Mr. Martin, the former first mate of an infamous pirate captain is mourning the loss of his young lover. He and Thomas de Fleurre, an exiled prince turned gentleman landowner, had a passionate affair on a tropical island paradise for a very short time. Thomas decides to end their relationship since Martin is a wanted man on the run for a twenty-year-old crime he didn’t commit.
Thomas longs for the frank speaking Martin, who not only ravaged his body, but his heart and soul. He has moved on, finding happiness in the arms of another man, but can’t stop thinking about those hot steamy nights where Martin made his every fantasy become a reality.
Martin’s past comes back to haunt him as he arrives on Thomas’s doorstep to finish what they started. And then Martin puts his life on the line to save Thomas from an unstable woman who is obsessed with claiming Thomas as her own.
With a dangerous highwayman also terrorizing the land who has close ties to Martin, Thomas becomes a target in a deadly game of cat and mouse. It’s up to Martin to save Thomas and hope they can sail away on their tide of passion, where he will end up being the Prince’s groom.
Excerpt
The man on Thomas's mind walked into the room and shut the door. He stood in the semi-darkness as Thomas looked his fill. Each and every time he saw Martin, his heartbeat pounded at a ferocious rate and his groin grew heavy. He had not felt this deep passion for another man until Mr. Martin, Chelsey Dread's former first mate, had waltzed into his life and seduced him.
"There you are, lad. I've been looking for you everywhere." Martin walked toward him with a bright grin on his face.
He looks at me as if he loves me. Thomas clasped his hands behind his back to stop from reaching out and taking Martin in his arms. He was so very wrong. Martin didn't love him. Desired and lusted for him, yes. But loved him? No.
Thomas remained silent as Martin wrapped his thick hands around Thomas’s nape and tipped his head back. He swallowed, overcome with the need to get down on his knees and worship Martin's cock. Never had he experienced anything like it. Thomas would never forget this man as long as he lived.
"What are you thinking of, Your Highness?" Martin asked and licked his lips.
Thomas clenched his fists, wanting desperately to run his fingers through Martin's dark goatee, spread his palms over his bald head, and press kisses over the older man's face. He frowned. He didn't even know how old Martin truly was, let alone his first name.
"Please don't call me ‘lad.’ And certainly not ‘Your Highness.’ I'm very much a man and no longer a prince, and haven't been for many years. I would have no idea how to even run a country given the chance," Thomas said, adding the last as an afterthought.
Martin released Thomas's neck and slid his hands down the younger man’s body until he grabbed hold of his ass and cupped both cheeks. Thomas moaned in response. His eyes flicked shut and he inhaled deeply. Thomas smelled the remnants of the dark yeasty ale Martin had drunk earlier in the night. He barely stopped himself from lifting up and placing his lips over the older man's bushy jaw.
"You're in a bit of the bite now, aren't you?"
Thomas snorted. Martin’s way with words always made him smile; it was one of the things he adored about him.
"Mr. Martin, I wish I could place your dialect. It’s a strange one indeed. Where did you say you resided again?"
"Nowhere important."
Thomas opened his eyes and folded his hands. He held back from fixing the front of his breeches. His prick had risen, and was most likely noticeable to a roving eye. But since he was alone with Martin, his erection wasn’t a cause for concern. He disregarded his want, however, and allowed ire to grow in its place.
"I find it odd that although we have been intimate in every sense of the word, you still won't give me a straight answer about your past or who your people are. Why is that?" Thomas moved out of Martin's embrace and walked over to the four poster bed where he leaned against the backboard.
Martin wiped a palm over his head and sniffed. He then scratched his chin and neck. Thomas watched as Martin's muscular biceps flexed under his sleeveless tan shirt. He never wore a jacket, and his shirt was always missing the sleeves. Thomas glanced down at his own dark blue coat. He unbuttoned it, allowing his body to breathe easier in the humid air.
"I'm not one to share too many details about myself. The less you know, the better."
