchess of
Dunwoody. Rather than cool the flames of hatred between Papists and
Protestants, the coronation of a Catholic monarch has only added
accelerant to the already raging blaze. Two-faced devils lurk in every
corner of the royal court, as do diseases with the power to kill and
maim. When Robert falls prey to the smallpox virus, it looks as though
Maggie will lose the two people most precious to her--her beloved
husband and their only child--the son she bore three months before after
five years of heartbreaking miscarriages and stillbirths. The one
person in London who can help save her son demands a steep price in
exchange her services. Will Maggie trade Robert's hard-won fidelity to
save her only child...or offer the apothecary an even more scandalous
alternative?
Today, we are featuring Starry Knight by Nina Mason, the author of The Queen of Swords and Devil in Duke's Clothing, among other books. Starry Knight is Ms. Mason's fifth novel and the first in a new erotic paranormal/urban fantasy series titled The Knights of Avalon. The series--which combines paranormal and occult elements with Celtic and Arthurian legend--tells the story of four "knights" under the spell of the evil faery queen Morgan Le Fay.
Can these star-crossed lovers bridge two worlds?
British aristocrat Vanessa Bentley has beauty, fame, and fortune, but
she gets no respect for her decision to become a paranormal
investigator. Determined to prove the naysayers wrong, Vanessa ventures
to the misty moors of Caithness, Scotland. There stands the immense
Castle Barrogill, where a vampire is rumored to be stalking the
dungeons—a vampire Vanessa is determined to find. She’ll just have to
get past the resident shape-shifter…
Callum Lyon is the gorgeous reclusive astrologer and faery knight who guards the castle. For free-spirited Vanessa, seducing him proves to be easy. After all, he was once a breeding drone to a Queen. But astrologically, their differences are harder to overcome. Will Vanessa’s mission—and Callum’s secrets—be more than their burgeoning love can take? Or will flesh—and blood—win
over the ghosts that haunt them both? ….
In
this scene, the hero, a centuries-old faery knight whose life has been devoid
of romance, is doing his best to woo Lady Vanessa, a free-spirited “poor little
rich girl” and paranormal investigator who, unbeknownst to him, is using sex to
gain access to his castle. He’s spent the day showing her around Caithness and,
in the midst of a sunset stroll on the beach, has suggested they take shelter
from the wind in a nearby cave.
Callum got to his feet, took
Vanessa’s hand, and pulled her across the dunes toward the cliffs. She couldn’t
see the entrance to the cave until he swept back a curtain of vines. She
followed him through the narrow entrance, holding tightly to his hand. The
interior was cool, dark, and smelled a bit fishy, but not offensively so.
Stepping in front of her, he put a
hand on her chin and lifted her gaze to his. The spark between them was
palpable and she longed for him to kiss her. She licked her lips invitingly,
hoping he’d take the hint.
“You’re very bonny, mo dearbadan-de,” he said softly,
seductively, as he brushed back a wayward strand of her hair.
“What did you just call me?”
“My butterfly,” he said, “in
Gaelic.”
She put her arms around his neck
and offered him her mouth. He accepted, nibbling and flicking his tongue
against her lips. She pulled the band from his ponytail, freeing his windblown
mane. As it tumbled around his shoulders, she wove her fingers among its silky
strands, pressing his mouth harder against hers.
When he offered his tongue, she
greeted it with her own. He moaned—a deep, needful sound that dumped accelerant
on her desire. She thrust her hips against him, finding him as aroused as she
was. He pushed back, grinding against her as he walked her backward toward the
wall of the cave. As her back met rough rock, warm fingers came under her
blouse, climbed her ribs, and pushed under her bra. As he teased her nipples,
something deep in her core turned all soft and molten.
She was air, he fire, and right
now, she wanted his light and heat, wanted him to consume her in a crackling
blaze.
He broke out of the kiss, moved his
mouth to her ear, and nibbled the lobe. She grew weak in the knees as his
tongue traced the sensitive inner folds.
“Why do you run away from love, mo dearbadan-de?” he whispered huskily.
“Do you see it as a trap?”
