SHE IS MY PRIZE TO MOLD AND MY PRISONER TO BREAK. I am a man of iron will and military precision. Howard Castle is my domain and Princess Viola is the currency her father used to buy my loyalty. She thinks she is a bird in a gilded cage. She does not realize I am the one who holds the key. Her shy glances and whalebone corsets hide a rebellious spirit that I intend to crush. I see every secret meeting in the forbidden galleries and I know every breath she takes. My future bride requires a firm hand. Her defiance is a breach of etiquette I will not tolerate. I catch her wandering where she does not belong and bring her to my study for a lesson in silence. The silver-backed hairbrush is my tool of correction. I watch the heat rise in her cheeks as I teach her the meaning of absolute obedience. She fears my hand but her body betrays her. She is a wayward woman who must learn her place before we reach the altar. The wedding is a sacrifice of statecraft and I am the high priest. I claim her before the eyes of the empire. In the bridal suite the last of her defenses fall. I strip away the silk and the bone until only the woman remains. I am the conqueror and she is the territory I intend to occupy for eternity. Her innocence is the final seal on our contract. There is no escape from my rules or my bed. I will own every inch of her soul until she craves the very discipline that broke her.