Connor Byrne holds his control the way he holds his company, and Vivian Hamilton is the one thing that fractures it. She knows the thin white scar on his bicep and exactly what her quiet defiance does to him. In the halted elevator, the crescent mark at her throat promises rough claiming that could shatter both their defenses.

He has stalked her to bind her completely, his need to dominate clashing with her guarded hunger for acceptance in a vampire society where guardianship demands strength. The power exchange feels inevitable as he prepares to stake his possession through hard encounters that risk exposing his solitude and her ache.

But with council protocols and rival claims at stake, he issues the demand. Will she submit to the claiming before the doors open and expose their fragile alliance?