Viscount Weston Arden rules his wife with the same measured authority that protects the title he inherited, but Nessa's soft obedience pulls at the control he refuses to surrender. In the locked study, the desk waits as he speaks the orders that will leave her marked and trembling, each strike reinforcing the alliance they cannot afford to lose.
The possibility of discovery hangs over every command, for the peerage council demands proof of a stable marriage while Weston craves the degradation only she will accept. Her quiet defiance surfaces only when her worth feels questioned, yet she always returns to the position he requires.
The letter remains between their hands. He will not let her go until she has earned her place.