“More a fraud than a trap.”
“And sex isn’t?”
“With sex, you know what you’re
getting.”
“And when it’s over, you’ve got
nothing.”
“How is love different?”
“I don’t know,” he said, “having
never felt it.”
“We’re alike in that,” she said, “but from what I’ve observed, it’s a mirage people only chase because they feel
incomplete within themselves.”
Taking her face between his hands,
he trained her in his riveting gaze. “Do you truly believe that?”
“Yes.”
He let her go, turned his back, and
stepped away. For the longest time, he stood there, just out of reach, saying
nothing. Then, as suddenly as he’d turned his back, he rounded on her with eyes
like yellow coals. “Tell me, Madame Butterfly. Who made you feel so unlovable?”
The question impaled her like a
red-hot spike. Damn him for asking it, for digging so deep, for skewering her
with his probe. She suddenly felt ridiculous, like some poor little rich girl.
She’d been born into wealth and privilege. What right did she have to be
unhappy? So what if her parents didn’t love her or she had no true friends.
Boo-fucking-hoo.
Get over yourself.
What right did she have to wallow
in self-pity when children were starving, people were dying of Ebola, and the
planet was being raped on a daily basis? She deserved no compassion, despite
the searing wound she did her best to ignore.
“I have no idea what you’re talking
about,” she said in a voice that sounded faint and faraway under the
blood-thunder in her ears.
“No? Then why have you closed your
heart?”
Defiance bubbled in her heart like
hot tar. Damn him for trying to get past the battlements she’d spent years
erecting hurt by hurt and brick by brick. If anything, she should build her
walls higher where this bedeviling baron was concerned, not let him wear them
down like rain.
“Did you bring me in here to
psychoanalyze me?”
“No,” he whispered, the heat of his
breath caressing, soothing. His hand glided purposefully down her body and
pushed between her legs. As he stimulated her through her knickers, she threw
back her head and expelled a soft sigh—of pleasure and relief. A rapacious
lover, she was equal to. A probing one, not so much.
As he stroked her through the satin
crotch of her knickers, desire fluttered in her abdomen like an injured bird.
He’d struck too close to home. She’d didn’t feel loveable because she’d never
felt loved. Not for one single, solitary moment of her entire privileged life.
She’d had a chain of nannies who believed children should be seen but not heard
before being packed off to boarding school where she was treated with equal
detachment. Her parents, in short, had hired others to raise her—no, make that train her. In their eyes, she was a hunk
of clay to be molded, not a human being to be nurtured. How disappointed they
must have been when they got an outspoken nonconformist in place of the pretty
marionette they’d paid for.
Callum’s finger came inside her
knickers and began to circle her clitoris, smothering her bitterness in the
syrup of pleasure. The orgasm charged and retreated, charged and retreated, and
then finally exploded in a heavenly cascade.
Setting his hands on the wall on
either side of her head, he docked his forehead against hers and said, “I’d
rather chase the mirage than die alone without hope in the desert.”
Here's a little more about the series from the author:
The Knights of Avalon, the four-part erotic PNR/UF series
Starry Knight launches, was born of a simple idea: to write a series
incorporating different forms of divination. From that kernel grew the far more
complex world of the series. The “knights” of Avalon, the enchanted otherworld
isle featured in Arthurian and Celtic legend, were Scottish noblemen who, after
falling in battle, were taken by the fairies to serve as breeding drones to
their queen. Each of the four books in the series tells the story of a
particular knight and the heroine whose love saves him from his unhappy
existence.
