The Lord's Bargain

Her family owes a debt they can never repay.

Lord Aldric offers Merryn another way.

Become his wife. Give him an heir. Obey the rules of his house.

In return, her parents keep their land, their debts disappear, and they will never fear his collectors again.

At nineteen, Merryn knows it is not much of a choice. She leaves the only home she has ever known and enters a cold stone keep as the wife of a powerful man who views marriage much like he views land: something acquired, managed, and expected to produce.

Then Tamsin touches her.

She is only supposed to be a servant—the quiet woman assigned to wash Merryn, dress her, arrange her hair, and teach a farmer's daughter how to survive as a lady.

But Tamsin's careful hands awaken something in Merryn that her husband never could.

A glance becomes a secret.

A touch becomes a risk.

And before long, Merryn realizes there are some things even a lord cannot truly own.

In a world where women are traded for debts and obedience can mean survival, Merryn and Tamsin must decide how much they are willing to sacrifice for the one thing neither of them was ever supposed to have:

A life of their own.