I never expected to lock eyes with Sheikh Khalid across that ballroom. One look from the powerful desert ruler and my world tilted on its axis. He's ruthless, commanding, and twice my age. Everything I should run from. Everything I can't stop craving.

He wants control. I want freedom. But when he finally breaks and claims me, his discipline is as intoxicating as his desire. His hand comes down hard, teaching me submission in ways that make my body sing. And when he takes me without protection, promising to fill me with his heir, I surrender completely to the sheikh who will accept nothing less than my total devotion.

Now I'm his. Marked by his punishment. Swollen with his child. Bound to him in ways that go deeper than any contract our families could draft.

Some women dream of fairy tales. I'm living a desert fantasy where the beast never transforms, and I never want him to.