HER BREATH BELONGS TO ME. I do not negotiate with desperate men. I collect what is owed. When Merle Montgomery could not pay his ten-thousand-pound debt, I took the only thing he had left. Savannah Minaj is my property now.

She is a virginal prize meant to be molded, shaped, and disciplined into a bride fit for the House of Freeman. I will unlace her stays and claim the debt in full. I will own every breath she takes until she is utterly consumed by my obsession.