He was hired to protect her. She never agreed to be claimed. Vivienne Laurent has spent her life mastering control of her empire, her image, her fear. As the youngest CEO in New York’s elite financial circles, she knows wealth doesn’t buy safety, only attention. Since her father’s death, every smile feels calculated, every ally conditional. Trust is a luxury she can’t afford. Then Vincent Monroe steps into her world. Cold. Disciplined. Unyielding. A former elite security operative, Vincent doesn’t believe in comfort or compromise, only threats and how to eliminate them. Assigned to guard Vivienne after a near-fatal attack, he brings rules instead of reassurance, distance instead of warmth, and a presence that leaves no room to breathe. To him, survival comes first. Freedom is optional. Forced into constant proximity, Vivienne fights his control at every turn while Vincent fights something far more dangerous than the enemies circling her. Want. Obsession. The growing certainty that keeping her safe means keeping her his. As corporate betrayals surface and a powerful rival closes in, protection shifts into possession. Boundaries blur. Choices disappear. And the line between saving Vivienne and owning her vanishes completely. Because Vincent isn’t just willing to destroy anyone who threatens her. He’s willing to become the greatest threat of all. And when protection turns into possession, walking away may cost her life… But staying might cost her soul.