In the shadowed study of his London estate, Archer Drake's commanding presence draws Phoebe Jagger into an alliance neither can escape. He names his terms over the brass ledger: she kneels at his feet, and she wears the collar that marks her as his.

She craves the discipline that will quiet her insecurities, the spanking that leaves her skin flushed and her will bent to his. He requires the same surrender to quiet his fear of abandonment, turning their alliance into a bond of rough obedience that defies every Victorian propriety.

But the external threats to the shipping company test whether his need to claim her will hold or leave him abandoned once more.