HE OWNS EVERY BREATH I TAKE. I was a penniless girl from a quiet parsonage until the Duke of Belvedere claimed me. Now I am his Duchess, trapped within the gray stone walls of his fortress. Malik Sundance is a man of iron will and terrifying presence. He did not marry me for love. He married me to secure his bloodline. My new life is a series of rigid rules and suffocating silk. The laces of my corset are pulled until I can barely breathe. Every word I speak is monitored. Every step I take is judged. Malik demands absolute obedience. He views me as a blank slate to be molded into his perfect image. When I fail, the correction is swift. He summons me to his study to instill the modesty I lack. Across his lap, I learn the weight of his authority. The sting of his discipline is a constant reminder of who holds my leash. I should hate the man who breaks my spirit. Instead, I find myself drowning in a shameful devotion. A rival lurks in the shadows, waiting for me to stumble. He wants to use me to destroy the Duke. He does not understand that I belong to a master who protects what is his. Malik will crush anyone who dares to touch his prize. I am no longer a woman with a choice. I am a vessel for the Sundance heir and a servant to his darkest desires. I am bound to his sovereign heart by duty and the heat of his unyielding obsession.