QSFers R. Phoenix and Morgan Noel have a new MM dark paranormal romance book out:
The capture of an arms dealer’s spoiled lover should’ve been a win for the humans struggling to survive their harsh lives in the slums. Powerless and outnumbered, it seems like only a matter of time before Romulus betrays the Butcher. But when Kieran realizes their prisoner is none other than his stepbrother, he has to face the harsh truths he’s been avoiding for too long. Torn between loyalty for his new family of humans and the witch he has more than brotherly feelings for, Kieran must make a decision that could leave him with nothing.
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Though Spoiled is set in The Fate of the Fallen / Status Quo world, this is a standalone work. These characters do not appear in the FotF/SQ books, and there are no spoilers for the series.
Note to Readers of the FotF Series: Though this book is dark romance, it does not have the same “feel” as Bought, the (dark erotica) first book of the Fate of the Fallen series. It most closely resembles Ravel in tone and content.
Available on Kindle Unlimited.
Giveaway
Amazon: http://amzn.to/2fNXY4d
B&N: https://goo.gl/BiiBzm
iTunes: https://goo.gl/Yd2WuD
Kobo: https://goo.gl/qodjKw
Smashwords: https://goo.gl/wa1NEx
Excerpt
“I don’t want to die,” Romulus said in a quiet, strained, and timid voice.
Kieran had meant it when he’d said he didn’t want his brother to die either, but before he could say or do anything, there was a rattle at the door of the bathroom — which he’d evidently locked behind him in a lapse of judgement. In retrospect, maybe it had been because he had good judgment.
His head snapped up regardless. A little panicked, he made a shushing gesture at Romulus.
“Kier? Everything all right?” Wren’s voice sounded through the door.
No. No, everything was not all right. It wasn’t even close. He wanted to scream — fuck, he wanted to break down right then and there — but he couldn’t do anything but what he’d done every single day for years.
Pretend. Lie.
Live.
“Yeah.” His voice cracked slightly, and he knew he needed to add something to explain the ruckus. But if he said Romulus had been doing something wrong, he’d get punished for it. If he didn’t… Kieran added, pulling open the door enough to let him meet her eyes as he said truthfully, “Just trying to get the witch to understand.”
Wren snorted. “Right.” She cast a disdainful glance in Romulus’s general direction, though Kieran knew she couldn’t get a good glimpse of his stepbrother.
Probably.
“You’re wasting your breath,” she informed him.
Kieran grunted. The less he said, the better.
“Well, keep it down,” Wren said, running her fingers through her hair. She turned, and for a moment, Kieran got his hopes up, only to have them dashed as she glanced back at him. “Oh, and Kier?”
Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Someone had heard something. She knew.
He braced himself. “Yeah?”
“I told you to clean him up, not let him pretend he’s at a spa. Get him out of the fucking tub.”
Kieran’s heart raced wildly in his chest, but he nodded as stoically as he could manage. “On it.”
Wren stepped closer to him, laughing. It was strange, and the words that went with her laughter were even odder. “Yeah. I’m sure you’d like to be on it.” She leered at him, and he felt…
Sick.
Uncomfortably aroused at the sudden mental images blossoming in his mind, but sick.
“I’m not—” he protested.
“Mm,” she replied with a knowing smirk, patting his arm. “Hurry the fuck up. I need a shower.”
Kieran slowly closed the door behind her, leaning heavily against it for a moment before he could bring himself to look back at Romulus. His cheeks were red again, and he couldn’t believe he’d had thoughts like that when his little brother was crying.
Or had been crying. It seemed like he’d pulled himself together. He was even doing as he was told and cleaning his wrists. Or scrubbing at them, rather, and a little too hard for Kieran’s liking.
When he saw the water tinge pink with fresh blood, Kieran crossed over to him, grabbing Romulus’s arm and taking the washcloth from him. “Hey,” he said, his voice barely more than a whisper. He was still spooked, but at the same time, the sight of the discolored water was worse than Wren’s not-so-surprise appearance. “Here. Let me do that. Okay?”
Like they were kids again, and Romulus had just scraped his knee.
Author Bios
R. Phoenix
R. Phoenix (code name: Raissa) has an unhealthy fascination with contrasts: light and dark, humor and pain, heroes and villains, order and chaos. She believes love can corrupt, power can redeem and that the best of intentions can cast shadows while the worst can create light. She agrees with those who say that the truth is best told through fiction — even though fiction has to make sense while reality can be utterly baffling.
She loves chatting with readers, though she often awkwardly rambles. No matter how much she tries to keep her bad and often perverted sense of humor in check, it seems to escape at the most inconvenient moments. (Thanks, universe.) Feel free to friend Raissa on Facebook and chat or send her an email!
Morgan Noel
Fluent in sarcasm and double entendre, devourer of cookies and champion pizza consumer. Pantser who doesn’t play by the rules. The Kraken has been released, so long and thanks for all the fish!
Thank you for the excerpt, and the chance at the giveaway ;)