Each knight grapples with a different relationship
with Morgan Le Fay, the cruel and selfish queen of Avalon. Callum Lyon, the hero
of Starry Knight (book one), is free of Morgan’s influence, having escaped enslavement
after faking his own death. Leith MacQuill, the hero of Dark and Stormy Knight
(book two), was expelled from Avalon after the queen discovered his amour with
one of her scouts. In book three, which I’ve yet to write, Axel Lochlann, a
rune-casting Scot of Viking descent, guards the portal between Hitherworld (our
realm) and Thitherworld (the otherworldly realm). The fourth knight, Finn MacKnight, doesn’t know what he is or that he’s destined to fulfill an ancient prophecy telling of the queen’s overthrow by a “natural-born” drone. Because of this prophecy, Morgan kills all the male children she bears and punishes the knights who
father them
Avalonian knights are vampire-like, but not vampires per se. Members of the Unseelie Fae, they drink blood and can assume the form
of any creature they choose, but generally take the form of a particular animal to hunt. Callum’s preferred form is a lion, Leith’s is a Kellas Cat, Axel’s is a gyrfalcon, and Finn’s is a jaguar.
Astrology is the new-age element featured in Starry Knight (hence the name). Callum, the court astrologer to King James IV, fell in
battle in 1513, after warning the king the stars did not favor the invasion of England. Ignoring Callum’s advice proved costly to the king and his astrologer.
In modern times, Callum lives in the northernmost county of Scotland as a reclusive political astrologer. The heroine, a
free-spirited English aristocrat named Vanessa Bentley, comes to Caithness with the goal of getting inside Barrogill Castle. She’s just finished her training as a paranormal investigator and the London paparazzi have been giving her a
hard time. Legend has it a vampire lives at Callum’s castle, so she decides to seduce the gorgeous, golden-haired baron to gain entry to his otherwise inaccessible abode. Needless to say, both get a lot more than hot sex (but also plenty of
that!) from the bargain they strike.
Tarot cards, voodoo, ghosts, and the more
traditional form of vampire also play roles in the plot. I hope readers enjoy Starry Knight and the rest of the series as much as I have enjoyed writing it!
Here's a little more about the author:
Nina Mason
Nina Mason is a hopeful romantic with strong
affinities for history, mythology, and the metaphysical. She strives to write
the same kind of books she loves to read: those that entertain, edify, educate,
and enlighten.
She has four books out at present and three more on the way. Her current
releases are, in order of publication: The
Queen of Swords, a darkly erotic Scottish paranormal romance/urban fantasy;
The Tin Man, a political thriller;
and Devil in Duke's Clothing and The Duke's Bedeviled Bride, the first
two installments in an erotic historical series titled Royal Pains. Book three
of Royal Pains will be released in October.
Starry Knight is the first book in a
four-part paranormal romance series titled The Knights of Avalon. The series
combines Arthurian legend, Celtic mythology, and Scottish history to tell the
story of four mortals taken by the faeries after falling in battle. The Knights
of Avalon are the breeding drones of the legendary sorceress Morgan Le Fay.
Book Two, Dark and Stormy Knight, will
be released in January 2016. The series is being published by
Lyrical/Kensington.
Today is release day for The Duke's Bedeviled Bride, book two in my erotic historic Royal Pains series. The series, set in Scotland and England during the Restoration period, is available in e-book or paperback.
The tawdry tale of the Duke and Duchess of Dunwoody continues…
Maggie Armstrong, the long-lost illegitimate daughter of the heir
presumptive to the throne, is bedeviled by her husband's limited
definition of fidelity. After observing him in a ménage à trois at the
court of King Charles II, she is determined to bring him around to her
way of thinking—
by any means necessary.
Robert doesn’t mind being punished for his transgressions. Rather,
he enjoys being whipped, especially by his beloved bride. Unfortunately,
her heart might not belong to him alone. His younger brother, who he’d
sent abroad to clear the way for himself, is coming home sooner than
expected, and Maggie’s feelings for Hugh may not be as dead as her
husband had hoped.
Both duke and duchess soon learn, to their peril, Hugh Armstrong is
not the honorable man they’d been led to believe. Insanely jealous of
his brother’s situation, Hugh will stop at nothing to strip Robert of
all he holds dear—including his life.
But the real danger for Robert and Maggie is not the villainous
Marquess, but the growing friction betwixt Catholics and Protestants in
Restoration Era Great Britain.
Can their love survive the trials that await them?
Nina Mason is a hopeful romantic with strong affinities for history,
mythology, and the metaphysical. She strives to write the same kind of
books she loves to read: those that entertain, edify, educate, and
enlighten.
