Coming March 24, 2016
Genre: New Adult Dystopian Romance
Cover Artist: Brannon Jones @ B-Dirty Graphics
In the 23rd century, war has ravaged the planet.
A biological weapon has decimated the population, and those who remain have been driven to desperate measures to survive. Over the course of a century, evolution delivers an answer — the Xeno gene, which provides its bearers with immunity to disease. All adolescent girls are tested for the X-gene, and carriers are obligated to bear children for the good of the human race.
The promise of salvation comes at a terrible price.
Stone Emmerson, heir to a position of supreme power, is surprised to learn his best friend Kella is an X-gene carrier. He’s quick to claim her as his own, but as a mere servant, Kella can’t help but doubt his motives. Before he can offer the protection of his name, she escapes his household. Mourning her loss, Stone becomes the black sheep among his peers by focusing on the welfare of his people.
While survival and freedom hang in the balance…
Starting over under an assumed name, Kella is a founding member of the X-Diplomats, a radical group dedicated to stopping enforced X-gene testing and promoting equal rights for commoners. Years pass before she crosses paths with Stone again. As the web of deceit that has come between them unravels, their love begins to grow. But can Stone turn a blind eye to Kella’s violent revolution and see the justice of her cause? Or will their differences prove too great to overcome?
What price would you pay to break the chains of oppression?
Are you
behind on reading the excerpts?
Here they are, just click on the links and then
come back to read Chapter 6!
PROLOGUE
TskTsk What to ReadCHAPTER 1
Author N KuhnCHAPTER 2
Author Madison SevierCHAPTER 3
Starry Night Book ReviewsCHAPTER 4
BookloversdreamCHAPTER 5
Fallen Over Book ReviewsSIXMack acted as if she hadn’t heard him or she chose to ignore his comment.
Watching her interact with the kids had been eye opening. They obviously loved her. And the
one kid, Rog, had wanted to protect her. Adorable. The kid hadn’t stood a
chance, but the boy’s aggression demonstrated the depth of his affection for
Mack.
Commotion in the streets drew his attention. People dispersed, allowing for two guards
chasing a civilian through the throng of citizens in the busy thoroughfare. The
runner tripped, skidding forward from the momentum of his fall. Stone cringed
at the scrapes the guy would receive.
The runner pushed up—and then was down again as the guards caught up and wailed on
him. Kicking, punching, and whacking him with clubs, which resulted in the
escapee curling into a ball, protecting himself as he screamed for a ceasefire.
The guards just kept pummeling.
Next thing Stone knew, Mack stepped off the sidewalk and put herself in the middle
of the fray. Great. She was a do-gooder.
“Stop!”
she screamed, shoving one of the Regent’s men aside. The crowd hushed, and
sudden alarm punched the mob. “You’ve got him, you asshole, he’s bleeding everywhere.”
Stone agreed with that assessment. The beating was excessive.
The man she’d attacked kicked the runner in the gut. “You’re under arrest, Mack, for
violating Regent business.”
Mack blanched at that threat, but she pushed on. “You’re going to kill him.”
From the corner of his eye, Stone spied one of the girls from earlier take off. This
wouldn’t end well if the altercation terrified her enough to run away.
Stone stepped off the curb to diffuse the situation, but before he could reach them, Mack
pulled on the soldier’s arm to stop him from abusing the guy further, and he
backhanded her. The crowd shrieked. Mack managed to deflect his next blows, ramming
her knee into his crotch. With a wail, he went down, the crowd cheering. But
the other asshole guard was on her then, curling his hand in her hair and yanking her back. Mack fell on her ass, swiped her leg out, and took the Regent’s man with her.
Before she could get her footing, the asshole straddled her, smacked her once, and had
balled up his fist to strike her when Stone stepped up and pressed the barrel of his gun to the guard’s forehead. Seeing him smack Mack had flooded him with rage. Fury struck so hard, it was a wonder his hands weren’t shaking.
I would react the same if he hit any woman.
Wouldn’t he? Stone wasn’t so sure. There was something unidentifiable that attracted him
to Mack.
The man went still, lifting his hands in the universal sign of surrender. “Regent Jones
will see you dead for violating weapon’s law.”
“Stupid fucker. You threaten me while I hold a gun to your head?” James weaved into the
crowd, maintaining the neutralization of the other guard as Stone spoke. “I
could off you right now, and not a goddamn thing would be done about it.”
