Rose Elwood has spent years building walls around her quiet life, but they crumble the instant the contract lands on Owen Raleigh's desk. The terms are clear: his protection from the scandal that could destroy her in exchange for her body and a binding marriage that claims every inch of her innocence.

His presence fills the room with the weight of his control. Every word he speaks lands like a command she feels in her bones. She tells herself it is only a transaction, a necessary surrender to survive, yet the hunger in his eyes warns that he intends to collect far more than the pages require.

Yet as his gaze holds hers with the promise of ownership, she realizes the true cost may be admitting the craving she has buried for too long.