She is the author of The Queen of Swords, a darkly erotic Scottish paranormal
romance/urban fantasy; The Tin Man, a political thriller; Devil in
Duke's Clothing, an erotic historical set in 1680 Scotland; The Duke's
Bedeviled Bride, the follow-up to Devil in Duke's Clothing; Starry
Knight, the first book in a new PNR/UF series; and Dark and Stormy
Knight, book two in The Knights of Avalon series.
Born and raised in Orange County, California, Ms. Mason
currently lives in Woodstock, Georgia.
“I
highly recommend this amazing erotic historical romance because Nina has
written an exquisitely beautiful yet intriguing story encircled by a world of
unrest far more real than we want to acknowledge.”
--Unwrapping
Romance
“An amazing read from start to finish.”
--Eclipse Reviews
“This is one of my favourite reads so far this year and I wholeheartedly
recommend it to lovers of erotic historical romance.”
--A Reader’s Review
“An amazing, well-written, hot read that I simply couldn’t put down.”
--Sabina’s Adventures in Reading
“The description of the characters is so detailed it is like looking through
a picture album at them. And the story line is not only exciting but HOT!!!”
--Immortal Reviews
“Wow, did Ms. Mason bring it. It's a historical romance, but it's smokin'
hot.”
--Bound by Books
“A truly good book!”
--The Ardent Reader
“Had me hooked from page 1 till the
very end! I absolutely love historical romance and this did not disappoint!”
One week to go until the official release, but I've published the
paperback version early for those who still like to hold a book in their
hands. You can buy it on CreateSpace right now or on Amazon in a few
days. Here's the link: https://www.createspace.com/5150667
Devil in Duke’s Clothing, an erotic historical romance by Nina Mason, tells the story of an innocent bride's struggles to adapt to her new husband’s eccentric erotic tastes amidst the instability and hedonism of the reign of Charles II. The book is the latest by Nina Mason, the author of The Queen of Swords and The Tin Man. Book One in the Royal Pains Trilogy, Devil in Duke's Clothing is highly erotic and features scenes of voyeurism, bondage, flagellation, and a voyeuristic menage.
Maggie York, a convent-raised foundling, knows the Duke of Dunwoody’s sexual tastes are a shade or two darker than normal, but marries him anyway—partly because she has no other prospects and partly because, try as she might, she can’t seem to exorcize her desire for the dashing ducal devil. Two years ago, she watched him swive and spank her lady's maid, luring her from the garden of innocence into the orchard of fleshly delights--and she's been hungry for more ever since.
Robert Armstrong, the duke, is a Roman Catholic whose extreme devotions as a child warped his desires as a man. He’s also a slave to the times in which he lives--and to his king. Everything he is, everything he holds dear, depends on staying in Charles II’s good graces. Unfortunately, Maggie isn't the bride the king selected for him. Now, to make amends, the duke must choose between the lesser of two evils: whore his wife or be reduced to a penniless commoner.
Whose interests will Robert choose to serve, his own, the king’s, or the woman he loves?
Here's the trailer (18+ only, please):
Here's an excerpt:
The duke pushed the sleeves off her shoulders and halfway down her arms before about-facing her. Stooping, he pressed his mouth to her décolletage.
His lips were deliciously warm and moist against the bulging tops of her flattened bosoms. His hair tickled her flesh in a pleasing sort of way and smelled faintly of lavender.
He moved upward, kissing her collarbone, her throat, the side of her neck, and her earlobe. After blowing in her ear, he whispered in a voice like velvet, “Why did you marry me, knowing what you knew?”
A hot lump formed at her core. “Because.”
He ran his tongue around the folds of her ear, sending delicious shivers through her. “Because why?”
“Because you are a duke.” Mouth suddenly parched, she licked her lips.
“And you dreamed of being a duchess?”
“No.”
“Then why?”
“I would prefer not to say.”
“Why?”
“Because it will make me sound small and petty.”
His tongue’s explorations undermined her concentration. “Now I really must know.”