“You have a high opinion of yourself, dreg.”
Stone couldn’t understand why the idiot mistook him for a civilian, a low-class one
at that by his slur. His shirt alone cost more than the stupid fuck’s entire yearly
salary. “Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Regent Stone Emmerson, and I’m well
within my legal right to weaponize myself and to put a bullet in your head.
Start talking, and I demand—”
“Stone,”
James warned. “You’ve crossed the line.”
“—a good fucking reason for your abuse of a defenseless woman. Shut up, James.” Now was
not the time to scold him. The asshole had hit Mack, and he wanted reparations
for the assault, didn’t matter that she wasn’t his citizen and he didn’t hold
any rights toward her. Somewhere along the way, his brain had claimed her. Yeah,
he’d fucked up big time.
“She started it!” the guy with the relocated balls choked out.
The one straddling Mack maintained his calm. “It’s Regent business. He’s a thief. She
interfered. You understand protocol and that I must now bring them both in.”
Stone nodded, and lowered his weapon. “Let’s all of us have a chat with your Regent.”
James cursed, but jerked Blueballs to his feet. “You’re a goddamn fool.”
No shit.
He’d ousted himself for a woman he had no business protecting, much less desiring.
“You’re an idiot,” Mack said, the ungrateful chit. “You should’ve stayed out of it.”
Seriously?
He’d expected a little more gratitude. “He’d have beaten the fuck out of you
too. You’re welcome.”
“Looked like she was holding her own pretty good to me.” James stepped up beside him as
the guards secured the guy with a set of electric cuffs.
“Thanks, Satan.”
Pain radiated along Stone’s neck when he jerked his attention to her. No one had
ever called James Satan except Kella.
She glared at Stone and said, “I’d say sorry for blowing your cover, but I didn’t
ask for your help.”
Still reeling from her nickname for James, Stone found himself strangely speechless.
He looked at his buddy, but James ogled her, frown lines scoring his forehead.
“Is that necessary?” Stone demanded when Stupid Fuck spun Mack around and cuffed her
with zip-ties. Tight enough she winced as they indented her skin.
“She committed a felony attacking government representatives on official business.”
“Is that how you’re going to spin it?” James gave Stone his ‘I can’t believe this
bullshit’ glower. “From what I could see, you two attacked her first, and she
defended herself.”
“That’s exactly what I’m telling Regent Jones.” Stone didn’t bother commanding the jerk
to loosen her restraints. Instead he lifted his foot, slid his blade out of his
ankle strap, and slit through the plastic ties.
“She interfered with our commands.” Stupid Fuck’s face mottled when Stone released
her.
“That’s different from attacking you.” Stone rubbed her wrists, and his cock took
interest thanks to the soft texture of her skin. If Mack Ellason interested
him, Missy wasn’t doing her job, and he needed to get laid again. Mack was no
beauty, cute, yes, but all his women were refined or whores. He didn’t peg her
as a whore, but she was far from refined.
“You have no jurisdiction here,” Blueballs squeaked out.
Stone released his grip on Mack’s wrists. He curled his fingers in Blueball’s shirt
and yanked him closer. “Come again?”
“You’re scaring the piss out of the guy.” James gestured low.
Stone shoved Blueballs away. “You lead, we’ll follow.” He motioned to Stupid Fuck,
who showed his displeasure by grinding his teeth hard enough his pinched lips
turned white.
As they walked the streets, a crowd trailing them, Mack strode between him and James.
“What do you know about Mackella Starke Emmerson?” James asked out of the blue. By all outward
appearances he seemed calm, but Stone detected the tension straining in his
neck.
“Who?” Mack stared straight ahead.
“My wife.” Stone rested his hand on her lower back, and she tensed beneath his
touch. “She’s the only person who ever called James Satan.”
“I like the way she thinks.” Mack’s face screwed up, and she tilted her head to look up
at him. “I didn’t think you were married?”
“Not any longer.” She’s dead. At least he’d
once believed that.
That shut her up. Either Mack was telling the truth about not knowing Kella, or she
was the best actress ever.
They entered Regent Jones’s domain. He’d had the displeasure of meeting the man
three times since Stone’s inauguration, each time at the annual Regent
assembly. He wasn’t impressed with Jones. Stone found him to be pompous and
self-absorbed, like most Regents. Mid- to late-forties, he kept himself in good
shape, and ran his Quadrant like a dictator. Again like most Regents.
