The world that was once known is gone. In its place is a society where the rich rule, and the female population is auctioned off to the highest bidder.

Claire

Xavier saved me, purchasing me off the auction block and making me feel human again. Although I knew he wanted me, could see it in the way he watched me, he never touched me.

But I wanted him to.

I wanted to feel what it would be like to have his big body over mine, his strong hands running over my bare flesh. I shouldn't want a man like him: rich, dangerous ... one of the elite.

But I did.

Maybe it was time to break free from my shell and give myself something I deserved ... him.

Xavier

I had money and power, and I used those to my advantage, to purchase women from the auction under the guise that they were for me. But they weren't. I purchased them to set them free. I'd been doing it for years without romantic attachment to any of them ... until Claire came into my life.

And once I saw her, I knew she'd be the one I couldn't let go. She'd be my downfall, but I was more than ready to fall to my knees and worship the ground she walked on.

Reader note: This is set in the same world as Mine To Keep, but can be read as a complete standalone.