"For whom, Martin? Or is that even your real name? Why won't you tell me your first—"
Martin made a cutting motion through the air. "We've been through this already. Why harp on the issue again? There are more important things to do and worry about then gab about our secrets."
Thomas lifted his hands and then dropped them down to his sides. "See, that’s the difference between you and me. I have no secrets. I'm an open book. You, though, are a mystery that refuses to be solved."
"Oh, you're an open book? Heh. That's one lie you have been tellin’ yourself right all along, Thom."
What in God’s earth is he talking about? "I must have misunderstood just now. When have I ever lied?"
Martin stepped in front of Thomas and grabbed hold of his arms. He tried to pull away, but it was no use. Martin held him in an immobile grip.
"You've been lying most of your life about this." Martin swooped in for a deep kiss.
Thomas landed his palms against Martin's chest and dug his fingers into the damp material of his shirt. Martin sweated a great deal more than he did, not that he minded in the least. He loved to lick Martin's brawny chest and flat stomach. He had become addicted to the man's musky scent.
All thoughts of arguing were soon forgotten as Thomas curved his arms around Martin's shoulders and pulled him in close. His tongue slipped into Martin's mouth and swiped the inside of his cheeks. Martin chuckled deeply and licked the roof of Thomas's mouth, making him bite down on Martin's bottom lip.
Martin released Thomas, but backed up a bare inch away from his face. "I've taught you well." He shoved his hand in between Thomas's legs and fondled him through his pants.
Professional Reviews
Smokin' Hot Books
bald pirate guy + hairy chest + manlove = a happy Smokinhotbooks
When KT Grant asked me to review her debut m/m book, Prince’s Groom I did my best Gollum impression and said GIVES IT TO ME! MY PRECIOUS. It’s been too long since my last KT Grant fix, and with this one being m/m, I was ‘in hearts’ with the story before I even started to read it. Prince’s Groom is the 2nd book in her, (what I fondly refer to as sexy pirate man) series.
The sexy pirate man series began with former prince, Thom, falling deep into to lust with a rakish older pirate, Martin. I can’t help but reminisce about my favorite scene where Martin pushes Thom up against a wall and had his nasty, barbarian way with him. Delish! Unfortunately, things cannot stay forever in sweet carnal bliss and Thom’s real life responsibilities get start to get in the way. So, Thom is forced to return back to his homeland with a leaving Martin and himself a broken-hearted. Both are devastated with this turn of events, however, being that we are dealing with two Y chromosomes here, neither is willing to show their true feelings. Typical male. A year goes by and both have not gotten over one another, Thom wishes to return to his tropical paradise with his hairy pirate, despite starting a friends with benefits relationship with his assistant Will. Just as Martin decides to give up his pirating ways and win Thom back, a dangerous highwayman, and a seriously deranged female stalker might keep them apart….
Hands down people, this is my favorite KT Grant book I’ve read so far. We all know how the girls at SHB are a might obsessed with the pirate genre, *cough. cough Black Wade*, so when I saw that Martin was a bald pirate with a lusty appetite I was in manlove heaven. Usually I feel a little left out when I come into a story and the characters have already met, but I didn’t mind that so much in Prince’s Groom. Anyhoo, my only regret is not being able to see how these characters originally met as it is usually my favorite part of a romance. Sooooo this means I’ll need to buy the first one (wink wink).
I highly recommend Prince’s Groom for those of you wanting a little break from all the contemporary manlvoe out there and want something that scratches your pirate itch.
That's What I'm Talking About
It’s been a while since I’ve enjoyed an M/M romance and so I jumped to purchase KT Grant’s (aka @katiebabs on Twitter) debut M/M story. The book is the second in her pirate-themed series, following The Princess’s Bride. I did not read the first book and I’m sorry that I didn’t prior to reading The Prince’s Groom.