Jones took one look at Mack and asked, “What’ve you done now, Mack?”
A troublemaker like Kella. James noted the similarities too and elevated his
eyebrows when he caught Stone’s glance.
Stone found it concerning, as well as fucking erotic as hell, that Mack glared at
Jones, even when she should be cowering and begging for mercy. “Why do you
automatically assume she’s guilty?”
“She’s always stirring up trouble. Thinks she’s better than most dregs.” Jones stepped
forward and held his hand out. “Good to see you again, Regent.”
Lies.
They shared no love of one another. Jones disapproved of Stone’s leadership and
had made no bones about it. Stone knew how to play nice, though, so he shook the
other man’s hand. “Likewise.”
“Glad you caught our thief—”
“We both know he’s not a thief.” As if Mack’s voice wasn’t defiant enough, she notched
her chin and gave Jones a rebellious glare. “You’ve been skimming his profits
and his goods, like you do everyone.”
Jesus, she was ballsy. There wasn’t much Stone could do to aid her in the presence of
her Regent. Jones
slapped her. A hard, whip-crack smack that happened so fast, Stone didn’t have
time to stop her from reeling and collapsing to the floor. A cruel twist contorted
Jones’s lips as he wound his fingers in her hair and jerked her upward to her
knees. “You forget how much I’ve helped you, little girl.”
“I can do without your style of help.”
While holding her hair, Jones smacked her again. Hard. She lurched to the side, but
came up sharp in the Regent’s grasp. A hiss of pain escaped her lips, but that
was the only discomfort she displayed. If anything her glare grew more
rebellious.
The only thing that halted Stone from interfering was James placing his hand on Stone’s shoulder.
His buddy shook his head. Yeah, this wasn’t his place, not his domain, and all
Regents ran their Quads differently. No rule said he had to agree with the way
other Regents governed.
Stone swiped his fingers through his hair, but the action bombed at relieving his anger.
All women should be respected. Everyone deserved that. But he’d been taught to
coddle, love, and protect, not manhandle women in particular.
His agitation intensified when Jones wound her hair around his arm. Mack gasped and
threw her arms up, and back to clutch at the dictator’s arm when he craned her
head back at a sharp slant. Tears shimmered in her eyes and if looks could’ve
killed, Jones would be a smoldering corpse.
Stone focused on the Regent because watching her resulted in fury sweeping through
him. Killing Jones would be satisfying. It’d be easy to snap the bully’s neck.
Jones’s death would protect her. How many others
would his death protect?
“I should send you to the brothel.” At Jones’s declaration, Stone jerked his attention
to her. “I bet forcing you to suck my cock would make you more obedient.”
Mack winced, but kept her gaze direct and mutinous. “I’d bite your dick off.”
Her courage in the face of a tyrant resulted in a grin tugging at Stone’s mouth.
Beside him, Stone caught James’s uneasy glance in his direction. Neither would
allow a woman to be pimped out, regardless of jurisdiction.
“Thanks for the heads up, bitch. I’ll know to open-mouth gag you. You’ll look lovely
gagging on my cock as I ram it down your throat.”
She blanched. “I’ll kill you or myself before I become any man’s whore.”
Stone believed her, but the tremble in her voice echoed her flailing confidence.
“I’m tempted to call your bluff to see how far you’ll go.” Jones smirked and ran his
fingertips along her jaw. Mack recoiled and attempted to turn her head aside,
but couldn’t with the way he clenched her hair. The slight trembling of her
bottom lip had Stone seeing red. It was the first time he’d witnessed a crack
in her courage. Jones pinched her bottom lip between his finger and thumb. “I bet
you’d cry prettily for me when I’m inside you.”
Had Stone wanted to snap the man’s neck before? Now, he wanted to commit slow and
cruel homicide, peeling one ounce of flesh from Jones’s hide at a time to
lengthen the man’s agony.
“That’s enough.” Stone stepped forward. “Release her.”
Jones maintained his hold on Mack, only his attention shifting to Stone. “You’re an
uptight prick, eh? Surprising, considering your father loved to bang chicks
with me. The harder they cried, the better.”
Of course, Stone didn’t believe him. Even so, the thought of his dad being an
asshole like Jones made him sick to his stomach. “My father taught me to respect women, not abuse them or exploit them.”