She heaved a sigh of surrender. “Survival, “ she said, forcing the half-truth from her throat. “Since you insist upon an answer, I married you because you asked me to…and I had nowhere else to turn for protection.”
His mouth returned to her neck and proceeded to kiss, lick, and nip her flesh, turning her insides to syrup.
“Thank you,” he said betwixt kisses.
“For what?”
“Your candor.”
Guilt crushed her chest like a boulder. Yes, she’d married him to gain security, but she'd left out the part about lusting after him deep in her heart. She moved away, removed the full-sleeved bodice, and laid it over the bench at the foot of the bed.
He came up behind her, slipped his arms around her waist, and kissed the back of her neck, setting her aflame.
She spun in his embrace and looked at him. His dark hair tumbled in soft waves over his broad shoulders. His features were shadowed, making him look dangerous. The need she’d stuffed down for so long erupted from her core, thick and molten.
Bringing his mouth to hers, he kissed and nibbled her lips as his hands untied the strings of her petticoat. It billowed to the floor, leaving her in only her fancy wedding stays and shift.
“Now, ’tis my turn.”
Stepping back a wee ways, she pulled the diamond stick-pin from his cravat, loosened the knot, and unfurled the long strip of linen encircling his neck. Was it the same one he’d used to tie the maid’s hands?
“Why did you dismiss Mistress Honeywell?” she asked, letting his neck cloth slip from her fingers to the floor.
His beguiling mouth hitched into a crooked grin. “Had I known you’d seen me swive her, I could have saved myself the trouble—and a few sovereigns.”
“I’m sorry for your trouble, but do not regret her loss. Truth be known, I never liked her—though I do not doubt part of my aversion stemmed from what I witnessed.”
He lifted her chin, pulling her gaze to his. “Were you jealous, Rosebud?”
“Not at the time, but afterward, I resented her relationship with you.”
“There was no relationship. ‘Twas merely a one off.”
Unsure what to say in response, she unbuttoned his collar, opened the front of his shirt, and slipped both hands inside. As her fingertips met the warm, hair-garnished flesh of his chest, she nearly swooned.
How many times she had fantasized about touching him in this way. How much better he felt in real life—a pleasing quilt of smooth skin, solid bone and muscle, wiry hairs, and petal soft nipples. She pinched one until it grew erect.
“You feel good, husband” she said. “You are well put together.”
“It gets better.” He laughed.
“I know.” She blushed at the memory. “I saw everything you own that day in Mrs. McQueen’s closet.”
“And you married me anyway?”
“Oh, no. I married you because of it.”
The smile he gave her warmed her all the way down to her toes.
She swept her hands downward, shuddering when they touched the tartan draped around his hips. The wool was finely woven, soft. She brushed the apron, pleased to find he was aroused. So was she. Mightily.
Since that day in the closet, she’d pictured his hard phallus a thousand times—in her hand, her mouth, and her cunny, and now ’twas at last within grasp. She bent to unbuckle the belt circumnavigating his hips, but, changing her mind, reached underneath the curtain of plaid instead.
He sucked in a breath as she ran her hands up the backs of his thighs. They felt exactly as she’d dreamed they would. Lean, hard, and flocked in bristly hair. Would his phallus feel the way she’d imagined, too?
Nina Mason is a hopeful romantic with strong affinities for history, mythology, and the metaphysical. She strives to write the same kind of books she loves to read: those that entertain, edify, educate, and enlighten.
She has two books out at present: The Queen of Swords, a darkly erotic Scottish paranormal romance/urban fantasy, and The Tin Man, a political thriller.
Ms. Mason is currently at work on two new series': an erotic historical trilogy titled Royal Pains and a four-part erotic paranormal/fantasy series titled The Knights of Avalon. Devil in Duke's Clothing is book one in Royal Pains. Starry Knight, book one in the Knights of Avalon will be released on August 4, 2015 by Lyrical/Kensington>
When not writing, she works as a communications consultant, doll maker, and home-stager. Born and raised in Orange County, California, Ms. Mason currently lives with her husband, teenage daughter, two rescue cats, and a Westie named Robert just north of Atlanta, Georgia.
About the author
