Born For Silk by Nicci Harris

If selected, young Aster will be the King's Silk Girl. A common human bred to adore and pleasure him, and to provide The Cradle with healthy babies for The Trade.

Adore. Pleasure. Provide.
That is her Meaningful Purpose.

But King Rome is more monster than man. As the heir of the genetically enhanced breed, he was designed to survive and rule this harsh new world. Through fear. Through intimidation. Rome has a heart as black as his giant pet eagle's wings and a singular obsession—to reign.

That stands until one day Aster puts her tiny human hand in his...

Now she occupies his mind...

But The Trade upholds that love is not a virtue, and instead, a weakness. Nothing could be more dangerous to the regime than having its merciless king obsessed with a common girl Born For Silk.

*
For readers who wouldenjoy a spicy Beauty and the Beast, meets The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, with the barren, wild backdrop of Dune by Frank Herbert. Born For Silk is a romance-driven adult sci-fi novel set in a dark dystopian society.

*
A thousand years of climate change, genetic engineering, and war destroyed civilisation as it was. From the remains came the age of The Trade and The Crown. In return for resources, security, and a Meaningful Purpose, citizens accepted a life of service to the new world.
*

⚠Warning: The Cradled Common is a series of interconnecting standalones. Born For Silk features a seven-foot-tall, tormented hero in need of taming and an intelligent, yet sweet heroine who slowly chips away at his emotional armour. If you don't enjoy romance stories with a power imbalance and age gap, then you will not enjoy this one.