“Keep believing your father was a saint.” Jones smirked as if he knew a secret Stone
wasn’t privy to. “You make me too much money crawling through the dirt, Mack, but
never forget I control your future. That I own
you. And if you give me even a single ounce of trouble again, I won’t hesitate
to have you sucking cocks or taking dicks up your tight ass.” Jones released
her abruptly, which was a fine move because Stone was one step away from becoming
violent. “Someone give me an update so I can dish out punishment?”
Not trusting Jones’s men to feed him the truth, Stone detailed what’d transpired.
Jones
lit a cigar, not bothering to offer Stone or James one. Probably best because
Stone would prefer burning the fucker with the tip than smoking it.
“Goddamn it, Mack.” Jones pointed the cigar in her direction. “Stay out of my business
next time.”
“He was coughing up blood. If she hadn’t intervened, he’d be dead thanks to your
overzealous guards.” Stone toyed with the idea that he hated Quad2’s Regent.
Mack met Stone’s eyes for a moment. He took the minute connection as her way of saying
thanks for assisting her cause. But he could be wrong.
“He has a family, Regent Jones. They’re starving because of you.” Surely she didn’t
think appealing to Jones’s humanitarian side would work. Stone had witnessed no
evidence of compassion in the other man.
She went to rise, but Jones halted her by pressing his hand on top of her head. “Remain
on your knees. It’s where you belong, pet.”
The condescending motherfucker! Stone shot a look at James, who shook his head, but
he could tell by the hard stare, his buddy disliked Jones as much as Stone did.
Fire erupted in her eyes, and her shoulders went rigid. For a moment Stone feared
she’d rebel against her leader’s command, but after a tense moment she crumpled
to the floor.
The other Regent smiled and continued as if he wasn’t forcing a woman to subjugate
herself before him. “He’s a thief, Mack. You know my rules. I do not suffer
thieves. And his family isn’t my concern. He should’ve thought of them before
he wronged me.”
“Actually, they are your concern since they’re your people.” In Stone’s opinion, it
sounded like Jones required a lesson is leadership.
“Kindly mind your own goddamn business, Regent Emmerson.” Jones scowled, puffing on his
cigar while fingering Mack’s dark-blonde hair. The aggression in the man’s
stance indicated he’d do whatever necessary to make Stone back off.
Throwing fists would help eliminate some of the testosterone burning through Stone, but
he stood down for now. He inclined his head and scrutinized Jones a moment
before reverting his concentration on Mack. He understood Jones’s fascination with
her. Hell, he was fascinated with her
too. She was nothing like the women he brought to his bed. Nothing like Missy
who had graced his mattress the past couple of nights. It was strange really, to
find himself attracted to Mack, but he could easily picture her naked, legs parted
wide, waiting for his penetration. Each woman he pleasured fascinated him. They
all found their gratification differently, and sounded different too. James had
taught him to refocus his obsession from Kella to getting women off. But with
Mack it was different. Fucking her and leaving her wasn’t what was on his mind.
Oh, no, he very much feared one time with her wouldn’t be enough. He’d want to
bury himself inside her over and over again, getting sloshed off her cries of
pleasure.
“The punishment for thievery is execution, Regent Emmerson.” His name on the other man’s lips
startled him out of his inappropriate fantasies. “All Mack gained the thief was
a slow death on the rack in front of his peers.” Jones shrugged, puffing on his
tobacco and creating a cloud of smoke. “Serves my purpose well. So long as the
dregs fear me, I don’t suffer an uprising.”
And he called Stone a prick? The punishment did not fit the crime, especially when he
threatened to force a woman to work in a whorehouse, which would in effect
result in an endless cycle of rape. Oh, yeah, Regent Jones was a douchebag
tyrant.
“Mack says he’s not a thief. Who made the claim against him?” He was overstepping his
boundaries, but couldn’t seem to make himself back down. A man’s life was at
stake.
“I make the claim. He’s guilty. He dies.” Jones yanked on Mack’s hair, eliciting a
sharp hiss from her. “My dear troublemaker, you’re too popular among the dregs
to ignore your unruliness. Twenty electrical lashes should set a good example among
your class, don’t you think?”
“Fuck.” Stone ran his fingers through his hair. “That many blows to a man would result
in permanent nerve damage. She’ll never survive it.”
Jones sighed as if weary of Stone’s contrariness. “She’s one of my favorites, my
moneymaker—”
“If I’m favored, I’d hate to see how you treat those you dislike.”
