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Michael [Sons of Amber #2] [MultiFormat]
eBook by Bianca D'Arc
eBook Category: Erotica/Erotic Romance/Romance Fantasm Award Winner
eBook Description: Second in the Sons of Amber series! Michael is a Dominant Son of Amber, commandant of the human fighting forces and in charge of Atlantia Station. When he learns a smuggling ring is kidnapping human women and transporting them to the jit'suku galaxy, he goes undercover with his executive officer to uncover the rats in their own kitchen. But playing the role of submissive female is something Leah, his competant XO, isn't sure she can do. Michael proves to her she not only can, but will enjoy the Dominant games he plays so well for benefit of the smugglers they must convince.
eBook Publisher: Phaze, Published: 2007
Fictionwise Release Date: August 2007
This eBook is part of the following series:
152 Reader Ratings:
 
Michael was a Son of Amber--a genetically engineered male designed with the express purpose of repopulating the human race. The jit'suku enemy had launched a bio-weapon years ago, systematically killing off almost all human males. Some women became ill as well and were left sterile or worse. A few dedicated geneticists, led by Dr. Amber Waithe, had stepped up to the challenge. She and her team devised a plan to restore the balance, engineering a group of males who were immune to the jit virus. Known as Sons of Amber, these men also bred about ninety percent male offspring. They'd been designed so each successive generation would yield more female offspring until normalizing somewhere around fifty-fifty several generations down the road. By that time, it was hoped the human race would be back on its feet as a species. But Michael Amber was one of the first. He and his brothers had been designed in several discrete groups. Some were Risk Takers, designed to weigh the odds and take calculated risks that others would not. Some were Pioneers, given the skills and predispositions to conquer new frontiers in every field of human endeavor. Some were Moderates, designed to be the backbone of society, even-tempered and rock steady in character, and some were Dominants like Michael. Dominant personalities were meant to lead in all aspects of life. It made them great military commanders, law enforcers, and the like, but it also gave them Dominant tastes in everything they did. In Michael's case, he was probably one of the most dominant of the Doms. He'd worked his way up to Commandant of the military forces in this sector. He led, and everyone followed. Just the way he liked it. The way he needed it, actually. It was part of his physiology and his psyche. He needed to dominate the way others needed to breathe. And he needed to dominate sexually as well, though never to the point of violence. Violence was something Mike reserved for his enemies. He'd killed his fair share of jit'suku soldiers in his climb to the top of his chosen profession, but he never gloried in it. He just did what he had to do to protect his own. It was that simple. Mike also understood the value of working with people. He had good working relationships with all his command staff and his people respected him. That was important to him. He cultivated friendships with his staff, who were mostly female, though he discouraged any interaction or discussion of a sexual nature. While he still made regular deposits to the sperm banks, and made personal visits to as many civilian ladies as his schedule allowed, he never had sex with his subordinates. For one thing, it wouldn't be fair to take advantage of his position of authority. For another, he had definite sexual tastes and proclivities that required the full understanding of his partner. How could he be certain the woman consented out of her own desire or out of some misguided aspiration to get a promotion by doing whatever he wanted, regardless of her own needs? Mike couldn't take the chance, so military women were off-limits. If any woman tempted him to break his own rule, though, it was Leah. Still, she'd never once given him any indication she desired him sexually. Perhaps that was why he found her so comfortable to be around. She was his friend, his confidant, his stabilizer when his Dominant genetics threatened to push him a bit too far. Like right now. Michael made sure the hatch was closed tight before switching the comm to his personal viewer. Leah remained just out of range of the viewer, but well within his personal sphere. He could see her, read her expressions, and feel her calming energy. He didn't quite understand how it all worked, but something about this woman made him a better leader. She made him stop and think through his decisions, made him want to be the best man he could possibly be. In short, she was an invaluable influence and if he had any say in the matter, she'd be part of his personal staff for the duration of his career. She was a keeper.
* * * *Leah watched Michael Amber handle the moronic woman who had somehow been promoted to general. Michael was like no man in her experience. Leah was in her late thirties and had been briefly married before the jit attack that killed her husband and all her male relatives. She knew full well what Michael Amber and his 'brothers' were. They'd been designed in a lab and grown under accelerated conditions. They were genetic constructs, but she knew first hand from her dealings with Michael that he had a deep, feeling, sensitive soul. He was one of the most complex and courageous men she had ever known. Her own brothers had been military men before the virus, as had her father and many of her ancestors. She came from a line of warriors, and she knew and understood the mindset. Michael was as good as the best of them--and then some. He was superior to most other men she'd known in almost every way. Especially in the way that mattered most. He was completely immune to the jit virus. And so were his children. Leah had wanted a large family, but her husband of just a year was killed early on by the virus. That was years ago now, and few men were left. There were no marriages in the old sense now, only Sons who would flit from woman to woman like bees pollinating flowers, never settling on just one to live with and love. Leah wasn't entirely certain the Sons knew what love was. They hadn't been raised in a normal family, after all. They'd been incubated and their growth accelerated so they were 'born' in adolescence, just as their reproductive systems came online. A few years of training after that, and they were loosed on society. Their sperm was collected and made available to all the human worlds so women who wanted to conceive could go to fertility clinics and be impregnated with the sperm of the Son of their choice. Catalogs containing short bios and images of all the Sons were found in such places so women could have some say in what their children might look like or what traits they might inherit from their fathers. It was all too clinical, but there was little choice. Higher ranked women like Leah could also opt to reserve time with one of the Sons as scheduling allowed, to try to get pregnant the old fashioned way, but that seemed even worse to her. Nearing forty, Leah was starting to really worry about just how and when she would finally start her family. She wanted a baby. A little boy to raise and nurture. She wanted it desperately, but since coming to work for Michael Amber, all too often when she pictured her son, he had Michael's dark hair and flashing blue eyes. She could easily imagine the boy she would dote on and love with all her heart, as she couldn't afford to love his father. Michael was a Son of Amber. He was also one of the most influential and successful of the Sons. Not a man who could settle with one woman--ever. Such daydreams were useless and could be dangerous to a woman who worked with the tempting man, day in and day out. She knew Michael depended on her. He might even feel some kind of affection for her, but he would never feel the love she desired with every fiber of her being. She'd been married. She knew what young love felt like, and she missed it. Sometimes she ached for the half-forgotten feel of her husband's arms around her. It was so long ago, she barely remembered him now. Sometimes it all seemed so pointless. The time was drawing near when she'd have to make a decision. Either she stayed working with Michael, watching him, wanting him, and knowing she could never have him, or she would quit. She'd resign her commission and visit the fertility clinic, choosing Michael's seed to produce her baby boy. The choice was a cold one, but the result would warm her heart for the rest of her life. Michael's baby couldn't help but be a reflection of the great man she'd come to know ... and love.
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