SHE IS THE DEBT HER FATHER COULD NEVER PAY I am the King of Combe Magna. I do not ask for what I want. I take it. When Henry McCoy gambled away his fortune, he offered me his daughter as collateral. Elowen Strait is a commoner with fire in her eyes and a spirit that needs to be tamed. I will be the one to own her. I will lace her into the finest silks and the tightest corsets. I will teach her the weight of my authority with every turn of the lace. She is my property. She is my project. She will learn to crave the very laces that bind her. Traitors circle my throne. They whisper promises of freedom in her ear. They think they can steal what I have bought. They are mistaken. I see every glance. I hear every secret. The Duke of Hawthorne thinks he can play me for a fool. He will learn that my mercy is non-existent. The Grand Ball will be her final test.