Stone agreed with her.
Jones backhanded her, sending Mack sprawling on the floor with a shrill cry. “I own
you and all you do. I could take all your profits, but I’m generous and allow
you part of it. Show some gratitude for my generosity.”
From where Stone was standing, Jones didn’t know the meaning of ‘generosity’. And if
the archeological site fell outside the city gates, anything in the badlands
was outside the jurisdiction of the Regent. That meant Jones abused his powers,
and that was something he could take to the Board of Regents. He wasn’t part of
the good old boys, so he bet anything like that would result in Stone receiving
the coldshoulder and wouldn’t win him any friends. Not that he wanted or needed
bastards like Jones as friends. And he sure as hell could bet Jones wouldn’t
suffer even a set down by the board.
“Because she’s my favorite, the twenty lashes is
a light punishment. Had anyone else intervened the way she did, they would’ve
received the same fate as the thief. See? I can be lenient when warranted.” His
grin didn’t reach his eyes, and Stone suspected he’d enjoy her agony. Probably a sadist who gets off on another’s
pain. In the end, he needed Mack whole to question her about Kella. Struggling to think of a
reason to dissuade Jones from reprimanding her, he ran through a variety of
scenarios, but came up empty-handed. His gaze fell on Mack. She rubbed her
cheek as Jones instructed his guards to get to the punishment immediately.
After publicly executing the thief, they were ordered to string Mack up right
afterward and have the punisher apply the lashes.
“Why are you in my Quad?” Jones crushed his cigar into an ashtray on his desk.
This was his lead in to pause Mack’s penalty. “I’m following a lead on my wife.” Her
gaze struck him, and a hint of fear entered her eyes. The severe punishment of
electrical lashes hadn’t dented her bravado. What about the mention of his wife
frightened her?
Jones shrugged aside Stone’s adventure. “Good luck with your find. Please let me know
if I can be of assistance.”
“Delay Mack’s punishment.”
“Anything but that.” Several seconds elapsed as they stared at one another, before Jones
shifted his gaze to Mack. “What do you know about his wife, Mack?”
“No-nothing.”
She knew something. Of that Stone was suddenly very sure. “I’ll buy her from you.”
James flinched and cut a hard glance in his direction, evidently surprised by his
appeal. Even though his intentions were honorable, and meant to protect her,
his guilt triggered his inability to look at Mack and gauge her reaction.
Stone sensed Jones’s bemusement over his outrageous request. “Interesting proposition
since you no longer offer the sale of even Xenos.”
Shutting down his X-gene clinic had caused uproar among Regents. Jones had been one of
the most vocal of the lot, and even Stone’s dad, Peter, had balked at the
decision. Going against advice, he’d honored his wife with the closure. He’d
coolly reminded the other Regents his Quad, his rules. That had gone over as
well as an active whore preaching morals from the pulpit. They’d ganged up on
him to oust him from power, teleporting into his Quadrant with a thousand-man-strong
army. It was good other Regents dismissed Stone’s effectiveness as a leader
because he’d neutralized the offense with a drone strike. Before breakfast their
offensive had been negated. In the beginning of his tenure he’d become the
asshole dictator who threatened other Regents’ way of life. Stone’s
aggressiveness to protect his position, and their necessity for the perishables
he grew in his territory, or their need to utilize his teleportation services, had
resulted in the other Regents slowly giving up their beef and inviting him back
into the fold. It was a tenuous alliance at best.
Stone didn’t trust a damn one of them. His memory was long and unforgiving. And three
years wasn’t nearly enough time for them to forget the ease with which he’d defeated
them. He was always on the defensive, waiting for another surprise attack, and
it was why he maintained high security at all times. At any given moment, an
assassination attempt could be made on his life.
“What do you think, Mack?” Jones’s question snatched Stone out of his thoughts. Jones rubbed
her head like he would a dog, and she leaned way from him. That earned her a
yank on her hair, and Jones forced her to lean against his thigh. “Answer me.
Should I sell you to Regent Emmerson?”
“I think you’re going to do what you want regardless what I say.”
A smack to her cheek for her saucy reply. The move pissed Stone off more. “Name your
price, Jones.”
Murder spewed from her gaze, and her jaw locked, obviously gritting her teeth.
“I decline your offer. I like Mack too much.
Guards, take her to the square for punishment.”
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