The story begins with the wedding of Thomas’s sister, Daisy, to former pirate, Chelsey. We discover that Thomas and Martin are in the midst of an incredibly hot fling, but Thomas feels obligated to go back home and perform the duties his status as a gentleman landowner holds. He longs for Martin to come with him, but because he is an outlaw, it just won’t work.
Fast forward one year: Thomas has upheld his duties, and although he has another lover, he is lonely and misses Martin. Meanwhile, Ramona, the youngest daughter of the local sherriff, Viscount Alastair Veiga, has set her deranged sights on Thomas. She craves love along with power and prestige and thinks that Thomas loves her and will marry her.
Overall, the story is exciting, well-thought-out and sexy. I adore Martin and Thomas. Their love for one another is almost innocent and so touching. Their sex is passionate and hot! Thomas’s new lover, William, is also a well-developed side character. His ardor for his boss and friend feels sincere and his heartache true.
Ramona is a bitch and completely unstable. Her treatment of her dear, meek older sister, Julia, is outrageous and perfectly evil. She is a character you long to hate, and Ramona makes it easy to do so.
Although Ms. Grant did a fabulous job providing backstory from the first book, I felt I was missing out by not reading it first. It seems that Martin and Thomas’s beginnings were in The Princess’s Bride, and I would have appreciated reading about their first meeting, first kiss, first encounter.
I enjoyed reading The Prince’s Groom, and plan to go back and pick up The Princess’s Bride. The story is delightful and the romance hot. For those that are on the fence about an M/M story, this is a gay romance and the sex scenes are deliciously descriptive!
Book Girl
Ahoy, ye merry mateys! Aye it this time again. Time for a swashbucklin' about pirates, wenches and gentlemen. I'm talking about K.T. Grant's book The Prince's Groom. After reading The Claiming of Suzy I was a wee bit hesitant, but shiver me timbers, this book surprised me.
When I started this book, which is about Martin and Thomas – or Thom as Martin also calls him – there was the feeling that something was missing. It started right in the middle of the wedding of Thomas' sister Daisy and the characters already knew each other. I was a wee bit disappointed, because I dislike those stories that just start right in the middle of something, assuming we know what in the seven seas is going on.
Turns out that The Prince's Groom is a sequel/continuation of the Daisy's story The Princess' Bride. So while I was a bit disappointed that I missed how Martin and Thom got together and the general first part of the story, I soon got with the program and got into the story. While I missed bits and pieces of Thom and Martin and their histories, it didn't stop me from liking this story.
Martin is a man of secrets and Thom is a stubborn git. While passion flies, communication between the men is missing and that doesn't bode well. Indeed Thom takes off for his own parts while Martin can't follow because he's a wanted man and because he let Thom go. Gah. Men. Always refusing to talk.
Fast forward a year and Thom is getting it on with his personal assistant, though his heart is – gna gna gna – not in it. Trouble brews in the form of the bad, scheming and spoiled wench Ramona. She set her beady eyes on Thom and lo and behold, what Ramona wants she gets. No matter the cost or consequences. Trouble also brews in the form a Night Stalker. Luckily, after some time on the high seas, Martin gets his wits about him and goes in search Thom.
What I liked about this story is that Martin and Thom are not your typical characters. They're not stereotypes who have a role to play (while of course they each have their part in the story, it's not a typical role). They're round characters who are stubborn and want to keep themselves from hurt while also being in love with each other. I also liked that Thom got it on with his PA. It shows that he's not a saint and makes his mistakes. Just like Martin wants to keep his past and his first name to himself.
What I didn't like about this story was the lack of world-building. Having not read the previous book, I most likely missed a bit more, but I missed the background on the world around them, the setting, but also the secondary characters. Take for instance Ramona. She is the typical evil bitch of the story, yet you don't get a real insight into the motives – while, and that I liked, she got more page time than most baddies in a story.
I'm glad B. sent this story my way. The Prince's Groom is a sweet, sexy and hot story about two men learning that they can't live apart and that they can make it work together if they want too.
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